Is agriculture eroding civilization's foundation?

Recent compilations of data from around the world show that soil erosion under conventional agriculture exceeds both rates of soil production and geological erosion rates by from several times to several orders of magnitude.Consequently, modern agriculture-and therefore global society-faces a fundamental question over the upcoming centuries.Can an agricultural system capable of feeding a growing population safeguard both soil fertility and the soil itself?Although the experiences of past societies provide ample historical basis for concern about the long-term prospects for soil conservation, data compiled in recent studies indicate that no-till farming could reduce erosion to levels close to soil production rates.Similarly, organic farming methods have been shown to be capable of preserving-and in the case of degraded soils, improving-soil fertility.Consequently, agricultural production need not necessarily come at the expense of either soil fertility or the soil, even if recent proposals to rely on conventionally grown corn for biofuels exemplify how short-term social and economic trade-offs can deprioritize soil conservation.Like the issues of climate change and loss of biodiversity, ongoing global degradation and loss of soil present fundamental social challenges in which the slow pace of environmental change counterintuitively makes solutions all the more difficult to adopt.They're making more people every day but they ain't makin' any more dirt.-WillRogers