Of course intensive agriculture is the 'only answer' to feed humans and has been for many centuries. But it has been the main cause of our most serious environmental problems, among them lower air quality, drought, soil erosion and loss of natural productivity. That is why we are forced to fertilize with nitrogen from natural gas and obtain potassium and phosphorus by mining. It is the reason we need to develop and restore perennial food crops for ourselves and our domestic livestock. We are working on the problem, for example development of perennial grains like wheat (Triticale) and production of fruits and vegetables indoors. I read of a system that would employ nut trees with an understory of vine crops. All is not lost, as a recent study predicts a population peak of 8.7 billion people in the not too distant future followed by a slow decline. So hopefully subsistence and sport hunting will not totally disappear as a human activity, especially among the few, the proud, the doublegun shooters!
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