How much land does it take to feed a person for a year?

[me&thegals]

I'm wondering if liability becomes less and less of an issue as people and companies "green up." If they're handing out used oil, maybe it's not too far behind that they will give away food scraps rather than paying to have them hauled away. Maybe I'm dreaming, but I think people are/will be getting more creative about these sort of things.

 

[freemotion]

On the other hand, I would not be willing to feed my animals highly processed foods, such as I would get in a food waste situation. I have animals for food so that I can have access to high quality food for myself and dh! So thanks for the input, Pat and all, I think I would only do the compost thing if I can get veggie waste only from the grocery stores.

On the other hand, if times became urgent for me, I would absolutely re-evaluate my position and get food where-ever I could if I needed to. And the chickens would process the processed garbage into better food for us.

Hmmm....the protein is always the issue. I use soymeal now, in the bugless months. It does not fit in with my philosophy, but sometimes we have to make-do, pick-your-poison!

 

[me&thegals]

Very true. As much as I hate to see the waste at school when I have lunch with my kids on occasion, I don't want my chickens OR kids eating that stuff!
But, the produce department would be a bit better.

 

[Iceblink]

In response to the OP I read an article somewhere that the average american requires 13 acres to sustain our lifestyle. That includes an entire diet, not just what was 'grown.'

I remember that that figure included all the corn required to feed animals and be processed into HFCS ect.

I think average third world countries varied between 5 and not even a whole acre to feed a single person for a year.

I'm sorry that I can't remember the source for that info.

Again, that figure was an average, and I don't know how deeply it took into account the type and location of the land. I don't know if it is 13 level, fertile acres or what.

 

[freemotion]

Wow, that is stunning. Maybe it is also high because of farming practices in this country, too.

With sustainable practices and reduced consumption and waste that is typical of the "average" American.....and the attitudes and habits of the typical person striving to be ss.....the number is likely much lower for us.

Wow, 13 acres?!?!?

 

[Beekissed]

I would venture to say that that estimate was primarily allowing room for cultivating grain. I'm wondering if alternatives for wheat, oats and corn could be grown on less acreage? I'm also wondering if growing grains enough to feed the animals was deducted, if one could grow enough grains for consumption by humans and reduce that average acreage needed?

 

[Iceblink]

Beekissed - yes, I'm sure that figure could easily be reduced if you cut out meat in the form of 'acres of grain grown for animal feed'

It is a shocking number, but I also thought of it another way...

There is a large portion of the US that can't and shouldn't be farmed. Whether it is terrain or water or whatever, it can't support intensive farming no matter how sustainable. But that doesn't mean it is useless land, or that it can't provide food. For example -

the buffalo ranged over vast areas of land, and nowadays there are ranches in the west that are many thousands of acres and only support relatively small amounts of cattle.

Or - maple or birch trees need relatively large areas of land for relatively small amounts of syrup.

These are examples of how a figure 'could' be high, and a person could still be a responsible consumer, but I think freemotion and beekissed are right when they attribute that # to agribusiness practices, and heavy grain consumption, both whole and processed.

 

[Beekissed]

Especially if one were to stack species of livestock or even plants/trees to produce more per acre. Say running sheep and geese in an orchard, using the pastured grass for food for both, while growing apples/nuts for food there also.

Growing mangles for winter supplement and using square foot gardening principles to maximize the yield, choosing foods that can be grown quickly and then planting others in the same space, or even growing winter crops by using row hoops/covers, using green compost(groundcovers) to feed the crops and feed geese, harvesting the wild game that comes to the orchard instead of trying to grow your own meat, creating worm bins to supplement chicken diets in winter, growing winter wheats in the finished garden for the same reason......well, you get the picture. I think if a smaller acreage were intensively managed in every known way it would yield more than it would with ordinary row gardening/pasturing/livestock managing.

 

[freemotion]

I feel that humans naturally lean towards barter, too. So if you have a maple grove and I have a cow and a pasture, we could trade dairy products for sugar, etc. So I don't need to have both, neither do you. Some of those "facts" don't take reality into account. And much info these days is based on agri-biz, not sustainable practices that would be necessary to self sufficiency over the long term.

Joel Salatin! I don't follow his practices completely, as I have plenty of room for my few critters, but if I had to intesively utilize my acreage, I would certainly make the switch in a hurry. Oh, and I am dramatically improving the soil here, meanwhile. I just let all my critters run together at the same time, rather than having them follow each other.

 

[Beekissed]

I like his methods as well. They are what attracted me to his books and lectures. If one had to make a living off of only their farm/acreage, his methods seem quite successful! I like the fact that he is willing to share the secrets to his success...and is crafty enough to make money off that sharing as well! This diversifying his income flow with books, lectures and tours is just another example of how he teaches diversity as the root of successful farming and stewardship of the land.

Joel barters as well, for things he does not produce on the farm...like carbonaceous materials, some fruits and veggies, and mechanical work on his equipment, etc. As free says, I don't think one can discount bartering systems when it comes to self-sustainability.