The Cows · Page 18
The bared soil and the tractors and the chemicals are slowly destroying all life on earth.
Bare soil creates carbon dioxide by a slow-burning process in which the humus or decaying plant material literally burns up and goes into the atmosphere, leaving only the mineral content of the soil behind.
Fertile soil is the basis of all life on earth, and although we cannot see this with the naked eye, it is teeming with life. This micro-ecological system requires vegetation to cover and protect it from sun, wind, and beating rain. Too much heat, cold, or dryness upsets the balance, and all the microorganisms die back.
These days, large-scale tillage, chemical fertilizers, fungicides, herbicides, and pesticides worsen the situation, and many hectares of desert are created yearly.
The growing human population and conventional agricultural practices mean that more and more surface land is plowed, often for the production of food for livestock.