Fertilizer shortage
Apr 30th, 2008 by Julie Kirkwood
Check out this interesting article in the New York Times today about the worldwide shortage of fertilizer for agriculture.
“The Food Chain: Shortages threaten farmers’ key tool, fertilizer”
It’s strange to think that people in many parts of the world are facing malnutrition because crops are suddenly so expensive, in part because of fertilizer prices, and yet the annual spring ritual of fertilizing our lawns is underway in the U.S. … at least in my neighborhood.
Sure, no individual (I hope) uses the amount of chemical fertilizer it would take to grow a commercial food crop. Still, the idea of using this scarce resource to grow grass seems wasteful and absurd to me this morning, after thinking about all the people who need it to eat.
