Talk of a food revolution often obscures the very serious challenges that we face as we attempt to reinvent our agricultural systems.  Here in New Mexico, we have the highest rating of all US states in food insecurity.  Without a doubt, water is the primary resource responsible for our alarming lack of food security.

References to indigenous farming systems as idealized models gloss over some very important facts.  Though it is true that pre-Colombian farm systems were, for the most part, stable and ecologically benign, they were still subject to changes in climate and an over-exploited resource base.  After all, the Anasazi disappeared because of drought and deforestation around 1300 AD.

If their civilization, characterized as it was by a robust agricultural model and a relatively low population density, was unable to survive in the harsh climate of the Southwest, then how much more vulnerable is ours?  We rely on massive imports of food and energy, and our profligate use of water is anything but responsible or sustainable.

So when we talk of a food revolution, it is not necessarily very interesting to start with what is possible, but instead to look at what we don’t know.  We don’t know, for instance, what percentage of food we are capable of producing locally.  Governor Richardson has called for achieving 35% local food production, but this number is arbitrary, and the consequences of achieving it are poorly understood.  Monty Skarsgaard of Los Poblanos Organics, a local CSA in Albuquerque, has stated that his farm is capable of producing 20% of its members’ needs locally.  Granted, this number skyrockets to over 80% during the harvest months of September and October, but year round local production of fresh food is at best a huge ecological challenge.

We don’t know how increased food production will affect our aquifer or our treaty obligations, nor do we have a firm grasp on how exactly we will design our farm systems to achieve these ambitious goals.  The debate is one that is sociopolitical in nature, but achieving political will is merely the first step.

The fact is, we need to construct farming systems with unprecedented levels of ecological efficiency.  Converting tired and marginal alfalfa fields to drip irrigated vegetable production isn’t enough.  We need to squeeze every potential source of renewable energy to maximum benefit.  The design process must be iterative and modular, and the results must be scalable and profitable.  System components will be added as different players get involved in the act.  Fast pyrolysis, wind and solar, mycoculture, bio-diesel and aquaculture will all be important elements in fomenting the revolution.  Business opportunities abound in the murky and nascent realm of the food revolution.