There is much complacency today about national security. Lessons must be learned from history not to repeat the mistake of Chamberlain, who, believing Hitler’s assurances, told England to expect ‘Peace in our Time’. Only twenty years after the war to end all wars, World War Two commenced. It has been wisely said, ‘the price of freedom is eternal vigilance’.
In modern time much vigilance has been devoted to promoting good will, and this is good, although too much superficiality can lead to distrust, just as can too much criticism. But the purpose of this letter is to recommend vigilance in two hazardously neglected matters, but which should be of great concern: the loss of arable land, and the looming imbalance in the sex ratio. Diplomacy may fail if a country with nuclear weapons has millions of starving young men with no prospect of finding a bride.
The agricultural statistics I will now refer to are taken from David Suzuki’s ‘The Sacred Balance’ and in some cases I quote directly. I am sure he will not mind if his book is used to promote good.
An emphasis on high yields, leads eventually (perhaps a hundred years) to soil loss and soil depletion in a variety of ways, such as nutrient depletion, erosion, and salinity. I read in David Suzuki's, The Sacred Ballance, that modern farming methods now deplete topsoil 16 to 300 times faster than it can be replaced according to Nobel Prize winner Henry Kendall and population biologist David Pimentel.
They say that over the last 40 years an area of arable land equivalent to one third of all cropland has been abandoned. Perhaps this is about 10% of all arable land. And if present trends continue, agricultural land degradation can be expected to depress world food production by between 15% and 30% during the next 25-year period.
One can only wonder at the selfishness of humanity the world over, that cares so little about the welfare of future generations. We sell arms to Africa, but do we care that the rate of soil loss there has increased 20 times in the past 30 years (Pimentel).
Surely all nations should increase and share agricultural research, to encourage sustainable agriculture, before the situation becomes even worse.
Sometimes it is financial pressures, such as high interest rates, that discourage sustainable agriculture, by focussing attention on the short term. I think regulation is in order to limit interest rates on agricultural loans and also to limit permanent farm acquisitions when farmers genuinely cannot meet the repayments. Perhaps only temporary farm acquisitions should be allowed (with the original owners managing).
International co-operation may also necessary to restrain wealthy nations from plundering the agricultural and fishery assets of poor nations.
New technology (ultrasound) combined with the abominable practice of abortion has made it possible to alter the perfect balance between the numbers of men and women. Many cultures prefer sons to daughters, perhaps because traditionally they are thought of as breadwinners to provide for their parents in old age. This is likely to result in more men than women, especially in China, where only one child is allowed. Although I trust that the present Chinese government has no such thought, I am afraid that some time in the future, if tens of millions or a hundred million Chinese men have no prospect of finding a bride, pressure may mount on the government to engage in bride wars. Beautiful women from weaker nations could be stolen and taken to China, as used to happen to many nations thousands of years ago.
The first solution is to outlaw abortion. But education and other legislation are also necessary: Education is necessary, that in all nations daughters are valued as highly as sons, both intrinsically as people and economically as the earning power of women is increasing due to technology. And legislation is required, that sons in law be obliged to provide for parents in law, the same way sons provide for parents. And no technology should be generally available that allows the sex of a child to be chosen.
In any country where the sex ratio is likely to become unbalanced, advertising could be employed, with the simple message: If your government allows you to choose a son, your son may not be able to choose a bride.