--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Farmers can't plant much more land…" description: "\"Farmers can't plant much more land because almost every accessible acre of arable soil is already in use. Nor can the use of fertilizer be increased: i..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f21/charles-c-mann-7228_agriculture_farmers-can-t-plant-much-more-land-becau_3230183.png" --- # Farmers can't plant much more land because almost every… ![“Farmers can't plant much more land because almost every accessible acre of arable soil is already in use. Nor can the use of fertilizer be increased: it is already being overused everywhere except some parts of Africa, and the runoff is polluting rivers, lakes, and oceans.” quote by Charles C. Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f21/charles-c-mann-7228_agriculture_farmers-can-t-plant-much-more-land-becau_3230183.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f21/charles-c-mann-7228_agriculture_farmers-can-t-plant-much-more-land-becau_3230183.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f21/charles-c-mann-7228_agriculture_farmers-can-t-plant-much-more-land-becau_3230183.png) > “Farmers can't plant much more land because almost every accessible acre of arable soil is already in use. Nor can the use of fertilizer be increased: it is already being overused everywhere except some parts of Africa, and the runoff is polluting rivers, lakes, and oceans.” [Charles C. Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-c-mann/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Global agriculture faces land scarcity and fertilizer overuse, causing ecological damage and limiting future food production. **In simple terms:** Land and fertilizer limits threaten food security. Key Takeaway Seek sustainable farming practices. Themes environment agriculture resource limits pollution food security Mood concerned urgent Type analytical informative When to use this quote - urban farming - soil regeneration - policy advocacy - education on fertilizer use Key Concepts sustainability soil health nutrient management Questions to Reflect On - What sustainable alternatives can replace excess fertilizer? - How can societies balance food demand with environmental health? A Different Perspective Technological fixes alone cannot reverse ecological harm. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Agriculture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agriculture/) [Being](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being/) [Plant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plant/) ## Related quotes > [“When People, Places, and or Things in Life Gives You Shit, Use It As Fertilizer For Your Garden ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/constance-delores-burrellrrell/when-people-places-and-or-things-in-life-gives-you-shit-use-it-as/) Constance Delores Burrellrrell > [Two out of every five people on Earth today owe their lives to the higher crop outputs that fertilizer has made possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/two-out-of-every-five-people-on-earth-today-owe-their-lives-to-the/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [The more we pour the big machines, the fuel, the pesticides, the herbicides, the fertilizer and chemicals into farming, the more we knock out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-r-brower/the-more-we-pour-the-big-machines-the-fuel-the-pesticides-the/) [David R. Brower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-r-brower/) > [On a farm the best fertilizer is the master's eye.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pliny-the-elder/on-a-farm-the-best-fertilizer-is-the-master-s-eye/) [Pliny the Elder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pliny-the-elder/) > [When you plant lettuce, if it does not grow well, you don't blame the lettuce. You look for reasons it is not doing well.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/when-you-plant-lettuce-if-it-does-not-grow-well-you-don-t-blame-the/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [What are truck rental companes and fertilizer salesman goign to do in response to the OK city bombing?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-z-williamson/what-are-truck-rental-companes-and-fertilizer-salesman-goign-to-do-in/) Michael Z. Williamson > [The master's eye is the best fertilizer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-master-s-eye-is-the-best-fertilizer/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I wish we could do something useful with tobacco - like making fertilizer out of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-dudley-white/i-wish-we-could-do-something-useful-with-tobacco-like-making/) [Paul Dudley White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-dudley-white/) > [My neighbor Alice Pierce is fond of singing folk music to her garden plants. Thinks it makes them grow or something. The Major had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-simonson/my-neighbor-alice-pierce-is-fond-of-singing-folk-music-to-her-garden/) [Helen Simonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-simonson/) > [You can't tear up everything just to get the dollar out of it without suffering as result. It is a travesty to burn our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington-carver/you-can-t-tear-up-everything-just-to-get-the-dollar-out-of-it-without/) [George Washington Carver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington-carver/) > [The car bomb was fertilizer, gasoline, fireworks and propane tanks...still safer than a Toyota.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/the-car-bomb-was-fertilizer-gasoline-fireworks-and-propane-tanks/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [“Even gods decay. Like, in 1890 somebody sold off thousands of mummified Ancient Egyptian sacred cats - \_for fertilizer\_. Get the point? Constancy isn't.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-gash/even-gods-decay-like-in-1890-somebody-sold-off-thousands-of-mummified/) [Jonathan Gash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-gash/) > [Some years ago one oil company bought a fertilizer company, and every other major oil company practically ran out and bought a fertilizer company.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/some-years-ago-one-oil-company-bought-a-fertilizer-company-and-every/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [ \[When her daughter suggested the President refer in his conversation with foreign dignitaries about lawn care to 'fertilizer' instead of to 'manure':\] But remember,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bess-truman/when-her-daughter-suggested-the-president-refer-in-his-conversation/) [Bess Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bess-truman/) > [I wish I had more hair on my head. Maybe if I sprinkled fertilizer on it, it would grow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kylie-bax/i-wish-i-had-more-hair-on-my-head-maybe-if-i-sprinkled-fertilizer-on/) [Kylie Bax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kylie-bax/) ## More by Charles C. Mann > [“A milpa is a field, usually but not always recently cleared, in which farmers plant a dozen crops at once, including maize, avocados, multiple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-c-mann/a-milpa-is-a-field-usually-but-not-always-recently-cleared-in-which/) [Charles C. Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-c-mann/) > [“In the classic successional course, each suite of plants replaces its predecessor, until the arrival of the final, “climax” ecosystem, usually tall forest.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-c-mann/in-the-classic-successional-course-each-suite-of-plants-replaces-its/) [Charles C. Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-c-mann/) > [In 1491 the Inka ruled the greatest empire on earth. Bigger than Ming Dynasty China, bigger than Ivan the Great’s expanding Russia, bigger than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-c-mann/in-1491-the-inka-ruled-the-greatest-empire-on-earth-bigger-than-ming/) [Charles C. Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-c-mann/) > [The Paris pact was correctly described by its opponents - greens and anti-greens alike - as toothless. But it was also the first time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-c-mann/the-paris-pact-was-correctly-described-by-its-opponents-greens-and/) [Charles C. Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-c-mann/) > [“Drought indeed stressed the system, but the societal disintegration in the south was due not to surpassing inherent ecological limits but the political failure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-c-mann/drought-indeed-stressed-the-system-but-the-societal-disintegration-in/) [Charles C. Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-c-mann/) > [“The Maya collapsed because they overshot the carrying capacity of their environment. They exhausted their resource base, began to die of starvation and thirst,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-c-mann/the-maya-collapsed-because-they-overshot-the-carrying-capacity-of/) [Charles C. Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-c-mann/) > [Prediction is a mug's game, but taking the side of water polluters has not been a winning political strategy for 50 years. Presidents Reagan,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-c-mann/prediction-is-a-mug-s-game-but-taking-the-side-of-water-polluters-has/) [Charles C. Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-c-mann/) > [The queue of activists, interest groups, and ordinary people wringing their hands over what a President Donald Trump might do in office is long,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-c-mann/the-queue-of-activists-interest-groups-and-ordinary-people-wringing/) [Charles C. Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-c-mann/) > [“The varieties are not like islands, carefully apart,” Perales explained. “They are more like gentle hills in a landscape—you see them, they are clearly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-c-mann/the-varieties-are-not-like-islands-carefully-apart-perales-explained/) [Charles C. Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-c-mann/) > [“export of food from Ireland during the famine: 430,000 tons of grain in 1846 and 1847, the two worst years. “The Almighty indeed sent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-c-mann/export-of-food-from-ireland-during-the-famine-430-000-tons-of-grain/) [Charles C. Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-c-mann/) > [“all states can be parceled into four types: pluralist, in which the state is seen by its people as having moral legitimacy; populist, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-c-mann/all-states-can-be-parceled-into-four-types-pluralist-in-which-the/) [Charles C. Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-c-mann/) > [The way I think of it, economics and ecology occupy two intellectual silos, isolated from each other. Even when they do take each other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-c-mann/the-way-i-think-of-it-economics-and-ecology-occupy-two-intellectual/) [Charles C. Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-c-mann/) > [“Before Columbus, Holmberg believed, both the people and the land had no real history. Stated so baldly, this notion-that the indigenous peoples of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-c-mann/before-columbus-holmberg-believed-both-the-people-and-the-land-had-no/) [Charles C. Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-c-mann/) > [“More than a hundred sets of casta paintings are known. Many are beautifully crafted. Some were painted by mixed people themselves. Looking”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-c-mann/more-than-a-hundred-sets-of-casta-paintings-are-known-many-are/) [Charles C. Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-c-mann/) > [“Anything goes now, apparently,” Fiedel told me. “The lunatics have taken over the asylum.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-c-mann/anything-goes-now-apparently-fiedel-told-me-the-lunatics-have-taken/) [Charles C. Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-c-mann/) [Explore all 93 Charles C. Mann quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-c-mann/) ## More Agriculture quotes > [Advances in technology will continue to reach far into every sector of our economy. Future job and economic growth in industry, defense, transportation, agriculture,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-bond/advances-in-technology-will-continue-to-reach-far-into-every-sector/) [Christopher Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-bond/) > [To husband is to use with care, to keep, to save, to make last, to conserve. 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For the future, we need to look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-barber/conventional-agriculture-has-never-succeeded-in-feeding-the-world-and/) [Dan Barber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-barber/) > [I would say my fraternity was nothing but a bunch of farm boys; we weren't really in the whole fraternity scene, but yeah, that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-bryan/i-would-say-my-fraternity-was-nothing-but-a-bunch-of-farm-boys-we/) [Luke Bryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-bryan/) > [I grew up in Italy, and our country is a country of great agriculture and food produce. It wasn't like I was urban and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabella-rossellini/i-grew-up-in-italy-and-our-country-is-a-country-of-great-agriculture/) [Isabella Rossellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabella-rossellini/) > [Farmers, get out your sense of humor. Congress meets to relieve you again next week.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/farmers-get-out-your-sense-of-humor-congress-meets-to-relieve-you/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [Because Iran understands Afghanistan far better than Americans do, making Iran a partner in a long-term effort to transform Afghan agriculture makes sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-kinzer/because-iran-understands-afghanistan-far-better-than-americans-do/) [Stephen Kinzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-kinzer/) > [Sara Scherr and Jeff McNeely have given us a thoughtful, sensible book about a topic of great importance to the world. There is no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ismail-serageldin/sara-scherr-and-jeff-mcneely-have-given-us-a-thoughtful-sensible-book/) [Ismail Serageldin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ismail-serageldin/) > [People want development, modern thinking. They want to encourage and support research in agriculture and other fields.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharad-pawar/people-want-development-modern-thinking-they-want-to-encourage-and/) [Sharad Pawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharad-pawar/) > [Growing corn, which from a biological perspective had always been a process of capturing sunlight to turn into food, has in no small measure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/growing-corn-which-from-a-biological-perspective-had-always-been-a/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [When politicians talk of loan waiver, they are accepting that agriculture is not economically viable. They are giving a wrong signal that farming is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-s-swaminathan/when-politicians-talk-of-loan-waiver-they-are-accepting-that/) [M. S. Swaminathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-s-swaminathan/) > [Nitrogen-based fertilizers, which came into wide use after World War II, helped prompt the agricultural revolution that has allowed the Earth to feed its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tatiana-schlossberg/nitrogen-based-fertilizers-which-came-into-wide-use-after-world-war/) [Tatiana Schlossberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tatiana-schlossberg/) > [Agriculture is one economic activity that does not obey the laws of demand and supply.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/agriculture-is-one-economic-activity-that-does-not-obey-the-laws-of/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [More than a mere alternative strategy, regenerative agriculture represents a fundamental shift in our culture’s relationship to nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-eisenstein/more-than-a-mere-alternative-strategy-regenerative-agriculture/) [Charles Eisenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-eisenstein/) [Browse all 889 Agriculture quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agriculture/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Farmers can't plant much more land because almost every accessible acre of arable soil is already in use. 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