Wait, there's more! Nosing around Stanford's Agricultural School library (yes, Stanford has an Agriculture Department, but who knows how many students…), I found a book from the inventor of modern composting, Sir Albert Howard (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Howard). Howard believed that the Roman Empire fell because the slave-based latifundias produced wheat of inferior quality, so that the Roman citizenry literally lost their vitality. On reflection, there is not so much difference between late Roman slave-agriculture and modern Western industrial agriculture.
There’s a great book with a big chunk devoted to what the Romans did to their soil as they changed their agricultural approach— “Dirt: The erosion of civilization”
Tedder, this is an incredible comment! I'd not heard about Howard's theory before. You said it: the parallels between the late Roman Empire and our current time are uncanny. I'll have to do my research, but I'm keen work this theory into my next writing about slavery, debt, and the Fall of Rome. Thank you for this fascinating tidbit!
Wait, there's more! Nosing around Stanford's Agricultural School library (yes, Stanford has an Agriculture Department, but who knows how many students…), I found a book from the inventor of modern composting, Sir Albert Howard (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Howard). Howard believed that the Roman Empire fell because the slave-based latifundias produced wheat of inferior quality, so that the Roman citizenry literally lost their vitality. On reflection, there is not so much difference between late Roman slave-agriculture and modern Western industrial agriculture.
There’s a great book with a big chunk devoted to what the Romans did to their soil as they changed their agricultural approach— “Dirt: The erosion of civilization”
Outstanding! Thanks for this recommendation, Andrew
Tedder, this is an incredible comment! I'd not heard about Howard's theory before. You said it: the parallels between the late Roman Empire and our current time are uncanny. I'll have to do my research, but I'm keen work this theory into my next writing about slavery, debt, and the Fall of Rome. Thank you for this fascinating tidbit!