'Where Food Begins' is a *very important* story in the current NatGeo (September 2008).





Soil health, soil destruction, erosion, protection: an understanding of these processes is vital to the continued production of food.





This article is available on the Net at www.ngm.com together with several photos.





HOWEVER, I was stunned to read the entire article and the accompanying short on 'Dirt Poor--Haiti has lost its soil--and the means to feed itself' and then realize that the word 'compost' had not appeared once. Exclamation





There must be regions of the world too poor in resources to make compost, but where there are sufficient plants and other resources, there's no reason to leave compost out of the soil-building and -protecting processes.





I was very affected by the short on Haiti. All my adult life, I had believed that the widespread poverty and starvation in Haiti were due to governmental corruption.





Not so. Read the short article to discover the devastating details of Haiti's plight.








Table of Contents


September 2008


Our Good Earth


The future rests on soil. Can we protect it?





Features





Haiti Soil


Haiti has lost its soil and its means to feed itself.





Elephants of Samburu


An African love story.





Desperate Measure


The grim practice of culling elephants may resume.





Sailfish in the Whirl


Sails raised, colors gleaming, they round up prey.





Bolivia's Wrestlers


Women compete in petticoats, bowlers, and bling.





Lost Tribes of the Green Sahara


Uncovering a mysterious Stone Age graveyard.





Boy In Window


International Photo Contest


See last year's winners and submit photos for the 2008 contest.





Sea Lion Sleeping


Submit your photo, check out Your Shot jigsaw puzzles, and see reader photos published in National Geographic.





Visions of Earth


Each month, National Geographic features breathtaking photographs in Visions of Earth.





Editor's Note


Editor in Chief Chris Johns writes about elephants in Africa and their management.





Flashback


A man measures the amount of erosion in rural New Mexico.