All of this means that it should come as no surprise when Prince Charles faces attacks for his less-than-sustainable lifestyle. He’s an avid fox hunter who lives in a 40,000 square foot home, and that’s when he isn’t visiting any of his several other lavish residences. He also might not do himself favors when he makes statements like, “I happily talk to the plants and trees and listen to them.” Some may laugh, but the prince calls this form of communication “absolutely crucial.”
     His critics can kill the messenger all they want and often have whenever he has spoken out on these issues, whether the audience has been his subjects and the world at large or a thicket of Scots Pine. The inconvenient truth here, however, is that ignoring the prince’s message could mean ignoring Mother Nature’s message as well.
     For those seeking to understand the problems and their potential solutions, removed from the clamor of partisan debates, the evidence paints a rather clear picture. As the prince relates, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization forecasts that demand for food will rise by 70% before 2050. On the other hand, a 2008 UN report provided evidence of the high productivity of small-scale, ecologically sensitive farming methods. Add to that food insecurity linked to droughts last year in Somalia and most recently in Africa’s western Sahel. Further still, factor in promising response efforts by NGOs like the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa that in contrast to India’s Green Revolution methods from decades ago, have taught smallholder farmers to use small amounts of fertilizer to increase crop yields while sustaining and not degrading the land. What we have is a multi-pronged crisis but, importantly, one for which solutions are broadly known.