For transporting grafted plants in luggage (in order to get them through customs), this video explains the process of removing soil, bracing graft union, and so on.
Transporting plant material internationally
or YouTube: https://youtube.com/watch?v=cyn9gDx2seU
I remember reading a few years back that about half of the total world production of palm oil goes to "livestock" feed, but I cannot find the source now.
All systems of oppression must be dismantled, no matter how inconvenient or unpleasant that process may be.
This article was (from what I understood) mostly referring to old heirloom crops that are no longer widely grown because they've been superseded by newer commercial cultivars. I remember hearing that in the early 1900s, there were something like 53 potato cultivars available to buy in grocery stores in the USA, but by the end of the century, there were only 4. That probably applies to other crops as well. Another example of capitalism reducing biodiversity, I guess.
I think that the point of the article is that keeping a large seed collection in storage is a risk; if the freezer fails, all of those seeds are lost forever. Even if the seeds are preserved indefinitely, after a few centuries of climate change, they may not be able to survive in the same region where they were collected, whereas by growing them out generation after generation, they are allowed to adapt to changing conditions and maintain a different sort of viability.
It would seem that keeping some seeds preserved in cold storage while also growing some of the same lineage in as many locations as possible would be the most effective means of keeping the genetics alive.
Someone has to be the first.
The article is definitely lacking details about the Moche and Chimu cultures. The coast of Peru has a history of severe droughts and floods and landslides and earthquakes, yet these people had advanced irrigation systems and managed to live in such an environment for centuries. From what I understand, it's the communal management and temporary nature of the irrigation infrastructure that differs from modern methods, but the how of managing it and moving it over time is left out. If anyone knows more, perhaps they can comment here.
Water is good for washing. A radical idea. So radical, it just might work.
They probably only care about the personal health benefits rather than respecting other beings or their habitat.
Have you ever been a-wanderin'
out in the great outdoors
when suddenly you feel a little
movement in your drawers?
And from your life's experience,
you know that that ain't good.
'cause all you see around you
is just rocks and grass and wood?
And in your mind you're thinkin'
toilet paper'd be the best,
'cause the way this thing is feelin',
it could be a great big mess?
And all that you can think is
"What the hell am I gonna do?"
But fortunately nature
has a solution just for you!
Oh, the Toilet Paper Plant
is a magical thing!
When you wipe your butt with it,
it makes you wanna sing!
Probably the softest leaves
that you have ever seen!
And when you're done, your derriere
is so damn super clean!
Well I thank GOD, ALLAH,
and BABY JESUS too
for Toilet Paper Plants
when we really gotta poo!
'Cause when you're in an emergency,
and there's no water to be found,
you thank the lord up above
for Toilet Paper Plants around!
Oh, the Toilet Paper Plant
is a magical thing!
When you wipe your butt with it,
it makes you wanna sing!
Probably the softest leaves
that you have ever seen!
And when you're done, your derriere
is so damn super clean!
And if you think savin' your underwear
is all that it can do,
close your eyes and realise,
I got better news for you!
The Toilet Paper Plant
makes a tasty little fruit,
like tiny little blueberries
that give you a little toot!
And if you feel another one
comin' down the pipe,
congratulations for discoverin'
the greatest cycle of life!
'Cause the Toilet Paper Plant
is a magical thing!
When you wipe your butt with it,
it makes you wanna sing!
Probably the softest leaves
that you have ever seen!
And when you're done, your derriere
is SO
DAMN
SUUUU
PERRR
CLEEEEEEAN!
...That song is about Miconia crenata, but it's relevant to the spirit of the article if not the letter.
(FYI, planting Miconia crenata outside of its native range is generally considered a Really Bad Idea™. Find a native toilet paper plant for your area!)
Doesn't need to be a desert. Anywhere that has a dry season with lower humidity should work regardless of total annual precipitation.
As others have said, this article is not very accurate. Annual crops produce over a short window, so one would need to have successive crops lined up in order to keep the space productive. Growing something to get only one harvest is a very poor return on investment. If one wants to survive without depending on "the system" at all, then trying to do so outside of the equatorial zone is living life on hard mode.
Near the equator, one could survive on only bananas for a while, and that would take a small fraction of a hectare, probably about as much space as this article talks about, but realistically, eating only banana long-term is not feasible, and growing more variety requires more space. There is also the feast-or-famine issue if the gaps between harvests are too long. Preservation of the harvest is time-consuming and requires infrastructure that not everyone has (e.g. refrigeration). Living in a neighbourhood where everyone is growing food in order to survive would allow for trade, and so each individual/household would not need to diversify their food production as much, and someone's excess that they cannot preserve could fill someone else's harvest gap, reducing the total amount of land that each requires. Ideally, that's the way to do it, and some people are trying. Tree fruits make the most sense as staple foods, since they become self-maintaining after a few years (other than pruning to control size), and in a sufficiently diverse food forest ecosystem, the trees won't deplete the soil or invite plagues, so they don't require externally-produced fertilisers and -icides. With enough different species and a fairly non-seasonal climate, it's possible to grow enough fruit year-round, with some high-calorie staple(s) always in season.
But lettuce and lima beans? Good luck with that.