ABSTRACT
The reproduction of species, in particular the human species, has always been anchored in the consumption of natural resources (water, minerals, plants, etc.). Over the last two centuries, as a result of the change that the industrial revolution made to civilization, the form in which we use and appropriate natural resources has drastically altered, and the speed of consumption has grown tremendously. Some countries produce (and export) goods derived directly from the exploitation of their natural resources while other countries are consumers, although most can play both roles. Brazil is a major producer and exporter of food and agricultural and mineral commodities. This paper explores the role of this geobiodiversity giant and presents a technological path to make more efficient forms of how we use and exploit natural resources. It does so by drawing upon information from institutional sources and data from stonemeal research developed in Brazil and throughout the world. Stonemeal technology can unite the mineral and agricultural sectors since it uses crushed rocks – that are soil remineralizers – to help fertilize leached or degraded soils, also acting as a mechanism to capture atmospheric CO2, a highly useful source of help in the search for reaching UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. This could improve and cheapen the costs of agricultural and forest production and reduce climate change processes.
