I had in mind a message, although I hope it doesn't intrude too badly, persuading Americans, and especially Southerners, of the critical importance of land and our vanishing natural environment and wildlife.

If everyone agreed to become vegetarian, leaving little or nothing for livestock, the present 1.4 billion hectares of arable land (3.5 billion acres) would support about 10 billion people,

In many environments, take away the ants and there would be partial collapses in many of the land ecosystems.

So important are insects and other land-dwelling arthropods that if all were to disappear, humanity probably could not last more than a few months.