Fertilizer, the most important invention in history?

I promise to be back with a detailed update of my seed starting for the spring, for now I want to share a great article for those of us who like to think about where our food comes from.  Jonathan Mingle in Slate writes about the birth of synthetic fertilizer 100 years ago.  The biggest take away from the article is just what a world changing development the invention of artificially produced nitrogen was.  Artificial nitrogen is something most of us do not learn about in school, but half the world's population owe their lives to.  You should read the article for yourself, but one of the mind bending facts raised is that half the nitrogen in our body has been synthetically fixed.  Once this nitrogen has entered the environment it does not simply leave.  There is truly no way to 'organic' your way out of this.  While we as gardeners need to be judicial with the use of all fertilizers organic and otherwise, it is wise to keep the big picture in mind when selecting what is right for us to have enjoyable and bountiful gardens.