Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
Virtually all of these papers and the FAO’s figure of 14.5 percent are flawed because they employ a formula for equating the climate impact of methane emissions with that of carbon dioxide— through the unit known as “CO2 equivalent “— which is highly misleading.
We need the diversity that rare breeds represent. Today’s generation needs to understand how relevant traditional breeds are to modern food production.
The West African part of the action-research programme – Democratising Agricultural Research for Food Sovereignty – has made a conscious effort to include members of both advocacy and practitioner movements.
My overriding (and underlying) point is that Agriculture and Land Use (/abuse) are fundamental to everything else and they are not given a fraction of the attention they deserve
Our increasing disconnection from our rural origins represents an increasing disconnection from ourselves, compromising our ability to flourish. Perhaps it’s time to rethink our disconnect with food and bridge that great divide.
In my work, growing and saving seeds of rare and endangered cash crops, I was keen to gain an understanding of the challenges and realities for an expanding cohort of horticulturalists that were continuing a traditional, low-input sustainable model of cultivation and responding to an increasing demand for organically grown produce.
For as long as humans have engaged in agriculture, and even before, we’ve relied on healthy soil and the organisms it supports.
“Action on behalf of life transforms. Because the relationship between self and the world is reciprocal, it is not a question of first getting enlightened or saved and then acting. As we work to heal the earth, the earth heals us.”
The problem Vivien identified, of people not wanting to be who they are, is reflected throughout many cultures. Even in the UK, there is a disconnect between wider society and traditional farming practices.
Very few traditional farming systems have had a high share of fruits and vegetables unless you include starchy crops like plantains, potatoes, cassava or yams in your definition.
The good news is that despite the barriers mentioned earlier, conservation agriculture is catching on—it’s just happening more slowly, spreading from the ground up as farmers note that the local weirdo using these practices keeps getting better yields.
For people feeling that they have fallen from grace, who yearn to return to a time without fossil fuels, the idea of regenerative agriculture could hold real power.
