Required fields are marked *. Gabe: I would have liked the movie to highlight the importance of grazing animals. And Norborgs paper rehashed papers by Briske and Holechek that looked at short duration rotational grazing systems rather than holistically planned grazing systems [HPG] known in the peer reviewed scientific literature as adaptive multi-paddock or AMP managed grazing systems. Before we get into a few major claims made inKiss the Groundthat are directly at odds with scientific knowledge, I want to preface this entry by saying that I wholeheartedly supportregenerative agricultureas a goal and think the documentary did a great job bringing light to the detrimental impact that intensive animal agriculture is having on our planet. It only takes a quick read of theDrawdown Reportto realize that this is absolutely unfounded its going to take an enormous amount of solutions to radically transform our energy and food systems to reverse climate change, and holistic grazing, while certainly better than intensive farming, is not the miracle carbon-sequestering practice that those watching are led to believe. For teachers, educators, schools, community organizers and home schoolersthanks to a generous grant from the Bia Echo Foundation and Triptyk, there is a free 45-minute-long Educational Version of the Kiss the Ground movie and also a free DVD with both the 85 minute long feature and the educational cut on one disk. Soil is the solution and we have numerous options and opportunities to actualize this solution as consumers, farmers, ranchers, and environmentalists by focusing on the integration of biological processes. I also thoroughly enjoyed Pauls episode onRich Rolls podcastwhere he speaks at length about Project Drawdown. IMPRESS, 16-18 New Brige Street, London, EC4V 6AG. Heres my critique of that paper: https://lachefnet.wordpress.com/2018/03/25/its-the-soil-biology-stupid/ This paper includes a number of these soil science papers. Ground News is unable to assign a bias rating and does not have ratings available from Ad Fontes Media, All Sides, and Media Bias/Fact Check. It's a tool. There is one hyperlink in error. However, given the notable absence of well qualified environmental scientists discussing evidence to support their ambitious claims, in favor of anecdotal experience from ranchers, just how much of the information in this documentary can we trust and reliably use to shape our food system and inform our food choices? With no plants to transpire and create the water vapour which condenses to rain, local rainfall also fails, turning the area to desert. Many of them are based on anecdotal evidence and experience. In turn, this means shifting to more plant-based diets. We are made of carbon (16%) and its the element that life is based upon! Yes, theres no doubt ruminant poop can help improve soil quality, butthere are many types of regenerative agriculture that do not involve animalsoranimal manureand others that act as sanctuaries using animals on their land without sending them to slaughter. by Sarah Read | May 18, 2022 | Eat, Eco-friendly eating, Sustainable living tips and advice, Think, Kiss the Ground is another in the line of eco-documentaries that Netflix is putting out there (albeit one of the first and most famous). As a side note, the documentary routinely employed uses numerous fear-mongering tactics to scare the viewer into grasping for whatever solution comes next. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. As prices go up, pending one spends the same budget they had previously set aside for meat, their consumption naturally falls. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience. This carbon is then absorbed by plants, which use it in their cells and leak into the soils in the form of sugars. So why did a documentary about regenerative agriculture and the power of growing plants not encourage people to grow their own food? To me, it undermines the articulate, informative explanations offered by the professionals with actual working farms and advanced degrees who are given the floor for much of the film. This sounds like something else that he would likely regret in the near future. Finally, the elephant / cow in the room (not sure which is more fitting) duringKiss the Ground is how are we going to produce enough meat using holistic grazing to meet current demands? This form of regenerative agriculture is by no means the silver bullet that its so often portrayed to be and is certainly not what theworlds leading climate scientistsare most excited by. So sadly neither does the author of this review. This is how the natural carbon cycle should work. Talking about the importance of beingbetter stewards of our land, and why we must do a better job at protecting our natural resources and ecosystems, is absolutely crucial if our species is to not just thrive on Planet Earth, but survive. I help with that too , Join my supportive community to move to eco-friendly eating and receive tips, advice, recipes and support. As the plants struggle to grow following the removal of organic material year on year, and in the absence of their supporting microbial populations, our farmers resort to chemical fertilisers. (Though theyre still good ideas.). Future of Food: Journal on Food, Agriculture & Society, 4(3), 8. Regenerate America is an unprecedented coalition of farmers, businesses, nonprofits, and individuals from every corner of our country and all political stripes, convened by the national soil health 501 (c)3 nonprofit organization, Kiss the Ground. Farmers need to make profits but we need to be transparent here and lay down all solutions on the table to have an open discussion. Focussing on this review was a clever move by Kiss the Ground Paul Hawken and the Project Drawdown are incredibly well respected. A revolutionary group of activists, scientists, farmers, and politicians band together in a global movement of "Regenerative Agriculture" that could balance our climate, replenish our vast water supplies, and feed the world. Ive listed these below in short, and then we will go through each together looking at the claims made and where the science lies: (These have also been covered in detail with Environmental Researcher Nicholas Carter (co-author of this article) in episode 104 and 111 on thePlant Proof podcast). And lets not forget, this is the same man who ordered40,000 African elephants to slaughterbecause he incorrectly thought they were damaging the land. Kiss the Ground. Cited as the worst man made environmental disaster in history, by the end of 1934 about 200 million acres of croplands had been permanently damaged. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Also, I must confess that I did not fully understand the implications of a film crew following me all over the country. 209 South Oak Ridge Drive Anecdote and expert opinion or theories are at the bottom of the evidence hierarchy, and its not until we see the findings from higher levels of science, reproduced on scale, that we can begin to have confidence in what we are observing. Gabe: That each and every person needs to step up and make a differencethat they can make a difference by purchasing from farmers and ranchers who practice regenerative ag. For me, its a plant-exclusive diet and for you it might be eating plant-based before dinner often the perfect place for people to start. Agricultural Systems, 162, 249-258. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2018.02.003, Teague, W. R., Apfelbaum, S., Lal, R., Kreuter, U. P., Rowntree, J., Davies, C. A., . If youve heard anything about Tom Bradys lifestyle, you know that its extreme. Use your local food waste recycling system, and if they dont have one, write to your local council to ask for a food waste collection system. Post war, these have been rebranded as farm chemicals. If we adopt regenerative farming practices, we can reverse carbon release into the atmosphere and stabilise the climate, and it wont take long! This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. I thought it would be just another news release or another interview. By The Lhos plateau in China is where settled agriculture first began. This positioning starts with the documentarys focus on theDrawdown Reportby Environmentalist Paul Hawken from Project Drawdown. Now all debates have two sides and Savory has been confronted with this information before. The movie stars Woody Harrelson, David Arquette, Gisele Bundchen, Jason Mraz (and others) and three newly minted stars you may know personally: Understanding Ags Ray Archuleta, Gabe Brown and Kris Nichols, Ph.D. Those of us who have been in the regenerative ag arena for some time, already know these three as soil health super-stars, but now a wider, world-wide audience will benefit from their experience, insight and wisdom, too. Unfortunately, these incredibly superior solutions are less sexy because they are not tying livestock, and more specifically the consumption of beef, to the solution. It would be great to see what was meant to be there! Ultimately, if high consuming individuals and countries want to do something positive for the climate, maintaining their current consumption levels but simply switching to grass-fed beef is not a solution. Today, our platform reaches millions through immersive media and education initiatives. So really, the idea of conservation and restoration, needed to be absolutely front and center ifKiss the Groundtruly wanted to educate the masses about how agriculture can help tackle climate change. Farmers, scientists, cows, and celebrities work together in this documentary to spread the good word about regenerative agriculture and its potential to mitigate climate change. Its predicted that, if we can scale up some of these farming methods over the next 30 years, we can REVERSE global warming. There are three main points I want to make about holistic grazing that are important for you to understand. Or this breakdown of the many myths he perpetuates inThe International Journal ofBiodiversity. Either way, shifting the typical diet in such a way is a certain win for humanity and all life on Earth, and thus something that not only should have been made clearer in Kiss the ground, but something that everyone reading should strongly consider. Many farms are barely making a profit and are heavily subsidised by tax payers, if they can be taught to grow food this way, they may see a rise in profits and governments can cease the massive subsidies and use these funds elsewhere! A Facebook video shows aerial footage of what appears to be large fissures or cracks in the Earth . BookstoreBook submissionsNewsNewsletter signupRecipesGardening, Our storyGet involvedJobs/FellowshipPartnersContact usPrivacy Shipping & return policy. If he is the only one that can achieve the carbon sequestration that he claims, I fail to see how thats a hopeful solution. The lazy author of this review makes the same mistaken claim. Until then, its going to be hard to truly transform our agricultural system to benefit all life on the planet. Nature Communications, 6, 6995. doi:10.1038/ncomms7995 http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ncomms7995, Wang, T., Teague, W., Park, S., & Bevers, S. (2015). It was better than most but could have hit that point harder. Regardless of the above claims being scientifically supported or not (well come to that) if one is to advocate for a shift to holistic grazing this will inevitably result in a dramatic reduction in global meat supply. Hopefully, this movie will help open many more. Did you know that we can save the world with soil? Monocropping further exacerbates the issue, as the same crop is grown year on year, for miles in the case of US farms, microbial diversity cannot increase. You can see all of thisherefor yourself. A major strategy deployed in the documentary is offering two distinct choices for where consumers should source their food: conventional chemical-filled monocrops, or lush open fields of regenerative agriculture. All chemical soils are almost devoid of microorganisms, so the plant roots cannot get the nutrients they need. Whilst maintaining a large veg bed to feed the whole family takes up a lot of space and requires time, there are many crops that require very little maintenance or space, and actually like growing in your flower beds amongst the flowers! I dont understand how they didnt emphasize that you still have to eat a plant rich diet if you want everyone in the world to eat pasture raised animals Theres only so much to land and hence animals you can raise. Its not the most interesting topic of conversation for most, so try just mentioning a one or two of the following points and see if that gets a conversation going. If the U.S shifted away from intensive livestock farming to traditional grazing, its been calculated that theavailable grasslands would only be able to produce 27 percent of the countries current beef supply. Our mission stands strong: to awaken people to the possibilities of regeneration and inspire participation in the regenerative movement. Scientists work hard to do science, yet despite thousand of papers produced by human nutrition scientists, the diet health of US occupants is at its worst level ever. Using livestock is thought to make this process 7 times faster! Theyre disconnected form the real world. Garnetts FCRN self published paper basically just repeated Norborgs paper verbatim. I am optimistic because the major issues we are currently facing economic stress, climate change, and food quality are all addressed by the same solution regenerating soil. There is extraordinary potential in the layers beneath our feet our Earths soil. Nature strives for balance, and has a system for reversing the carbon released into the atmosphere using the growth of plants and their relationship with soil microbes. Bare soils are at great risk of erosion by heavy rain, and its also been shown that bare soils vary in temperature much more, so the microclimate is changed. But the agreement is that all of the richest grasslands in the world have large grazing animals. 2021 Plant Based News is a UK-based digital media outlet publishing content about veganism and plant-based living, including news and current events, health, personal transformation stories, features, and recipes. Kiss the Groundgave the microphone to Ranchers Alan Savory and Gabe Brown, but we didnt hear about any legitimate science testing out whether the claims they were making truly hold up? For a climate change documentary its actually vey upbeat, because this is the way we can not only slow, but reverse global warming, sucking CO2 out of the air to stabilise our climate again. Unfortunately not as much as I had hoped. Often, our best solutions arent actually that innovative; they simply mimic natural processes and what the Earth already does. I enjoyed Woody Harrelson as a narrator; he felt genuine. With this in mind, I feel obliged to point out the uncomfortable contrast between the two main types of interviewees in the film. In fact, if we look at the solutions outlined in theDrawdown Reportand their potential to draw down carbon from our atmosphere, shifting to a diet that favours calories from plants is twice as powerful compared to shifting to silvopasture and four times as powerful compared as shifting to managed grazing two forms of regenerative agriculture that involve livestock. If you have found your way to this article, I can only assume that we have something in common: both of us want to see a better world where humans and all life on earth is thriving. This means that compared to factory farms, or traditional grazing where cows are overgrazing and destroying the soil, a regenerative farm using holistic grazing would require a lot more land for any given number of roaming cows. The next thing I want to address, and perhaps the most important take-home message here, is the science underpinning holistic grazing is flaky at best. The documentary is well-produced and in the eyes of a layperson an extremely compelling case for changing the way we grow food. forests are typically far better at doing this than grasslands, when you factor in the land that would be freed up if the entire world shifted to a plant-rich diet, there are many types of regenerative agriculture that do not involve animals, available grasslands would only be able to produce 27 percent of the countries current beef supply. They agreed and heres what they told me, How and why did you become involved the movie, Kiss the Ground?. Kiss the Ground is a full-length documentary narrated by Woody Harrelson that sheds light on an "new, old approach" to farming called " regenerative agriculture " that has the potential to balance our climate, replenish our vast water supplies, and feed the world. Stardom is a complicated thing, but at least all that money and power are being put to good use. If we restore all the degraded land, we can return the earth to paradise, making room for biodiversity and feeding the worlds population (with lowered animal protein consumption).
Jerome Carter Obituary,
Dallas Mavericks Public Relations Department,
Articles K