(Though theyre still good ideas.). Many of them are based on anecdotal evidence and experience. A Feb. 27, 2023, video of U.S. President Joe Biden purportedly shows him announcing a new national draft, in which 20-year-olds would be conscripted into military service on account of a growing . Remember that the decision to depopulate the elephants when Savory was with the game department was a result of the current science among wildlife researchers. The basic premise of Kiss the Ground is that the destruction of soil is contributing to the severity and intensity of climate change. In other words, his claims cannot be supported by data, replicated by others and he doesnt believe in science. I am alive!. Our mission stands strong: to awaken people to the possibilities of regeneration and inspire participation in the regenerative movement. I dont know a single holistic management practitioner that advocates cutting down forests to grow more cattle. Suppose you don't have enough time to read, then watch the KISS the GROUND MOVIE (streaming on Netflix) hosted by Woody Harrelson and directed by Joshua Tickell and Rebecca Harrell Tickell. This isnt the only literature review that has found a lack of science to support Savorys claims about holistic grazing with another detailedreviewof the literature out of Sweden by Maria Nordborg, coming to the same conclusion. There is one hyperlink in error. Kris Nichols is such a key person in this film because her discoveries have allowed for this movement to be built on cutting edge science that changes how we think about soil and landscape function., Since its not every day I get a chance to interview real-live movie stars, I shamelessly asked Gabe, Kris and Ray if they would answer some of my Inside Hollywood questions about their movie-making experiences and what impact they believe the new movie may have on the regenerative ag movement moving forward. 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. The film uses creative graphics and visuals, along with striking NASA and NOAA footage, and illustrates how, by drawing down atmospheric carbon many of humankinds most pressing climate and environmental problems can be solved. Tilling and chemical agricultural methods have disrupted this cycle and increased the rate of carbon release. Their mob grazing action and the impact of their hooves is important. The bonus being that plant-rich dietary patterns just so happen to also be whatmajor health institutionsand progressive Government departments likeHealth Canadaare advocating for to tackle rising rates of obesity and chronic disease, and improve quality of life. One of the first characters introduced in Kiss the Ground is Ray Archuleta, a conservation agronomist. I was interested in clicking through at there are many types of regenerative agriculture that do not involve animals for more information, but that currently just links back to this article. Farming like nature has also been shown to reduce inputs (costs) and improve yields. And lets not forget, this is the same man who ordered40,000 African elephants to slaughterbecause he incorrectly thought they were damaging the land. Jemima is the Head of Editorial of Plant Based News. They also failed to make it clear why ruminants were required. The movie has an optimistic tone, do you share that optimism? A major criticism is that there is a lack of science to back up claims. If we adopt regenerative farming practices, we can reverse carbon release into the atmosphere and stabilise the climate, and it wont take long! I graduated from Vanderbilt University with degrees in Political Science, Economics and Spanish, and I currently study law in Texas. Its the same reason we dont call doctors healers anymoretheir body of knowledge has been formalized, their work recognized and legitimized as a profession, and their value become obvious. These will be using less chemicals and therefore come from healthier soils than normal veg; hugely better for soil biodiversity, natural biodiversity and your health. Weaker soils need more chemicals. With topsoils disappearing and temperatures rising, about 2/3 of the world is desertifying. Josh Tickell, the director of the movie, was associated with Kiss the Ground and was making a film on organic farming when I met him. Its sad, really, seeing gray, dead soil devoid of life. Check out her story here or take a look at HOW she can help you on the Services page. However, I was slightly apprehensive that the documentary may be too focused on California and Hollywood and not be relevant to farmers and ranchers across the U.S. and the globe. Personally, I thought this was one of the better Netflix documentaries, mainly because, whilst theres a lot of negatives about where the world is heading, the overall message is one of hope. Its predicted that, if we can scale up some of these farming methods over the next 30 years, we can REVERSE global warming. Kiss the Ground brings together a diverse coalition of scientists, farmers, and advocates to share this story, showcase the benefits of adopting regenerative agriculture, and build a movement aimed at renewing the planet's ecosystems. Plowing the earth, preparing fields for planting, exposing bare soil. Our independent team of journalists kiss the ground fact checking Humans have created such a massive disturbance in our topsoil and atmosphere that the only way out is forward. Links to some of the recent research supporting HM, Teague, W. R. (2018). So ifKiss the Groundhad taken a more evidence-based approach and included dietary recommendations what would it have looked like? Kiss the Ground features successful composting programs in San Francisco, Detroit, and Haiti. Will you join us? I asked Finian Makepeace, the co-founder of the Kiss the Ground organization, to tell me more about how he and the films producers and directors selected our trio of regenerative experts to appear in the movie. After all, this method of grazing, which Gabe Brown and Alan Savory speak about at length, is being positioned in the documentary as the solution we have all been waiting for to reverse climate change. Future of Food: Journal on Food, Agriculture & Society, 4(3), 8. That sounds catastrophic. Given soil grows 95 per cent of our food, and sustains human life, this is a huge problem. Tilling loosens the soil, disturbing microorganisms that live within it, drying it out so. At Novel Hand, Im specifically interested in learning about topics related to justice and poverty, and how to create equitable, sustainable impact. BOOM found that the viral video has been cropped from a longer conversation during a press conference where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy mentioned a hypothetical scenario of Ukraine losing the war and Russia invading other NATO countries including the Baltic states in Eastern Europe which would force the US to get involved and send troops. Yes, whats on our plate is even more important than where its come from or buying local. Xu, S. (2016). But what good is hope if its false? The NFL quarterback goes to bed earlier than any college student has ever dreamed of, and his diet is impeccably healthy. Work your way down the list until you find the things that youre willing to do. Ultimately, a covered planet is a healthy planet Earth needs to be covered in plants. I promise not to sell your information, and if you don't like what I send, you can easily unsubscribe at any point. And of course, havinginterviewedthe co-founders ofKiss the Ground, Ryland Engelhart and Finian Makepeace, in early 2020, I was particularly excited to watch theKiss the Grounddocumentary(and I recommend you watch it too if you havent already). Its clear to see that levels of CO2 in the atmosphere above the main agricultural areas increase significantly in the main tilling/ploughing months, and then as plant cover increases in the fields, it drops! In fact, it was the single most important thing that lead Savory to question the science regarding overgrazing. 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. 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. Theyre disconnected form the real world. Ganretts white paper doesnt even mention soil microbiology. Hosted by Robbie Lockie, Plant Based News delivers pioneering vegan news and ethical views weekly. are needed to help heal the earth. One of my favorite elements of the documentary is the perspective that Earth has always been managing and sequestering carbon we just need to mimic that. And as the documentary states, shifting us from climate warming to climate cooling. Although I would have liked more with real life farmers and ranchers, it is hard to put together a documentary that will appeal across the spectrum from rural to urban communities, young and old, and everyday people to activists. We can all make some simple changes for massive benefits to our health and footprint. But the agreement is that all of the richest grasslands in the world have large grazing animals. We need to talk about agriculture in a way thats meaningful to people with boots on the ground and enumerate specific steps that lead to material change. We need to act. I approached this film with professional interest, not just as a News Fellow with Stone Pier Press, but as someone trained in biology at college, regenerative farming at the Rodale Institute (three of the films agricultural experts work/ed here), and food systems at graduate school. The long term prognosis for our survival with business as usual is very, very poor , Topsoils are disappearing and the land is desertifying, Regenerative farming principles explained, Examples of regenerative farming restoring land. Hopefully enough of them will see this movie and find enough alternatives to be able to make some real change. 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. "All farmable soil could be gone in 60 years. I was also pleased the documentary shone a light on food waste and composting these are two things that many of us can introduce into our daily lives with minimal barriers to entry. care as a social process). Use this compost for your beds rather than buying in compost or fertilisers. Its within this context, that it becomes so vividly apparent, that in this conversation we are not just talking about planetary health, but at its core, human health. It is possible that this is coincidence, but the correlation is striking! By partnering with Kiss the Ground, youre making a difference in the world and demonstrating that you are committed to supporting a regenerative future. Required fields are marked *. Two-thirds of the worlds land is currently desertifying leading to millions of climate refugees and further environmental destruction. Anyway, I can go on and on doing a review of the shortcoming of this review, but the author is obviously more interested in justifying the supposed superiority of his food religion than he is in actual peer reviewed range, soil or atmospheric science by people who actually understand agricultural systems. Juries have now even started to pay out to people who have developed cancer after using glyphosate!! have no problems. The animal point here is controversial I know. Farm work is unglamorous, underappreciated, and not very well-paid for the most part, but it just so happens to be crucial to the survival of our species. Filmmakers Josh Tickell and Rebecca Tickell wound up spending seven years making their latest doc, "Kiss the Ground," and all along the way they worried that by the end of the process there . The movie doesn't just dive into the microbiology of soil and soil carbon interactions, it also covers the four main principles of soil health: increasing diversity, minimizing soil disturbance, keeping above ground covered and below ground active at all times, and animal integration. There seems to be an incredibly fine line between grazing just enough and overgrazing, which speaks to potentially whycrediblepeer-reviewed science has to date, failed to produce results that come close to what Alan Savory claims. . In turn, this means shifting to more plant-based diets. Heres below are just a handful of recent PEER REVIEWED papers supporting HPG. There is too much in the air now and too little in the earth (released by tilling and soil degradation and burning fossil fuels and plants/trees) causing global temperatures to rise. 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. Nicholas Carter and Simon Hill (MSc Nutr). 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. Impactfull April 2022, What Does Voluntourism Look Like? Scientists and researchers in the documentary back them up. In the 1930s the Dust Bowl was created. Its filled with intelligent people who refuse to shy away from the impending climate cataclysm and have instead dedicated themselves to the daily work of facing itas farmers, educators, scientists, and yes, even as politicians. The Lhos plateau in China, an area larger than Belgium, had become a dusty wasteland after over farming. Using perennials and trees as protection for the soils. Specifically, regenerative agriculture is a holistic land management practice that . In COP21 in Paris, 2015. Above all, its great to see this conversation growing from what has very much been a fringe movement to now entering the mainstream. Take the Inflammation quiz - what's your level? The elephant in the room during the documentary is that they completely failed to mention that a significant amount of the land dedicated to animal agriculture across the world (not all but certainly a lot) needs to be restored to forests (the number one driver of deforestation is animal agriculture) to get anywhere close to meeting our climate goals. Commercial meat farming has one of the highest negative impacts. Using livestock is thought to make this process 7 times faster! It's a tool. By 2050, it is estimated that 1bn people will be refugees of soil desertification. One thing with ruminant livestock is that when they are use as solar powered mobile composters in brittle environments, their manure, urine and saliva act as inoculates that increase soil microbiology. 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. This is actually seen using satellites which monitor the CO2 levels. Proof that this works if given the chance. Why not let the viewer know what theworlds leading climate scientists have to say about diet? My greatest hope is for me to continue to do this and any chances I have to do so, I will take. 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. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. 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. 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. Everything in natural systems is a cycle and aimed at maintaining balance. One of the . I thought it was odd that this was left out. Tying the message of Kiss the Ground to voting for policymakers who will systemically change the way the country incentivizes regenerative agriculture and reversing climate change would have been an obvious and easy leap to make.
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