Tag: sustainability
Primal Living is energy-efficient living
The increase in the cost of living and, in particular, the cost of energy and food is terrifying and sad – especially for the vulnerable.
Regenerative Agriculture – the answer(s)
By Fieke van Halder
In my role supporting Caroline with Marketing and Education, I spend many hours doing research for Root of Nature courses, Wilderculture training days, Primal Web articles and Primal Meats blogs. At the end of most of those research days, I have gathered more depressing figures on the terrible situation our planet is in and what we have done to it over the last decades.
I know it’s not just me, there is a rising awareness about the harm industrial agriculture is doing to the planet, the damage it is doing to our animals’ health and our health. The facts and figures I read around the sixth mass extinction we are currently in, loss of biodiversity, deforestation and desertification make me feel utterly desperate.
What keeps me going is that I truly believe I am supporting an answer to the crises. I believe our food systems are crippled and we need to implement a solution fast.
Regenerative agriculture is becoming more mainstream, the hordes visiting @groundswell_agriculture are a great example of that. However, with it rises the skepticism and questions. In this article we will try to explain the basics of Regenerative Agriculture, the routes that can take you there and the practices that come with it.
Regenenerative Agriculture, what?
Regenerative Agriculture (Regen Ag for short) is a growing movement under both big companies (Arla, McDonalds) and smaller farms (James Rebanks, Nikki Yoxall, Wilder Gowbarrow, FAI to just name a few).
The citizen awareness is growing as well, powered by the current climate crisis. Never before have so many of us tried to make a difference with our diet choices, may it be vegan, vegetarian, foraging or eating regenerative. Most of us choose our diets because of the same principles. We want to work on restoring our climate, preserving nature and its biodiversity and improving our health. Sadly, not all diet choices seem to have the desired effect.
Let’s explore what Regen Ag is and if it could give us the desired answers from our chosen diets.
Regenerative Agriculture has only been around since the late 1980’s. In 1983, Robert Rodale of the Rodale Institute began using the term, and led the creation of the “Regenerative Agriculture Association” sometime in the 1980s. After Robert Rodale’s unexpected death in 1990, the Rodale Institute dropped the term, focusing on promoting Organic Agriculture for more than 20 years. A couple of companies including Terra Genesis started using “Regenerative Agriculture” between 2009–2013, the Rodale Institute reclaimed the term (2014) in a modified usage that they continue today: “Regenerative Organic”. (1, 2)
For a fairly ‘new’ approach, there is a lot to still figure out. Even though many of the processes and practices of regenerative agriculture have been used for many centuries.
There are many definitions;
‘Regenerative agriculture is a system of farming principles and practices that increases biodiversity, enriches soils, improves watersheds, and enhances ecosystem services.
By capturing carbon in soil and biomass, regenerative agriculture aims to reverse current trends of atmospheric accumulation. At the same time, it offers increased yields, resilience to climate instability, and higher health and vitality for farming communities.’
–Terra Genesis
‘Regenerative Agriculture describes farming and grazing practices that, among other benefits, reverse climate change by rebuilding soil organic matter and restoring degraded soil biodiversity – resulting in both carbon drawdown and improving the water cycle’
– Regeneration International
‘Regenerative agriculture describes holistic land management practices that leverage the power of photosynthesis in plants to close the carbon cycle and build soil health, which in turn leads to improved ecosystem health, crop resiliency, and nutrient density, among other benefits’
– Kiss the Ground
Regenerative Agriculture is a way of farming that works on improving our soil health, animal health and human health. With the fantastic side effect of sequestering more carbon into the soil by improving the photosynthesis of the meadows. The livestock in this process are actually the tool that make this whole operation work.
Regen Ag, compared to other practices, is the only approach that has looked at the root cause of our current wicked problems. Problem solving, you may already know, is often done by not defining the root cause. We humans like to use a ‘quick fix’ instead of working a little bit harder to make sure problems don’t repeat themselves or even get worse. Pandemic? Sell a vaccine instead of working on your nation’s health. Climate crisis? Blame the cow farts and promote processed vegan junk food, instead of repairing your food systems. Health issues? Promote medication, instead of a healthy lifestyle, movement and healthy food.
I recently moved back to the Netherlands where currently our farmers are on strike (and have been striking on and off since 2019) because of new Nitrogen laws put into place by our government. A law (max use of 170kg Nitrogen per acre per year) (4) designed with, I’m sure, the right intentions but certainly not the desired effect. As the second largest export nation of agricultural goods, these laws will mean many farmers will have to shut their family businesses because they can’t afford to abide by the new legislation put into place. Vandana Shiva can put it into words much better than I can;
In modern society, we are very comfortable operating within a mechanistic (3) paradigm but often need to work on our capacity to work with the complexity of nature – this is at the heart of why we have destroyed the very ecosystems that sustain our lives.
One of the most exciting outcomes of regenerative agriculture is that it restores the very ecological functions that cooled our climate millions of years ago and created the conditions that allowed humans to emerge. We can leverage these ecological principles and processes once again to achieve carbon net-zero and beyond.
Depending on how you have ‘arrived’ at regenerative agriculture will influence how you describe it. Any definition of regenerative agriculture must evolve over time, like the whole living systems that we aim to regenerate.
Routes to Regen Ag
There are multiple ways you may discover and farmers may adopt regenerative agriculture, and the possible routes will expand as more training offerings are developed.
Below, Ethan Soloviev, a leader in the regenerative agriculture movement, describes the five most common ‘lineages’;
- Rodale Organic: The focus is soil. “Regeneration” is a combination of 40-year-tested conservation farming practices — cover cropping, crop rotation, compost, low- or no-till.
- Permaculture/Regrarians: A strong focus on small-scale design and unproven beliefs about reversing climate change, this lineage of Regenerative Agriculture tends towards ideals from the human potential movement, focusing on how to create “thriving” and “abundance” for all.
- Holistic Management: Promoted by both the Savory Institute and Holistic Management International, focusing on a comprehensive decision-making framework designed for animal-centric ecosystem regeneration.
- Regenerative Paradigm; Guided by the Carol Sanford Institute, a small but effective community of praxis including Regenesis, Terra Genesis International, Regen Network and others has applied the paradigm to Business, Design, Planning, Education, and Agriculture.
- Soil profits/no-till/NRCS: Typified and led by Ray Archuleta, Gabe Brown, and others, this lineage draws practices and inspiration from other Lineages but appeals strongly to conventional farmers by eschewing the dogmas of organic agriculture and focusing on bottom line profits through increased soil health.
Knowing from what ‘lineage’ an organisation is communicating helps to understand their language and possibly even further develop their work.
Features of Regen Ag
Soloviev describes; ‘More and more organizations, individuals, and businesses will start to claim that what they are doing is “regenerative” without changing how they are thinking or even what they are doing.’ What is fundamental to Regenerative Agriculture is that it requires a different way of thinking, a mind shift if you will. Which is exactly why a certification is not the answer for Regen Ag. As soon as we start using certifications, we risk turning Regen Ag into a box ticking exercise and miss out on understanding the root cause of the change that is needed for each individual farm.
You can be fluent in the practices and science behind regenerative agriculture. Still, until you change the way you think and adopt a wider, more holistic perspective when making decisions, then you will never be able to manage in a truly regenerative way long into the future.
Instead, we define the following 4 features;
- Principles not practises:
Regenerative agriculture is based on ecological principles.
Practitioners learn ecological principles. With support, each farmer must take these principles and work out what tools and practices are appropriate for their unique context.
Some farmers may come into the movement from an interest in soil health or grassland productivity practices and follow a prescriptive plan. This may yield some regenerative outcomes, but if the principles and thinking behind the practices are not fully understood, results can be frustrating and limited. - Holistic paradigm:
To fully understand and adopt regenerative agriculture, you must see the world as a living system of which you are part.
In regenerative agriculture, decisions are made ‘holistically’ considering the social, ecological and economic impact of the choice, both short and long term. - Outcomes not standards:
The only way to measure success in regenerative agriculture is to measure the outcomes. You don’t know if your practices are regenerative until you can see they have improved the ecosystem processes.
Ethan Soloviev (mentioned above) proposes; ‘that there is no such thing as a “Regenerative Agriculture Practice” — only systemic outcomes can confirm that regeneration is taking place.
Savory’s ‘Ecological Outcome Verification’ is a great way to prove that a product has been grown from a farm that is regenerating its ecosystems. It measures the improvements in ecosystem processes which allows management to be unique and ever-changing within each farm context. - Unique to its place and people:
Because regenerative agriculture is based on principles practised by individuals and communities in their unique environmental and cultural context, it will look completely different from place to place.
Regenerative agriculture should emerge from learning the principles and trying different practices to see which get the best regenerative outcomes for your unique situation. The farmers’ approach will evolve and adapt to their family’s changing needs over the generations and changes in climate and economic pressures, etc.
Just as an ecosystem has niches, regenerative agriculture will have advisors, trainers and coaches who occupy their niche within the ecosystem, each bringing a different perspective and range of expertise.
Conclusion
There is great potential in Regenerative Agriculture, and we are not anywhere close to achieving it. I think streamlining the definition, principles and practises of Regen Ag could help clarify the movement. What we can do in the meantime is work on educating folk on the need for change and the tools at our disposal.
Still unclear? Listen to this excellent podcast by FarmGate:
https://podbay.fm/p/farm-gate/e/1615828071
References;
- Regenerative Agriculture Industry Map | by Ethan Soloviev | Medium
- Lineages of Regenerative Agriculture (Short Version) | by Ethan Soloviev | Medium
- https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/mechanistic
- Frontiers | What Is Regenerative Agriculture? A Review of Scholar and Practitioner Definitions Based on Processes and Outcomes (frontiersin.org)
- Veranderingen mestbeleid 2022 (rvo.nl)
Antibiotics – What have they done for our health?
By Teri Clayton
Penicillin was discovered in 1929 and developed commercially following World War II. Interestingly Alexander Fleming – who discovered and named penicillin, warned in a New York Times interview in 1945 that improper use of penicillin would lead to the development of resistant bacteria. Fleming had noticed as early as 1929, that many bacteria were already resistant to penicillin, well before it was even developed commercially.
Since the mass adoption of antibiotics, we have contaminated the entire globe with huge quantities of these synthetic anti-biological compounds. According to physician and researcher Stuart Levy, these antibiotics are not easily biodegradable;
‘They can remain intact in the environment unless they are destroyed by high temperatures, or other physical damage such as ultraviolet light from the sun. As active antibiotics they continue to kill off susceptible bacteria with which they have contact’ (1).
Stuart Levy
The environmental contamination with antibiotics comes from all areas of civilisation – from factory waste, sewerage, intensive factory farming and household waste, as well as contamination through pet droppings, to mention but a few.
Levy explains that this environmental contamination has stimulated unparalleled evolutionary changes.
Evolutionary processes are always powerfully initiated when living organisms are put under survival pressure. Using antibiotics in such a widespread way, has put huge selective pressure on bacteria (and all life) throughout the globe.
The penicillin based antibiotics target and kill bacteria through interfering with their cell wall production. This selective killing of bacteria with a cell wall, inevitably favours the growth of an imbalanced number of bacteria that:
- do not have a cell wall, (such as mycoplasma bacteria)
- have evolved to become penicillin resistant
On top of this imbalance we need also to take into account the disruption in the delicate balance between bacteria, yeast, fungi and viruses that results from antibiotic use.
This is not good news for people, ecosystems, or the health of the planet overall.
An obvious area where the imbalancing effects of antibiotics are beginning to show is in human health. For example it is highly likely, (perhaps inevitable), that the widespread use of antibiotics, particularly in humans, livestock and dairy animals, has led to higher levels of Mycoplasma organisms such as Mycobacterium avium paratuberculosis (MAP) and a rise in the infections caused by such organisms. MAP is now thought to be a causative agent in the development of Crohn’s disease and can be found even in pasteurised milk, (2). Mycobacterium pneumoniae is now a common pathogen leading to walking pneumonia, causing respiratory symptoms ranging from mild to severe,(3). One has to stop and ask if our overuse of antibiotics has led to an explosion in respiratory infections caused by mycoplasmas and if they may have played some secondary role in varying levels of disease severity during the recent pandemic.
Research suggests that bacteria that have a cell wall have retained the capacity to return to an earlier point in their evolution, where they did not produce a cell wall, as a back up plan for if their ability to produce a cell wall is compromised.
‘….. bacteria can live without a cell wall may have been retained by modern cells as a back-up process for use when cell wall synthesis is compromised’ (4)
When we begin to step back and take a look at the bigger picture of how our use of pharmaceuticals in health and agriculture has altered the course of evolution – it gets even more worrying. We are now beginning to recognise that the seemingly unrelated use of glyphosate may accelerate the development of antibiotic resistance in some disease causing pathogens such as certain strains of E.coli, Salmonella sp and others (5).
‘Some glyphosate-resistant E. coli and Pseudomonas strains contain a gene coding for an ABC transporter that enhances the efflux of glyphosate from the cell. Such resistance mechanisms may have led to the cross-resistance against antibiotics observed for E. coli, Salmonella sp. and other environmental bacteria.’ (5)
It is clear that mass antibiotic use cannot help but have an effect on ecosystem health and the way microbes evolve. What is not so clear is how this story progresses, if we continue to follow the reductionist approach of targeting symptoms of disease, instead of addressing root causes.
With such a careless attitude to the use of antibiotics, weedkillers and other anti-biological chemicals in our environment, shared by the majority of civilised society – we urgently need to re-educate one another if we are to stop causing further damage. As we reach the end of the road for chemical warfare, it appears we are now transitioning into an even more devastating approach of genetic alteration of microbes and technological augmentation of natural systems. This would deal a devastating blow for human health, taking us even further from addressing the root cause – imbalance – of all modern disease.
The solution has always been and will always be – facilitating greater balance and as prompt a return as possible to homeostasis. This can only result from as much diversity of organisms as possible, evolving together to achieve an overall state of balance. This is why the planet needs regeneration so urgently. The regeneration of the planet necessarily involves the regeneration of human health and this is utterly reliant on the health of the environments in which us humans live.
Ultimately we will discover that human health is rooted in the health of the soil beneath our feet and until we all play our part in its restoration, we will suffer the painful consequences of the imbalances we keep creating.
References;
- Stuart Levy, The Antibiotic Paradox (NY:Plenum Press, 1992), 94
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4894645/
- https://www.cdc.gov/pneumonia/atypical/mycoplasma/index.html
- https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.07.13.20120428v1.full
- https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2021.763917/full
Responsible Foraging
By Fieke van Halder
At Primal Meats we support ancestral diets because we believe our modern westernised diets and lifestyle have led to the rise in chronic, metabolic diseases.
Last month, we started promoting foraging as part of our ancestral lifestyle, since eating nutrient-dense meat and consuming seasonal wild foraged foods are part of the foundation of ancestral health.
However, since the start of our ‘foraging’ campaign, we have also received concerns about the countryside being stripped by foragers and the damage this does to our natural habitat. We feel the need to address this further..
‘The expansion of commercial harvesting in many parts of the world has led to widespread concern about overharvesting and possible damage to (fungal) resources.’ (1)
Science Direct
Foraging Concerns
‘Like most environmental issues with food production, the problems start to arise when done on a large/industrial scale.’ (2)
By stripping too much from land or sea we are not only taking valuable food from animals, plants and fungi, but we are also leaving gaps for invasive species to invade and destroying nature’s delicate biome.
In doing so we are at risk of creating monocultural landscapes (exactly like industrial agriculture), which is what we are striving to get away from.
There is no point in pointing fingers, so like all things we do, we have to tackle this issue in a holistic sense, take responsibility and think of a holistic solution.
Most foragers we know are switched-on people with a deep love and understanding of nature. And like many of you, we aim to live regeneratively, eat nutrient-dense foods, with the seasons. But looking at the facts, we know food grown in industrial agriculture is just not providing us with what we need.
“Compared to 1940, a carrot today contains 75% less magnesium.”
“1985 – 2002: Broccoli contains 80% less calcium, 62% less folic acid and 60% less magnesium.”
It has been proven that wild foods contain more nutrients, antioxidants and healing properties than foods coming from commercial agriculture. Research (6) indicates that wild fruits and vegetables are nutritionally rich and high in phytochemicals, especially antioxidants and therefore can possibly play a significant and positive role in delivering a healthy and balanced diet. Mostly because they have never been treated with herbicides or pesticides (nor has the soil) and are allowed to fully ripen before being harvested, wild foods keep their natural powers and stay nutrient-dense.
So how do we provide ourselves with these nutrient dense foods with minimal disturbance to our sacred natural spaces? Or even better, how do we eat nutrient dense food with a positive effect on our planet? We don’t want to focus on just eating sustainably, we want to eat regeneratively and create a culture of people who think holistically about their food and lifestyle choices.
Foraging Solutions
We encourage foraging for wild foods because we feel in a holistic sense that the value of getting into nature, in tune with the seasons and rooted in the local landscape will help to regenerate a culture of people who love, value and protect their natural habitat.
Plants that are edible, are edible because they want to be eaten. Either it’s a way to pollinate, or disperse seeds. Or a way to be pruned to encourage new growth, either of itself or by allowing light through to saplings below. (2)
In some cases just like coppicing a woodland, harvesting can have a positive effect. As Yun Hider (Mountain food) points out: “sea beet is often overcrowded, by removing a certain amount of leaves, we are actually encouraging growth”. (3)
In regenerative agriculture we try to mimic nature in grazing the land the way the deer, European bison or wild ponies for instance would have done many years before. The land is distrubed, grazed and fertilised for a short time before the land is resting for a long period to encourage growth, photosynthesis and soil health. If we would apply these principles to foraging, what would that look like?
Studies show foraging can actually encourage plant/fungi growth if done correctly (4); ‘The results reveal that, contrary to expectations, long-term and systematic harvesting reduces neither the future yields of fruit bodies nor the species richness of wild forest fungi, irrespective of whether the harvesting technique was picking or cutting.’
When we approach foraging the way we approach regenerative agriculture, and let the land rest in between picking we can encourage plant growth and enjoy foraging without negatively impacting our natural spaces. If you rely on a specific piece of land to provide you with wild garlic every year, it would be wise to treat this spot with the respect it deserves so it can provide you for years to come.
The study continues; ‘Forest floor trampling does, however, reduce fruit body numbers, but our data show no evidence that trampling damaged the soil mycelia in the studied time period.’ (4) So tread carefully, only take what you need for tonight’s dinner, and allow time to let nature recover in between harvests.
The UK has plenty of foraging experts who can help and guide you towards a responsible foraging approach. If you are keen on mushroom foraging in particular, we would suggest asking the help of an expert. Mushroom foraging is dangerous and can result in long term health issues or even worse. Find a nature loving foraging expert near you and educate yourself on safely selecting the most tasty edible mushrooms. Please see below some personal recommendations for foraging courses throughout the UK.
Conclusion
We feel, foraging can be (and mostly is) done with respect for nature. It has the potential to increase our mental and physical health and if done correctly it can even positively impact nature’s ecosystems as well. Ask for help, do your research and get out there.
References;
- Mushroom picking does not impair future harvests – results of a long-term study in Switzerland – ScienceDirect
- Is Foraging harmful for the environment? – Bangers & Balls (bangersandballs.co)
- Foraging without damaging | Food | The Guardian
- Mushroom picking does not impair future harvests – results of a long-term study in Switzerland – ScienceDirect
- Foraging, Sustainability and The Media – Galloway Wild Foods
- The role of wild fruits and vegetables in delivering a balanced and healthy diet – PubMed (nih.gov)
Foraging courses;
Introducing Wilderculture
Wilderculture is a new integrated approach to ecological restoration and food production on our upland areas. We are demonstrating and refining innovative and effective methods of regenerating wild spaces.
Historically when people lived more harmoniously with the land their culture and stories helped guide communities to make choices that were good for their health as well as their environment.
We believe that humans always were, and should still be an integral part of these wild spaces and that we have the knowledge to create a culture which fosters better wellbeing for people, livestock, land and wildlife.
Wilderculture Offering
We help people to re-connect with the land and develop a deeper sense of enchantment with the world through our Wilderculture experiences and regeneration holidays.
We provide a range of online courses for those who want to dive deeper into learning about nature, environmental sustainability, land management and the health and ethics of the food we eat.
Our signature course the ‘Wildervore approach’ is an eco-omnivore approach to saving the world.
You can also help us make lasting changes to disadvantaged communities by helping us fundraise for global projects.
Explore Wilderculture
