The Common Ills: Reversing Climate Change with Regenerative Agriculture

Monday, September 21, 2020

Reversing Climate Change with Regenerative Agriculture

Bioneers Pulse – updates from the Bioneers Community

Bioneer,

The food system, dominated by corporate monopolies and industrial agriculture, is one of the most socially unjust and environmentally destructive sectors of the global economy. But farmers, ranchers, scientists, and activists are increasingly turning toward the solution of regenerative agriculture: a more holistic approach to food and farming systems. The new Bioneers media series on Regenerative Agriculture highlights the wisdom and best practices of a new approach to growing food.

While organic agriculture focuses on sustainability, regenerative agriculture takes things further. By working with nature, regenerative agriculture can reverse climate change by revitalizing ecosystems, increasing biodiversity and restoring soils degraded by industrial farming.

This week, we gathered some of the world’s experts on regenerative agriculture to discuss exactly what it is and why it matters.

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Regenerative Agriculture Collection: Healing Ecosystems and Stabilizing the Climate

In this brand new Bioneers collection page, we share the knowledge and experiences of scientists, regenerative farmers and ranchers on transforming agriculture. Just as nature is constantly evolving, regenerative agriculture is a system of continued learning and improvement and adapting to local dynamic conditions. That’s why we’ve broken down different topics, functions, tools and practices that are advancing innovation in this field.

Browse the full collection here.

Regenerative Agriculture: Nourishing the Soil, Healing the Planet

This short video highlights regenerative ranchers and farmers who are bringing life back to working landscapes by mimicking the creative forces of nature. Regenerative agricultural practices draw down atmospheric carbon and sequester it in the soil where it boosts fertility and nurtures biodiversity, making this approach to agriculture a key solution to mitigating climate change.

Watch the full video here.

Organic Regenerative Agriculture: An Interview with Jeff Moyer of The Rodale Institute

Jeff Moyer has been with The Rodale Institute for 40+ years, starting as a farm laborer and currently as its CEO. His legacy is marked by innovating new instruments and practices to help farmers reap the benefits of more ecological farming — a demonstrated commitment to the Rodale’s mission of “leading the way in organic agriculture research.”

In this interview, Jeff explores his dedication to organic agriculture and how it keeps soil healthy for generations to come.

Transitioning to a Crisis-Resilient Agriculture

Fred Kirschenmann, a Distinguished Fellow at the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, is a persuasive advocate for soil health and agricultural resilience and a farmer of 1,800 certified-organic acres in North Dakota.

In this interview, Dr. Kirschenmann discusses the looming global food crisis, and how to shift the extractive industrial system to a biological self-renewing system before it’s too late.

Soil Erosion, Civilizations and a New Way to Farm

David Montgomery, a MacArthur Fellow, is a professor of Earth and Space Sciences at the University of Washington and the author of Dirt: Erosion of Civilizations and Growing a Revolution: Bringing Our Soil Back to Life.

This is an edited version of his presentation at a past Bioneers Conference, about the importance of soil health — for good and for worse. David explores the role of soil erosion in the demise of civilizations all the way back to ancient Greece, how farmers can reverse the historical pattern of land degradation, and beyond.

GATHER: The Fight to Revitalize Native Food Ways

Gather, a recently released documentary and New York Times critic’s pick, is an intimate portrait of the growing movement amongst Native Americans to reclaim their spiritual, political and cultural identities through food sovereignty, while battling the trauma of centuries of genocide.

Gather follows Nephi Craig, a chef from the White Mountain Apache Nation (Arizona), opening an indigenous café as a nutritional recovery clinic; Elsie Dubray, a young scientist from the Cheyenne River Sioux Nation (South Dakota), conducting landmark studies on bison; and the Ancestral Guard, a group of environmental activists from the Yurok Nation (Northern California), trying to save the Klamath river.

Learn more about the film.

What We’re Tracking:

INFINITE POTENTIAL: The Life & Ideas of David Bohm | In celebration of International Peace Day, the creators of the documentary "Infinite Potential" invite you to a free virtual screening and post-viewing panel discussion. This gathering centers around the life and ideas of David Bohm, a physicist and explorer of Consciousness, who developed groundbreaking insights into the profound interconnectedness of the Universe and our place within it.
From Reasons to be Cheerful: “The New Solar Farm Is a Real Farm, Too” | Solar companies are starting to partner with local farmers, presenting a huge opportunity to use land for producing food, improving soil health, supporting pollinators, and slashing emissions — all at the same time.
From The Future Is Beautiful: “Lyla June on Indigenous Food Systems, Sacred Knowledge and Compassion” | In this podcast episode, Lyla June — a Diné/Cheynne activist and Bioneers alumna — speaks on how Indigenous sacred practices and personal insights can aid us in our healing and in growing our courage so we may connect with pathways for liberating and reforming ourselves through self-love.
From Los Angeles Review of Books: “Coronavirus and Conservation: Preventing the Next Pandemic” | In this new essay, groundbreaking ethnobotanist and Bioneers alum Mark Plotkin writes about the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on conservation, with respect to the "direct correlation between our lack of respect for nature and our own well-being."
Kiss the Ground | Narrated by and featuring Woody Harrelson, this groundbreaking new documentary reveals how regenerating the world's soils can rapidly stabilize Earth’s climate, restore lost ecosystems and create abundant food supplies. Learn more about the film and why soil is the missing piece of the climate crisis puzzle.