Hello all! Thank you for reading this week’s Sunday Post. We would like to have a look at what is called regenerative farming. Croplands experience quite heavy damage with all the pesticides used and the constant tilling of the soil. Plus, agriculture is responsible for 25% of carbon emissions. Now it seems regenerative farming, the process of restoring carbon into the soil through the planting of cover crops, reduction of erosion, etc is the current move for corporations and farmers looking to reduce their agriculture emissions. Regenerative farmers would also forgo pesticides and reduce use of artificial fertilizers. General Mills said it will source some of its food from 1 million acres practicing this process by 2030; it has started with a self-assessment app and plans to roll out soil coaching. At the UN Climate Action Summit two years ago, a coalition of companies announced the One Planet Business for Biodiversity to fight deforestation and transition to regenerative agriculture. High end brands like Patagonia and Kering say they are promoting regenerative cotton and wool. However, as with every other climate initiative announced by Big Industry, it is not sure how they will implement their plans exactly. For example, what happens if they do not reach their own goals, especially if each farmer is self-reporting and can choose how much of their land undergoes regenerative agriculture? Not only that, how does one uphold an industry wide standard when each company is doing their own thing? It definitely seems companies are just plugging their green initiatives to gain business. The fashion industry also seems to be embracing this practice. There is also not much scientific proof that this would have a long term effect. For one, the total carbon sequestered could easily be lost if the farmer tills the land the next year, and the soil could max out the carbon it can store. One estimate finds that 322 billion tons of CO2 could be stored if every active farmland/pasture used regenerative farming endlessly. Could regenerative farming be the next big thing for agriculture? Perhaps, though it may not be as effective as idealists might hope. It is a step in the right direction, though.
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March 2019
"There is nothing in which the birds differ more than man than the way that they can build and yet leave the landscape as it was before." |