As we have seen when looking at the Living Planet Report, industrial agriculture is currently one of the most unsustainable and damaging drivers of biodiversity loss. To protect our wildlife, we must transform the way we produce our food. I was inspired by the documentary The Need to Grow, from the Climate Crisis Film Festival, to write about how agriculture links soil biodiversity with human health, and so why it is absolutely imperative we work to preserve it…
Biodiversity and agriculture
Soil biodiversity is key to the health of terrestrial ecosystems and to our own health, as we eat the food grown from it. High biodiversity in soil contributes to better soil nutrient content, higher resilience to diseases, greater plant pollination, and better above-ground biodiversity. Most of us never get to see how what ends up on our plates was produced. Our modern agricultural systems often do not use sustainable, healthy practices to grow this food and this adversely impacts the life of the soil used in these systems.
Healthy soil is important for many functions (Source: The Quarry Life Award)
The problem: Industrial agriculture
Current use of industrial machinery and chemicals is dramatically degrading soil microbial diversity and some fertilisers consist of heavy metals and cancer-causing carcinogenics.
It is believed that we only have 60 years of farmable soil left on the planet, decreasing by the minute as these unsustainable practices continue. Although agriculture is currently one of the most destructive human activities on the planet, this doesn’t necessarily have to be the case…
Solutions: Reconnecting with our planet
Agriculture can be harnessed to help heal our natural systems whilst providing food security for all of us.
Organic agriculture
690 million people in the world go hungry even though there is more than enough food to go around because it is distributed highly unequally. To fix this, we must localise our food production. This is what Erik Cutter’s urban farm in Montana does. His farming methods build rather than deplete soil and use nutrient- and microbe-rich soil which allows for his yields to exceed conventional agriculture in the small space he has. Furthermore, it uses 70% less water and 50% less fertilizers. These crops are organic, nutritious and local meaning Erik’s farm is an incredibly sustainable solution.
The Green Power House
A power plant in Montana harnesses natural cycles to produce biochar and electricity. Biochar is a natural fertilizer, providing ideal conditions for microbes and also storing carbon underground, rather than releasing it into the atmosphere, helping to mitigate the climate crisis. The power plant accelerates the natural generation of soil, doing in 4-5 days what nature would do in 400 years!
(Left to right) Michael Smith and Erik Cutter, the brains behind the Green Power House and organic agriculture respectively (Source: Food Tank)
Conflicting interests
These kinds of solutions often come to blows with major corporations as they conflict with their interests. Erik’s farm ended up being closed as the council wanted to use the land for recreational ice skating instead, and the Green Power House was destroyed in a fire under suspicious circumstances!!
What can we do?
This sounds like a massive, industrial problem, way out of our hands to help solve. But there are things we can do to effectively support sustainable agriculture and be better custodians of our planet. So here are a few:
- Organic agriculture must be able to generate profit so farmers can continue to do what they do, so it is our role to create the demand for it. When you can, try to buy food from places that produce locally, for example farmers markets or even grow your own.
- People don’t seem to care what goes into their body, so if you are in a position of influence, try to educate people, especially children, on why it is important to know where what they consume comes from.
- Eat less meat. Livestock farming has a massive impact on terrestrial ecosystems, and so reducing the amount of animal-based food products you consume will help to reduce your ecological footprint.
- Around one third of food in the UK ends up in landfill, which removes it from soil’s natural nutrient cycle and leads to an increased release of greenhouse gases, methane and carbon dioxide, into the atmosphere. To stop this from happening to your food, compost it. There are many ways to do it, go to this article to see what option best suits you.
Although these actions are individual, the impacts of them are not limited to you. Every small step and every single individual is important in a global movement, and the way that you alter your lifestyle will inevitably have a ripple effect on those around you. The power of you is not to be underestimated!
Supporting local farmers is good for you and the planet (Source: Global Citizen)
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