“A nation that destroys its soil destroys itself.” ~Franklin
Roosevelt
Do you like this flower staring at the sun? It
belongs to one of our potato plants. I grow them in containers.
Did you know that a conventional potato from the store may contain 35 pesticides? A conventional tomato may contain about 40 pesticides. Washing it does not make much of a difference.
Growing food
is an endeavor of love, but industrial agriculture has turned it into an act of
destruction. Somebody may have made you believe that industrial agriculture
feeds the world. This is a fallacy.
One billion
people are hungry as I write this post.
By destroying the foundation of food production industrial agriculture worsens
hunger and poverty.
Only 30% of
the food that people eat comes from large-scale industrial farms. The other 70%
comes from small-scale farmers working on small plots of land. In addition to being more expensive due to the
cost of pesticides, herbicides and synthetic fertilizers, industrial agriculture
is responsible for 75% of the ecological damage being done to the planet. It pollutes more water and fails to conserve
it. Vandana Shiva’s book “Who feeds theWorld?” explains that these figures are routinely hidden, ignored and denied.
We need an
urgent plan to transition this system into one that is sustainable and fair to
everybody. As I write this, Republicans are defunding the Research Center for Sustainable Agriculture in Iowa.
If you
genuinely care about animals don’t forget to educate yourself on the horrendous abuse that
industrial farming inflicts upon domesticated animals. Here's an article on this important issue.
The promise of GMOs to use less chemicals and water turned out to be false. Research has shown that GMOs are responsible for the use of more
pesticides and herbicides, the emergence of resistant weeds and pests, and, as a consequence of this, they continue to destroy ecosystems and create new problems.
Sustainable agriculture is based on ecological
principles. It creates jobs, strengthens communities, and
treats animals with respect and kindness. It minimizes its impact on the
environment and strives to preserve the health of ecosystems through the enrichment
of the soil with organic matter, integrated pest management, diversity of
cultures and rotation of crops.
Enriching
the soil should be a priority. In order
to produce nutritious food we need healthy soils. The soil needs to be enriched
with organic matter. Healthy soil teems with life, but industrial agriculture
treats the soil as an empty inert container, loading it with synthetic
fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides. These chemicals destroy soil fertility
by killing organisms in it. The excess
of nitrates it injects into the soil end up polluting the water. The chemicals
create dead zones in lakes, rivers and oceans, where no life can thrive.
Healthy soil produces healthy plants by making them more resilient and resistant to pests and diseases.
Good quality soil also allows to conserve water, but industrial agriculture ignores this fact, so it requires intense irrigation systems to function. Water is a precious resource and the only ones that benefit from wasting and polluting water are the corporations that get paid to try to purify it. This leads to more inequality and injustice because drinking water becomes more expensive. High concentrations of nitrates in drinking water increase the risk of cancer.
Good quality soil also allows to conserve water, but industrial agriculture ignores this fact, so it requires intense irrigation systems to function. Water is a precious resource and the only ones that benefit from wasting and polluting water are the corporations that get paid to try to purify it. This leads to more inequality and injustice because drinking water becomes more expensive. High concentrations of nitrates in drinking water increase the risk of cancer.
We all know
that climate change is not a hoax. A
healthy soil is better able to endure climate adverse conditions due to its
efficiency in regulating water and its capacity to hold onto moisture, which is
another reason to nurture the soil instead of destroying it.
Alber
Einstein must have been ahead of his times when he said, “When the last bee disappears,
humans will disappear.” Today 75% of bee populations in some regions have been
killed over the last three decades because of toxic pesticides and monocultures.
Climate change is also contributing to the decline of pollinators.
Losing bees is not only about losing honey. More
than 140 fruits and vegetables depend on hardworking honeybees for pollination.
We’ll lose small family farms and local businesses. We will lose an estimated
$15 billion dollars in agricultural revenue.
Neonicotinoids
play an important role in the decline of bees. Avoid using these chemicals
altogether. Make sure you plant untreated seeds to grow the flowers whose nectar bees need to feed on,
such as Aster, Black-Eyed Susan, Blazing Star, Calstrop, Currant, Huckleberry,
Purple Coneflower, Woodland Sage, Scorpion Weed and many others. Let’s all be part of the solution instead of
the problem. Check the ones that are native in your area and grow them.
Integrated pest management is part of the strategy
of sustainable agriculture. I wrote about pesticides and herbicides a couple ofyears ago.
Let’s
remember that many scientists have been persecuted and threatened for exposing
their research on GMOs, pesticides and herbicides. Examples of scientists who
have been in these situations include Arpad Pusztai of the United Kingdom,
Gilles-Eric Seralini of France, Tyrone Hayes of the University of California,
Berkeley, Vicki Vance of the University of South Carolina, and many others.
Diversity of
cultures is also necessary to create an environment that produces food in
sustainable ways, but industrial agriculture relies on monocultures. In doing
so, it erodes the soil and contributes to the decline of pollinators. Industrial
agriculture claims to have a “high yield per acre”, but high yield does not
mean high nutrition per acre. Their soil is deprived of nutrients , so they produce tasteless food that lacks nutrition.
Vandana Shiva explained it well: "Life evolves
through cooperation and self-organization. Fifty trillion cells cooperate to
create the human body. Millions of species cooperate to shape ecosystems and
the planet. Plants cooperate with each other. Take, for example, the mixed
farming system of corn, beans and squash. Nitrogen- fixing beans provide free
nitrogen to cereals, and the stalks of cereals provide support for the bean
stalks to climb. The squash provides cover to the soil, preventing soil
erosion, water evaporation and the emergence of weeds. Together, these crops
provide nutrition for soil, animals and human beings."
If you are in the business of pesticides and
herbicides, consider switching to another business: the business of massive
composting. Garbage is nutrition. You can invest in a business that turns
garbage into compost. By making compost you can help to feed the soil, and by
nourishing the soil you foster the production of healthy food and help to
maintain the integrity of the ecosystems. This is beneficial for the future of
your children.
A true
patriot should be expected to nurture the soil, not to kill the organisms that
live in it. Earthworms are the best fertilizers. Start composting now. Instead of sending trash to landfills, where
it pollutes the air and soil and increases the temperature of the planet
through the production of methane, you can turn it into a valuable resource
that will be treasured by farmers and gardeners and by anybody who is
interested in the art of growing food and flowers.
Growing food
should be an act of compassion and
empathy, not of destruction… do you think those workers like to spray your
fruit and vegetables with chemicals? Many of them are immigrants who work under
the threats of those who exploit them. These workers are coerced into spraying chemicals that harm their own health.
Ask yourself: where is the chicken coming from? How
was she treated? Let’s be mindful of what this means.
Poisoning the
soil, water and air does not feed the world. It contributes to food insecurity,
social injustice, inequality and wars. Worsening climate change and the effects
of it is an act of terrorism . Let’s acknowledge this simple truth instead of
hiding it behind the veil of propaganda. Pesticides and herbicides may be
beneficial to the fossil fuel industry, but not to the health of humanity and
the environment.
Even the
fossil fuel industry will eventually suffer, because we all live in the same
planet. (They just don’t have the foresight to acknowledge the consequences of
their current actions).
Perhaps you
are considering to support a CSA (community supported agriculture), or you may
want to volunteer for one of the community gardens in your area ; you may want
to grow some of your food. You can do so in containers if you don’t have a garden.
Go ahead: write a blog post on this subject. I
challenge every reader of this blog to read about the food they eat and to
write about what they do to reduce their carbon footprint and on how to lead a
more sustainable lifestyle.
Small changes can be the beginning of bigger
changes. They can be the starting point of a different kind of mindset and
attitude, one that is more devoted to
being healthier , more considerate and caring.
Spread the word. Inspire others. Share ideas.
If you
educate yourself on this important subject you will discover that there is a
lot that you can do to become part of the solution.
Remember that
educating others is also part of our mission.
Did I awaken your interest?
I found some links for you.
Sustainable Table
https://www.ecoliteracy.org/article/industrial-agriculture-agroecology-and-climate-change
https://tilth.org/focus/conservation/soil/
Soil Not Oil Coalition
Organic Valley Coop
http://biofriendlyplanet.com/green-alternatives/sustainable/sustainable-food-fruits-and-vegetables-the-fresh-local-and-organic-way/
http://sustainablepulse.com/
https://wakeup-world.com/2016/10/12/how-the-u-s-department-of-agriculture-is-destroying-our-health-and-environment/
Vermicomposting and its benefits
https://wakeup-world.com/2016/10/12/how-the-u-s-department-of-agriculture-is-destroying-our-health-and-environment/
Vermicomposting and its benefits
http://www.alternet.org/environment/monsanto-caught-warning-epa-about-activists
http://www.alternet.org/food/how-do-we-end-food-apartheid-america-farms-one
http://www.alternet.org/food/how-do-we-end-food-apartheid-america-farms-one
Growing food
takes time, knowledge and observation. When
we do so we are more attuned to nature, to the rhythms and patterns. We become
deeply connected to the creatures and
plants that surround us. We become aware of how they interact with one another,
and we learn something everyday.
Look at this leather jacket. Every time I get the
soil ready to sow seeds I find a few of
them (they are pests to the vegetable plants), so I put them on one of the
bird-feeders. Chickadees and Cardinals
devour them. I can assure you that birds turn up to feast on them in less than five minutes.
As we restore our union with Mother Nature, we clear
our minds, open our hearts, get more
creative and feel happier.
It’s time to return to the soil; I have a lot of
work to do.
“Let us all return to the soil
That lays the corners of its garments
And awaits for us.
Life rears itself from her breast,
Flowers bloom from her smiles,
Her call is the sweetest music.
Her lap stretches from one corner to the other,
She controls the strings of life.
Her warbling waters bring
The murmur of life from all eternity.”
Rabindranath Tagore
