My greatest hope is for me to continue to do this and any chances I have to do so, I will take. As someone who has farmed using diesel tractors and bare hands, I can tell you that regenerative agriculture isn't a key or secret or the single solution to a greener future. But 99 percent of those crops go to feeding livestock. This seems like pretty important information that was left off the table. kisstheground. In fact, in theDrawdown Report,when you factor in the land that would be freed up if the entire world shifted to a plant-rich diet, this becomes the single biggest lever that each of us can pull to lower our individual environmental footprint. The movie funders wanted to make this movie all about organic farming, but Gabe and I worked on him and showed him that organic farming can be as destructive as conventional farmingand to his credit, Josh learned what regenerative farming was all about. Also that we can fix this and the fix is quite simple. The Lhos plateau in China, an area larger than Belgium, had become a dusty wasteland after over farming. Kris: There has never been a time when the potential to fundamentally change global agriculture, food quality, and economic viability for small and large farmers by regenerating the soil to restore and revitalize ecosystem services is as great is it is now. Its a practice that requires a level of care you have to commit to every time you go into the field. Carrie Richards is not giving up. Remember that the decision to depopulate the elephants when Savory was with the game department was a result of the current science among wildlife researchers. Is it possible that some of the great empires that seemingly vanished, like the Myans and Incas, did so because they over farmed, and could not feed their rising populations? Gabe: HaHa! In fact, it was the single most important thing that lead Savory to question the science regarding overgrazing. Yes, theres no doubt ruminant poop can help improve soil quality, butthere are many types of regenerative agriculture that do not involve animalsoranimal manureand others that act as sanctuaries using animals on their land without sending them to slaughter. There is not enough money in the world to get me to move from Gods country, North Dakota! I dont understand how they didnt emphasize that you still have to eat a plant rich diet if you want everyone in the world to eat pasture raised animals Theres only so much to land and hence animals you can raise. If youve seen The People vs. Larry Flynt in all of its obscenity, like I did in Constitutional Law last semester, youll be a little surprised to hear the voice of actor Woody Harrelson narrating a documentary about social and environmental issues. But the agreement is that all of the richest grasslands in the world have large grazing animals. 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. Kris: We are facing a catastrophic cascade in Earths ecosystems impacting human health and the global economy which fundamentally rests in pressures stemming from changes in the economic and ecological agricultural landscape due to climate change and escalating worldwide competition for natural resources and commodities, including petroleum, natural gas, grains,oilseeds, and proteins. This is how the natural carbon cycle should work. Talking about the importance of beingbetter stewards of our land, and why we must do a better job at protecting our natural resources and ecosystems, is absolutely crucial if our species is to not just thrive on Planet Earth, but survive. There is a large focus on America, but the issues here in the UK (and the rest of the world) are similar, so it is applicable to all. The movie didn't even include an indictment of current US politics or President Trump, which is notable by its absence considering the film was released so close to election time. So its incredibly facile. Garnett, Poore and their ilk just do key word searches on computer screens and average parsed pre-existing data in their papers. If youve tried and failed before youre definitely in the right place change is hard, but doable with the right process and support! Unless we save our soils, we have 60 harvests left! have no problems. 70% of US cropland grows only corn, soy and hay, and this is mainly to feed livestock (99%!). Unfortunately, there are still very few about, especially in the UK. It's a tool. Regardless of the labelthat we choose to adopt, eating this way will nourish the soil, reduce emissions from agriculture, and at the same timereduce the burden of chronic disease in our communities. Its predicted that, if we can scale up some of these farming methods over the next 30 years, we can REVERSE global warming. Unfortunately, these incredibly superior solutions are less sexy because they are not tying livestock, and more specifically the consumption of beef, to the solution. Kiss the Groundgave the microphone to Ranchers Alan Savory and Gabe Brown, but we didnt hear about any legitimate science testing out whether the claims they were making truly hold up? We told him that you need to leave the audience with hope, which I believe he did. Put simply, there are no healthy humans without a healthy planet. Its not a bad thing per se. Even though we werent farmers, scientists or experts we knew that together, we could still make a difference! Regenerative agriculture is a more resilient system based on principles of soil health and biodiversity that integrates multiple crops, cover crops, and livestock animals. what happens if you get a violation on interlock. Its not too long, but youll learn a lot from it. Ray: Not at the moment, but if Steven Spielberg calls, I WILL answer. Something went wrong. Gabe: No, but only because I am on to the next project, bringing society together in supporting regenerative ag. Holistic management is a decision making framework which has been developed over the years to deal with complex situations. The message gets across, but the film downplays a meaningful call to action. and experts are committed to making an impact through a wide range of contentand care as a social process). For a great deal of land, there are other, more evidence-based ways to sequester carbon. Ill start with the hardest and get easier. Forages and Pastures Symposium: Cover Crops in Livestock Production: Whole-System Approach: Managing Grazing to Restore Soil Health And farm livelihoods. Farming like nature has also been shown to reduce inputs (costs) and improve yields. A degenerative system that decimates life in our soil, releases immense amounts of greenhouse gas emissions into our atmosphere, pollutes our waterways, and disrupts the biodiversity and biology on our land and in our oceans. Hailing from Newcastle, Australia, she predominantly writes about climate and animal rights issues, alongside her work in psychology. how to make a chi ball visible for beginners Keagy's Best Price Plumbing Do you or your families and friends have a special watch party planned when it streams onNetflix? Commercial meat farming has one of the highest negative impacts. Firstly, just so we are clear, the majority of the worlds mono-crops are fed to livestock. The bonus being that plant-rich dietary patterns just so happen to also be whatmajor health institutionsand progressive Government departments likeHealth Canadaare advocating for to tackle rising rates of obesity and chronic disease, and improve quality of life. Its clear to see that levels of CO2 in the atmosphere above the main agricultural areas increase significantly in the main tilling/ploughing months, and then as plant cover increases in the fields, it drops! Ray: That a large audience will come away with a basic awareness about the transformative power of our living and life-giving soil. The rest is projected to be lost within 60 years. Those sharing the video said that Zelenskyy sought young Americans to help fight on the ground war. by Sarah Read | May 18, 2022 | Eat, Eco-friendly eating, Sustainable living tips and advice, Think, Kiss the Ground is another in the line of eco-documentaries that Netflix is putting out there (albeit one of the first and most famous). With that said, any time a new study, book, documentary, or other media publication is published, I read or watch with great interest. The other 60% are the large sea-driven cycles. There seems to be an incredibly fine line between grazing just enough and overgrazing, which speaks to potentially whycrediblepeer-reviewed science has to date, failed to produce results that come close to what Alan Savory claims. Starring: Woody Harrelson. Unless we save our soils, we have 60 harvests left before global starvation. A Case Study in a Cambodian Orphanage. There is too much in the air now and too little in the earth (released by tilling and soil degradation and burning fossil fuels and plants/trees) causing global temperatures to rise. There are no simple solutions to complex problems. 3 Unclear about how the proposed solutions would affect our diets. Enteric methane is broken down in a short period of time, and microbial methane is the same carbon cycling and recycling over and over. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 71(2), 156-164. doi:10.2489/jswc.71.2.156 http://www.jswconline.org/content/71/2/156.abstract, Rowntree, J., Ryals, R., Delonge, M., Teague, R. W., Chiavegato, M., Byck, P., . Every version got better, and the last version was the best one. Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, Kiss the Ground is a full-length documentary narrated by Woody Harrelson that sheds light on an, Awakening people to the possibilities of regeneration. I am very optimistic. In fact, if we look at the solutions outlined in theDrawdown Reportand their potential to draw down carbon from our atmosphere, shifting to a diet that favours calories from plants is twice as powerful compared to shifting to silvopasture and four times as powerful compared as shifting to managed grazing two forms of regenerative agriculture that involve livestock. Grazing management impacts on vegetation, soil biota and soil chemical, physical and hydrological properties in tall grass prairie. Cited as the worst man made environmental disaster in history, by the end of 1934 about 200 million acres of croplands had been permanently damaged. One of the first characters introduced in Kiss the Ground is Ray Archuleta, a conservation agronomist. This movie will also counterbalance the cowspiracy environmentalists and others with incorrect understanding of cows. Seven years in the making, the movies thesis proposes that by regenerating the worlds soils, humans can rapidly stabilize Earths climate, restore lost ecosystems and create abundant food supplies. While the efforts of Archuleta and others are slowly gaining traction, crop subsidies fuel a system that depletes the soil and leaves farmers dependent on the government for aid. Makes sense why the documentary didnt go there! The animal point here is controversial I know. Before we get into a few major claims made inKiss the Groundthat are directly at odds with scientific knowledge, I want to preface this entry by saying that I wholeheartedly supportregenerative agricultureas a goal and think the documentary did a great job bringing light to the detrimental impact that intensive animal agriculture is having on our planet. Kiss the Ground Directed by Joshua Tickell, Rebecca Harrell Tickell Documentary 1h 24m Find Tickets When you purchase a ticket for an independently reviewed film through our site, we earn an. This positioning starts with the documentarys focus on theDrawdown Reportby Environmentalist Paul Hawken from Project Drawdown. Please check your entries and try again. Suppose you don't have enough time to read, then watch the KISS the GROUND MOVIE (streaming on Netflix) hosted by Woody Harrelson and directed by Joshua Tickell and Rebecca Harrell Tickell. The animals themselves arent the problem, where and how is the issue. Regenerative agriculture is an important part of the solution when it comes to climate change. Ray Archuleta, previously a conservation agronomist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service and the co-founder of the Soil Health Academy, stands at the front talking to the farmers, and to us. I asked Finian Makepeace, the co-founder of the Kiss the Ground organization, to tell me more about how he and the films producers and directors selected our trio of regenerative experts to appear in the movie. Future of Food: Journal on Food, Agriculture & Society, 4(3), 8. Support regenerative farming movements like Regeneration International Donate Regeneration International | Organic Consumers (netdonor.net) and Kiss the Ground Kiss the Ground (ktgcommunity.com) which are spreading the word. Why? In many ways, this stands to do more harm than good. Your email address will not be published. What do you hope will be an outcome from the movie? I promise not to sell your information, and if you don't like what I send, you can easily unsubscribe at any point. As Hannah Ritchie, Phd (Geosciences) puts it: Whether you buy it from the farmer next door or from far away, it is not the location that makes the carbon footprint of your dinner large, but the fact that it is beef.. The solution is right under our feet - THE SOIL. Its a story about hope and solutions. Regenerate America is an unprecedented coalition of farmers, businesses, nonprofits, and individuals from every corner of our country and all political stripes, convened by the national soil health 501 (c)3 nonprofit organization, Kiss the Ground. Check out Kiss the Ground website, where you will find other ways to be involved and even learn how to Become a Soil Advocate! This website uses third party cookies to improve your experience with your consent. By practicing regenerative agriculture, a no-till, chemical-free system designed to bolster and protect soil health, we can grow healthier plants, sequester more carbon, and ultimately reverse climate change., Narrator Woody Harrelson calls regenerative agriculture a simple solutiona way to heal our planet and asks viewers to save our soil in hopes the soil might just save us., The short version: Growing food with regenerative agriculture leads to healthier soil, better food, cleaner skies, and clearer water. Sustainability, 7(10), 13500. http://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/7/10/13500, Teague, W. R., Dowhower, S. L., Baker, S. A., Haile, N., DeLaune, P. B., & Conover, D. M. (2011). We are healthier, as is the earth. Yes, whats on our plate is even more important than where its come from or buying local. Here are five things I learned from Kiss the Ground. The filmmakers were able to discuss organic and regenerative agriculture, livestock production and veganism, and climate change in a manner that made no individuals or groups either heroes or villains but rather made the soil the hero which is the appropriate focus in my opinion.