by Deirdre Fulton, staff writer — Common Dreams, 16 October 2015
We have good peer-reviewed science showing the scaling up of regenerative organic agriculture can reverse climate change, end the loss of biodiversity, stop the poisoning of our children and planet and very importantly, nourish all people with high quality food,” says Andre Leu, president of IFOAM Organics International. (Photo: via Regeneration Intl)
‘Agroecology is political; it requires us to challenge and transform structures of power in society.’
As environmentalists, humanitarians, and farmers from around the globe celebrate the 35th annual World Food Day on Friday, sustainability advocates are heralding the capacity of organic regenerative agriculture and agroecology to address wide-ranging challenges from climate change to public health to hunger.
“On this World Food Day we face two interlinked planetary challenges: to produce enough food for all people and to sequester enough carbon in the soil to reverse climate change,” said Tom Newmark, co-founder of The Carbon Underground, on Friday.
Newmark made his statements at a Washington, D.C. press conference hosted by the nonprofit organization Regeneration International and featuring a panel of 10 international experts on organic agriculture, carbon sequestration, and world hunger.
“There is one solution for those challenges: regenerative organic agriculture,” he continued. “We can no longer afford to rely on chemical farming, as the use of synthetic fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides has destroyed soils worldwide and rendered them unable to rebuild soil organic matter.”
What’s more, as author, activist, and panel participant Vandana Shiva wrote in an op-ed on Friday, “For all the destruction it causes, the industrial food system produces only 30% of the food eaten by people. If we continue, we will soon have a dead planet and no food.”
However, she pointed to “another road to food security. The road that was abandoned by research institutes and governments under the influence of giant chemical corporations (now seed and Biotechnology Corporations). This is the road of agroecology and small scale farming, which still produce 70% of the food.”
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Which Future of Food and Farming
By Dr Vandana Shiva, 16 October 2015
Organic Regenerative Agriculture Can Ease World Hunger and Reverse Global Warming
Press Release — Regeneration International, 16 October 2015
Related Calendar Event
The Future of Food: From Degeneration to Regeneration
Washington DC, 16 October 2015
Small-Scale Farmers Cool the Planet
Fair World Project: “Small-Scale Farmers Cool the Planet.” A 17-minute documentary highlighting the role of industrial agriculture in climate change while expounding on how small farmers are combating the climate crisis through regenerative organic agriculture.
On #WorldFoodDay, Celebrating the Power of #RegenerativeOrganic Farming http://t.co/sRQ5NjIXMK #CoolthePlanet pic.twitter.com/onhp1FcNsY
— Seed Freedom (@occupytheseed) October 17, 2015
PROVA | earthdemocracyblog says:
October 18, 2015 at 11:53 pm -
[…] However, she pointed to “another road to food security. The road that was abandoned by research institutes and governments under the influence of giant chemical corporations (now seed and Biotechnology Corporations). This is the road of agroecology and small scale farming, which still produce 70% of the food.”prova […]