Intensive farming also churns up CO2 naturally stored in soil and releases it into the atmosphere. This contributes to the global warming that is driving climate change.
Food production is one of the main drivers of nature’s decline:
It uses 40% of all habitable land. Although the global area used for food production has nearly stabilized at around 40% of ice-free land,107 land-use conversion from natural habitats to agricultural land continues in some regions.
is the leading cause of habitat loss, and remains the largest driver of tropical deforestation.
accounts for 70% of water use. Producing food is the world's most water-intensive human activity, whether through rain-fed agriculture or the storage of water in dams for irrigation. Over 90% of human use of freshwater is for food, from production to processing.
Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from food production (including agriculture, forestry, and other land use) contribute to approximately 30% of total GHG emissions.
Overuse of nitrogen fertilizers has created a significant global nitrogen surplus on agricultural land, exceeding 119 Tg N per year.
More than half of the world’s agricultural land is degraded. This leads to productivity losses of $400 billion a year and is a risk to food security in the future. (ref: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/10/what-is-regenerative-agriculture/)
The hidden costs of ill health
Family holding hands together closeup
The hidden costs of ill health and environmental degradation in the current food system amount to US$10–15 trillion annually, representing 12% of global GDP in 2020.
Paradoxically, our food system is undermining our ability to feed humanity now and into the future. Even though the food system is the number one driver of environmental degradation, it’s not adequately addressed in major international environmental policy.
To maintain Earth’s Planetary Boundaries and operate within a Safe Operating Space, several actions are imperative. We need coordinated action to:
Scale nature-positive production to provide enough food for everyone while also allowing nature to flourish – by optimizing crop yields, livestock productivity, wild fisheries harvest and aquaculture production in a sustainable way.
Ensure everyone in the world has a nutritious and healthy diet, produced without triggering tipping points – which will involve changing food choices, including eating a greater proportion of plant-based foods and fewer animal products in most developed countries while addressing undernutrition and food security.
Reduce food loss and waste – today, an estimated 30–40% of all food produced is never eaten, representing around a quarter of total global calories, one-fifth of agricultural land and water use, and 4.4% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
Increase financial support and foster good governance for sustainable, resilient, nature-positive food systems – including by redirecting environmentally harmful farming and fishing subsidies to support nature-positive production, reduce food loss and waste, improve consumption and keep food affordable for all
Constraining agricultural activities in protected areas, especially to preserve forests and biodiversity.
Reducing water use and consumption for irrigation to protect aquatic ecosystems and groundwater stores.
Decreasing fertilizer application rates to minimize freshwater contamination and eutrophication risks.
Regenerative agriculture and soils
Regenerative agriculture is not a specific practice. It combines a variety of sustainable agriculture techniques. One way it is described by the WEF with a focus on healthy soil (ref: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/10/what-is-regenerative-agriculture/) is:
"Regenerative agriculture is a way of farming that focuses on soil health. When soil is healthy, it produces more food and nutrition, stores more carbon and increases biodiversity – the variety of species.
Soil is also a habitat for species including insects and fungi and a teaspoon of soil contains up to 6 billion microorganisms.
Healthy soil supports other water, land and air environments and ecosystems through natural processes includingwater drainage and pollination – the fertilization of plants."
Regenerative agriculture is basically a rehabilitation approach to food and farming systems.
The Wikipedia description is pretty much spot on in its description:
There are many forms of regenerative agricultures, such as PERMACULTURE.
Permaculture
In the words of my permaculture teacher, Robyn Francis from Djanbung Gardens "Permaculture is essentially about designing sustainable environments with the focus being on how we provide our needs in a way that works with nature’s processes and ecology.
Based on the words Permanent (as in sustainable) and Culture (including agri-culture), Permaculture addresses all aspects of human culture, not only food production but how we build, how we organise ourselves and how we utilise all our resources including the human resource.
The Permaculture concept was originally created by two Australins, Bill Mollison and David Holmgren in the 1970s.
Since then permaculture has spread all over the word training many thousands in sustainable design, land use, community development and sustainable living."
Regenerative Farming Methods
It is really all common sense, and perhaps again learning from past methods.
Regenerative farming methods include
minimizing the ploughing of land, explains Regeneration International. This keeps CO2 in the soil, improves its water absorbency and leaves vital fungal communities in the earth undisturbed.
Rotating crops to vary the types of crop planted improves biodiversity, while using animal manure and compost helps to return nutrients to the soil.
Continuously grazing animals on the same piece of land can also degrade soil, and regenerative agriculture methods include moving grazing animals to different pastures.
Regenerative farmers and networks are growing regenerative agriculture globally. Regeneration International lists a network of partners across Asia, Latin America, the United States, Canada, Africa, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
What needs to be done?
"In the transformation of land, especially forests, agriculture emerges as the primary driver.
Between 2000 and 2018, nearly 90 percent of direct deforestation was due to the expansion of cropland (52.3%) and livestock grazing (37.5%)."
A fundamental overhaul of the food system is necessary .. while ensuring food security for a growing global population projected to reach 9-10 billion by 20501.
This transformation involves reconsidering dietary patterns globally and investigating where and how we produce and procure food.
Sustainable crop production — which improves water, land, and nutrient management, and re- allocates cropland, irrigation, and fertilizer use to enhance yields in underperforming regions — holds significant potential.
Aligning diets with recommendations from the EAT-Lancet Commission, which advocate for reduced animal protein consumption, is crucial for both environmental sustainability and human health.
Connect with Green Money Journal, which has been covering sustainable business, impact investing, energy & climate change, food and farming, which has been published since 1992 by Cliff Feigenbaum. There is an excellent article on Biomicry.
Nate Hagens is a great source for information about After ten years in finance, the interrelationships between energy, ecology, and economics—and the implications for human futures. His podcasts are excellent - The Great Simplification, - where he has conversations with experts in energy, ecology, government, technology, and the economy to provide a systemic view of the world around us.
Also, check out the KNOWLEDGE BASE, where you will find all references for this section. This is an evolving website, and there is no difference in the reference section - it will grow over time.
Regenerative agriculture is not a specific practice. It combines a variety of sustainable agriculture techniques. One way it is described by the WEF with a focus on healthy soil (ref: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/10/what-is-regenerative-agriculture/) is: