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By taking carbon dioxide from the air, and sending it down to soil microbes in exchange for nutrients, plants can not only remove carbon from the atmosphere, but store carbon in the soils. The long term prognosis for our survival with business as usual is very, very poor . The Lhos plateau in China is where settled agriculture first began. Shop organic where you can. 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.. Look no further than Kiss the Ground, a newly-released Netflix documentary that explores the relationship between climate change and dirt. This means that compared to factory farms, or traditional grazing where cows are overgrazing and destroying the soil, a regenerative farm using holistic grazing would require a lot more land for any given number of roaming cows. 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. Other soil-based carbon capture solutions like composting are crucial to regenerative agriculture. The central tenant is that its a diet that places enormous emphasis on calories from plants and de-emphasizes calories from animal products. Check out their simple yet profound Soil Story: There is one hyperlink in error. Watch the Film OUR COMMUNITY In fact, it was the single most important thing that lead Savory to question the science regarding overgrazing. Stardom is a complicated thing, but at least all that money and power are being put to good use. 114k square miles regenerated! The rest of our topsoils are projected to be lost within 60 years. . The animal point here is controversial I know. Its especially interesting to me as I am working towards a biology degree and hope to become a soil scientist. However, this was taken from a United Nations speech, which leading soil scientists say isabsolutely not supported by science. The first point that I think deserves our attention, before getting into the science on the reversal claim, is the way the producers wanted you to see holistic grazing. Using perennials and trees as protection for the soils. Neither does the author. As someone who has spent the past 25-plus years working to educate anyone who will listen as to the benefits of regenerative ag, I can say with certainty that the snowball is finally rolling downhill! kiss the ground fact checking Early farming was small scale, so diversity was ensured, and combined the animals with plants, so the manures could be used as fertiliser, and crops grown on the land could feed the livestock. Our farming systems have moved too far out of alignment with mother nature. Thank you for the review. Celebrity activists, including Ian Somerhalder and Patricia Arquette, drop by to promote a suite of carbon-capture climate change solutions theyre personally involved in, from diversified permaculture to compost toilets. We all know that science has its failings. Sounds pretty ambitious to champion this form of animal agriculture as a climate solution without strong empirical evidence? It's a nonprofit organization that he leads today as executive director. If the U.S shifted away from intensive livestock farming to traditional grazing, its been calculated that theavailable grasslands would only be able to produce 27 percent of the countries current beef supply. The evidence for this claim is research-based, clearly communicated, and visually supported with animations that illustrate submicroscopic events like carbon cycling and expansive drone shots for grand reveals, like the actual desert plateau that is turned back into rolling green farmland. Ray: Yes, absolutely. Regenerative agriculture combines 4 practices. If we want to lower our environmental footprint the single most important thing we can do iseat more plants. Nature strives for balance, and has a system for reversing the carbon released into the atmosphere using the growth of plants and their relationship with soil microbes. The basic principles are: minimal tilling/ploughing, using cover crops, involving livestock in managed grazing, organic practices avoiding chemicals, composting, crop diversity and using trees and perennials as protection. Or this breakdown of the many myths he perpetuates inThe International Journal ofBiodiversity. The first clue is when the documentary makes mention of the natural history of Bison roaming the United States. To rotate cows like bison, it means leaving land free from roaming animals for at least six-nine months a figure that Alan Savory states himself in the documentary. As a side note, the documentary routinely employed uses numerous fear-mongering tactics to scare the viewer into grasping for whatever solution comes next. Since chemical agriculture ramped up in the 70s, we have lost 1/3 of the worlds topsoil. Grow your own veg using your home compost! So why did a documentary about regenerative agriculture and the power of growing plants not encourage people to grow their own food? 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. Filmmakers Josh Tickell and Rebecca Tickell wound up spending seven years making their latest doc, "Kiss the Ground," and all along the way they worried that by the end of the process there . 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). By 2050, it is estimated that 1bn people will be refugees of soil desertification. Were trapped on a planet to which we've already done irreparable damage. The movie has an optimistic tone, do you share that optimism? So what we are talking about here is how to better use the land dedicated to animal agriculture (83 percent of all agricultural land) that is responsible for 80 percent of food-related greenhouse gas emissions yet provides only 18 percent of our total calories. Work your way down the list until you find the things that youre willing to do. Data from almost40,000 farms, and 119 countries, clearly shows us that a plant-based diet results in less greenhouse gas emissions, less pollution, less ocean acidification, and uses less water and land land which we can therefore free up and convert to forests to rapidly sequester carbon from our atmosphere. The problem is, the lay viewer who is not across the science, and blinded by the message of hope, is likely to confuse the role of cows in holistic grazing with instruction that we should continue eating meat at current rates (as long as its grass-fed) and perhaps even double down on our meat consumption. Ray: Hope. In the past, I did not like how certain environmental groups portrayed farmers. Anyway, I can go on and on doing a review of the shortcoming of this review, but the author is obviously more interested in justifying the supposed superiority of his food religion than he is in actual peer reviewed range, soil or atmospheric science by people who actually understand agricultural systems. care as a social process). If we choose healthy foods, there is a reciprocation. This is a major oversimplification of our complex and varied farming system. But here too Garnett doesnt understand the science. Ganrett also doesnt have a clue how tropospheric hydroxyl oxidation works. Its predicted that, if we can scale up some of these farming methods over the next 30 years, we can REVERSE global warming. We need to spread the word to drive this important movement forwards! IMPRESS, 16-18 New Brige Street, London, EC4V 6AG. The solution is right under our feet THE SOIL. Skip on down to the final thoughts if you dont have time to get more into the facts! One of the . It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on our website. Watching attentively, a classroom full of farmers. There was mention of a regenerative diet but what does that mean? "We should be thriving, the planet booming with life and abundance and the healthiest generation walking the earth. (Source: Kiss the Ground). Watch the film trailer here and the full movie on Netflix. Tilling and chemical agricultural methods have disrupted this cycle and increased the rate of carbon release. That sounds catastrophic. Use this compost for your beds rather than buying in compost or fertilisers. Here are five things I learned from Kiss the Ground. In many ways, this stands to do more harm than good. 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. If you want to hear a bit more explanation of these, click here or scroll down. By Its not the most interesting topic of conversation for most, so try just mentioning a one or two of the following points and see if that gets a conversation going. As prices go up, pending one spends the same budget they had previously set aside for meat, their consumption naturally falls. The long term prognosis for our survival with business as usual is very, very poor , Topsoils are disappearing and the land is desertifying, Regenerative farming principles explained, Examples of regenerative farming restoring land. This movie has given soil a voice to say, I am not dirt! One of my favorite elements of the documentary is the perspective that Earth has always been managing and sequestering carbon we just need to mimic that. Heres my critique of that paper: https://lachefnet.wordpress.com/2018/03/25/its-the-soil-biology-stupid/ This paper includes a number of these soil science papers. Many of the pesticides and fertilisers have been derived from poison gases used in warfare (chemical warfare and poison used in gas chambers). Until recently, however, the roles of soil and grazing animals have been missing pieces of the climate puzzle. Nicholas Carter and Simon Hill (MSc Nutr). Ground News rates Kiss the Ground Film's media bias as unknown. Theres nothing Netflix and chillabout that. Kris:The time and effort that the team put into the interviews and edits as well as probably debating and refining the perspective the film takes should be commended. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. Whats glaringly clear from Hawkens report is that when it comes to our food and greenhouse gas emissions, thetwo areas we can make the biggest impactare reducing food waste (number one solution)and moving to a plant-rich diet (number three solution). Unless we save our soils, we have 60 harvests left before global starvation. One thing with ruminant livestock is that when they are use as solar powered mobile composters in brittle environments, their manure, urine and saliva act as inoculates that increase soil microbiology. In fact, based upon the outcome of that decision, Savory greatly modified his opinion as to what science can and cannot do when it comes to solutions of complex problems. Despite all of this, my fear is that many will be left with a complete misunderstanding of where environmental science truly lies. There are sites where this has been done, and what was desert is now lush grassland with grasses growing taller than people. Because not only does this mean less greenhouse gas-emitting ruminant animals, but it means we can draw down more carbon from the atmosphere forests are typically far better at doing this than grasslands. Hosted by Robbie Lockie, Plant Based News delivers pioneering vegan news and ethical views weekly. I wanted the filmmakers to first understandto let the soil speak and to let nature teach us. Ray: Initially, when I first met the Kiss the Ground group, I told them that I was really concerned about how they should approach the landowners. Chemical fertilisers mask the problem of degraded soils by providing the basics for plant growth, but also exacerbate the soil microorganism damage. (Source: Kiss the Ground). To me, it undermines the articulate, informative explanations offered by the professionals with actual working farms and advanced degrees who are given the floor for much of the film. Did you know that we can save the world with soil? Farming like nature has also been shown to reduce inputs (costs) and improve yields. Why not let the viewer know what theworlds leading climate scientists have to say about diet? We need to act. Monocropping further exacerbates the issue, as the same crop is grown year on year, for miles in the case of US farms, microbial diversity cannot increase. The French Minister for agriculture proposed a 4 in 1000 plan, to increase the organic content of our soils by 0.4% per year. 70% of US cropland grows only corn, soy and hay, and this is mainly to feed livestock (99%!). Parents need to know that Kiss the Ground is a 2020 documentary that addresses our current soil erosion crisis throughout the planet and the benefits of practicing "regenerative agriculture." Narrated by Woody Harrelson, the documentary features extensive interviews with farmers, scientists, activists, celebrities, and regular people as they help to create awareness of regenerative . What do you hope will be an outcome from the movie? From rehabilitating entire ecosystems to growing home victory gardens, there are plenty of ways to get involved in regenerative agriculture. Still, its hard to ignore that the filmmakers featured almost exclusively rich, white American celebrities in a film about global systems change released in the middle of a national reckoning about our ability to be a diverse and equitable society. Kiss the Ground gave the microphone to Ranchers Alan Savory and Gabe Brown, but we didn't hear about any legitimate science testing out whether the claims they were making truly hold up? Bare soils are at great risk of erosion by heavy rain, and its also been shown that bare soils vary in temperature much more, so the microclimate is changed. One can only presume that the slaughtering of the animal is not about soil quality, but about profits. Using compelling graphics and visuals, along with striking NASA and NOAA footage, the film artfully illustrates how, by drawing down atmospheric carbon, soil is . Did you have any reservations about appearing in it? On one hand, the use of celebrity ambassadors is an unsubtle but effective tactic to draw casual viewers and followers. 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. Given soil grows 95 per cent of our food, and sustains human life, this is a huge problem. Upcoming Kiss the Ground Movie Features Three Understanding Ag Experts, Questions and Answers with Our In-House Stars. BOOM found that the viral video has been cropped from a longer conversation during a press conference where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy mentioned a hypothetical scenario of Ukraine losing the war and Russia invading other NATO countries including the Baltic states in Eastern Europe which would force the US to get involved and send troops. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Bundchen and Brady point to the health of the soil as directly influencing the health of the plants we eat and our health as well. But I also experienced the same misleadingparadigms from the conservative groups like Farm Bureau and other commodities groups. There are a few clues within the documentary that speak to this but they are by no means overtly clear to the viewer. The next thing I want to address, and perhaps the most important take-home message here, is the science underpinning holistic grazing is flaky at best. The basic premise of Kiss the Ground is that the destruction of soil is contributing to the severity and intensity of climate change. Heres what he said: From the beginning stages of pre-production for the movie, Ray and Gabe were proposed because of their profound passion and dedication to soil health and their amazing ability to share it with others. Gabe: No, but only because I am on to the next project, bringing society together in supporting regenerative ag. Over the years, tilling causes the soil to dirt, leaving it vulnerable to erosion and desertification. Do you or your families and friends have a special watch party planned when it streams onNetflix? I graduated from Vanderbilt University with degrees in Political Science, Economics and Spanish, and I currently study law in Texas. Kiss the Ground members are the grassroots stakeholders that stand with us in the regenerative movement. No topsoils; no food! you can help by supporting our work today. Find farms local to you that are farming in a regenerative way and support them by buying your produce from there. Ray: I met the Kiss the Ground group in 2015. Half are experts working in their respective fields, and the rest are celebrity activists for whom regenerative agriculture and climate change is more or less a cause. It took a Gisele Bundchen and Tom Brady cameo to hit this point home. I enjoyed Woody Harrelson as a narrator; he felt genuine. While I was attending the COP21 conference in Paris in 2015, I was again contacted by Josh Tickell and participated in a follow-up interview regarding the 4per1000 Initiative. These are more expensive, so if you can only afford to go organic with some, choose the Dirty dozen so that you get the health benefits of avoiding all the chemicals too The Dirty Dozen organic.org. Kris: Im always excited by the opportunities to discuss Regenerative Agriculture. There is enough evidence to support regenerative agriculture being a more environmentally friendly form of agriculture to how we are currently farming, but on the other side, I am also weary whenever a solution is proposed as a panacea for tackling climate change what is arguably one of the most complex problems that the human race is faced with. Our mission stands strong: to awaken people to the possibilities of regeneration and inspire participation in the regenerative movement.