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Regenerative Agriculture (Plants) as Climate Change Solution

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"If we got 30% of the world changing their agricultural practices, we'd be at carbon negative levels in ten years or less." Peter Andrews, Australia

"If you’ve never heard about the amazing potential of regenerative agriculture and land use practices to naturally sequester a critical mass of CO2 in the soil and forests, you’re not alone. One of the best-kept secrets in the world today is that the solution to global warming and the climate crisis (as well as poverty and deteriorating public health) lies right under our feet, and at the end of our knives and forks." Ronnie Cummins, International Director of Regeneration International

​While in the past, the focus on seeking to address climate change was mostly on reducing carbon emissions from industry, it has finally dawned on many that the biggest problem may be deforestation and the decrease of plants on the Earth - leading to the Earth's inability to capture carbon, cool the planet, produce rain and moderate climate events. See "Rivers in the Sky - How Deforestation is Affecting Global Water Cycles" by Fred Pearce, 24 July 2018, and Rain for Climate. 

Plants appear to be the real saviour of our world. They create humus in the soil which leads to carbon capture, storage of water, cooling of the surrounding area, a functional small water cycle and rain. In short, plants counter the extreme climate events brought about by cutting down forests, industrial agriculture and industry.

Regenerative Agriculture focusses on covering soil at all times, not using chemical fertilisers and ecocidal chemicals (such as pesticides, fungicides etc) and appreciating "weeds" - plants that deserve to be called what they really are, namely
"first succession plants", "land repair plants" and "Guardians of the Soil".

"Weeds - Guardians of the Soil"

As noted in the previous paragraph, it's the plants that will be our saviour. It is thus essential not to kill any plants but embrace them as the miracle that they are. Nature is amazing - and much smarter than humans. Nature knows how to fix problems. When Industrial Agriculture has destroyed soil life and left over only dust, land repair plants come up miraculously, driving their long and strong tap roots all the way down into the compacted soil, thereby loosening the soil and making way for higher succession plants. They also mine minerals from the deeper parts of the soil and bring them to the top to feed more fragile plants, such as non perennial grasses desired by farmers. Last but not least, fast growing land repair plants such as thistles create the best mulch a farmer could dream of - for free.

Australia's probably most progressive farmer, Peter Andrews of Natural Sequence Farming, has been the Plants' Advocate for decades now. Slowly, he is being heard by other farmers and some Government officials.

​Ecocide by Pesticides

Australian agriculture still uses many highly toxic chemicals. Approximately 30 of our sprayed chemicals are no longer allowed overseas due to their high toxicity. 

Watch the short movie “Save the Locust” by Eris O'Brien as an example of the effect of spraying of dangerous pesticides on our wildlife, citizens and water collected on roofs and running into rain water tanks.

More farmers have come around and acknowledge that these poisons will not yield the promised results. Charles Massy, in his new book "The Call of the Reed Warbler", tells the stories of many farmers, including himself, who have chosen to leave chemical agriculture behind and embrace Regenerative Farming techniques.

Alan Savoury's Holistic Management teachings also embrace weeds rather than reject them. 

A major paradigm shift is still required in Australia if we want to allow nature - plants - to save humanity. Unfortunately, many well-meaning so-called "environmental" or "conservation" groups use poisons seeking to "eradicate" so-called "weeds" - which are in fact some of the best and strongest land and riparian repair plants.

In Australia Government laws and policies support this impossible eradication venture. All this "war on [so-called] weeds" does is poison soil live, birds and frogs, and eventually us (class action for chemical poisoning and the ensuing neurological diseases such as Parkinsons waiting to happen? PS: Update of 12 August 2018: It has just happened in the United States: See Johnson v Monsanto, Superior Court of California, see Organic Consumers Association: "Monsanto to Pay $289.2M in Landmark Roundup Lawsuit Verdict", 10 August 2018).

The nativism argument needs to urgently be re-examined.It is not based on any real logic nor science but an outdated paradigm that has only existed since the end of the second World War - when pesticide companies created a new business model - Industrial Agriculture - to push their toxic products onto the world. "Invasion Biology" was invented. Before that, no ecologist would have ever dreamt of supported taking plants out of an ecosystem to fix it, let alone by using carcinogenic and neurotoxic chemicals to poison plants. 

The same applies to so-called pest animals. How is it that a goat become a pest once it's "feral"/"free"? It's still the same goat. How does a horse become a pest animal, because it's no longer fenced in? If humanity wants any chance at survival, we must stop poisoning all plants. Otherwise Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring" awaits as well as a planet wrecked by extreme climate events, uninhabitable for humans.

Food Security through Agroecology versus the "GMOs Save the World" Myth

Food Security has been recognised as an essential task for our governments. 

However, Australia’s Food Security and Australia's farmers are under threat from many sources. The granting of coal licences and Coal Seam Gas (CSG) licences for prime agricultural land is only one example. The planting of Genetically Modified Organisms ("GMOs") with heavy pesticide use is another one.

The large seed and pesticide multinationals (Big Ag) insist on perpetuating the myth that GMOs (genetic engineering) are the solution to world hunger. Our current industrial agricultural system is not sustainable. The use of genetically engineered crops in combination with toxic pesticides depletes the Australian soils, resulting in desertification. In addition, Big Ag abuse the term “sustainable”  to green-wash their unsustainable business practices and sell their highly toxic products. Misleading terminology has been Big Ag's forte for decades - how else could they have come up with the term "Green Revolution" for a highly toxic industrial agriculture system? “Sustainable Agriculture" is a type of agriculture that provides long term stewardship for the land, a type of agriculture that does not make extensive use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides which deplete the precious topsoil, which in turn leads to desertification. Examples of “Sustainable Agriculture” are Permaculture, Agroecology and Biodynamic Agriculture. An example of “non sustainable” agriculture is the type of agriculture that makes use of genetically engineered seeds in combination with highly toxic pesticides. Genetic engineering is not the solution to feeding the world. Biodiversity is. 

Big Ag, and, in turn, our Governments, heavily lobbied by the industry, still embrace and promote industrial agriculture, without taking into account Peak Oil, Peak Phosphate and Climate Change from soil depletion through the use of industrial agriculture. Many assumptions of our economic model, such as that perpetual growth is good for our economies, need to be examined in the context of the following:
  • We will eventually run out of cheap oil (US Peak Oil was reached in the 1970s and, based on some calculations, World Peak Oil was reached in 2008), oil prices will continue to rise, with unpredictable spikes that in turn lead to spikes in food prices and immediate food crises - as experienced in the 30% food price spike and food crisis of 2008. 
  • World trade at current levels will no longer be financially viable, as transport costs will increase with increasing oil prices.
  • Monocultures based on heavy fertiliser and pesticide use will cease to be to be financially viable, as fertiliser and pesticide costs will continue to increase with increasing oil prices. 
We need to think outside the box and shift away from monocultures to entirely new agricultural systems. 

The writer's vision is the creation of worldwide agricultural systems that consist of rural small to medium scale Permaculture farms and urban organic farms that will create thousands of new local farming jobs that cannot be outsourced to other countries and that will produce a large range of GM free, healthy and nutritious food, including bush tucker to encourage native biodiversity, and incorporating natural pest management and bee corridors for our precious food pollinators, the bees.

Why not use common sense and embrace the simple solutions in agriculture and life? For some ideas on how we can shift to local economies, have a look at the Transition Towns movement.

Patenting of Life & Plant Breeders Rights - Biopiracy?

For thousands of years, farmers have selected and saved their best seeds and animals to produce new varieties and breeds with improved qualities and yields. The Permaculture movement, started by Bill Mollison in the 1970s, has adopted this practice for organic agriculture and gardening, with a focus on high quality heirloom seeds, and by promoting its three Permaculture Ethics “Care of the Earth”, “Care of People” and “Fair Share”.

“Fair Share” is extremely important in an environment where we are faced with Peak Everything, Climate Change and Mass Extinction of Species. It is necessary to share as freely as possible, both, inventions and discoveries, to enable us to come up with viable solutions fast. Stringent intellectual property rights on seeds, seed material and ultimately plants hinder fast research and development (R & D).

Over the years, it has become ever easier to obtain a patent, both in Australia and overseas. For example, the patenting of genes and biological materials, that is, the extension from patents on inventions to patents on discoveries, has led to some very unfair outcomes for farmers - as explained in the classic 1997 documentary on GM crops “The Future of Food” by Deborah Garcia and by Percy Schmeiser, the Canadian farmer that was infamously sued by Monsanto for breach of patent when his canola crop was contaminated with GM seed from Monsanto.

In 2012, an attempt was made at recalibrating the patent system by introducing the Intellectual Property Laws Amendment (Raising the Bar) Act 2012 (Cth) was enacted to amend the Patents Act 1990 (Cth). However, numerous shortcomings of the patent system, such as the practice of patenting genes, have not been fixed with this Act. Instead the courts have been left with dealing with this. See Cancer Voices Australia v Myriad Genetics Inc [2013] FCA 65, Federal Court of Australia, Nicholas J, 15 February 2013. This is a test case on whether gene patents can be granted in Australia, specifically whether a patent can be granted over the BRCA1 gene. Watch Prof Peter Cashman explain the law and the court case before the hearing and before the judgment was handed down: “Patenting of Genes - Ownership of Crops and Cures by Multinationals”. Unfortunately, the applicants lost the case. Nicholas J held that an isolated gene, in contrast to a gene in situ, is patentable. Ms Yvonne D'Arcy, the second applicant, appealed the case. The appeal was heard in August 2013 in the Full Federal Court in Sydney. Unfortunately, Yvonne D'Arcy lost the appeal before the Full Federal Court of Australia: see D'Arcy v Myriad Genetics Inc [2014] FCAFC 115 (5 September 2014). The Full Federal Court decision is the opposite of what the highest court of the United States decided on the same issue, namely, that isolated genes cannot be patented in the United States. See also the following news articles on the Full Federal Court of Australia judgment: "Australian federal court rules isolated genetic material can be patented - Decision is likened to ‘being allowed to patent oxygen’, as critics warn of serious repercussions for medical research", The Guardian, 5 September 2015, and "Calls for patent law reform after Federal Court judgment", ABC, 5 September 2014. Ms Yvonne D'Arcy was given leave to appeal to the High Court of Australia. On 7 October 2015, Ms D'Arcy finally won - the High Court held that isolated genes cannot be patented in Australia. See D'Arcy v Myriad Genetics Inc [2015] HCA 35. The consequences of this judgment are far-reaching. Thousands of Australians patents appear to have become invalid with this test case.

Links

Education - Sustainable Farming Methods Reports etc that support changes to Australian Government policies on land management and agriculture - economic and environmental considerations Reports etc on the dangers of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) and pesticides Experts Seed Saving Not for Profits - Regenerative Agriculture, Seed Freedom and Food Security & anti GMO Books on land and water management Documentaries and lectures Short inspiring talks "Friendly Farmers" and "Friendly Farms" Courses and workshops Transition Towns and Local Economies
Patents - Australia Patents - United States
  • "Myriad Genetics" case. First instance: Association for Molecular Pathology v Myriad Genetics, United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (held: genes not patentable). Second instance: Myriad Genetics v Association for Molecular Pathology, United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (held: isolated DNA can be patented). Third instance: Association for Molecular Pathology v Myriad Genetics, Federal Court, second hearing, 16 August 2012 (held: isolated DNA can be patented). On 30 November 2013, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the plaintiffs' appeal of the Federal Circuit' ruling. Oral arguments were heard before the Supreme Court on 15 April 2013. See the transcript here. Myriad lost in The Supreme Court (the highest court in the United States) which decided on [insert date] that isolated genes cannot be patented: see [insert judgement details]
  • Prometheus case: Mayo Collaborative Services v Prometheus Laboratories Inc (Supreme Court of the Unites States, 20 March 2012)
  • “The Future of Food” - classic 1997 documentary on GM crops by Deborah Garcia
Patents - International Patents - Canada  Plant Breeder’s Rights Genetically Modified Organisms (“GMOs”) Labelling Laws Pesticides - law suits Pesticides - Government Departments Pesticides. The following pieces of legislation deal with chemicals. Agricultural products include chemicals which destroy or repel pests or plants. Life Stock Farming Life Stock Farming. The following pieces of legislation deal with chemicals. Agricultural products include chemicals which destroy or repel pests or plants. Veterinary products are used to prevent, diagnose or treat diseases of animals. International Environmental Law - Living Modified Organisms (LMOs) and Biodiversity International Trade Law Foreign Investment

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