The Great Divide
Our increasing disconnection from our rural origins represents an increasing disconnection from ourselves, compromising our ability to flourish. Perhaps it’s time to rethink our disconnect with food and bridge that great divide.
Our increasing disconnection from our rural origins represents an increasing disconnection from ourselves, compromising our ability to flourish. Perhaps it’s time to rethink our disconnect with food and bridge that great divide.
In my work, growing and saving seeds of rare and endangered cash crops, I was keen to gain an understanding of the challenges and realities for an expanding cohort of horticulturalists that were continuing a traditional, low-input sustainable model of cultivation and responding to an increasing demand for organically grown produce.
For as long as humans have engaged in agriculture, and even before, we’ve relied on healthy soil and the organisms it supports.
Four food advocates from across the United States may challenge your preconceptions of today’s farmers. They shared their views recently on the challenges of providing healthy, sustainable food and ending hunger.
People are coming out of their silos. And if these movements have shown us anything, it’s that if we join forces and mobilise then decision makers will have to act.
“Action on behalf of life transforms. Because the relationship between self and the world is reciprocal, it is not a question of first getting enlightened or saved and then acting. As we work to heal the earth, the earth heals us.”
The rift in the nitrogen cycle is a major threat to the stability of the Earth System. This and subsequent articles will discuss how the natural cycle works and how it has been disrupted in the Anthropocene.
Did you know that we can lose half our food supply and it won’t matter? That’s because agriculture is only 3% of GDP, so there’s no need to worry about the effects of climate change on farming. Or so says the latest genius to win the Nobel Prize in economics.
The problem Vivien identified, of people not wanting to be who they are, is reflected throughout many cultures. Even in the UK, there is a disconnect between wider society and traditional farming practices.
Very few traditional farming systems have had a high share of fruits and vegetables unless you include starchy crops like plantains, potatoes, cassava or yams in your definition.
The good news is that despite the barriers mentioned earlier, conservation agriculture is catching on—it’s just happening more slowly, spreading from the ground up as farmers note that the local weirdo using these practices keeps getting better yields.
On “Food Talk with Dani Nierenberg,” Executive Director of Kanbe’s Markets Maxfield Kaniger talks about the market’s model to reduce food waste and food insecurity.