Activity 3.2- Regenerative Agriculture Part 1

Regenerative agriculture aims to focus not only on sustainability but also to go one step further and aim to improve the health of ecosystems and restore but also achieve an improvement in agricultural productivity and resilience at the same time. With regenerative agriculture, we seek to give biodiversity a second breath of life.

This type of agriculture is achieved thanks to the various practices that are used by farmers. Farmers have responsibilities such as carrying out rotations of various crops, integrating livestock into various crops, minimum tillage, and diverse crop rotations. Thanks to these practices that work synergistically, it is possible to reconstruct the soil's organic matter, exponentially increase water retention to improve the nutrient cycle, and thus take advantage of all possible ecological means.

Regenerative agriculture plays a crucial role in addressing climate change (Patagonia, 2020) thanks to carbon sequestration in the soil. By having healthy soil, absorbs atmospheric carbon dioxide, this may sound like a bad thing but in reality, it is not... healthy soil stores all the carbon dioxide organically, positively impacting fertility by reducing the need to use synthetic fertilizers that have negative impacts on planet Earth.

This offers a proposal for change to reduce our environmental impact as human beings due to the way we approach the production of our food.

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The videos provided in this module greatly highlight the urgency of taking action to achieve a shift towards regenerative agriculture in order to address challenges and put an end to conventional agricultural practices.

Conventional industrial agriculture represents a great negative impact, as could be seen in the video from Patagonia. There are many failures such as the loss of biodiversity, water pollution, and soil degradation, all of which contribute to climate change among other consequences. The practices of conventional industrial agriculture are such as intense tillage, dependence on synthetic inputs, and monoculture... contrary to regenerative agriculture.

Healthy soil is of utmost importance according to Patagonia and Allan Savory's TED talk. Healthy soils are vital for environmental resilience since they support numerous ecosystems, improve agricultural productivity thanks to their water retention for the absorption of nutrients, and provide greater fertility. (Savory, 2013) The potential to mitigate climate change by restoring ecosystems that have been degraded and adopting holistic practices for their care and maintenance is also highlighted here.

As mentioned in the ''Environmental Cowboy'' video, practices like cover crops, minimum tillage, and rotational grazing are good for rebuilding and improving soil.

The aim is for consumers to raise awareness and take responsibility for looking for foods that have been produced ethically and sustainably to contribute to environmental and social results.

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There are extensive causes of the problems and challenges associated with conventional agriculture, making regenerative agriculture a solution.

The practices carried out in conventional industrial agriculture disturb natural ecosystems, destroying soil nutrients and thus little by little the environment.

By eroding the top layer of soil, organic matter with nutrients is depleted, impacting fertility. This is one of the consequences of excessive tillage.

Monocultures and the use of chemical products in agriculture contribute to the destruction of natural habitats, reducing the abundance and diversity of plants and animals, and making ecosystems no longer resilient.

Excessive grazing and deforestation lead to desertification. By not having fertile soil, the lands become arid, causing a loss of vegetation.

Consumer demand for products at a low price has forced industries to take these measures to stay in the market and also out of ambition.

Finally, the climate change. The emission of toxic gases thanks to conventional agriculture, also known as greenhouse gases, deforestation, and sad degradation of the land due to the use of fossil fuels, and synthetic fertilizers, among others, have caused carbon sinks to be reduced, altering their cycle, and causing climate change.

Addressing these causes is of utmost importance to adopt regenerative practices on planet Earth.

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Meral,T. (2024). Effects of the Causes

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The challenges described in the videos in this module have an impact on my life for different reasons.

Conventional agriculture and its consequences already described impact me as an individual since I have a limited choice of foods that are truly nutritious and I also expose myself to all the health risks from environmental pollution. I have the opportunity to make a change by choosing my food well, and looking for products that come from farmers who work with sustainable methods that are a little harmful to the environment.

Soil degradation can affect the quality of life of human beings since extreme climate changes bring with them events such as droughts or floods, thus impacting agricultural production, making food availability scarce, prices high, and the quality of food. Life in general is not the best. Something we can do is try not to waste food, and take the initiative to donate surplus food to people who need it in order to somehow reduce the environmental footprint of food production and contribute to food security.

We can all raise awareness as individuals about the importance of regenerative agriculture in our community. This can result in something very good like taking collective actions to take care of our food selection and the environment at the same time. Educate yourself on how to have a lifestyle since there are several options such as reducing meat consumption, and supporting local businesses that practice more sustainable methods. We as a community also have the power to decide to contribute positively to solutions for the care of biodiversity.

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I wouldn't say that my thoughts have been challenged during this subject, rather I would say that my thoughts have been educated and oriented regarding the topic of agriculture. I had heard that industrialized agriculture was the best option to constantly feed the population. However, I did not know in detail all the environmental impacts that these practices represent.

Personally, I would say that this series of videos can challenge the thinking of anyone who believes that conventional agriculture is the most profitable option. It raises awareness of why there is a great urgency for a change towards a regenerative culture that prioritizes the care of the soil, the biodiversity, and the resilience of our ecosystems. I feel inspired to make more conscious decisions as a consumer.

References:

Patagonia. (2020, July 29). Why regenerative organic? | Part 1: Big agriculture is broken [Video]. YouTube.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUvabZSGbEk

Patagonia. (2020, July 29). Why regenerative organic? | Part 2: Soil is the solution [Video].https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0VyuddRq88

Patagonia. (2020, July 29). Why regenerative organic? | Part 3: What we’re doing (and why) [Video].https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sfxp7eKuETo
Meral,T. (2024). Effects of the Causes
Savory, A. (2013, February). How to fight desertification and reverse climate change [Video]. TED 2013. https://www.ted.com/talks/allan_savory_how_to_fight_desertification_and_reverse_climate_change
The Environmental Cowboy. (2019, June 29). A dry hope: Short film on regenerative agriculture [Video]. YouTube.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFqtm2lwUFk