Tilling, the process of pulling up the soil to plant seeds, is destructive to the soil. While the efforts of Archuleta and others are slowly gaining traction, crop subsidies fuel a system that depletes the soil and leaves farmers dependent on the government for aid. what happens if you get a violation on interlock. Skip on down to the final thoughts if you dont have time to get more into the facts! Tilling and chemical agricultural methods have disrupted this cycle and increased the rate of carbon release. He did several versions of this movie. Chemical fertilisers mask the problem of degraded soils by providing the basics for plant growth, but also exacerbate the soil microorganism damage. This website uses third party cookies to improve your experience with your consent. Here are five things I learned from Kiss the Ground. Ryland is also the producer of The Kiss the Ground documentary and the co-creator of the Please read our Comment policy before commenting. We need to talk about agriculture in a way thats meaningful to people with boots on the ground and enumerate specific steps that lead to material change. Required fields are marked *. 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! Harvard research has shown that these chemicals can build up in breast fed babies this use of chemicals has to stop! Regenerative agriculture is an important part of the solution when it comes to climate change. Essentially, Hawken and his team have created a long list of approximately 100 solutions, which when implemented together, would be capable of drawing down more carbon than we are emitting by 2050. Your email address will not be published. There is too much in the air now and too little in the earth (released by tilling and soil degradation and burning fossil fuels and plants/trees) causing global temperatures to rise. Kiss the Groundgave the microphone to Ranchers Alan Savory and Gabe Brown, but we didnt hear about any legitimate science testing out whether the claims they were making truly hold up? Ray Archuleta, previously a conservation agronomist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service and the co-founder of the Soil Health Academy, stands at the front talking to the farmers, and to us. The movie doesn't just dive into the microbiology of soil and soil carbon interactions, it also covers the four main principles of soil health: increasing diversity, minimizing soil disturbance, keeping above ground covered and below ground active at all times, and animal integration. 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. Does the movie miss the mark in any way, or would you have liked to have seen particulartopics covered that were not? Op-ed: 'Kiss the Ground' Misses the Complexity of Climate Solutions in kiss the ground fact checking - alfarisqatar.com There was also no mention of tropical forest restoration which has significantly greater potential at pulling carbon out of the atmosphere compared to grazing cows on land no matter what practice is employed. Your email address will not be published. To move the conversation forward with the urgency this topic deserves, filmmakers have to use the emotion they elicit to generate willpower and give the public the conceptual framework they need to act, not just to feel. poet charles mackay biography Ray: Hope. What the writers ignored is that it was SCIENCE that led to that preferred plan of action. The movie is preaching to the choir here, which I think is why I found it disappointing that the filmmakers felt the need to wrap perfectly good explanations of the mechanisms of carbon sequestration and climate change in more evocative but nebulous language like "heal the planet" or "save the soil. The evidence in favor of regenerative agriculture is irrefutable. 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. 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. 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. . Despite the documentary not spelling it out, its very clear. Kiss the Ground (2020) - IMDb Stardom is a complicated thing, but at least all that money and power are being put to good use. #2 - The planet is desertifying (more land is becoming desert), #4 - Our modern farming methods are killing the soils, #5 - Nature has invented the most sophisticated carbon capture method - photosynthesis, #6 - Soils are a huge potential carbon store, #8 - Regenerative farming can reverse climate change, The way we are feeding ourselves is undermining the very ecology were dependent upon. The first clue is when the documentary makes mention of the natural history of Bison roaming the United States. Will you join us? Heres the big picture: a wide-screen projection of the surface of the Earth. The rest of our topsoils are projected to be lost within 60 years. Its not too long, but youll learn a lot from it. All chemical soils are almost devoid of microorganisms, so the plant roots cannot get the nutrients they need. Carrie Richards is not giving up. This review revealed some all to common perceptions about holistic management, a decision making framework, which can be applied to grazing as well as other management situations. are needed to help heal the earth. Its a story about hope and solutions. 2 Creation of a false dichotomy. Hopefully enough of them will see this movie and find enough alternatives to be able to make some real change. And as the documentary states, shifting us from climate warming to climate cooling. and experts are committed to making an impact through a wide range of contentand Farm work is unglamorous, underappreciated, and not very well-paid for the most part, but it just so happens to be crucial to the survival of our species. Water and carbon escape into the atmosphere in enormous plumes blanketing the entire northern hemisphereshown onscreen as ominous swirls of red. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. I approached this film with professional interest, not just as a News Fellow with Stone Pier Press, but as someone trained in biology at college, regenerative farming at the Rodale Institute (three of the films agricultural experts work/ed here), and food systems at graduate school. Kiss the Ground - Understanding Ag Francis Ge is News Fellow at Stone Pier Press and an aspiring first-generation regenerative farmer. 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. The solution is right under our feet - THE SOIL. We already use 3-4 times more fertiliser for each bushel of grain than in the 60s. I dont know a single holistic management practitioner that advocates cutting down forests to grow more cattle. These animals then emit greenhouse gases. Using livestock is thought to make this process 7 times faster! The bonus being that plant-rich dietary patterns just so happen to also be whatmajor health institutionsand progressive Government departments likeHealth Canadaare advocating for to tackle rising rates of obesity and chronic disease, and improve quality of life. This positioning starts with the documentarys focus on theDrawdown Reportby Environmentalist Paul Hawken from Project Drawdown. I honestly thought it would stand on its own. But I wish people with platforms like documentary films or acting stardom would start framing issues with words that suggest physical work, like "repair" or fix or even "care for/take care of" (i.e. I dont know a single holistic management practitioner that advocates eating more beef. After 14 years, it is lush farmland again. Kris: Yes. And Norborgs paper rehashed papers by Briske and Holechek that looked at short duration rotational grazing systems rather than holistically planned grazing systems [HPG] known in the peer reviewed scientific literature as adaptive multi-paddock or AMP managed grazing systems. Although, when I watched it for the third time, it became obvious that the biology 101 lessons from Ray were cleverly used to dance around the fact there is no solid science to back up Savory and Browns claims. Many of the pesticides and fertilisers have been derived from poison gases used in warfare (chemical warfare and poison used in gas chambers). All of these issues and more can be addressed, at least partially, by regenerative ag. 209 South Oak Ridge Drive It does include grazing planning and management, but also many other things. Kiss the Ground is a nonprofit on a mission to awaken people to the possibilities of regeneration and inspire participation in this movement by educating and engaging through media, communications . Kiss the Ground: Documentary Review - United Church of Christ Compost your food scraps. Consumers falsely see meat as part of the solution, and although they may do their best to seek out regenerative meat (
