Resilience is Resistance

Climate and Cultural Shifts

Regenerative agriculture improves the resources it uses,
rather than destroying or depleting them
–Rodale Institute

It’s no surprise that the statistics on our changing climate are disheartening. In fact, they’re pretty abysmal. If you’re interested, you can check out NASA’s data here. The TLDR version is this: there is an increase in atmospheric carbon, oceans are warming, rising, and acidifying, ice caps are melting, glaciers retreating, and there has been/will continue to be increasing extreme weather events. 

We got here as a result of a good many things, one of those being our agricultural practices prioritizing decades of pursuit of high yields and big profits as quickly as possible, with little to no regard for the long term consequences.  Throughout history, people have been of the mind that their singular actions can’t possibly have a lasting effect… but if everyone abides by that thought process then, well…lasting effects are made.

Though big agriculture has contributed significantly to the changing climate, smaller farmers have been inundated with traditional agricultural practices for the same reason: money. Farming isn’t a great money maker in the first place, so the promise of high yields and big profits is hard to pass up.

The very thing that promised big profits in the short term, though, is a huge part of what causes them loss and devastation in the long term. Farmers will experience (and are currently experiencing) loss caused by a changing climate before much of the population: pest infestations caused by monoculture crops, increasing extreme weather events, drought, the list goes on. Despite experiencing these effects, only 18% of farmers believe the changing climate is being caused by human action, according to an article by St. Louis Public Radio. The prevalent culture of “this is how it’s always been done, why change now?” is partially to blame. This seems to be (very slowly) shifting, but the change needs to happen on a larger scale. A regenerative farming revolution is one piece of the puzzle as far as mitigating the devastating effects of a changing climate. We need more, but this is a starting point.

I am putting forward the idea that regenerative farming and permaculture practices can help mitigate the results of climate change by increasing food security, improving soil so that we can continue to grow food for future generations, reduce waste, foster community building which results in closer bonds between humans, and so much more. By resisting the way things have “always been done,” maybe we can create resilience for the future.

Our Failing Food System

There are very holistic and informative books written on the ways in which our food system has failed us. I won’t attempt to cover this subject in any kind of complete way, but I want to touch on it because learning more about our food system is one of the many things that sparked my interest in permaculture farming back in college. It’s important to know this information, and do with it what you will. I recently came across a statement by a local food delivery company rep that articulated the problem well: 

“The current industrial food system - the supply chain that is extractive, oppressive, and dangerous for our planetary and communal health - is built upon a global financial model that both allows for and rewards externalities.

The price of cheap food very rarely (if ever) represents the true costs. The real cost is captured in the degradation of our environment, a growing hunger-obesity crisis, an increase in the number of food-insecure families here at home and around the world, and a climate problem that will tear at the very fabric of our social stability.”

Monocropping

In traditional agriculture, food is grown as monocrops, or acres of one type of plant. In monocropping, erosion is caused by repeated tilling, which not only causes the soil to become no longer fertile due to depletion of nutrients, but also contributes to pollution and sedimentation in waterways, causing declines in fish and other important species. 

Monocrops are more vulnerable to pests and disease than crops grown in guilds or food forests. 

Given access to a massive field of their most desired food source, pests will reproduce more efficiently thanks to an endless buffet. To combat these pests, monocrop farmers use pesticides made from harmful chemicals which kill beneficial pollinators and have long term effects on the humans who work with and consume them (including, but not limited to cancers, birth defects, reproductive harm, immunotoxicity, neurological and developmental toxicity, and disruption of the endocrine system.) They also seep into the ground, contaminating both the soil and groundwater. The irony is that over generations, these insects build tolerance to the pesticides and become resistant, which results in MORE PEST PRESSURE. So yes, more pesticides = more pests over time…

Food Waste and Home Gardeners

Excess carbon created by food waste is another leading cause of our changing climate. Food in grocery stores and restaurants gets thrown into a landfill when unused. Many households don’t compost their food waste, either because they are unable due to residential restrictions or it just isn’t a priority. Regenerative agriculture and permaculture place emphasis on using food waste to create energy and feed the soil. Keeping a local supply chain means less fuel used during shipment, and ensures an income for local farmers.

Industrial meat production is another top producer of carbon, thus contributing largely to climate change. It’s a controversial topic, but there is evidence to support the idea that vegetarianism/veganism isn’t the best way to combat climate change. Traditional livestock management results in immense deforestation, erosion, and too often, sick animals. Practicing rotational grazing can create a carbon neutral way of raising animals for meat. In regenerative farming, livestock is rotated on different areas of land so that they always have access to fresh food, while the foregables have a chance to grow, keeping the soil healthy and secure. This system of grazing attempts to mimic the grazing patterns of the buffalo on the plains before they were nearly exterminated in the American west. Responsibly managed cattle can literally turn desert back into grassland.

It isn’t just mass produced food that causes harm to us and our environment, it’s also practices that people living in suburban and rural areas don’t even necessarily recognize as harmful. Here are just a few examples of commonly used products that are detrimental to a regenerative practice:

• Tick pellets

• Ant killer

• Glyphosate (weed killer)

• Synthetic fertilizers

These very common products seep into the soil, contaminating plants and harming the wildlife who rely on them, make their way into waterways, and wreak havoc on ecosystems. Not to mention, the products used to make these pesticides are made from fossil fuels, further contributing to environmental degradation. Many types of pesticides also contribute to ground-level ozone production. Ground-level ozone forms when nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds react with each other in sunlight and hot temperatures. Vegetation and ecosystems including forests, parks, wildlife refuges and wilderness areas are particularly vulnerable to the effects of ground-level ozone, and even more so during the growing season. 

TLDR: I present this infographic from Pesticide Action Network of North America:

I’m so thankful if you’ve trudged through all of that bleak information and made it here.

Self-Reliance vs. Community Resiliency

I don’t prescribe to the idea of extreme self-reliance and isolation that is prevalent in a lot of homesteading and farming circles. I believe that the only way to combat the issues I described at the beginning of this post is to set up resilient communities with regenerative practices at the center. Community resilience means that some people grow tomatoes, some grow grain, some raise cattle, while others grow greens and flowers, make soap, raise chickens, and so on, and these people are all able to create a local supply chain where no one person or family has to do everything for themselves. It’s ridiculously simple, and it’s how communities functioned for centuries. 

Dependence on a local supply chain creates an environment where people depend on one another rather than big businesses, which creates community bonds. So in addition to reducing our impact on the environment, we can also create healthier, happier individuals and communities.

If this sounds like I’m advocating for a utopian society, I don’t mean to. I don’t think utopia is reasonable or even possible. However, I really believe that if we designed our lives around these concepts, we would be happier, healthier, and less reliant on global systems (that are clearly failing so many).

The Quick & Dirty Deets on Regenerative Farming

Regenerative farming is really just a method of land management. It is an aspect of permaculture, along with energy-efficient building design, wastewater treatment, waste reduction, and creating biodiverse ecosystems. It includes growing cover crops, rotational grazing of livestock, planting diverse perennials for food, forage, and medicine, reducing tillage and utilizing mulch, and composting. Implementing a few or all of these practices has many benefits:

• Restores soil health by increasing its ability to retain water for plants, thereby increasing plant production and reducing erosion. 

• Supports local farmers by reducing exposure to chemicals that are harmful, improves rural economies, and reduces labor.

• Creates higher yields over time (anything worth having is worth waiting for…)

• Protects wildlife habitats, reduces air and water pollution from chemical fertilizers, manure, and pesticides

• Reduces plant and animal waste

• Improves nutritional quality of food & diet diversity

• Improves food security

I’m just a modest small farmer doing what she can, which makes me feel like I’m doing something productive. However, traditional farming methods can’t be transitioned to regenerative ones without BIG change from the top. It often feels like the actions of a few can’t possibly help change things, but collective action must happen to make progress. Community resilience comes from resistance: resistance of traditional practices that we know are harmful, resistance of doing what’s always been done for that reason alone, and resistance against the depletion of local economies and communities. 

You don’t have to buy a farm and dedicate your life to regenerative agriculture to make an impact. Buying meat, dairy, and produce from local farmers helps. Go to your local farmer’s market and talk to farmers about their practices and read a book or listen to a podcast about permaculture, regenerative farming, or community building. Becoming aware of the problem is the beginning, but taking action by learning more, educating others, and making change is how we can shape how things go for future generations. Folks with grass lawns can turn them into native plant meadows, a pollinator’s paradise, and anyone with the means to do so can start composting (even in an apartment!) by converting food waste into nutrients for plants.

I hope something from this spiel sticks with you. If it does, please share it with someone. I know our failing systems have a lot of us feeling hopeless and desperate, but I have hope that we can create a healthier world for the future by doing little things and advocating for change.

Let me know in the comments what you think about this information, or share something you didn’t realize before reading that was impactful. Building community through important conversations is a big part of why I’m here, after all.

With much resistance and resilience,

Allyson