A Global Imperative
Image courtesy of momphard.net.
The pendulum can only swing so far. The people can only eat so much junk food, before the civilization collapses. Before people no longer have any rational basis upon which to make decisions, the important decisions required for building a strong, vibrant and well-functioning society. When the people's eating habits make no sense, the society makes no sense. The people go mad from malnutrition and from being poisoned slowly day by day. They go mad - it is inevitable, and we are in the midst of it.
What would it look like - The Agrarian Revolution? In this day and age - of suburbia, of modern society. What sort of peasant uprising do we need - What level of retooling are we capable of?
A transformation in the way we use our lands, our suburban, urban and rural plots of land is imperative. Our work is to grow habitats, not rip them down, to sequester carbon, not fill the atmosphere with it, and to produce healthy natural edibles and medicinals, not be poisoned by big corporate junk food and pharmaceuticals. We should to have grocery stores, but also markets - to rely on ourselves and also on others. To be prepared. To demand rights - the rights to hunt, to garden, to sell our wares, to not be contaminated. To tend the earth and to be part of it. To tend ourselves and our families - and our civilization. To prepare for the future responsibly, by creating REAL VALUE, being real stewards, feeding ourselves well and nourishing our children, and to benefit immensely from it.
Get a book. Read something. Put your hands in the dirt. Take a permaculture class. Do something. Start your education - the one your schooling failed to give you. Learn, really learn, about the world you live in and your opportunity to participate with it. Start noticing the bugs and birds and soil and flowers and how they go to seed and what sprouts up where and how life gives life to life - if we let it. If we tend it.
What would it look like - The Agrarian Revolution? In this day and age - of suburbia, of modern society. What sort of peasant uprising do we need - What level of retooling are we capable of?
A transformation in the way we use our lands, our suburban, urban and rural plots of land is imperative. Our work is to grow habitats, not rip them down, to sequester carbon, not fill the atmosphere with it, and to produce healthy natural edibles and medicinals, not be poisoned by big corporate junk food and pharmaceuticals. We should to have grocery stores, but also markets - to rely on ourselves and also on others. To be prepared. To demand rights - the rights to hunt, to garden, to sell our wares, to not be contaminated. To tend the earth and to be part of it. To tend ourselves and our families - and our civilization. To prepare for the future responsibly, by creating REAL VALUE, being real stewards, feeding ourselves well and nourishing our children, and to benefit immensely from it.
Get a book. Read something. Put your hands in the dirt. Take a permaculture class. Do something. Start your education - the one your schooling failed to give you. Learn, really learn, about the world you live in and your opportunity to participate with it. Start noticing the bugs and birds and soil and flowers and how they go to seed and what sprouts up where and how life gives life to life - if we let it. If we tend it.
Planning for a post-carbon world
without hunger.
What is the Agrarian Revolution?
The Agrarian Revolution is the process whereby we humans transform
the way we use and manage our lands
and the way we eat and shop and care for ourselves.
The transformation is towards a sustainable and rejuvenative way of life for all.
the way we use and manage our lands
and the way we eat and shop and care for ourselves.
The transformation is towards a sustainable and rejuvenative way of life for all.
"From the union of power and money,
from the union of power and secrecy, from the union of government and science,
from the union of government and art, from the union of science and money,
from the union of ambition and ignorance, from the union of genius and war,
from the union of outer space and inner vacuity,
the Mad Farmer walks quietly away." ~Wendell Berry
from the union of power and secrecy, from the union of government and science,
from the union of government and art, from the union of science and money,
from the union of ambition and ignorance, from the union of genius and war,
from the union of outer space and inner vacuity,
the Mad Farmer walks quietly away." ~Wendell Berry
Live Streaming Coverage of Peaceful Protests From Citizen Journalists
Global Revolution brings you live streaming video coverage from independent journalists on the ground at nonviolent protests around the world. The team includes members of Mobile Broadcast News, Glassbead Collective, Twin Cities Indymedia and the alt.media ninjas that brought you Terrorizing Dissent and Democracy 101 documentaries. Currently broadcasting from #OccupyWallStreet protests in NYC that began on Saturday, Sept 17, 2011. Please donate to equip our live video team:http://tinyurl.com/occupywslive
Live video coverage and content from the Global Revolution that began in Tunisia and Egypt, and is spreading around the world.
Live video coverage and content from the Global Revolution that began in Tunisia and Egypt, and is spreading around the world.
Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution
This food revolution is about saving America's health by changing the way you eat. It's not just a TV show, it's a movement for you, your family and your community. If you care about your kids and their future take this revolution and make it your own. Educate yourself about food and cooking. Find out what your child is eating at school. Make only a few small changes and magical things will happen. Switching from processed to fresh food will not only make you feel better but it will add years to your life. You can...
• Sign the petition to save America's cooking skills and improve school food.
• Join the Food Revolution community on Facebook.
READ JAMIE'S PLATFORM FOR CHANGE.
This Food Revolution is about changing the way we eat. We need to start cooking again, to make sure our children don’t grow up on a diet of processed food, at school or at home, and so they won’t have to battle obesity and diet-related illnesses when they grow up. Cooking is one of the most important skills a person can have and it has been proven that families who cook together eat better. A small change in your kitchen in could save the life of someone you love. America needs to do something now, before it’s too late.
READ JAMIE'S FOOD PHILOSOPHY.
My philosophy to food and healthy eating has always been about enjoying everything in a balanced, and sane way. Food is one of life's greatest joys yet we've reached this really sad point where we're turning food into the enemy, and something to be afraid of. I believe that when you use good ingredients to make pasta dishes, salads, stews, burgers, grilled vegetables, fruit salads, and even outrageous cakes, they all have a place in our diets.
• Sign the petition to save America's cooking skills and improve school food.
• Join the Food Revolution community on Facebook.
READ JAMIE'S PLATFORM FOR CHANGE.
This Food Revolution is about changing the way we eat. We need to start cooking again, to make sure our children don’t grow up on a diet of processed food, at school or at home, and so they won’t have to battle obesity and diet-related illnesses when they grow up. Cooking is one of the most important skills a person can have and it has been proven that families who cook together eat better. A small change in your kitchen in could save the life of someone you love. America needs to do something now, before it’s too late.
READ JAMIE'S FOOD PHILOSOPHY.
My philosophy to food and healthy eating has always been about enjoying everything in a balanced, and sane way. Food is one of life's greatest joys yet we've reached this really sad point where we're turning food into the enemy, and something to be afraid of. I believe that when you use good ingredients to make pasta dishes, salads, stews, burgers, grilled vegetables, fruit salads, and even outrageous cakes, they all have a place in our diets.
Woody Tasch's Slow Money Revolution:
Fund Organic Food Projects / Invest in Food Security
40 farmers under 40: Meet the new crop of American farmers
Young and energetic idealists who are bringing local, sustainable food back to the table.
They're urban, they hold advanced degrees and they're often female. They sprout up in not-so-bucolic places like Brooklyn, Oakland, Atlanta and Indianapolis, and they sometimes work as educators, eco-entrepreneurs, yogis, journalists, filmmakers, activists and doting parents on the side. They're passionate and adventurous. And most notably, they're focused on sustainability and community building.
The following list features 40 American farmers under the age of 40, compiled with help from dozens of people in the farming industry — from farmers themselves to those who help them in the nonprofit sector to those in the media who cover them. They aren't in any particular order (farmer No. 5 isn't necessarily better than farmer No. 15, for example), and in no way should this list be considered scientific. Think of it more as starting point, a beginning to a larger conversation about the collective hope for the future of American farming.
The following list features 40 American farmers under the age of 40, compiled with help from dozens of people in the farming industry — from farmers themselves to those who help them in the nonprofit sector to those in the media who cover them. They aren't in any particular order (farmer No. 5 isn't necessarily better than farmer No. 15, for example), and in no way should this list be considered scientific. Think of it more as starting point, a beginning to a larger conversation about the collective hope for the future of American farming.
We Don't Need Industrial Agriculture to Feed the World,
U.N. Report Says
by Adriana Velez · March 10, 2011
Change.org
In January, the Worldwatch Institute released its report, State of the World 2011: Innovations that Nourish the Planet. The report showed through several case studies in Africa that the world can feed itself through agro-ecology, the application of ecological principles to agricultural systems (read: the antithesis of industrial farming). In fact, the report demonstrates that agro-ecological innovations are crucial to addressing hunger worldwide.
This past Tuesday, the United Nations released a report with the same findings. Olivier de Schutter, the U.N.'s Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, presented his new report “Agro-ecology and the right to food” before the U.N. Human Rights Council. For those who love to defend conventional farming through the much-touted "scientific evidence," this is a resounding rejoinder. The report sifts through recent scientific literature, including the research not funded by large corporate interests (e.g., most of our GMO research) and concluded that "small-scale farmers can double food production within 10 years in critical regions by using ecological methods."
This is not about nostalgia, and it's not about romanticized notions of farming days of yore. The U.N. report up-ends what has been conventional wisdom for the past century and challenges us with a new paradigm. As De Schutter says, “To feed 9 billion people in 2050, we urgently need to adopt the most efficient farming techniques available. Today’s scientific evidence demonstrates that agro-ecological methods outperform the use of chemical fertilizers in boosting food production where the hungry live — especially in unfavorable environments.”
This report shows that chemical-free farming methods are actually more efficient than their pesticide-loaded, GMO counterparts. Let's take a look at some of the numbers that demonstrate the success of agro-ecological projects:
What the report boils down to is this: We need to invest in public goods like knowledge, biodiversity, infrastructure, and labor and invest less in private goods like fertilizers and pesticides. This is good news for developing nations, who stand to gain the most from this approach, but it's bad news for industrialized nations like the U.S., where the order of the day is to address world hunger only insofar as it benefits big business. "States and donors have a key role to play here," Schutter warns. "Private companies will not invest time and money in practices that cannot be rewarded by patents and which don’t open markets for chemical products or improved seeds."
And that brings us to genetic modification. Advocates of agro-ecology are somewhat divided on the question of genetically modified (GM) seeds. But even the few who think GM seeds have a place in agro-ecology see that role as extremely limited, certainly not as a widespread panacea. But the use of GM crops under limited circumstances would be utterly unprofitable for the biotech industry, which is whyMonsanto is pushing the White House for a much more aggressive, worldwide GM seed blizzard.
If we want to see agro-ecology get a fair chance, we're going to have to shove corporate interests aside. The so-called green revolution failed, and it's still failing us right now. Take a look at what's happening in Argentina, or all the U.S. crops that have been crippled by superweeds, or organic farmers whose goodshave been contaminated by GM plants. When we tell the Obama administration that we want to invest more in agro-ecology, we also need to tell officials that it's time to cut their ties with Monsanto. We need to stop letting Monsanto call the shots, and put the power to feed into the hands of the people.
You can help support the growth of agro-ecology by signing our petition asking the Obama Administration to deny approval of Monsanto's GE alfalfa and sugar beets.
Photo credit: ILRI via Flickr
Change.org
In January, the Worldwatch Institute released its report, State of the World 2011: Innovations that Nourish the Planet. The report showed through several case studies in Africa that the world can feed itself through agro-ecology, the application of ecological principles to agricultural systems (read: the antithesis of industrial farming). In fact, the report demonstrates that agro-ecological innovations are crucial to addressing hunger worldwide.
This past Tuesday, the United Nations released a report with the same findings. Olivier de Schutter, the U.N.'s Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, presented his new report “Agro-ecology and the right to food” before the U.N. Human Rights Council. For those who love to defend conventional farming through the much-touted "scientific evidence," this is a resounding rejoinder. The report sifts through recent scientific literature, including the research not funded by large corporate interests (e.g., most of our GMO research) and concluded that "small-scale farmers can double food production within 10 years in critical regions by using ecological methods."
This is not about nostalgia, and it's not about romanticized notions of farming days of yore. The U.N. report up-ends what has been conventional wisdom for the past century and challenges us with a new paradigm. As De Schutter says, “To feed 9 billion people in 2050, we urgently need to adopt the most efficient farming techniques available. Today’s scientific evidence demonstrates that agro-ecological methods outperform the use of chemical fertilizers in boosting food production where the hungry live — especially in unfavorable environments.”
This report shows that chemical-free farming methods are actually more efficient than their pesticide-loaded, GMO counterparts. Let's take a look at some of the numbers that demonstrate the success of agro-ecological projects:
- average crop yield increase of 80 percent in 57 developing countries
- average crop yield increase of 116 percent for all African projects
- doubling of crop yields over a period of 3-10 years in 20 African countries
- up to 92 percent reduction in insecticide use for rice in Indonesia, Vietnam, and Bangladesh
What the report boils down to is this: We need to invest in public goods like knowledge, biodiversity, infrastructure, and labor and invest less in private goods like fertilizers and pesticides. This is good news for developing nations, who stand to gain the most from this approach, but it's bad news for industrialized nations like the U.S., where the order of the day is to address world hunger only insofar as it benefits big business. "States and donors have a key role to play here," Schutter warns. "Private companies will not invest time and money in practices that cannot be rewarded by patents and which don’t open markets for chemical products or improved seeds."
And that brings us to genetic modification. Advocates of agro-ecology are somewhat divided on the question of genetically modified (GM) seeds. But even the few who think GM seeds have a place in agro-ecology see that role as extremely limited, certainly not as a widespread panacea. But the use of GM crops under limited circumstances would be utterly unprofitable for the biotech industry, which is whyMonsanto is pushing the White House for a much more aggressive, worldwide GM seed blizzard.
If we want to see agro-ecology get a fair chance, we're going to have to shove corporate interests aside. The so-called green revolution failed, and it's still failing us right now. Take a look at what's happening in Argentina, or all the U.S. crops that have been crippled by superweeds, or organic farmers whose goodshave been contaminated by GM plants. When we tell the Obama administration that we want to invest more in agro-ecology, we also need to tell officials that it's time to cut their ties with Monsanto. We need to stop letting Monsanto call the shots, and put the power to feed into the hands of the people.
You can help support the growth of agro-ecology by signing our petition asking the Obama Administration to deny approval of Monsanto's GE alfalfa and sugar beets.
Photo credit: ILRI via Flickr
