kiss the ground fact checking kiss the ground fact checking

Focussing on this review was a clever move by Kiss the Ground Paul Hawken and the Project Drawdown are incredibly well respected. Given soil grows 95 per cent of our food, and sustains human life, this is a huge problem. Local water cycles produce 40% of our rainfall. The long term prognosis for our survival with business as usual is very, very poor . Soil is the solution and we have numerous options and opportunities to actualize this solution as consumers, farmers, ranchers, and environmentalists by focusing on the integration of biological processes. We knew the film would really embody the spirit of the regenerative agriculture movement if Ray and Gabe were in it., And from the first days that Kiss the Ground the organization started, the work and research of Kris Nichols were fundamental to grasping why rebuilding soil was not only possible but the biggest solution to the climate, water, and food crises. Grazing management impacts on vegetation, soil biota and soil chemical, physical and hydrological properties in tall grass prairie. In fact, in theDrawdown Report,when you factor in the land that would be freed up if the entire world shifted to a plant-rich diet, this becomes the single biggest lever that each of us can pull to lower our individual environmental footprint. The rest is projected to be lost within 60 years. Copyright 2021 Understanding Ag, LLC | Website by RVT Solutions. Thank you for the review. Its sad, really, seeing gray, dead soil devoid of life. Nature strives for balance, and has a system for reversing the carbon released into the atmosphere using the growth of plants and their relationship with soil microbes. Ultimately, if high consuming individuals and countries want to do something positive for the climate, maintaining their current consumption levels but simply switching to grass-fed beef is not a solution. Ultimately, a covered planet is a healthy planet Earth needs to be covered in plants. So ifKiss the Groundhad taken a more evidence-based approach and included dietary recommendations what would it have looked like? (PLEASE VOTE November 3rd or earlier!! It does include grazing planning and management, but also many other things. There are many things you can do, all varying in difficulty. I was in California at a meeting and met Finnian Makepeace, who is the groups co-founder. Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. 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. So really, the idea of conservation and restoration, needed to be absolutely front and center ifKiss the Groundtruly wanted to educate the masses about how agriculture can help tackle climate change. All farmable soil could be gone in 60 years. Repeatedly using abstractions to sum up complex issues makes people comfortable talking about soil as if there is one entity, soil, that we (who is we, anyway?) Im sure we can all agree that factory farming is a blight on humanity, and there is far too much mono-cropping, but assuming that its either this intensive form of animal agriculture or holistic grazing, is not accurate. Yes, theres no doubt ruminant poop can help improve soil quality, butthere are many types of regenerative agriculture that do not involve animalsoranimal manureand others that act as sanctuaries using animals on their land without sending them to slaughter. So why did a documentary about regenerative agriculture and the power of growing plants not encourage people to grow their own food? Many of the pesticides and fertilisers have been derived from poison gases used in warfare (chemical warfare and poison used in gas chambers). Science can provide us with some valid assumptions, but it does not provide recipes. Narrated and featuring Woody Harrelson, Kiss the Ground is an inspiring and groundbreaking film that reveals the first viable solution to our climate crisis.. Unless we save our soils, we have 60 harvests left! We told him that you need to leave the audience with hope, which I believe he did. Shop organic where you can. My greatest hope is for me to continue to do this and any chances I have to do so, I will take. Kris: No, but I am working on creating a virtual party with friends and family as we are scattered throughout the U.S. Ray: I will have a few people over. Kiss the Ground reveals that, by regenerating the world's soils, we can completely and rapidly stabilize Earth's climate, restore lost ecosystems and create abundant food supplies. Its a system of thinking and working that takes knowledge, skill, experience, endurance, affinity, if you've got it, and a lot of hard work, just like any other difficult undertaking. The movie didn't even include an indictment of current US politics or President Trump, which is notable by its absence considering the film was released so close to election time. Why not let the viewer know what theworlds leading climate scientists have to say about diet? Theres nothing Netflix and chillabout that. The first clue is when the documentary makes mention of the natural history of Bison roaming the United States. I doubt this will require an agent or a move haha! By practicing regenerative agriculture, a no-till, chemical-free system designed to bolster and protect soil health, we can grow healthier plants, sequester more carbon, and ultimately reverse climate change., Narrator Woody Harrelson calls regenerative agriculture a simple solutiona way to heal our planet and asks viewers to save our soil in hopes the soil might just save us., The short version: Growing food with regenerative agriculture leads to healthier soil, better food, cleaner skies, and clearer water. Bare ground is hotter in the day, and cooler at night; threatening the microorganism populations within, and increases water evaporation, as the ground temperatures rise, the soils become dryer, again, impairing the ecosystem the microorganisms exist within. I honestly thought it would stand on its own. Check out her story here or take a look at HOW she can help you on the Services page. Gabe: I agreed to become involved because when Josh explained to me that the purpose of the documentary was to highlight how farming organically could improve our planet, I knew I needed to help bring his understanding of soil health and ecosystem function to a higher level. The filmmakers additionally say "Kiss the Ground" has earned the attention of scientists, farmers and activists alike, crossing boundaries in terms of a highly politicized issue and even being . 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Harvard research has shown that these chemicals can build up in breast fed babies this use of chemicals has to stop! My hope is that this film will give consumers, farmers, and ranchers all of us the hope, courage and knowledge to choose biologically-based practices and tools to regenerate soil. There is one hyperlink in error. While Morgan Freemans voice might have been a better match for shots of billowing fields of grain, perhaps Harrelsons raspy tone is an appropriate fit for the seriousness of the climate crisis. Potential mitigation of midwest grass-finished beef production emissions with soil carbon sequestration in the United States of America. Did you know that we can save the world with soil? A Feb. 27, 2023, video of U.S. President Joe Biden purportedly shows him announcing a new national draft, in which 20-year-olds would be conscripted into military service on account of a growing . A plant-rich dietary pattern that places emphasis on regeneration but really could be chopped in a number of ways to suit the individual Mediterranean, paleo, pescatarian, vegetarian, vegan, etc can all be done in a plant-predominant manner. Stardom is a complicated thing, but at least all that money and power are being put to good use. "All farmable soil could be gone in 60 years. If you are wondering whether its worth your time to watch, or want to know the gist but dont have an hour and a half to spare, read on and Ill cover the key points simply and factually for you. If you want to hear a bit more explanation of these, click here or scroll down. This is a great way to help poor communities to reduce their disease from poor sanitation AND grow their own foods to lift them out of starvation and malnutrition! They correctly state that Bison would pass through land and not be seen for around a year. care as a social process). The fix is simple: Mimic nature, cover the soil andunderstand how soil is intended to function. Check out Kiss the Ground website, where you will find other ways to be involved and even learn how to Become a Soil Advocate! Upcoming Kiss the Ground Movie Features Three Understanding Ag Experts, Questions and Answers with Our In-House Stars. These cookies do not store any personal information. For people who have an hour and a half to watch something like this, For people who are time strapped or not sure that this is their kind of thing, The way we are feeding ourselves is undermining the very ecology were dependent upon. The claim: Video shows cracks in the ground that formed after earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. Im Alexa, the Founder and Editor of Novel Hand. If we adopt regenerative farming practices, we can reverse carbon release into the atmosphere and stabilise the climate, and it wont take long! Over the years, tilling causes the soil to dirt, leaving it vulnerable to erosion and desertification. There are a few clues within the documentary that speak to this but they are by no means overtly clear to the viewer. Forages and Pastures Symposium: Cover Crops in Livestock Production: Whole-System Approach: Managing Grazing to Restore Soil Health And farm livelihoods. If the U.S shifted away from intensive livestock farming to traditional grazing, its been calculated that theavailable grasslands would only be able to produce 27 percent of the countries current beef supply. Cited as the worst man made environmental disaster in history, by the end of 1934 about 200 million acres of croplands had been permanently damaged. But tilling is incredibly intrusive to the soil structures, destroying the balance of microbial life which create organic matter and help the plants get the nutrients to grow. Gabe: I was assured by Josh that the information I presented would not be taken out of context and he agreed to run edits by me first. These animals then emit greenhouse gases. . Its clear to see that levels of CO2 in the atmosphere above the main agricultural areas increase significantly in the main tilling/ploughing months, and then as plant cover increases in the fields, it drops! This carbon is then absorbed by plants, which use it in their cells and leak into the soils in the form of sugars. Two-thirds of the worlds land is currently desertifying leading to millions of climate refugees and further environmental destruction. We have now decoupled these so farmers are either crop or livestock, and each are done on an intensive scale, with no natural cycles in place. As Ian Somerhalder says in the documentary, Cows can be good. While many blame cows for carbon emissions, and rightfully so, they can actually be a part of the solution. Sarah is a Nutrition and Behaviour Change Coach who focuses on helping people to eat in a way that's better for their health AND for the planet. Practically speaking this looks like the plate below perhaps this could be The Regenerative Plate that Kiss the Ground adopts in their communication going forwards. Instagram @maggie.eileen.art). But crop subsidies from the federal government complicate the economics of agriculture. Eating less meat, of all types, is. Our modern farming methods are not concerned with soil longevity or quality and are significantly to blame for the destruction of the soils. Its not the most interesting topic of conversation for most, so try just mentioning a one or two of the following points and see if that gets a conversation going. As the plants struggle to grow following the removal of organic material year on year, and in the absence of their supporting microbial populations, our farmers resort to chemical fertilisers. . I promise its way easier to mail one ballot than to cut meat out of your diet or petition your city to collect compost! Garnett, Poore and their ilk just do key word searches on computer screens and average parsed pre-existing data in their papers. 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. Its within this context, that it becomes so vividly apparent, that in this conversation we are not just talking about planetary health, but at its core, human health. Every year 40m people are displaced as their farmlands become desert. A revolutionary group of activists, scientists, farmers, and politicians band together in a global movement of "Regenerative Agriculture" that could balance our climate, replenish our vast water supplies, and feed the world. Share this article or talk about the importance of soils to your friends. After all, its communities of color, low-income communities, and immigrant communities who do the majority of the essential work of growing food and yet are most exploited and harmed by the agroindustrial complex. Other soil-based carbon capture solutions like composting are crucial to regenerative agriculture. Does the movie miss the mark in any way, or would you have liked to have seen particulartopics covered that were not? All whilst minimising our 'footprint'. There is a large focus on America, but the issues here in the UK (and the rest of the world) are similar, so it is applicable to all. Get our weekly editors newsletter & special offers delivered right to your inbox! Do you or your families and friends have a special watch party planned when it streams onNetflix? The solution is right under our feet - THE SOIL. Rumi. Journal of Animal Science. (2015). 1 Claims that holistic grazing can reverse climate change. The message gets across, but the film downplays a meaningful call to action. Hopefully, this movie will help open many more. Will you join us? The animals themselves arent the problem, where and how is the issue. This isnt the only literature review that has found a lack of science to support Savorys claims about holistic grazing with another detailedreviewof the literature out of Sweden by Maria Nordborg, coming to the same conclusion. star wars fanfiction terran alliance; when a girl says i'll keep that in mind; hillsborough disaster who was to blame; how to get into stanford with a low gpa The key points in Kiss the Ground. Kiss the Ground brings together a diverse coalition of scientists, farmers, and advocates to share this story, showcase the benefits of adopting regenerative agriculture, and build a movement aimed at renewing the planet's ecosystems. Unfortunately, there are still very few about, especially in the UK. These will be using less chemicals and therefore come from healthier soils than normal veg; hugely better for soil biodiversity, natural biodiversity and your health. Gabe: No, but only because I am on to the next project, bringing society together in supporting regenerative ag. Since chemical agriculture ramped up in the 70s, we have lost 1/3 of the worlds topsoil. They are told that the chemicals will make things better by the companies selling these chemicals, and not helped to learn how to work with nature, rather than against it. Impactfull April 2022, What Does Voluntourism Look Like? Unfortunately, these incredibly superior solutions are less sexy because they are not tying livestock, and more specifically the consumption of beef, to the solution. Hi! And as we all know, this creates a slippery slope. Kris: Im always excited by the opportunities to discuss Regenerative Agriculture. Not to mention, I got a chuckle out of Bundchen calling Earth, Big Mama.. Hi there to all, for the reason that I am genuinely keen of reading this websites post to be updated on a regular basis. Ray: As they say, He who has the gold makes the rules, so there was a lot of pressure to have Josh, the director, slant this movie towards veganism, messaging cows are bad, eat less meat, carbon footprint, and organic farming will save the world, kind of stuff. It would be great to see what was meant to be there! Commercial meat farming has one of the highest negative impacts. Their technical expertise should be enough to convince us that their message is not only correct but worth listening to. The sort of solution you might suspect is at the top of all climate scientists lists. When those are plants that we eat, healthy soil is crucial. Im Sarah, a Sustainable Nutrition and Behaviour Change Coach, and Im here to help if youre done with feeling guilty about doing too little to reduce your environmental impact and feed yourself healthy foods. Rousing speeches have their place in communicating the gravity of the situation to the public, funders, and policymakers, but its not a framing that suggests concrete action, or even a plan. It's a tool. Remember that the decision to depopulate the elephants when Savory was with the game department was a result of the current science among wildlife researchers. Minimising the amount of mechanical disturbance, with no tilling/ploughing. 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. There are a number of others as well as many more in the pipeline. Humans have created such a massive disturbance in our topsoil and atmosphere that the only way out is forward. Why? Having gone from being a vegetable hating, stressed out and sick corporate mum who felt constant guilt for not feeding her family properly and not doing enough for the planet to a healthy, veggie loving and eco-minded mother with much less stress, she's been where you are and can definitely help you overcome your barriers! Kiss the Ground is a new, feature-length movie that explores key soil health and regenerative agricultural principles, and features interviews with a wide range of authors, experts, farmers, researchers and scientists. If we want to lower our environmental footprint the single most important thing we can do iseat more plants. Ray: Yes, absolutely. Kris: We are facing a catastrophic cascade in Earths ecosystems impacting human health and the global economy which fundamentally rests in pressures stemming from changes in the economic and ecological agricultural landscape due to climate change and escalating worldwide competition for natural resources and commodities, including petroleum, natural gas, grains,oilseeds, and proteins. To rotate cows like bison, it means leaving land free from roaming animals for at least six-nine months a figure that Alan Savory states himself in the documentary. Fund charities that are helping people to compost their poo in toilets in the third world. They love their land and lifestyle, they are just trying to survive, while being poisoned themselves by the chemicals they must use to keep their fields producing. Directors Joshua Tickell Rebecca Harrell Tickell Writers Johnny O'Hara Joshua Tickell Rebecca Harrell Tickell Stars As Hannah Ritchie, Phd (Geosciences) puts it: Whether you buy it from the farmer next door or from far away, it is not the location that makes the carbon footprint of your dinner large, but the fact that it is beef.. Dont get me wrong. Use this compost for your beds rather than buying in compost or fertilisers. 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. Your email address will not be published. Unfortunately not as much as I had hoped. Please check your entries and try again. Kiss the Ground features successful composting programs in San Francisco, Detroit, and Haiti. Using livestock is thought to make this process 7 times faster! This means that compared to factory farms, or traditional grazing where cows are overgrazing and destroying the soil, a regenerative farm using holistic grazing would require a lot more land for any given number of roaming cows. "Kiss the Ground" has a bevy of information to impart, however, and its plucky resistance to politicizing any of it while also acknowledging that so much of this is indeed at the mercy of. At Novel Hand, Im specifically interested in learning about topics related to justice and poverty, and how to create equitable, sustainable impact. Our independent team of journalists forests are typically far better at doing this than grasslands, when you factor in the land that would be freed up if the entire world shifted to a plant-rich diet, there are many types of regenerative agriculture that do not involve animals, available grasslands would only be able to produce 27 percent of the countries current beef supply. But the agreement is that all of the richest grasslands in the world have large grazing animals. The natural carbon cycle involves carbon release by animals consuming plant and other organic materials and releasing the carbon as carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Thanks for a well-referenced and easily readable article this seems like a great resource to send to people. And lets not forget, this is the same man who ordered40,000 African elephants to slaughterbecause he incorrectly thought they were damaging the land. To me, it undermines the articulate, informative explanations offered by the professionals with actual working farms and advanced degrees who are given the floor for much of the film. They are both such impactful leaders in this movement because they are called to bring these concepts to farmers and ranchers everywhere. Gabe: Yes, I am very optimistic about our future if regenerative practices are widely adopted. This dirt then cannot store water, and heats up massively under the sun with no protection, baking the soils and exacerbating the problem. All chemical soils are almost devoid of microorganisms, so the plant roots cannot get the nutrients they need. Because not only does this mean less greenhouse gas-emitting ruminant animals, but it means we can draw down more carbon from the atmosphere forests are typically far better at doing this than grasslands. Garnetts FCRN self published paper basically just repeated Norborgs paper verbatim. There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground. If youve seen The People vs. Larry Flynt in all of its obscenity, like I did in Constitutional Law last semester, youll be a little surprised to hear the voice of actor Woody Harrelson narrating a documentary about social and environmental issues. Consumers need to do their part by supporting pastured proteins. I enjoyed Woody Harrelson as a narrator; he felt genuine. My hubby is from Alberta, the beef province of Canada and he was telling me about how land intensive pasture raised animals are. Regenerate America is an unprecedented coalition of farmers, businesses, nonprofits, and individuals from every corner of our country and all political stripes, convened by the national soil health 501 (c)3 nonprofit organization, Kiss the Ground. Despite the documentary not spelling it out, its very clear. Real change requires drawdown: year to year reduction in carbon dioxide levels. By taking carbon dioxide from the air, and sending it down to soil microbes in exchange for nutrients, plants can not only remove carbon from the atmosphere, but store carbon in the soils. Holistic management is a decision making framework which has been developed over the years to deal with complex situations. Soil organic matter [SOM] is largely created through microbial necromass. Ganrett also doesnt have a clue how tropospheric hydroxyl oxidation works. I also thoroughly enjoyed Pauls episode onRich Rolls podcastwhere he speaks at length about Project Drawdown. Heres the big picture: a wide-screen projection of the surface of the Earth. Thank you for this article! Kiss the Ground is a new, feature-length movie that explores key soil health and regenerative agricultural principles, and features interviews with a wide range of authors, experts, farmers, researchers and scientists. Theyre disconnected form the real world. This is the central statement of Kiss the Ground, an eco-educational Netflix documentary directed and produced by Josh and Rebecca Tickell.On-the-ground agricultural practices carried out by millions of individual farmers directly affect the health of the soil, and by extension, global atmospheric carbon levels and the pace of climate change. Now all debates have two sides and Savory has been confronted with this information before. 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! Sign up with your email address to receive news and updates. This is a huge problem. Its especially interesting to me as I am working towards a biology degree and hope to become a soil scientist. Another issue with our modern methods is that we plough to remove existing plants, and then plant, or even leave the field bare over winter. Any plans to hire an agent or move to L.A? This process of soil destruction is detrimental to agriculture. I promise not to sell your information, and if you don't like what I send, you can easily unsubscribe at any point. Its predicted that, if we can scale up some of these farming methods over the next 30 years, we can REVERSE global warming. After the country decided to increase yields and started intensively farming and tilling the fertile midwestern plains, leaving the soil bare for large periods of time. Factory farms are good at one thing producing a lot of meat in a short period of time to feed a growing appetite for meat. So the the more microbes, the more necromass and the faster SOM including soil organic matter is built. There was a huge opportunity for the filmmakers to ask open-ended questions and seek new avenues of thought and action, but they went the safe route of trying to be inspiring. GHG Mitigation Potential of Different Grazing Strategies in the United States Southern Great Plains. 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. Yes, whats on our plate is even more important than where its come from or buying local. Hopefully enough of them will see this movie and find enough alternatives to be able to make some real change. and experts are committed to making an impact through a wide range of contentand Grazing livestock are net contributors to the climate problem, as are all livestock. The next thing I want to address, and perhaps the most important take-home message here, is the science underpinning holistic grazing is flaky at best. 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. have no problems. Its absolutely good to love the earth and want to save the soil. Nicholas Carter and Simon Hill (MSc Nutr). poet charles mackay biography Accessibility StatementPrivacy Policy & Terms of Service, 2022 Kiss the Ground All of us make critical decisions every day as we manage our lives and we dont consult the literature when making those decisions. If filmmakers are serious about educating and calling people to action, they shouldn't couch their messages in gentle, sweeping language. Regardless of the above claims being scientifically supported or not (well come to that) if one is to advocate for a shift to holistic grazing this will inevitably result in a dramatic reduction in global meat supply.