He did several versions of this movie. Its sad, really, seeing gray, dead soil devoid of life. 2020 | Maturity Rating: TV-G | 1h 24m | Nature & Ecology Documentaries. 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. All whilst minimising our 'footprint'. I help with that too , Join my supportive community to move to eco-friendly eating and receive tips, advice, recipes and support. ), Pollinator garden/market flowers at Copper Cricket Farm. 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. Regenerative farming restores soils; storing carbon and reducing the need for chemical help to improve yields by harnessing natural processes. In fact, it was the single most important thing that lead Savory to question the science regarding overgrazing. 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. 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. Required fields are marked *. Suppose you don't have enough time to read, then watch the KISS the GROUND MOVIE (streaming on Netflix) hosted by Woody Harrelson and directed by Joshua Tickell and Rebecca Harrell Tickell. What the writers ignored is that it was SCIENCE that led to that preferred plan of action. Parents need to know that Kiss the Ground is a 2020 documentary that addresses our current soil erosion crisis throughout the planet and the benefits of practicing "regenerative agriculture." Narrated by Woody Harrelson, the documentary features extensive interviews with farmers, scientists, activists, celebrities, and regular people as they help to create awareness of regenerative . 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. 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. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. There are over 200 peer reviewed papers that tie/correlate the increase of these chemicals with increases in ADD, child cancers and birth defects. In other words, his claims cannot be supported by data, replicated by others and he doesnt believe in science. And as the documentary states, shifting us from climate warming to climate cooling. Support regenerative farming movements like Regeneration International Donate Regeneration International | Organic Consumers (netdonor.net) and Kiss the Ground Kiss the Ground (ktgcommunity.com) which are spreading the word. A Facebook video shows aerial footage of what appears to be large fissures or cracks in the Earth . Gabe: Yes, I am very optimistic about our future if regenerative practices are widely adopted. Makes sense why the documentary didnt go there! Hosted by Robbie Lockie, Plant Based News delivers pioneering vegan news and ethical views weekly. The role of ruminants in reducing agricultures carbon footprint in North America. Do you or your families and friends have a special watch party planned when it streams onNetflix? Its a good vibe, like a 90-minute team-taught TED Talkindustrious, sensible, leaning into the future. Two-thirds of the worlds land is currently desertifying leading to millions of climate refugees and further environmental destruction. Dr. Myles Allen and his research team with their recent GWP* metric point out how short lived GHGs have to be accounted for differently than long lived GHGs.. 1 Claims that holistic grazing can reverse climate change. Rising animal production and consumption, whatever the farming system and animal type, is causing damaging greenhouse gas release and contributing to changes in land use. It also doesnt spend most of its time talking about whos to blame, and its actually mostly about looking for solutions for our futures, and did include suggestions about what we, as ordinary people, can do. This form of regenerative agriculture is by no means the silver bullet that its so often portrayed to be and is certainly not what theworlds leading climate scientistsare most excited by. Thank you for this article! https://blog.whiteoakpastures.com/hubfs/WOP-LCA-Quantis-2019.pdf. We already use 3-4 times more fertiliser for each bushel of grain than in the 60s. what happens if you get a violation on interlock. 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. 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. Watch the film trailer here and the full movie on Netflix. Unfortunately, Savory seems to have led himself to believe that his unscientific approach should be expanded across the world really, tear down more forests to make room for holistic grazing? 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. Gabe: No, but only because I am on to the next project, bringing society together in supporting regenerative ag. Use your local food waste recycling system, and if they dont have one, write to your local council to ask for a food waste collection system. Im not suggesting we should only be changing our diet but given it has greater potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions you would think it would have been given more emphasis than putting cows on pasture. 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. 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. I enjoyed Woody Harrelson as a narrator; he felt genuine. 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. I promise not to sell your information, and if you don't like what I send, you can easily unsubscribe at any point. Where I think the documentary falls short is in three critical areas. You can make change and make a difference, even if you have struggled in the past to make change and feel like a failure. Anyway, I can go on and on doing a review of the shortcoming of this review, but the author is obviously more interested in justifying the supposed superiority of his food religion than he is in actual peer reviewed range, soil or atmospheric science by people who actually understand agricultural systems. The film uses creative graphics and visuals, along with striking NASA and NOAA footage, and illustrates how, by drawing down atmospheric carbon many of humankinds most pressing climate and environmental problems can be solved. Her main aim is to help people to start making some small (but significant) changes to the way they eat so they can enjoy all the benefits, like more energy, less sickness, reduced risks of future disease and less guilt - because we all need less stress and guilt in our lives! 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. Many countries signed, including the UK, but not the US, China or India, the biggest agricultural and CO2 producers. 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. But crop subsidies from the federal government complicate the economics of agriculture. Do you ever think about where your food comes from. Skip on down to the final thoughts if you dont have time to get more into the facts! Dont get me wrong. If we want to lower our environmental footprint the single most important thing we can do iseat more plants. worlds leading climate scientists have to say about diet? Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. 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. Journal of Animal Science. Heres the big picture: a wide-screen projection of the surface of the Earth. Impactfull April 2022, What Does Voluntourism Look Like? Ill summarise the main points for you in this article; what the issues are, why soil is the answer, and how you can help to save you having to invest the time to watching it yourself. There is one hyperlink in error. 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! 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. We told him that you need to leave the audience with hope, which I believe he did. 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. 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! Whilst maintaining a large veg bed to feed the whole family takes up a lot of space and requires time, there are many crops that require very little maintenance or space, and actually like growing in your flower beds amongst the flowers! Everything in natural systems is a cycle and aimed at maintaining balance. I was in California at a meeting and met Finnian Makepeace, who is the groups co-founder. 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. . Also, I must confess that I did not fully understand the implications of a film crew following me all over the country. Overlaying it, a swirling heat map of global atmospheric carbon, changing from dark red to cool blue over the course of a year. Theres nothing Netflix and chillabout that. This is a major oversimplification of our complex and varied farming system. 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If you have found your way to this article, I can only assume that we have something in common: both of us want to see a better world where humans and all life on earth is thriving. 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 . 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. Even though we werent farmers, scientists or experts we knew that together, we could still make a difference! Emerging land use practices rapidly increase soil organic matter.