FACT-CHECK. Every version got better, and the last version was the best one. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. Suggestions for viewers to compost and eat a plant-based diet come off as both insignificant and off the mark after the grand scheme of carbon cycling via production agriculture the whole film had been setting up. Gabe: Yes, I am very optimistic about our future if regenerative practices are widely adopted. Yes, whats on our plate is even more important than where its come from or buying local. 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.. These cookies do not store any personal information. No big deal. Jemima is the Head of Editorial of Plant Based News. For me, its a plant-exclusive diet and for you it might be eating plant-based before dinner often the perfect place for people to start. As prices go up, pending one spends the same budget they had previously set aside for meat, their consumption naturally falls. This movie will also counterbalance the cowspiracy environmentalists and others with incorrect understanding of cows. berger 215 hybrid 300 win mag. Kris Nichols is such a key person in this film because her discoveries have allowed for this movement to be built on cutting edge science that changes how we think about soil and landscape function., Since its not every day I get a chance to interview real-live movie stars, I shamelessly asked Gabe, Kris and Ray if they would answer some of my Inside Hollywood questions about their movie-making experiences and what impact they believe the new movie may have on the regenerative ag movement moving forward. There is extraordinary potential in the layers beneath our feet our Earths soil. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience. On one hand, the use of celebrity ambassadors is an unsubtle but effective tactic to draw casual viewers and followers. Required fields are marked *. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. 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. If youve tried and failed before youre definitely in the right place change is hard, but doable with the right process and support! Our current farming methods are simply not sustainable. 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. Look no further than Kiss the Ground, a newly-released Netflix documentary that explores the relationship between climate change and dirt. Given soil grows 95 per cent of our food, and sustains human life, this is a huge problem. Kiss the Ground features successful composting programs in San Francisco, Detroit, and Haiti. This positioning starts with the documentarys focus on theDrawdown Reportby Environmentalist Paul Hawken from Project Drawdown. To start tiny or full-size victory gardens, turn their lawns into meadows, petition their city councils to zone land for community farms/gardens, or donate to conservation nonprofits or farmland trusts? Kiss the Ground Shares Steps To Protect The Ground Beneath Us Watch the film trailer here and the full movie on Netflix. Our farming systems have moved too far out of alignment with mother nature. A powerful message during a time where the climate emergency is without a doubt causing climate anxiety. Other soil-based carbon capture solutions like composting are crucial to regenerative agriculture. Farmers, scientists, cows, and celebrities work together in this documentary to spread the good word about regenerative agriculture and its potential to mitigate climate change. The message gets across, but the film downplays a meaningful call to action. Directors Joshua Tickell Rebecca Harrell Tickell Writers Johnny O'Hara Joshua Tickell Rebecca Harrell Tickell Stars Starring: Woody Harrelson. How 'Kiss the Ground' Directors Avoided Making Soil - TheWrap 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. Bare soils are at great risk of erosion by heavy rain, and its also been shown that bare soils vary in temperature much more, so the microclimate is changed. 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. The animal point here is controversial I know. kiss the ground fact checking 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. Kris: Im always excited by the opportunities to discuss Regenerative Agriculture. 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. Not to mention, I got a chuckle out of Bundchen calling Earth, Big Mama.. But what good is hope if its false? Local water cycles produce 40% of our rainfall. Ray: Yes, absolutely. Clearly this is something that needs our urgent attention and resolution! Before we get into a few major claims made inKiss the Groundthat are directly at odds with scientific knowledge, I want to preface this entry by saying that I wholeheartedly supportregenerative agricultureas a goal and think the documentary did a great job bringing light to the detrimental impact that intensive animal agriculture is having on our planet. Animals grazing is a part of the carbon cycle, and part of every healthy ecosystem in wild. Biodiverse cover crops to feed the soil biology and protect the soils. There are no simple solutions to complex problems. 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. 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. Gabe: That each and every person needs to step up and make a differencethat they can make a difference by purchasing from farmers and ranchers who practice regenerative ag. Impacts of soil carbon sequestration on life cycle greenhouse gas emissions in Midwestern USA beef finishing systems. One thing with ruminant livestock is that when they are use as solar powered mobile composters in brittle environments, their manure, urine and saliva act as inoculates that increase soil microbiology. Unless we save our soils, we have 60 harvests left! 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. After all, this method of grazing, which Gabe Brown and Alan Savory speak about at length, is being positioned in the documentary as the solution we have all been waiting for to reverse climate change. The solution is right under our feet THE SOIL. Kiss the Ground has been active in this space for a while and is a California-based 501(c)(3) environmental non-profit telling a new story about our ability to regenerate land and reverse climate change by building back healthy soil. The role of ruminants in reducing agricultures carbon footprint in North America. Minimising the amount of mechanical disturbance, with no tilling/ploughing. And of course, havinginterviewedthe co-founders ofKiss the Ground, Ryland Engelhart and Finian Makepeace, in early 2020, I was particularly excited to watch theKiss the Grounddocumentary(and I recommend you watch it too if you havent already). 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. Unfortunately, these incredibly superior solutions are less sexy because they are not tying livestock, and more specifically the consumption of beef, to the solution. The documentary carefully positions holistic grazing as the answer to intensive animal agriculture (including the mono-cropping that occurs to feed factory-farmed animals). The documentary tiptoed around this, failing to make it explicitly clear that the food on our plate has to change, while seemingly wanting us to believe that holistic grazing on its own can reverse climate change. The movie funders wanted to make this movie all about organic farming, but Gabe and I worked on him and showed him that organic farming can be as destructive as conventional farmingand to his credit, Josh learned what regenerative farming was all about. 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. I dont know a single holistic management practitioner that advocates eating more beef. I am very optimistic. 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. 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! Skip on down to the final thoughts if you dont have time to get more into the facts! San Francisco have an amazing system, and are the most sustainable city in the US! Regenerated healthy soil greatly increases the carrying capacity of land, so the amount of land needed for regen grazing isnt an issue. We need to act. Seven years in the making, the movies thesis proposes that by regenerating the worlds soils, humans can rapidly stabilize Earths climate, restore lost ecosystems and create abundant food supplies. Either way, shifting the typical diet in such a way is a certain win for humanity and all life on Earth, and thus something that not only should have been made clearer in Kiss the ground, but something that everyone reading should strongly consider. 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. Great news! I do feel bad for the farmers trapped in the cycle though. care as a social process). doi:10.1093/jas/skx060 http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jas/skx060, Stanley, P. L., Rowntree, J. E., Beede, D. K., DeLonge, M. S., & Hamm, M. W. (2018). The solution is right under our feet - THE SOIL. 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. The French Minister for agriculture proposed a 4 in 1000 plan, to increase the organic content of our soils by 0.4% per year. After 14 years, it is lush farmland again. Watch the Film OUR COMMUNITY Everyone can grow a bit of lettuce or chard, some leeks and some French beans in a small garden, or even most of these on a balcony! It was very much positioned as absolutely crucial to confronting this climate emergency we find ourselves in. If we can only get everyone on board! Finally, the elephant / cow in the room (not sure which is more fitting) duringKiss the Ground is how are we going to produce enough meat using holistic grazing to meet current demands? Hailing from Newcastle, Australia, she predominantly writes about climate and animal rights issues, alongside her work in psychology. I would simply build on the work of Michael Pollan, a well-known science writer: Where possible eat regenerative food, not too much, mostly plants.. Id be willing to donate it to them. It turned out to be more involved than I imagined. kiss the ground fact checking - alfarisqatar.com 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. Its the same reason we dont call doctors healers anymoretheir body of knowledge has been formalized, their work recognized and legitimized as a profession, and their value become obvious. In fact, if we look at the solutions outlined in theDrawdown Reportand their potential to draw down carbon from our atmosphere, shifting to a diet that favours calories from plants is twice as powerful compared to shifting to silvopasture and four times as powerful compared as shifting to managed grazing two forms of regenerative agriculture that involve livestock. Theres also a lot of new recent PEER REVIEWED soil science that demonstrates this. 'Kiss the Ground' review: The soil may save us, but it's not that He's a lover of people and of life. There is not enough money in the world to get me to move from Gods country, North Dakota! And as the documentary states, shifting us from climate warming to climate cooling. All natural systems exist in balance, with a diversity of plants and animals. Ground News rates Kiss the Ground Film's media bias as unknown. Carrie Richards is not giving up. Because whereKiss the Groundlacks in science, it makes up in celebrity power with the likes of Woody Harrelson, Jason Mraz, Ian Somerhalder, Gisele Bndchen, and Tom Brady all featured. Archuleta describes the soil conservation problem as an education problem. Weaker soils need more chemicals. | Plant Based News Ltd, PO Box 71173, London, SE20 9DQ, United Kingdom. Hotter soils during the day create hot rising air, which pushes any of these clouds away, and is how deserts are formed and grow. We are made of carbon (16%) and its the element that life is based upon! 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. For millions of years the world has self-healed and self-balanced. The good news is that soils can recover fast if they are allowed to and managed correctly. Here are five things I learned from Kiss the Ground. shabu shabu groupon. Specifically, regenerative agriculture is a holistic land management practice that . Many would argue soil degradation is the most critical environmental threat to humans. 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. Your email address will not be published. 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. If we choose healthy foods, there is a reciprocation. Garnett, Poore and their ilk just do key word searches on computer screens and average parsed pre-existing data in their papers. 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. You can reach me at novelhandco@gmail.com or connect with me on LinkedIn. This is why science is so important. 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. Industrial agriculture (left) causes desertification through tilling and synthetic pesticides and fertilizers. 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. Ray: Not at the moment, but if Steven Spielberg calls, I WILL answer. All chemical soils are almost devoid of microorganisms, so the plant roots cannot get the nutrients they need. If we look at where many of the 20 or so great civilisations have been, many are now desert Could this be our future if we carry on down this path? 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. There are sites where this has been done, and what was desert is now lush grassland with grasses growing taller than people. This process of soil destruction is detrimental to agriculture. 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. Future of Food: Journal on Food, Agriculture & Society, 4(3), 8. Dont get me wrong. Is it possible that some of the great empires that seemingly vanished, like the Myans and Incas, did so because they over farmed, and could not feed their rising populations? Due to its immense scale, and ability to sequester (store) greenhouse gases, it could be the one thing that can balance our climate, clean our water and feed the world! Many of the pesticides and fertilisers have been derived from poison gases used in warfare (chemical warfare and poison used in gas chambers). For a climate change documentary its actually vey upbeat, because this is the way we can not only slow, but reverse global warming, sucking CO2 out of the air to stabilise our climate again. Its not just about more trees, the carbon that can be stored in healthy, organic material rich soils is much greater. 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. Its sad, really, seeing gray, dead soil devoid of life. I was interested in clicking through at there are many types of regenerative agriculture that do not involve animals for more information, but that currently just links back to this article. Copyright EAT THINK EXPLORE 2020 Powered by WordPress Theme Divi Hosted sustainably by Ecohosting, Join my mailing list to receive the latest news, tips and scientific advice to help you move to a more eco-friendly way of eating and get your FREE guide to get you started on your journey today! 'Kiss the Ground' Review: Celeb-Studded Doc on Fixing - IndieWire Take the Inflammation quiz - what's your level? But 99 percent of those crops go to feeding livestock. Enteric methane is broken down in a short period of time, and microbial methane is the same carbon cycling and recycling over and over. 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. Accessibility StatementPrivacy Policy & Terms of Service, 2022 Kiss the Ground If you cant get them into a council waste system, there are a variety of small compost bins you can put in your garden at home. Theres nothing Netflix and chillabout that. In March and April, he says, farmers are tilling. Post war, these have been rebranded as farm chemicals. 'Kiss the Ground' Shows How Soil Health Can Save Us From - Treehugger Ganretts white paper doesnt even mention soil microbiology. 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. GHG Mitigation Potential of Different Grazing Strategies in the United States Southern Great Plains. (2015). 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. 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. BookstoreBook submissionsNewsNewsletter signupRecipesGardening, Our storyGet involvedJobs/FellowshipPartnersContact usPrivacy Shipping & return policy. The sort of solution you might suspect is at the top of all climate scientists lists. Personally, I think its a must watch for people to truly understand the situation we are in with the soils, why its important to save our soils, and how we can help. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on our website. The basic premise of Kiss the Ground is that the destruction of soil is contributing to the severity and intensity of climate change. 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. When those are plants that we eat, healthy soil is crucial. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 71(2), 156-164. doi:10.2489/jswc.71.2.156 http://www.jswconline.org/content/71/2/156.abstract, Rowntree, J., Ryals, R., Delonge, M., Teague, R. W., Chiavegato, M., Byck, P., . Nicholas Carter and Simon Hill (MSc Nutr). Today, our platform reaches millions through immersive media and education initiatives. Forages and Pastures Symposium: Cover Crops in Livestock Production: Whole-System Approach: Managing Grazing to Restore Soil Health And farm livelihoods. "We should be thriving, the planet booming with life and abundance and the healthiest generation walking the earth. Learn how your comment data is processed. Kiss The Ground - YouTube . 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. Tying the message of Kiss the Ground to voting for policymakers who will systemically change the way the country incentivizes regenerative agriculture and reversing climate change would have been an obvious and easy leap to make. Scientists and researchers in the documentary back them up. Plus FCRNs paper simply ignored the existing peer reviewed science with its claim that no such science exists. The claim: Video shows cracks in the ground that formed after earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. The filmmakers were able to discuss organic and regenerative agriculture, livestock production and veganism, and climate change in a manner that made no individuals or groups either heroes or villains but rather made the soil the hero which is the appropriate focus in my opinion. So its incredibly facile. When receiving subsidies for crops like corn and beans, farmers know that they will make a profit. Kiss the Ground Film | Official Website Where I think the documentary falls short is in three critical areas. Sounds pretty ambitious to champion this form of animal agriculture as a climate solution without strong empirical evidence? kiss the ground fact checking - cnatrainingnyc.com Sustainability, 7(10), 13500. http://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/7/10/13500, Teague, W. R., Dowhower, S. L., Baker, S. A., Haile, N., DeLaune, P. B., & Conover, D. M. (2011). By 2014 there was no vegetation left across an area the size of Belgium! Whats very interesting is the ability of grazing animals to regenerate grasslands from desert, and reduce desertification. 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.