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. Anecdote and expert opinion or theories are at the bottom of the evidence hierarchy, and its not until we see the findings from higher levels of science, reproduced on scale, that we can begin to have confidence in what we are observing. 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. 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. There are a few clues within the documentary that speak to this but they are by no means overtly clear to the viewer. 'Kiss the Ground' review: The soil may save us, but it's not that Talking about the importance of beingbetter stewards of our land, and why we must do a better job at protecting our natural resources and ecosystems, is absolutely crucial if our species is to not just thrive on Planet Earth, but survive. Harvard research has shown that these chemicals can build up in breast fed babies this use of chemicals has to stop! All of these issues and more can be addressed, at least partially, by regenerative ag. Many of the pesticides and fertilisers have been derived from poison gases used in warfare (chemical warfare and poison used in gas chambers). As a side note, the documentary routinely employed uses numerous fear-mongering tactics to scare the viewer into grasping for whatever solution comes next. Watching attentively, a classroom full of farmers. Josh Tickell, the director of the movie, was associated with Kiss the Ground and was making a film on organic farming when I met him. All chemical soils are almost devoid of microorganisms, so the plant roots cannot get the nutrients they need. 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. 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. In March and April, he says, farmers are tilling. 'Kiss the Ground' Shows How Soil Health Can Save Us From - Treehugger For Schools & Educators | Kiss the Ground Film Were trapped on a planet to which we've already done irreparable damage. This movie has given soil a voice to say, I am not dirt! Despite all of this, my fear is that many will be left with a complete misunderstanding of where environmental science truly lies. Kiss the Ground Shares Steps To Protect The Ground Beneath Us poet charles mackay biography A Facebook video shows aerial footage of what appears to be large fissures or cracks in the Earth . Using perennials and trees as protection for the soils. 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? Heres the big picture: a wide-screen projection of the surface of the Earth. Watch the film trailer here and the full movie on Netflix. 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. kiss the ground fact checking - cnatrainingnyc.com 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. Im not saying the filmmakers should have gotten a token Black person, but they couldnt have gone wrong centering the voices of people for whom the stakes of not reversing climate change are much higher than their own. 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! Work your way down the list until you find the things that youre willing to do. Two-thirds of the worlds land is currently desertifying leading to millions of climate refugees and further environmental destruction. He did several versions of this movie. 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. Its especially interesting to me as I am working towards a biology degree and hope to become a soil scientist. Accessibility StatementPrivacy Policy & Terms of Service, 2022 Kiss the Ground What do you hope will be an outcome from the movie? 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. 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 We already use 3-4 times more fertiliser for each bushel of grain than in the 60s. 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. Ganretts white paper doesnt even mention soil microbiology. Kris: Yes. Kiss the Ground Directed by Joshua Tickell, Rebecca Harrell Tickell Documentary 1h 24m Find Tickets When you purchase a ticket for an independently reviewed film through our site, we earn an. One can only presume that the slaughtering of the animal is not about soil quality, but about profits. 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. Livestock and Land Use: How Are We Feeding The Planet? 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. They correctly state that Bison would pass through land and not be seen for around a year. 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). The solution is right under our feet THE SOIL. Ground News rates Kiss the Ground Film's media bias as unknown. Their mob grazing action and the impact of their hooves is important. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 141(34), 310-322. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2011.03.009, Plus a recent LCA funded by General Mills: kiss the ground fact checking - xarxacatala.cat The review is plain evidence that we see what we believe and the reviewers beliefs greatly clouded their vision. Required fields are marked *. Our current farming methods are simply not sustainable. In other words, his claims cannot be supported by data, replicated by others and he doesnt believe in science. Desertification is the process of land turning to desert. You can reach me at novelhandco@gmail.com or connect with me on LinkedIn. 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. are needed to help heal the earth. Over the years, tilling causes the soil to dirt, leaving it vulnerable to erosion and desertification. Also that we can fix this and the fix is quite simple. Weaker soils need more chemicals. No topsoils; no food! There is not enough money in the world to get me to move from Gods country, North Dakota! About Kiss The Ground - Kiss the Ground Jeff Creque, Rangeland Director, Carbon Cycle Institute. But crop subsidies from the federal government complicate the economics of agriculture. Unless we save our soils, we have 60 harvests left before global starvation. In the past, I did not like how certain environmental groups portrayed farmers. Many would argue soil degradation is the most critical environmental threat to humans". Today, our platform reaches millions through immersive media and education initiatives. So what we are talking about here is how to better use the land dedicated to animal agriculture (83 percent of all agricultural land) that is responsible for 80 percent of food-related greenhouse gas emissions yet provides only 18 percent of our total calories. The rest of our topsoils are projected to be lost within 60 years. Animals grazing is a part of the carbon cycle, and part of every healthy ecosystem in wild. In turn, this means shifting to more plant-based diets. It was better than most but could have hit that point harder. 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. Kiss the Ground review and summary | EAT THINK EXPLORE The movie doesn't just dive into the microbiology of soil and soil carbon interactions, it also covers the four main principles of soil health: increasing diversity, minimizing soil disturbance, keeping above ground covered and below ground active at all times, and animal integration. I dont know a single holistic management practitioner that advocates eating more beef. 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. Water and carbon escape into the atmosphere in enormous plumes blanketing the entire northern hemisphereshown onscreen as ominous swirls of red. Emerging land use practices rapidly increase soil organic matter. Ryland Engelhart is a philanthropist. There is too much in the air now and too little in the earth (released by tilling and soil degradation and burning fossil fuels and plants/trees) causing global temperatures to rise. 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? Healthy soils can store more carbon than all the trees and plants combined, so is more important than saving the rainforests or the ocean phytoplankton in reversing climate change! 'Kiss the Ground' Review: Celeb-Studded Doc on Fixing - IndieWire Eco-friendly eating - better for your health and the planet :). I doubt this will require an agent or a move haha! Its avoidable if we take better care of our soils and pay more attention to where and how our foods are grown! For millions of years the world has self-healed and self-balanced. Ray: Not at the moment, but if Steven Spielberg calls, I WILL answer. For teachers, educators, schools, community organizers and home schoolersthanks to a generous grant from the Bia Echo Foundation and Triptyk, there is a free 45-minute-long Educational Version of the Kiss the Ground movie and also a free DVD with both the 85 minute long feature and the educational cut on one disk. Monocropping further exacerbates the issue, as the same crop is grown year on year, for miles in the case of US farms, microbial diversity cannot increase. Regenerative agriculture combines 4 practices. https://asu.pure.elsevier.com/en/publications/potential-mitigation-of-midwest-grass-finished-beef-production-em, Machmuller, M. B., Kramer, M. G., Cyle, T. K., Hill, N., Hancock, D., & Thompson, A. Will you join us? 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 evidence for this claim is research-based, clearly communicated, and visually supported with animations that illustrate submicroscopic events like carbon cycling and expansive drone shots for grand reveals, like the actual desert plateau that is turned back into rolling green farmland. Often, our best solutions arent actually that innovative; they simply mimic natural processes and what the Earth already does. With this in mind, I feel obliged to point out the uncomfortable contrast between the two main types of interviewees in the film. how to make a chi ball visible for beginners Keagy's Best Price Plumbing Stardom is a complicated thing, but at least all that money and power are being put to good use. I was in California at a meeting and met Finnian Makepeace, who is the groups co-founder. Your email address will not be published. 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. 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! It would be great to see what was meant to be there! Kiss The Ground - YouTube One of my favorite elements of the documentary is the perspective that Earth has always been managing and sequestering carbon we just need to mimic that. It is a strategic use of fame and visibility, and the filmmakers and stars are clearly aware of the cultural impact of their appearances in the film. 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? Heres below are just a handful of recent PEER REVIEWED papers supporting HPG. Half are experts working in their respective fields, and the rest are celebrity activists for whom regenerative agriculture and climate change is more or less a cause. Any plans to hire an agent or move to L.A? Looking for a way to kill the quarantine boredom? Eat quality (organic, pasture raised meat, or, even better, that from regenerative farms) meat as a treat not a staple. Instagram @maggie.eileen.art). After 14 years, it is lush farmland again. These cookies do not store any personal information. There are many things you can do, all varying in difficulty. 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. This website uses third party cookies to improve your experience with your consent. Our farming systems have moved too far out of alignment with mother nature. 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. kiss the ground fact checking - alfarisqatar.com But efforts have been made to restore the soils since 1994. Filmmakers Josh Tickell and Rebecca Tickell wound up spending seven years making their latest doc, "Kiss the Ground," and all along the way they worried that by the end of the process there . Hopefully enough of them will see this movie and find enough alternatives to be able to make some real change. 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. If you want to hear a bit more explanation of these, click here or scroll down. When receiving subsidies for crops like corn and beans, farmers know that they will make a profit. It's a tool. I am alive!. Its not a bad thing per se. We need to act. Why not let the viewer know what theworlds leading climate scientists have to say about diet? From rehabilitating entire ecosystems to growing home victory gardens, there are plenty of ways to get involved in regenerative agriculture. Local water cycles produce 40% of our rainfall. What the writers ignored is that it was SCIENCE that led to that preferred plan of action. Early farming was small scale, so diversity was ensured, and combined the animals with plants, so the manures could be used as fertiliser, and crops grown on the land could feed the livestock. https://blog.whiteoakpastures.com/hubfs/WOP-LCA-Quantis-2019.pdf. (PLEASE VOTE November 3rd or earlier!! 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. View and change your settings here, Regenerative Farm Map Regeneration International, Donate Regeneration International | Organic Consumers (netdonor.net), Compost Toilets in Africa: Human Feces as Fertilizer | Thrive4Good (thriveforgood.org). Francis Ge is News Fellow at Stone Pier Press and an aspiring first-generation regenerative farmer. Ray: That a large audience will come away with a basic awareness about the transformative power of our living and life-giving soil. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. Kiss the Ground | Soil Health Solutions | Join the Movement! Their technical expertise should be enough to convince us that their message is not only correct but worth listening to. The documentary carefully positions holistic grazing as the answer to intensive animal agriculture (including the mono-cropping that occurs to feed factory-farmed animals). One of the . We are made of carbon (16%) and its the element that life is based upon! With topsoils disappearing and temperatures rising, about 2/3 of the world is desertifying. 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. 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