At the end of the day, this topic affects us all. We need to find a way to feed everyone without continuing the damage we are inflicting on our environment. But what is more important? Feeding everyone, or decreasing the effects modern agriculture is having on our fragile ecosystems. It doesn’t seem like there is a solution to both just yet. In the future I envision, perennial polycultures will feed the majority of our world’s population on a mostly plant-based diet. One of the pre-watchings this week estimated that switching to a vegan diet requires 18 times less land. Maybe it is optimistic to assume that if more people switched to eating plant-based meals on a more regular basis, we would have enough land to successfully operate perennial polycultures like the biggest little farm, but I think we would see a huge impact from this. A huge mindset shift for many people would be necessary. The kind of intervention we would need to see here is the massive education of society on the environmental impacts of their diet. Governments need to push to include this kind of education in our school curriculums so everyone can make more informed decisions!
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Hi! I really like the suggestions you pose. I totally agree that the first step towards a major systemic shift is growing awareness. If governments begin to advertise the benefits of eating primarily plant-based meals and the benefits it has on human health, animal health and the environment, we could certainly hope to see a greater shift towards the use of perennial polycultures.
Hi Anonymous Owl, your post certainly got me thinking. I wonder why there has to be a trade-off between feeding everyone and decreasing the damage that the current dominant agriculture practice are having on our ecosystems and our planet? I agree that there doesn't seem to be a solution yet, at least not one that can be applied at a large scale. It seems that we know what the solutions are (polycultures, subsidies for sustainable farming, etc.), but we are struggling with how to expand this to a larger scale. It's not easy! I love your idea of using education to shift the mindsets and habits of people. We saw this week how just watching a few documentaries can have us second guessing what food we eat, where it comes from, and the impact it has on our planet. Great post and love your insightful suggestions!
The current structures that prevent perennial polycultures are a major barrier.
Yes! We need some bold statements from governing bodies that support eating a plant-based diet, or at least much less meat.
I totally agree. I think to have change in the future, we should change the concept of farming and raising awareness through education.
I totally agree! I also think this all starts with a mindset shift. Changing our diet could ultimately lead to a more sustainable future. Just simply cutting down on our meat consumption reduces our carbon footprint.