Farming

And the fact of the matter is: we are standing up and doing something — and the result is some serious progress. Since 2011, when we declared Monsanto to be NaturalSociety’s Worst Company of 2011 in a worldwide press release, we have seen a major increase in knowledge over the dangers of GMO foods and the corruption of Monsanto. Just walking into Whole Foods I now see major signs alerting customers to the presence of GMOs and how to avoid them.

Just over a week ago, the executive director of the Rodale Institute, Mark ‘Coach’ Smallwood, set out from the group’s research farm in eastern Pennsylvania on a 160-mile journey to Washington, DC with a walking stick, a brimmed hat, and a simple but profound message: We can not only stop climate change. We can reverse it.

The 21st century has seen rapid urbanisation and the global population is now expected to grow to more than 8.3 billion by 2050. Currently, 800m hectares – 38% of the earth’s land surface – is farmed and we’ll soon need to give over another 100m hectares if we continue to use current agricultural methods. That’s not additional fertile land that actually exists though, so some are investigating the potential of vertical farming.

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (Maine-D) has a lot to say about local alternative farming, small farms, farmers markets and restaurants serving local produce. She has a lot to say and a lot to do with its resurgence. She believes the answer to current top-heavy industrialized problems lies in reviving local agriculture.