We are living with a broken food system. It needs to be replaced urgently for the benefit of all people, and the planet. Greenpeace’s Food and Farming Vision describes what Ecological Farming means, and how it can be summarised in seven overarching, interdependent principles – based on a growing body of scientific evidence.
Ecological Farming combines modern science and innovation with respect for nature and biodiversity. It ensures healthy farming and healthy food. It protects the soil, the water and the climate. It does not contaminate the environment with chemical inputs or use genetically engineered crops. And it places people and farmers – consumers and producers, rather than the corporations who control our food now – at its very heart.
It is a vision of sustainability, equity and food sovereignty in which safe and healthy food is grown to meet fundamental human needs, and where control over food and farming rests with local communities, rather than transnational corporations.
Discussion
One of the problems I feel about veganism is that big business - McDonalds, Sainsbury’s, Burger King and many more firms who are wreaking havoc on the environment and exploiting cheap labour - is jumping on the vegan bandwagon with, as usual, profit as the main driver. This food is not necessarily healthy though as it is laden with fat, sugar, additives and salt and is often highly processed. If people are simply just aiming to not eat meat and eat this type of food then they will become deficient in nutrients and will end up going back to eating meat. I listened to a feature on veganism hosted by Jeremy Vine on Monday on Radio 2. He had a Doctor on giving “advice” on changing to a vegan diet and quite honestly she simply served to warn people against going vegan because she did not give nutritional advice. In order to convert to a vegan diet and sustain that diet people need to know how to cook nutritious meals without any recourse to animal products - meat or dairy. We can obtain all the nutrients we need from a whole food plant based diet. “Go Vegan” by Marlene Watson-Tara for example is an excellent book which gives an array of fantastic dishes for any occasion or budget and she covers all the nutritional guidance and explains how our food choices impact on global issues. In my view, as a long term Greenpeace supporter, Greenpeace needs to take a much more proactive stance on animal consumption and farming - both meat AND dairy and give people the facts; the cruelty involved, the long term deterioration in our health, the pollution, the link with global hunger etc. Instead, Greenpeace simply promote the line that we should eat LESS Meat. What does less meat mean - 1 sausage a week less? I am also interested to know if Greenpeace are going to mount a high profile campaign to publicise and make people aware of the reason we are now in the grip of coronavirus is through intensive animal production and us eating the products of that system. Not one politician has mentioned this fact because they are too scared of the food industry nor is there any mention of the Avarian flu which is sweeping the country. If all of us converted to a plant based diet tomorrow, as individuals we could drastically reduce so many global issues tomorrow; 51% of greenhouse gases for starters! I am pleased that you are going to check out Macrovegan; this husband and wife team have been working quietly behind the scenes for years. They have also this year, created The Human Ecology Project and have produced a fantastic video which explains in about 12 minutes all the issues and immediate individual actions we can all take right now. I hope that you will see fit to watch and promote this video. I believe that the more that environmental groups combine and act together the greater awareness people will have of the urgency of making changes in their lifestyles to make change in the world. AND THAT STARTS WITH GIVING UP MEAT AND DAIRY - NOT JUST EATING LESS. I look forward to hearing your views on these websites
Ecological farming is overlapped by industrial farming. If no measures taken, chemicals are a threat for environment and soil destruction.
This is already known and is happening so how do 'WE' protect crops and animals against pests and diseases. Do we inoculate cattle as an example against Tb, Foot and Mouth etc. How do we protect crops from disease and pests aphids and insects. I am not a great fan of pesticides and herbicides but crops need some kind of protection. Some kind of gene manipulation could be required to overcome these as well as better use of natural preditors providing we don't end up with the Cane Frog situation as happened in Australia. A lot of 'Farming Innovations' are bought about by Ag Chemical companies , Machinery manufacturers and so on so how is their influence and greed to sell products going to be curtailed. Changes to farming methods have been going on since the Agrarian Revolution so will need to look back at history to go forward