Sustainable, agriculture must be low-input - and this can only achieved in diverse, tightly integrated agro-ecological systems. The real future of farming lies in complex polycultures ... in short, mixed farming.
… Low input farming - diversity is the key Colin Tudge Graham Harvey … the energy that's needed. Efficiency means diversity Common sense and many a field and laboratory study show that diversity above all is the key to …
Seeds are essential to our food and our entire lives, writes Rowan Phillimore. So join in celebrating and sharing them at a series of events this month in London, Bristol, Devon, Oxford, Lancaster, Herts - and begin the fightback against corporate domination of seeds and oppressive government regulation.
… that in the last 100 years alone, the diversity of crops around the world has fallen … and the FAO states plainly that "loss of biodiversity will have a major impact on the … future." As the origin of all crops and crop diversity it is ultimately the loss of seed …
The new People Need Nature report - published to coincide with this week's annual Oxford Real Farming Conference - warns that modern farming practices are not good for wildlife. But they're not good for humans either. And with predictions that we will need to produce 70 per cent more food to feed a third more mouths by 2050 the question of seed ownership and diversity cannot be ignored. KATHRYN HINDESS reports
… Hindess | 6th January 2016 News Seed Biodiversity Agribusiness Food Farming … by 2050 the question of seed ownership and diversity cannot be ignored. KATHRYN HINDESS … went pear-shaped. Since the 1900s, crop diversity has been narrowing at a dramatic …
To feed the world we must abandon not just GMOs but all diversity-destroying selective crop breeding, organic farmer John Letts told Oliver Tickell. Only by using biodiverse local seed mixtures that evolve in the field can food production adapt to climate change without ever-increasing chemical inputs, and meet human needs for wholesome nourishment.
… November 2016 Other Farming Food Organic Biodiversity Seeds GMOs UK letts-cut.jpg To feed … world we must abandon not just GMOs but all diversity-destroying selective crop breeding, … And then the fields. A treasure of genetic diversity in every handful The first thing you …
MEPs have voted against a proposed EU sed regulation that would further concentrate the seed market and discriminate against genetically diverse traditional seeds.
… traditional plant varieties rich in genetic diversity. Blatant support for an … policies must be based on the principle of diversity, not corporate uniformity and … on agro-chemical inputs." Supporting genetic diversity Green environment spokesperson Satu …
Farmers' first line of defence against pests is the ecosystem in and around their fields, write Jonathan Lundgren & Scott Fausti. With widespread or indiscriminate use of pesticides essential biodiversity is lost - and the result is more frequent and serious infestations, and a decline in food security.
… Biodiversity is the best defence against corn … indiscriminate use of pesticides essential biodiversity is lost - and the result is more … and a decline in food security. Biodiversity performs critical ecosystem …
This is Seed Week 2019 in the UK and Ireland- an opportunity to celebrate the farmers, gardeners.
… this year. The FAO’s State of the World’s Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture report reveals that plant diversity in farmers’ fields is plummeting … who are protecting and growing back the diversity of seed that is our heritage and our …
Indigenous communities in Latin America are paying a high price for defending biodiversity, but we have so much to learn from their practices.
… The guardians of biodiversity Ulrike Prinz | 7th May 2020 Comment Biodiversity Amazon Indigenous Peoples Editor’s … are paying a high price for defending biodiversity, but we have so much to learn from …
Report highlights the danger of cloning to animal health as campaigners also warn it will reduce genetic diversity within herds
… Cloned animals a 'threat to genetic diversity' The Ecologist | 4th August 2010 News Cloning Food And Farming Biodiversity cows.jpg The EU Parliament recently … campaigners also warn it will reduce genetic diversity within herds An increase in the …
Vandana Shiva explains why Seed Satyagraha – a non-cooperation movement in the footsteps of Gandhi – will be crucial in blocking the introduction of the proposed Seed Law
… seed supply system, and the erosion of seed diversity and seed sovereignty. Seed … It is based on reclaiming the seed and biodiversity as commons and public good. The last … years have seen a very rapid erosion of seed diversity and seed sovereignty, and an intense …
Competition for land, water and energy are increasing, exacerbated by climate change and a growing population. But why does the Food and Agriculture Organisation now believe indigenous people could provide a solution? Peter Giovannini investigates
… People Food And Farming Food Security Biodiversity Investigations 1gaia.jpg Competition … food demand and supply, maintaining biodiversity, ecosystem services, and mitigating … but related, fields of development. Biodiversity conservation In the last two decades …
With the diversity of food crops falling dramatically and just three giant corporations controlling over 75 per cent of the global seed supply, it's no wonder people feel disconnected from their food. LAURA BRIGGS learns more about a new UK Seed Co-operative which aims to redress the balance
… Resilience seed cooperative.jpg With the diversity of food crops falling dramatically … we can, but they are not going to sustain biodiversity forever. Sustainability will need … looking to establish the Seed Co-operative. "Diversity is the striking thing that links my …
Industrial, imperial food systems have reduced food to a commodity, to 'stuff' that can then be constituted in the homogenised lab.
… the planetary destruction of soil, water, biodiversity, and 50 percent of greenhouse gas … Industrial food systems have destroyed the biodiversity of the planet both through the … and leading to the sixth mass extinction. Biodiversity-intensive and poison-free …
The Gaia Foundation just launched its latest film - Seeds of Sovereignty. Sharon Garfinkel attended the launch - and urges all those interested food and farming, in Africa and elsewhere, to watch it.
… who are reviving their traditional seed diversity and taking back control over their … we are fortunate enough to have a wonderful diversity of food on our table. Liz Hosken, … by the Gaia Foundation and the African Biodiversity Network, in collaboration with GRAIN …
The global homogenisation of food carries costs, writes Sayed Azam-Ali - notably the world's the increasing dependence on just a few 'elite crops', creating a precarious food system vulnerable to climate change. We must diversify our diets, and the crops that that feed us.
… In a warming world, food security means crop diversity Sayed Azam-Ali | 10th October 2014 … succeed at higher temperatures. Increase the diversity of our food crops So what should we …
High altitude regions near the equator are highly vulnerable to climate change - as are marginalised communities. Sian Cowman reports on how resilience strategies - old and new - are helping one Andean community to survive a changing climate.
… will also survive in some form. The high diversity / high resilience rule applies to human communities as well: diversity of crops, seeds, skills, water … chuno will be ready. Photo: Sian Cowman. The diversity of crops sown in Lanqaya, and the …
Fermentation is far more than a way to prepare diverse, delicious and wholesome food, writes Joanna Wright. It is a means for us to connect with the ancient past, with the world around us, and with our own selves. Are you ready to try it?
… - and help us align our food choices with the diversity and resilience of the internal … I Gordon, Janet K. Jansson and Rob Knight. "Diversity, stability and resilience of the …
Evangeline Kagwiite, an 90 year-old Ugandan elder, has much to teach us about resilience and food growing.
… the situation becomes. Resilience in diversity Evangeline Kagwiite in her garden. … built her family’s resilience by growing a diversity of crops, and taking responsibility … credits her traditional diet, founded on a diversity of seed, for her healthy old age. At …
Peter Rosset argues for small farms in the North...and Vandana Shiva champions those in the South
… of small farm agriculture, it listed: • Diversity : small farms embody a diversity of ownership, of cropping systems, … as better environmental stewardship – more biodiversity, a more patchwork landscape, often …
Organic farming really is wildlife friendly, new research from Oxford University has found, with far higher species diversity on organic farms than conventional ones. Lindsay Turnbull reports on her findings ...
… Organic farming benefits biodiversity Lindsay Turnbull | 19th February … University has found, with far higher species diversity on organic farms than conventional … Ecology , we re-analysed data collected on biodiversity, one potential environmental benefit …
Agroecology is key to retaking control over food, farming and land from the 'monstrous machine' of agribusiness, biotech, big finance and 'free trade', writes Colin Todhunter, as it represents a truly viable alternative to agriculture for corporate profit. But such are the powers ranged against the world's small farmers that it must be supported by a broad-based, global people's movement.
… diverse. There is a loss of plant and insect diversity, which threatens food security, …
The practical evidence suggests agroforestry in the UK has got something to offer both commercial farmers and smallholders alike. The challenge now, says Ed Hamer, is how to encourage sceptical farmers that planting trees across farmland is a good idea
… practical reasons too why hedgerows contain a diversity of species. And although grazing … groundwater infiltration and increased biodiversity as the trees bring with them their … different tree species. 'We’ve found that a diversity of species increases productivity …