Alexis's Blog
The Green New Deal (GND) has arrived!
Now that we’ve passed the dangerous tipping point of 350 parts per million (ppm) carbon dioxide in the atmosphere (we’re at 410 ppm), we have to figure out a way to draw down that CO2—or we will continue to suffer the cascading impacts of global warming even after we’ve eliminated greenhouse gas emissions.
The safest and most effective way we have of doing this is to increase the carbon content of our soils in farmland, pasture land, forests, wetlands and coastal marine ecosystems. This can be done on working lands through regenerative organic agriculture techniques that increase fertility and control pests by replacing chemicals with management practices. These include holistic planned grazing, composting, no-till, cover cropping, diverse crop mixes and rotations, and the incorporation of crops that return nutrients and organic matter to the soil.
This is the piece of the puzzle that most climate activists and legislators are unaware of. That’s why it’s so important that this is included in the GND, and why we need to get Congress to support it!
We never thought we’d see the day when the climate movement joined with the movements for food and farming, and economic and social justice, to put forward a comprehensive solution to the climate crisis that calls for both halting fossil fuel emissions and drawing down excess carbon from the atmosphere.
But . . . this day is dawning under the banner of the #GreenNewDeal (GND). And this week is your opportunity to get involved.
We’re joining two allied calls to action and we hope you will, too.
Now that the federal government has reopened, it’s time to talk to your U.S. Representatives and Senators about what you’d like them to accomplish this year.
We hope you’ll put the Save America’s Pollinators Act at the top of your list.
If you’ve been following OCA’s Save the Bees campaign, you’ve seen the recent headlines.
The increasing use of pesticides is a ticking time bomb for all insects, including pollinators. Declining insect populations could soon have dire consequences, not just for insects but for all the animals and plants that rely on them—from insect-eating birds, shrews, lizards and frogs, to the 120 pollinated U.S. crops worth more than $15 billion annually.
The new Congress is busy setting its priorities for the 2019-20 session. So now is the time to let your representatives know how they can help the regenerative organic food and farming movement.
One easy thing Congress can do is to make it easier for farmers who produce pasture-raised meat to process their animals closer to home, and access new local markets.
The benefit to consumers? More locally produced meat at potentially more affordable prices.
On Tuesday, December 10, the Senate advanced a version of the Farm Bill, in hopes of passing a bill before the end of the year. While the latest version contains some good news for small independent farmers, it also includes a plan that would weaken organic standards.
Tucked into the final version of the 2018 Farm Bill is a seemingly innocuous provision that would undermine organic standards by severely limiting our ability to get synthetic and non-organic substances off of the “National List” of what’s allowed in organic food and farming.
The regenerative food and farming movement didn’t get everything we wanted out of the 2018 elections—either in terms of candidates or, as Greg Palast documented, in terms of fair elections. Clearly, our democracy is far from perfect.
But thankfully, that hasn’t stopped the movement for health, justice and regeneration.
On November 6, the country elected several inspiring new leaders, some of whom are already getting to work at the local, state and federal level. On the ballot initiative front, voters in Portland, Oregon, passed a progressive initiative that will, among other things, direct funds to regenerative agriculture projects that sequester greenhouse gases and support local food production.
Robert Howard, juror #4 in the trial of former school groundskeeper Dewayne Lee Johnson vs. Monsanto, has two questions for the judge who is threatening to undo the jury’s unanimous verdict against Monsanto:
“Do you have any reason at all to believe that myself or my fellow jurors did not follow your instructions?”
Did you assess the credibility of Monsanto witnesses, particularly Monsanto employees, at all?”
Howard is one of four jurors who wrote to Judge Suzanne Bolanos, defending the jurors’ unanimous decision and asking her to uphold it.
Howard also called our office, wanting to vent. He’s discouraged. And angry. He told us that he and others on the jury listened to the evidence, and followed the judge’s instructions to the letter.
Yet, now, that same judge appears poised to undo their work by threatening to overturn the jury’s $289-million verdict for the former school groundskeeper.
It remains to be seen if Congress will get its act together to pass a Farm Bill before year’s end. But here’s what we do know. If Congress succeeds in passing a 2018 Farm Bill, it will almost certainly be bad news for the organic industry.
We already know that the House version, H.R.2, includes potentially devastating attacks on organic and regenerative food and farming. Fortunately, the U.S. House of Representatives voted down H.R. 2 last week. But we’re not out of the danger zone yet—the House is scheduled to vote on its bill again on June 22.
The Senate is about to drop its Farm Bill as early as June 6, according to Politico. We haven't seen that bill yet. But we do know that the leaders of the Senate Agriculture Committee—Chairman Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) and Ranking Member Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.)—aren’t great friends of organic. We also know that the Senate Farm Bill will be bipartisan—which means it’s sure to pass.
The Organic Trade Association, which should be committed to protecting organic standards from any sneak attacks in the Farm Bill, has indicated that it will stand with consumers. But we're skeptical, given the group’s track record.
In the meantime, we’re urging supporters of organic to ask their Senators to protect organic and regenerative food and farming.
Glyphosate, the main ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide, is the most-used agricultural chemical ever. Mounting scientific evidence of its human health impacts indicates that it may also be the most devastating.
You’ve heard it said before: No Farms, No Food.
But let’s not forget: No Soil, No Farms.
A few years ago, the United Nations warned that on average, the world has fewer than 60 growing seasons left. That grim statistic is based on how rapidly the world’s soils are be degraded, in large part due to poor management.
The situation looks bleak for our soils—and just as bad for our farmers. So bad, that experts compare the current situation to the 1980s when bankruptcies and foreclosures contributed to the loss of 296,360 farms.
These are disturbing trends. But it’s not too late to turn things around, assuming we take the necessary steps.
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