The people of Aotearoa have overwhelmingly voted for Jacinda Ardern’s style of politics.
We clearly want progressive change and a future that is kinder, more inclusive, and more sustainable.
Now, without any handbrakes and government partners diverting attention and funding to such redundant enterprises as the horse racing industry, the time has come to also map a pathway to help farmers practice in a regenerative organic way.
By focusing on soil health farmers can make more profit, grow healthier food, reverse environmental damage, mitigate climate change, strengthen communities and improve their own mental well-being. It is one of the most promising ‘technologies’ to improve our own and the planet’s well-being.
It affects every single one of us – the public, farmers and governors, and we have a once in a lifetime opportunity to move to a regenerative, resilient and inclusive circular economy. The climate change crisis is very real and while many consider Aotearoa to be a shining example of a ‘clean, green’ country, nearly half our greenhouse gas emissions come from agriculture. That’s neither clean nor green.
Along with toxic input that often ends up in waterways, precious hapua and wetlands have been drained and carbon-sequestering forests obliterated to make way for intensive farming. Our agriculture industry certainly plays a large part in the economy, but when you look at externalities, the hidden costs that rarely show on a balance sheet, the picture isn’t quite so pretty.
So, what exactly is regenerative organic farming? The key to regenerative farming is understanding, valuing and preserving the relationship between soil and plant health. In striving to build better soil health and nutrition, regenerative farmers grow healthier plants that are less susceptible to disease and insect attack. Plants grown this way are more resilient and less reliant on pest control. They also deliver a nutritionally superior product – healthy soil means healthy plants and healthier animals.
There’s also very clear evidence that moving towards regenerative organic farming is the most successful way to sequester carbon, holding it in the ground where it’s an important element in the fascinating life cycle of soil. A staged approach where regenerative organic methods are incentivised, both locally and in our export markets, will drive investment and financial success along with the myriad of environmental, social and health benefits. New Zealand businesses focused on organics, such as my own Bread & Butter Bakery, are searching for agricultural products that could come from New Zealand, but often need to be imported, because of the lack of support and infrastructure for a diversified sustainable agricultural sector within our borders.
I have written about the difficulty in sourcing organic or regenerative flour from New Zealand and although we are now using some organic wheat flour, we are still not able to use it in all our products due to the lack of milling infrastructure and the simple fact that there isn’t enough grown, even for our modest operation.
This lack of diversification of New Zealand’s agricultural sector is short sighted and as we allow the plundering New Zealand’s natural resources, large parts of our population don’t have access to healthy affordable food. The result of the election shows that a majority of New Zealanders value kindness and the well-being of the entire community. Now let’s include our non-human environment and cohabitants of this planet too and show the rest of the world how to create a prosperous and sustainable future for generations to come. (ISABEL PASCH)
To read more visit www.breadpolitics.com or visit: www.breadandbutter.co.nz
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