If you want to hear a bit more explanation of these, click here or scroll down. 'Kiss the Ground' Review: Regenerating Hope for the Climate Unfortunately, overtly telling people they need to cut down on their meat consumption for this change in agriculture to work isnt going to help with the documentarys popularity. There is not enough money in the world to get me to move from Gods country, North Dakota! "Kiss the Ground" is based on the fact that modern industrial agriculture is devastating our planet. We already use 3-4 times more fertiliser for each bushel of grain than in the 60s. Its the same reason we dont call doctors healers anymoretheir body of knowledge has been formalized, their work recognized and legitimized as a profession, and their value become obvious. Regenerative farming restores soils; storing carbon and reducing the need for chemical help to improve yields by harnessing natural processes. Op-ed: 'Kiss the Ground' Misses the Complexity of Climate Solutions in (2015). Clearly this is something that needs our urgent attention and resolution! Also that we can fix this and the fix is quite simple. Kris Nichols is such a key person in this film because her discoveries have allowed for this movement to be built on cutting edge science that changes how we think about soil and landscape function., Since its not every day I get a chance to interview real-live movie stars, I shamelessly asked Gabe, Kris and Ray if they would answer some of my Inside Hollywood questions about their movie-making experiences and what impact they believe the new movie may have on the regenerative ag movement moving forward. Scientists work hard to do science, yet despite thousand of papers produced by human nutrition scientists, the diet health of US occupants is at its worst level ever. This is a huge problem. You can reach me at novelhandco@gmail.com or connect with me on LinkedIn. Farm work is unglamorous, underappreciated, and not very well-paid for the most part, but it just so happens to be crucial to the survival of our species. Desertification is the process of land turning to desert. kiss the ground fact checking - alfarisqatar.com Due to its immense scale, and ability to sequester (store) greenhouse gases, it could be the one thing that can balance our climate, clean our water and feed the world! There are many things you can do, all varying in difficulty. This is a great way to help poor communities to reduce their disease from poor sanitation AND grow their own foods to lift them out of starvation and malnutrition! Even though we werent farmers, scientists or experts we knew that together, we could still make a difference! This movie has given soil a voice to say, I am not dirt! You can see all of thisherefor yourself. Id be willing to donate it to them. Doing just one will make a difference!! Using compelling graphics and visuals, along with striking NASA and NOAA footage, the film artfully illustrates how, by drawing down atmospheric carbon, soil is . shabu shabu groupon. Skip on down to the final thoughts if you dont have time to get more into the facts! Biodiverse cover crops to feed the soil biology and protect the soils. Other soil-based carbon capture solutions like composting are crucial to regenerative agriculture. Until recently, however, the roles of soil and grazing animals have been missing pieces of the climate puzzle. Kris: Yes. 2023 Farm Bill | What is it and Why it matters? - Kiss The Ground Heal the planet is a phrase that implies not only the existence of some kind of natural balance to which we can return, but the existence of a cure that human benevolence can deliver. Im not saying the filmmakers should have gotten a token Black person, but they couldnt have gone wrong centering the voices of people for whom the stakes of not reversing climate change are much higher than their own. Above all, its great to see this conversation growing from what has very much been a fringe movement to now entering the mainstream. Filmmakers Josh Tickell and Rebecca Tickell wound up spending seven years making their latest doc, "Kiss the Ground," and all along the way they worried that by the end of the process there . All farmable soil could be gone in 60 years. Its a story about hope and solutions. There is extraordinary potential in the layers beneath our feet our Earths soil. Ganrett also doesnt have a clue how tropospheric hydroxyl oxidation works. Although, when I watched it for the third time, it became obvious that the biology 101 lessons from Ray were cleverly used to dance around the fact there is no solid science to back up Savory and Browns claims. Kris: When I was working as the Chief Scientist with the Rodale Institute, I was asked to be interviewed by the Kiss the Ground team who were also interviewing Maria Rodale. Eat quality (organic, pasture raised meat, or, even better, that from regenerative farms) meat as a treat not a staple. Im Sarah, a Sustainable Nutrition and Behaviour Change Coach, and Im here to help if youre done with feeling guilty about doing too little to reduce your environmental impact and feed yourself healthy foods. Theyre disconnected form the real world. The role of ruminants in reducing agricultures carbon footprint in North America. But the #1 US crop is GMO corn, sprayed with Glyphosate, which is now found in their drinking water and kills the microbes in our guts. I dont know a single holistic management practitioner that advocates eating more beef. I help with that too , Join my supportive community to move to eco-friendly eating and receive tips, advice, recipes and support. However, there is a slight problem with the way they presented the information from the Drawdown report. Unfortunately not as much as I had hoped. The basic principles are: minimal tilling/ploughing, using cover crops, involving livestock in managed grazing, organic practices avoiding chemicals, composting, crop diversity and using trees and perennials as protection. Kiss the Ground brings together a diverse coalition of scientists, farmers, and advocates to share this story, showcase the benefits of adopting regenerative agriculture, and build a movement aimed at renewing the planet's ecosystems. Ray: As they say, He who has the gold makes the rules, so there was a lot of pressure to have Josh, the director, slant this movie towards veganism, messaging cows are bad, eat less meat, carbon footprint, and organic farming will save the world, kind of stuff. Its not a bad thing per se. Yes, whats on our plate is even more important than where its come from or buying local. Whats very interesting is the ability of grazing animals to regenerate grasslands from desert, and reduce desertification. Mitos y realidades sobre las algas | Mitos y realidades sobre las algas Kiss the Ground (2020) - IMDb Check out Kiss the Ground website, where you will find other ways to be involved and even learn how to Become a Soil Advocate! In other words, his claims cannot be supported by data, replicated by others and he doesnt believe in science. These animals then emit greenhouse gases. Neither does the author. Byck, P. (2016). Plowing the earth, preparing fields for planting, exposing bare soil. What the writers ignored is that it was SCIENCE that led to that preferred plan of action. The solution is right under our feet THE SOIL. In fact, it was the single most important thing that lead Savory to question the science regarding overgrazing. For teachers, educators, schools, community organizers and home schoolersthanks to a generous grant from the Bia Echo Foundation and Triptyk, there is a free 45-minute-long Educational Version of the Kiss the Ground movie and also a free DVD with both the 85 minute long feature and the educational cut on one disk. Our current farming methods are simply not sustainable. Nature Communications, 6, 6995. doi:10.1038/ncomms7995 http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ncomms7995, Wang, T., Teague, W., Park, S., & Bevers, S. (2015). Its clear to see that levels of CO2 in the atmosphere above the main agricultural areas increase significantly in the main tilling/ploughing months, and then as plant cover increases in the fields, it drops! Emerging land use practices rapidly increase soil organic matter. They also failed to make it clear why ruminants were required. Many of them are based on anecdotal evidence and experience. Kiss the Ground members are the grassroots stakeholders that stand with us in the regenerative movement. So what we are talking about here is how to better use the land dedicated to animal agriculture (83 percent of all agricultural land) that is responsible for 80 percent of food-related greenhouse gas emissions yet provides only 18 percent of our total calories. This seems like pretty important information that was left off the table. This movie will also counterbalance the cowspiracy environmentalists and others with incorrect understanding of cows. The natural carbon cycle involves carbon release by animals consuming plant and other organic materials and releasing the carbon as carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The movie didn't even include an indictment of current US politics or President Trump, which is notable by its absence considering the film was released so close to election time. In the 1930s the Dust Bowl was created. This sounds like something else that he would likely regret in the near future. Kiss the Ground has the perfect documentary mix of celebrity activists and wise elder scientists. Farmers need to learn how to regenerate and take care of the soil. If not, heres what you can do to join the regenerative farming movement, or at least help make things better . Its sad, really, seeing gray, dead soil devoid of life. . The lazy author of this review makes the same mistaken claim. A Case Study in a Cambodian Orphanage. All natural systems exist in balance, with a diversity of plants and animals. Kiss the Ground | Soil Health Solutions | Join the Movement! It turned out to be more involved than I imagined. After all, this method of grazing, which Gabe Brown and Alan Savory speak about at length, is being positioned in the documentary as the solution we have all been waiting for to reverse climate change. Garnett, Poore and their ilk just do key word searches on computer screens and average parsed pre-existing data in their papers. I would simply build on the work of Michael Pollan, a well-known science writer: Where possible eat regenerative food, not too much, mostly plants.. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. If we want to lower our environmental footprint the single most important thing we can do iseat more plants. Factory farms are good at one thing producing a lot of meat in a short period of time to feed a growing appetite for meat. I just heard of the movie and wanted to find out a little more about it until I get time to watch it. Watch Kiss the Ground | Netflix Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 71(2), 156-164. doi:10.2489/jswc.71.2.156 http://www.jswconline.org/content/71/2/156.abstract, Rowntree, J., Ryals, R., Delonge, M., Teague, R. W., Chiavegato, M., Byck, P., . I do feel bad for the farmers trapped in the cycle though. Repeatedly using abstractions to sum up complex issues makes people comfortable talking about soil as if there is one entity, soil, that we (who is we, anyway?) #2 - The planet is desertifying (more land is becoming desert), #4 - Our modern farming methods are killing the soils, #5 - Nature has invented the most sophisticated carbon capture method - photosynthesis, #6 - Soils are a huge potential carbon store, #8 - Regenerative farming can reverse climate change, The way we are feeding ourselves is undermining the very ecology were dependent upon. In turn, this means shifting to more plant-based diets. The message gets across, but the film downplays a meaningful call to action. One of my favorite elements of the documentary is the perspective that Earth has always been managing and sequestering carbon we just need to mimic that. Its filled with intelligent people who refuse to shy away from the impending climate cataclysm and have instead dedicated themselves to the daily work of facing itas farmers, educators, scientists, and yes, even as politicians. Kiss The Ground - YouTube The French Minister for agriculture proposed a 4 in 1000 plan, to increase the organic content of our soils by 0.4% per year. Fact Check: Did Zelenskyy ask young Americans to go to war against On-the-ground agricultural practices carried out by millions of individual farmers directly affect the health of the soil, and by extension, global atmospheric carbon levels and the pace of climate change. These cookies do not store any personal information. star wars fanfiction terran alliance; when a girl says i'll keep that in mind; hillsborough disaster who was to blame; how to get into stanford with a low gpa The long term prognosis for our survival with business as usual is very, very poor . If we can only get everyone on board! The solution is right under our feet - THE SOIL. Regenerated healthy soil greatly increases the carrying capacity of land, so the amount of land needed for regen grazing isnt an issue. 2 Creation of a false dichotomy. The movie doesn't just dive into the microbiology of soil and soil carbon interactions, it also covers the four main principles of soil health: increasing diversity, minimizing soil disturbance, keeping above ground covered and below ground active at all times, and animal integration. Kris: I see the soil as the real star of the movie and have said many times I am honored to be able to speak on behalf of the soil. A powerful message during a time where the climate emergency is without a doubt causing climate anxiety. While the film can at times feel like a jumble of connected concepts and issues with an occasional celebrity cameo, the documentary is overall optimistic. Ill start with the hardest and get easier. Watching attentively, a classroom full of farmers. Plus FCRNs paper simply ignored the existing peer reviewed science with its claim that no such science exists. Were trapped on a planet to which we've already done irreparable damage. In COP21 in Paris, 2015. As someone who has spent the past 25-plus years working to educate anyone who will listen as to the benefits of regenerative ag, I can say with certainty that the snowball is finally rolling downhill! Humans have created such a massive disturbance in our topsoil and atmosphere that the only way out is forward. Accessibility StatementPrivacy Policy & Terms of Service, 2022 Kiss the Ground Copyright EAT THINK EXPLORE 2020 Powered by WordPress Theme Divi Hosted sustainably by Ecohosting, Join my mailing list to receive the latest news, tips and scientific advice to help you move to a more eco-friendly way of eating and get your FREE guide to get you started on your journey today! The first clue is when the documentary makes mention of the natural history of Bison roaming the United States. Yes, theres no doubt ruminant poop can help improve soil quality, butthere are many types of regenerative agriculture that do not involve animalsoranimal manureand others that act as sanctuaries using animals on their land without sending them to slaughter. I am optimistic because the major issues we are currently facing economic stress, climate change, and food quality are all addressed by the same solution regenerating soil. This is the central statement of Kiss the Ground, an eco-educational Netflix documentary directed and produced by Josh and Rebecca Tickell.On-the-ground agricultural practices carried out by millions of individual farmers directly affect the health of the soil, and by extension, global atmospheric carbon levels and the pace of climate change. Do you or your families and friends have a special watch party planned when it streams onNetflix? Heres the big picture: a wide-screen projection of the surface of the Earth. "We should be thriving, the planet booming with life and abundance and the healthiest generation walking the earth. Because not only does this mean less greenhouse gas-emitting ruminant animals, but it means we can draw down more carbon from the atmosphere forests are typically far better at doing this than grasslands. Thank you for the review. It was better than most but could have hit that point harder. Now all debates have two sides and Savory has been confronted with this information before. When receiving subsidies for crops like corn and beans, farmers know that they will make a profit. This means that compared to factory farms, or traditional grazing where cows are overgrazing and destroying the soil, a regenerative farm using holistic grazing would require a lot more land for any given number of roaming cows. The basic premise of Kiss the Ground is that the destruction of soil is contributing to the severity and intensity of climate change. you can help by supporting our work today. Gabe: I would have liked the movie to highlight the importance of grazing animals. Look no further than Kiss the Ground, a newly-released Netflix documentary that explores the relationship between climate change and dirt. Whats glaringly clear from Hawkens report is that when it comes to our food and greenhouse gas emissions, thetwo areas we can make the biggest impactare reducing food waste (number one solution)and moving to a plant-rich diet (number three solution). Your email address will not be published. Please read our Comment policy before commenting. Copyright 2021 Understanding Ag, LLC | Website by RVT Solutions. Sure, its easy to see with our own eyes that there is more life on land that is managed in a regenerative way, but in order to really know that it is a climate solution, we would need evidence that carbon levels in the soil are not only increasing but increasing by more than the emissions emitted by the animals involved in the system. Any plans to hire an agent or move to L.A? Rising animal production and consumption, whatever the farming system and animal type, is causing damaging greenhouse gas release and contributing to changes in land use. The short clip featured Zelenskyy speaking and the audio was that of a translator. Ryland Engelhart is a philanthropist. Everything in natural systems is a cycle and aimed at maintaining balance. We are healthier, as is the earth. Unfortunately, Savory seems to have led himself to believe that his unscientific approach should be expanded across the world really, tear down more forests to make room for holistic grazing? Kiss the Ground is a new, feature-length movie that explores key soil health and regenerative agricultural principles, and features interviews with a wide range of authors, experts, farmers, researchers and scientists. Carrie Richards is not giving up. The animals themselves arent the problem, where and how is the issue. Xu, S. (2016). kiss the ground fact checking - keagysbestpriceplumbingtn.com Hosted by Robbie Lockie, Plant Based News delivers pioneering vegan news and ethical views weekly. Regenerative agriculture describes farming and grazing practices that, among other benefits, reverse climate change by rebuilding soil organic matter and restoring degraded soil biodiversity - resulting in both carbon drawdown and improving the water cycle. We told him that you need to leave the audience with hope, which I believe he did. So the the more microbes, the more necromass and the faster SOM including soil organic matter is built. With this in mind, I feel obliged to point out the uncomfortable contrast between the two main types of interviewees in the film. One of the . While I was attending the COP21 conference in Paris in 2015, I was again contacted by Josh Tickell and participated in a follow-up interview regarding the 4per1000 Initiative. From rehabilitating entire ecosystems to growing home victory gardens, there are plenty of ways to get involved in regenerative agriculture. We need to act. We need to spread the word to drive this important movement forwards! have no problems. But I also experienced the same misleadingparadigms from the conservative groups like Farm Bureau and other commodities groups. "Kiss the Ground" has a bevy of information to impart, however, and its plucky resistance to politicizing any of it while also acknowledging that so much of this is indeed at the mercy of. Lots of problems with Poores paper as well which didnt account for soil carbon or regenerative systems in any of its meta-analysis of averaged LCAs. Is it possible that some of the great empires that seemingly vanished, like the Myans and Incas, did so because they over farmed, and could not feed their rising populations? It's a nonprofit organization that he leads today as executive director. Healthy soils can store more carbon than all the trees combined! what happens if you get a violation on interlock. Makes sense why the documentary didnt go there! Finally, the elephant / cow in the room (not sure which is more fitting) duringKiss the Ground is how are we going to produce enough meat using holistic grazing to meet current demands? Seven years in the making, the movies thesis proposes that by regenerating the worlds soils, humans can rapidly stabilize Earths climate, restore lost ecosystems and create abundant food supplies. kisstheground. Bundchen and Brady point to the health of the soil as directly influencing the health of the plants we eat and our health as well. Many would argue soil degradation is the most critical environmental threat to humans. But its the reality we face. We knew the film would really embody the spirit of the regenerative agriculture movement if Ray and Gabe were in it., And from the first days that Kiss the Ground the organization started, the work and research of Kris Nichols were fundamental to grasping why rebuilding soil was not only possible but the biggest solution to the climate, water, and food crises. Over the years, tilling causes the soil to dirt, leaving it vulnerable to erosion and desertification. As Ian Somerhalder says in the documentary, Cows can be good. While many blame cows for carbon emissions, and rightfully so, they can actually be a part of the solution. Until then, its going to be hard to truly transform our agricultural system to benefit all life on the planet. Kiss the Ground | School for Good Living Whilst maintaining a large veg bed to feed the whole family takes up a lot of space and requires time, there are many crops that require very little maintenance or space, and actually like growing in your flower beds amongst the flowers! Narrated and featuring Woody Harrelson, Kiss the Ground is an inspiring and groundbreaking film that reveals the first viable solution to our climate crisis.. That was good enough for me. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. In fact, the documentary claims that greenhouse gases are sequestered (stored/drawn down) in grazing herds, due to the generation of healthy soils, but released in feed lots where the animals are not a part of the natural cycle. I dont understand how they didnt emphasize that you still have to eat a plant rich diet if you want everyone in the world to eat pasture raised animals Theres only so much to land and hence animals you can raise. Its not the most interesting topic of conversation for most, so try just mentioning a one or two of the following points and see if that gets a conversation going. Holistic management is a decision making framework which has been developed over the years to deal with complex situations. I am alive!. The sort of solution you might suspect is at the top of all climate scientists lists. Integrating animals grazing the cover crops for their manure and the beneficial effects of their hooves. Kiss the Ground gave the microphone to Ranchers Alan Savory and Gabe Brown, but we didn't hear about any legitimate science testing out whether the claims they were making truly hold up? How 'Kiss the Ground' Directors Avoided Making Soil - Yahoo Gabe: I agreed to become involved because when Josh explained to me that the purpose of the documentary was to highlight how farming organically could improve our planet, I knew I needed to help bring his understanding of soil health and ecosystem function to a higher level. A degenerative system that decimates life in our soil, releases immense amounts of greenhouse gas emissions into our atmosphere, pollutes our waterways, and disrupts the biodiversity and biology on our land and in our oceans. Stardom is a complicated thing, but at least all that money and power are being put to good use. They love their land and lifestyle, they are just trying to survive, while being poisoned themselves by the chemicals they must use to keep their fields producing. There was also no mention of tropical forest restoration which has significantly greater potential at pulling carbon out of the atmosphere compared to grazing cows on land no matter what practice is employed. Our mission stands strong: to awaken people to the possibilities of regeneration and inspire participation in the regenerative movement. Parents need to know that Kiss the Ground is a 2020 documentary that addresses our current soil erosion crisis throughout the planet and the benefits of practicing "regenerative agriculture." Narrated by Woody Harrelson, the documentary features extensive interviews with farmers, scientists, activists, celebrities, and regular people as they help to create awareness of regenerative .