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Why We Must Reclaim Our Movement’s Language from Corporate Takeover
On May, 2023, RI’s friends and affiliates, Compassion in World Farming and IPES-Food, hosted the Extinction or Regeneration conference in the heart of London at the Queen Elizabeth II Center in Westminster, which provided a platform for experts across the globe to share solutions for how we can transform our food and farming systems for better human, animal, and planetary health via a whole food systems approach to providing sufficient nutritious food for an expanding world population while remaining within the safe operating space of all nine planetary boundaries while protecting wild and domestic animals and restoring soils, oceans, forests, and biodiversity.
“We came up with the word Regenerative, it’s not a corporate invention. It’s a movement language, to continue to talk organic. Now as Regenerative Organic, showing that regeneration is working with the living Earth and her regenerative powers of a living soil, living biodiversity…” Dr. Vandana Shiva
Watch this presentation by Regeneration International’s Steering Committee Dr. Vandana Shiva, and international director Dr. André Leu to hear their message on the importance of reclaiming our movement’s language from corporate takeover.
Watch here
May 11th and 12th, 2023, RI's friends and affiliates, Compassion in World Farming and IPES-Food, hosted the Extinction or Regeneration conference in the heart of London at the Queen Elizabeth II Center in Westminster, which provided a platform for experts across the globe to share solutions for how we can transform our food and farming systems for better human, animal, and planetary health via a whole food systems approach to providing sufficient nutritious food for an expanding world population while remaining within the safe operating space of all nine planetary boundaries while protecting wild and domestic animals and restoring soils, oceans, forests, and biodiversity.
Watch this presentation by Regeneration International's international director Dr. André Leu to learn about RI's current project to scale up regenerative organic agriculture globally and eliminate rural poverty.
California Proposes to Hijack Regenerative Agriculture
“Regenerative agriculture provides answers to the soil crisis, the food crisis, the climate crisis, and the crisis of democracy.” Dr. Vandana Shiva
California has unilaterally decided to define Regenerative Agriculture. It is a subnational government with no formal role in the Regenerative Agriculture movement.
It has a state government with entrenched bureaucracies, such as The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), that regulate and condone some of the world’s worst excesses in industrial-scale Degenerative Agriculture on the planet.
California has the highest toxic pesticide use in the US, some of the worst excesses in industrial-scale monocultures such as the almond and other fruit and vegetable farms in the Central Valley that have destructively tilled bare soil, drenched with toxic herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, and chemical fertilizers. It has large scale cruel, confined animal feeding operations. California has an unsustainable use of water. These farms are causing severe health damage to people and the environment.
The CDFA is taking submissions from interest groups. This includes agribusiness poison cartels such as Bayer/Monsanto, Syngenta, and others trying to hijack and greenwash their degenerative systems as regenerative agriculture.
Learn more
Ten Years in Defense of the Milpa, Native Corns and Mexican Biodiversity
What is the trial’s objective?
The class action’s goal is that federal courts declare or acknowledge the following four matters:
-That genetically modified organism (GMOs), GM, or transgenic corn have been released with no legal authorization.
-That the fact that GM corn exists in the field without permits, violates human rights to native corns biological diversity of current and future generations; to food; to health, to a healthy environment and cultural rights, amongst them free will.
-That the commercial release of GM corn will surpass established limits in that applicable legislation, which will generate human rights violations.
-That all permits to plant GM corn be denied in Mexico.
Since 2013 to date legal seeding of transgenic corn has been prevented in the Mexican territory. Pre-commercial and commercial permits are suspended by court order. Besides, since 2016, if the agribusiness attempts to plant for scientific purposes, it will have to subject itself to court reports and questionings by the collectivity and its scientists. For 7 years they have NOT dared to apply. By ruling of the SCJN (Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation), this measure will prevail until definitive resolution of the trial.
More information here
Reflections: from Africa
It feels like year 2023 should be over already. It’s been an incredibly wonderful year with many wonderful outcomes and collaborations, but also a year that hit us hard as RI family after we lost one of our greatest minds, Ronnie Cummins. I am however incredibly proud of our small team, the great loss, and great spirit of resiliency that we are all experiencing says so much about how important this work is for us who are alive and those that departed. We will forever be grateful for the great shoulders of the fallen, we stand solid because of their blood and sweat. Here’s a brief outlook of how things have been unfolding in the world of regeneration, in my world.
This year we have continued to engage at country, sub region and regional level through networks. When we collaborate efforts and create platforms for learning, we have an incredible potential to reverse land degradation, enable security and sovereignty in the food systems and bring about abundance thinking and thriving for all. We are part of different working groups at the Seed and Knowledge Initiative, including work on landscape-level regeneration, engaging youths for agroecology, and creating agroecology courses for all to have hands on experience. There is a pool of knowledge and excitement about what’s possible as we combine efforts. These network efforts are enablers of whole systems approach in our actions towards regenerative communities and influencing policy makers.
We recently read from RI international Director Andre Leu who was calling out hijackers of regenerative agriculture. This messaging is important in these times where greenwashing is rampant. Working together, we have to take ownership of regeneration, by understanding and creating connectedness, emergence, non-linearity, and adaptation in all projects. Our network is growing and 102 of our partners are in the African continent, this growth is exciting. The more voices we have, including a representation of youth, women and different groups, the better are our chances of showing a broad impact that will vibrate across the world.
Learn more
Degenerative Agriculture: Bayer/Monsanto’s and Syngenta’s Toxic Greenwash Deception
“Regenerative agriculture and animal husbandry is the next and higher stage of organic food and farming, not only free from toxic pesticides, GMOs, chemical fertilizers, and factory farm production, and therefore good for human health; but also regenerative in terms of the health of the soil.” Ronnie Cummins
Bayer/Monsanto, Syngenta, and other members of the poison cartel are trying to greenwash their toxic industrial farming systems by hijacking Regenerative Agriculture.
The Opposite of Regenerative is Degenerative
By definition, agricultural systems that use Degenerative practices and inputs that damage the environment, soil, and health and involve animal cruelty, such as synthetic toxic pesticides, synthetic water-soluble fertilizers, genetically modified organisms, confined animal feeding operations, and destructive tillage systems, are not Regenerative.
They Must Be Called Out As Degenerative Agriculture
The poison cartels justify these degenerative systems by saying their ‘precision farming’ techniques are reducing the environmental impact of their pesticides. This is an outright lie. The evidence shows that the amounts, environmental contamination, and negative impacts on human health of toxic, synthetic pesticides have increased.
Learn more
Allying With the Water Cycle to Prevent Wildfires
Last week, uncontrolled wildfires in Canada exposed over 100 million people to hazardous air quality levels spanning from Minnesota to New York and Washington DC.
These Mega-fires indicate widespread landscape dehydration caused by increased temperatures induced by the climate crisis and biodiversity loss.
Because natural water retention is facilitated by fauna and fungi, which help cycle water, carbon, nutrients, and energy, Fauna, such as dung beetles, earthworms, and prairie dogs, are critically essential as they carve underground pathways that help landscapes retain moisture.
Overground animals such as wild grazers and holistically managed cattle are vital for adding nutrients that, in turn, boost plant growth which adds organic matter to soils and benefits the entire soil food web.
According to the USDA, every 1% of soil organic matter represents an additional 20.000 gallons of water held in the ground per acre. Therefore, in a world that is increasingly drier and prone to greater wildfire risk, rehydrating landscapes has become a matter of emergency.
This 1 minute video by Oliver Gardiner illustrates the issue beautifully and succinctly.
To learn more about water and regeneration, discover Judith D. Schwarz’s book “Water in Plain in Sight,” (another fabulous Chelsea Green publication) which offers a fresh perspective on water with stories from around the globe, for an inspiring reminder that fixing the future of our drying planet involves understanding what makes natural systems thrive.
Find farms around the world that are working toward a regenerative future
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Essential Reading and Viewing
The Seeds of Vandana Shiva
At last, The Seeds of Vandana Shiva is now available to order and watch in your own home and on your own time. After months of preparing the film for submission to iTunes/Apple TV and other platforms, we can confirm that it's available for pre-order on iTunes! Vandana's heroic David vs Goliath battle against the titans of corporate agriculture in defense of the planet and ordinary people is both inspiring and entertaining. Thank you. Your pre-order will help to boost her message for ecological farming and food to others who need to know!
Celebrating Traditional Seeds and Ecological Farming by Communities in Zimbabwe
The village of Ndlovu in Hwange, Zimbabwe, celebrates harvests from indigenous seed varieties. Sharing knowledge between farmers and local community members creates opportunities for people to share seeds. Promoting abundance, generosity, and creative learning through regenerative and agroecological development. Thanks to the miraculous virtues of traditional grains, staple foods such as Pearl Millet and Sorghum have been saved by generations of growers for their climate resiliency and nutritional values over millennia. Cow peas and bambara nuts fix nitrogen, repel pests and weeds, retain moisture, and contain high protein levels. It’s important to preserve traditional and community-led seed saving because it is our heritage, has a minimal cost, and brings people together. Traditional seed saving is essential to ensure food security because it can adapt to biotic changes as our climate changes. Now more than ever, we must empower farmers to save seeds. Empowering farmers to save seeds is critical for all humankind.
New Research Shows Practices from the Past Will be Key to Future Soil Carbon Solutions
Sometimes to go forward, you must go back. A new study from Colorado State University’s Department of Soil and Crop Sciences and and the Graduate Degree Program in Ecology found that regenerative practices—including integrating crop and livestock systems—were successful as long-term carbon storage solutions.
12 Ways to Make Your Garden Regenerative
When we talk to people around us about what we do at Regeneration Canada, one of the questions we’re asked most often is: Can I make my own garden regenerative? Can the different practices that farmers use to regenerate their soil be applied to a small backyard garden? The answer is yes! We are proposing 12 ways to make your garden regenerative. But before we get to them, let’s take a moment to reflect on why this matters.
Overlooked and Underfoot; Mosses Play a Mighty Role for Climate and Soil
It’s easy to miss the mosses, the ubiquitous green, silver and brown carpets that drape across nature’s surfaces, from forest to fen. It’s also easy to underestimate just how big a role these small but mighty organisms play in maintaining ecosystems and countering climate change. A recent study in the journal Nature Geoscience looked into the contributions of mosses that grow on soil and found that they cover an estimated 9.4 million square kilometers (3.6 million square miles) of land — an area roughly the size of China.
Organic Farming and Community Spirit Buy a Typhoon Battered Philippine Town
Gloomy skies don’t dampen the spirit of Virginia Nazareno as she happily waters organic vegetables on an April morning in Kiday, a sitio or hamlet on the banks of the Agos River at the southern tip of the Sierra Madre mountain range. “Our pechay are so big, customers are amazed,” the 66-year-old says, pointing the sprinkler to the foot-high leafy vegetables. “They say it’s their first time to see pechay as large as these.
Bringing Regenerative Agriculture to Africa - Kenyan Farmers Are Enthusiastic But Need Better Packaged Info
Food sovereignty remains our answer to the food crisis. Now more than ever our communities and countries need to focus on agroecological food production. As this edition shows, we have a multitude of praxis and political proposals for solutions, but we need to build our power to fight the extractive and profit driven corporations from overtaking our food system.
The Possibilities of Regeneration
We were invited by the Zimbabwe Professional Guides association to come speak at the ZPGA talk events at the Shearwater Village in Victoria Falls. Etienne spoke about how the historical reduction of large ungulate herds in the wider Kaza region (Kavango–Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area) and how this is causing the environmental outcomes we see today in the region. And how our work at the Africa Centre for Holistic Management have a very simple solution to change these outcomes for the positive.
Savory Global Network Reunion - Portugal
Hub Leaders, Holistic Management educators, and EOV Verifiers and Monitors from all across the globe made the trek to Portugal to deepen connections, share learnings, and co-create the next steps of Savory’s mission of regenerating the world’s grasslands.
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Support Our Work
Dear Friends of Regeneration International
Regenerative Agriculture is under attack by agribusiness. The poison cartels such as Bayer/Monsanto and Syngenta, along with their captive government departments, are trying to hijack regenerative agriculture to greenwash their degenerative systems.
“We need your participation and support as we move forward in this world-changing campaign we call Regeneration International. We need to build a massive international alliance to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, to sequester billions of tons of excess atmospheric carbon in our soils and biota, to regenerate billions of acres of degraded ecosystems, to eliminate rural poverty, to reverse our deteriorating public health and to revitalize rural communities all over the globe. The hour is late, but we still have time to regenerate.”
Please support our campaign to stop this greenwashing and ensure Regenerative Agriculture’s integrity by restoring farmer’s independence, promoting social justice, fair trade and regenerating ecological health.
Can you give $10 monthly or a one time donation today to support Regeneration International and our campaigns?
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Upcoming Events |
In Person:
07/19 - Agroforestry Open Weekend 2023
07/23 - Curso certificado en diseño de permacultura
07/24 - Holistic Planned Grazing
07/25 - Manejo sostenible del suelo
07/25 - Soil Health Academy - Adaptive Grazing
07/28 - Ganadería Orgánica en Rivera Uruguay
07/29 - Regenerate: Yoga, retiro de vida consciente
Online:
07/25 - Webinar - Five Week Certificate Course on Regenerative Agriculture by Regeneration International
07/27 - Webinar - Principales plagas asociadas al cultivo de agave
08/02 - Como construir materia orgánica del suelo en sistemas de granos orgánicos
*Click here to view full events calendar and submit your own
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En Español
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Regeneration International is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit, dedicated to building a global network of farmers, scientists, businesses, activists, educators, journalists, policymakers and consumers who will promote and put into practice regenerative agriculture and land-use practices that: provide abundant, nutritious food; revitalize local economies; regenerate soil fertility and water-retention capacity; nurture biodiversity; and restore climate stability by reducing agricultural greenhouse gas emissions while at the same time drawing down excess atmospheric carbon and sequestering it in the soil.
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