I would really like to see actual rewilding that didn't involve the exploitation and consumption of animals such as at Knepp. The addition of managed animals is not only unnecessary but a form of elite green and compassion washing.
To scale this type of farming up would require even more deforestation; meaning even less land for wild animals and for co2 sequestration. It would cause more emissions (as animals take longer to reach slaughter weight); all leading to a lot more warming. The problem of eutrophication is not eliminated and, in any case, animals are not required to improve soil quality nor biodiversity; this is achieved by minimum/no tillage conservation agriculture of plants- themselves responsible for all the improvements seen with ‘holistic’ or 'rewilding' over conventional farming. Any improvements in soil quality and biodiversity or decreases in eutrophication over industrial animal ag or a monoculture system a) do not exceed improvements seen in conservation/minimum tillage mixed plant crops and b) is not from some inherent magical quality of farmed animals over wild animals. They are from the addition and management of water, plants and fertilisers.
What would be more helpful is actually rewilding by reforesting all animal ag land.
Animal ag uses about 47% of habitable land. Especially wasteful are rewilding, regenerative ag and farmsteads, which use about 2.5 times more land than conventional animal farming. Thus with plant-based diets about 37% of habitable land could be returned for actual wilding! Deep rooted trees and wild animals (whose dead bodies would remain in the system rather than being taken away to be eaten) that come with a plant based economy would even start pulling co2 out of the atmosphere and begin cooling the planet.
This is all well said, Jo. I too would love to see a lot more land rewilded without animal ag. I don't think anyone is sensibly arguing that we can feed 9 billion people on small-scale rewilded pastured animal ag. To meet current demand, or anything like it, we'll need some kind of industrial ag, however improved in terms of living conditions or biodiversity of soil and habitats.
(I'd also love to see the immense amount of land used for the boondoggle of corn ethanol and other monocrop biofuels reverted and rewilded. No one needs that fuel. And that's something we could do far more easily than changing the dietary preferences of this current Anthropocene culture. Both are necessary, but one can start tomorrow.)
I wouldn't try to speak for the Knepp folks, but my sense is that for them to be financially viable they have to do some version of what they're doing. They're playing within the rules of the cruel game (population/capitalism/protein), while also demonstrating that the marginal UK farmland they had could be better used for improving biodiversity in one of the most disrupted/erased countries in the world. Yes, it's privileged farming for privileged diets, but if the other options are 1) the farm failing and being sold to another conventional farmer or 2) modeling the creation of a biodiversity oasis in an ag desert, then I think the second is a better option. (I'm assuming here that converting the farm to no-till veggies wasn't financially viable, which could be wrong.)
I don't have enough info to respond to your points about ag techniques. I'd have to look at the literature and sort out my thoughts, which I don't have time for. But I'm sure you're right that no-till/minimum tillage plant ag is a far better path for the world to be on.
Thanks very much for the note. My apologies for the delayed response, but I've been away.
Jason, this was a delight to read! You captured the nostalgia and camaraderie of the summer expedition mingled with the complexity of grief so well. As a parent of children, now close to 30, who were led by wise poet/leaders, and later led trips themselves, I can attest to the way these experiences shape a life. Thank you for this piece, which names the love and the loss so skillfully.
Thank you, Susan. It was a pleasure to dip back into those memories. It was a marvelous place that for nearly a century got kids out into the mtns and rivers, and had a lot of fun in between too. No longer active, sadly. I hadn't attended, but got pulled in as trip leader from some grad school friends. I loved the Allagash trips in particular.
I would really like to see actual rewilding that didn't involve the exploitation and consumption of animals such as at Knepp. The addition of managed animals is not only unnecessary but a form of elite green and compassion washing.
To scale this type of farming up would require even more deforestation; meaning even less land for wild animals and for co2 sequestration. It would cause more emissions (as animals take longer to reach slaughter weight); all leading to a lot more warming. The problem of eutrophication is not eliminated and, in any case, animals are not required to improve soil quality nor biodiversity; this is achieved by minimum/no tillage conservation agriculture of plants- themselves responsible for all the improvements seen with ‘holistic’ or 'rewilding' over conventional farming. Any improvements in soil quality and biodiversity or decreases in eutrophication over industrial animal ag or a monoculture system a) do not exceed improvements seen in conservation/minimum tillage mixed plant crops and b) is not from some inherent magical quality of farmed animals over wild animals. They are from the addition and management of water, plants and fertilisers.
What would be more helpful is actually rewilding by reforesting all animal ag land.
Animal ag uses about 47% of habitable land. Especially wasteful are rewilding, regenerative ag and farmsteads, which use about 2.5 times more land than conventional animal farming. Thus with plant-based diets about 37% of habitable land could be returned for actual wilding! Deep rooted trees and wild animals (whose dead bodies would remain in the system rather than being taken away to be eaten) that come with a plant based economy would even start pulling co2 out of the atmosphere and begin cooling the planet.
https://jowaller.substack.com/p/the-green-washing-of-white-priviledge
This is all well said, Jo. I too would love to see a lot more land rewilded without animal ag. I don't think anyone is sensibly arguing that we can feed 9 billion people on small-scale rewilded pastured animal ag. To meet current demand, or anything like it, we'll need some kind of industrial ag, however improved in terms of living conditions or biodiversity of soil and habitats.
(I'd also love to see the immense amount of land used for the boondoggle of corn ethanol and other monocrop biofuels reverted and rewilded. No one needs that fuel. And that's something we could do far more easily than changing the dietary preferences of this current Anthropocene culture. Both are necessary, but one can start tomorrow.)
I wouldn't try to speak for the Knepp folks, but my sense is that for them to be financially viable they have to do some version of what they're doing. They're playing within the rules of the cruel game (population/capitalism/protein), while also demonstrating that the marginal UK farmland they had could be better used for improving biodiversity in one of the most disrupted/erased countries in the world. Yes, it's privileged farming for privileged diets, but if the other options are 1) the farm failing and being sold to another conventional farmer or 2) modeling the creation of a biodiversity oasis in an ag desert, then I think the second is a better option. (I'm assuming here that converting the farm to no-till veggies wasn't financially viable, which could be wrong.)
I don't have enough info to respond to your points about ag techniques. I'd have to look at the literature and sort out my thoughts, which I don't have time for. But I'm sure you're right that no-till/minimum tillage plant ag is a far better path for the world to be on.
Thanks very much for the note. My apologies for the delayed response, but I've been away.
Beautiful - thank you Jason!
Thank you for this beautiful reflection.
Jason, this was a delight to read! You captured the nostalgia and camaraderie of the summer expedition mingled with the complexity of grief so well. As a parent of children, now close to 30, who were led by wise poet/leaders, and later led trips themselves, I can attest to the way these experiences shape a life. Thank you for this piece, which names the love and the loss so skillfully.
Thank you, Susan. It was a pleasure to dip back into those memories. It was a marvelous place that for nearly a century got kids out into the mtns and rivers, and had a lot of fun in between too. No longer active, sadly. I hadn't attended, but got pulled in as trip leader from some grad school friends. I loved the Allagash trips in particular.