An Earth Week Message: Organic Agriculture Is Key to Slowing Climate Change

Though I write in uncertain times, I'm still inclined to say Happy Earth Week! And indeed, I was happy to see this message in my inbox this morning from IFOAM (International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements).

IFOAM campaigns “for agriculture to become part of the solution to climate change.” One of their recent efforts included sending a delegation of organic farmers from around the globe to the COP21 climate negotiations in Paris in December of 2015. IFOAM's voice is especially powerful since they represent many farmers from the Third World Countries and the Global South, which (at least for now) are disproportionately affected by climate change.

I was honored to speak at the IFOAM conference back in October of 2015. Their message echoes my own, which I wrote about extensively in my book Organic Revolutionary: A Memoir of the Movement for Real Food, Planetary Healing, and Human Liberation.

An excerpt from the book’s epilogue gets at the heart of this message:

Today our planetary fever is alerting us to the need to restore a healthier balance before it is too late.... {To that end,} the same strategy that can remove the toxins from the air, water, soil, and food can also help restore the critical metabolic balance of CO2 levels in our planetary respiration pathways. This virtuous cycle is known as organic agriculture.

I’ll be discussing this further as the Earth Week keynote speaker at St. Michael's College tomorrow, Tuesday, April 19 and next week at the Jaquith Library in Marshfield on Thursday, April 28th.

I hope you can join me! If you are unable to attend, you can order a copy of Organic Revolutionary online.

You can also make a donation to support IFOAM’s efforts.