Regenerative Farming: Restoring the Soil and Saving the Planet, Part 2 of 2

On today’s program we’ll learn that regenerative farming could play an even more critical role. Many scientists now estimate that we could reduce or even halt climate change by regenerating the planet's soil. Healthy soil has an immense capacity to sequester and store carbon. In fact, it’s estimated that Earth’s soil contains three times more carbon than the atmosphere.

Conventional farming, with its constant tilling of the land and heavy reliance on chemicals, breaks down organic matter in the soil and releases much of the stored carbon, thus contributing to climate change. In contrast, regenerative farming increases the amount of organic matter in the soil, enabling the Earth to sequester and store more CO2 for long periods of time.

According to numerous scientific reports, the raising of animal-people livestock is one of the significant causes, creating more greenhouse gas emissions than all forms of transportation combined. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) 2021 report states that a shift toward a plant-based diet is essential for keeping global warming below the critical 1.5 degree global temperature limit set in the 2015 Paris Agreement.

In a peer-reviewed study conducted by the French National Study for Scientific Research (CNRS) and published in the June 18, 2021 edition of One Earth, scientists studied the effects of changing both the EU’s food and agricultural systems. The report concluded that by shifting to the plant-based diet, regenerative agriculture, “a balanced coexistence between agriculture and the environment” could be reached. The report added that through this combined approach the EU would not only substantially reduce its GHG emissions from agriculture, but also be completely food self-sufficient by 2050, even with a growing population.

Our most Beloved Supreme Master Ching Hai often reminds us that global adoption of the vegan lifestyle and a shift to organic regenerative farming will feed the world, halt climate change, and save our Earth. “If all people, all the farmers and all the arable land on our planet turn into vegan farming method, then first, immediately, 40% of the CO2 will be absorbed by the farming method alone already, 40% of it. They already have the land readily available. And to switch to organic farming will restore the health of the soil, which has been depleted by conventional growing practices. Studies have even shown that organic farming methods, besides using less energy and reducing carbon emissions, are more financially profitable than conventional ones.”