Vote at the Market by Purchasing Foods that Improve Top Soil
Students from West Geauga High School work on stenciling the parking lot with “no-idling” reminders. Pictured are (left to right) Kelli Wright, Mariah Wright, Claire Slusarz, Zak Kucera, Clay McMullen and Shawn Cooper.
First Kyoto, now Copenhagen. Not much has changed. And even if it did, even if we managed to eliminate greenhouse gases, there’s more warming built in. With increased flooding, drought, melting, and extinctions, it’s no wonder that scientists are telling us that we need to reduce atmospheric carbon. But we can’t even slow emissions, let alone reduce carbon dioxide by at least 40 parts per million.
There are some who aren’t depressed by all of this and they have a solution. It’s farmers, but only a few of them. These innovators are learning how to grow topsoil rapidly, improving the soil’s biology and health, while removing tons of carbon. They are doing what nature has done on our prairies for ages—employ massive herds of grazing animals, constantly roaming, keeping the grasslands healthy and productive, and managing the “microherd” of microorganisms and other creatures underground. Because of fewer predators, farmers have learned to constantly move the animals to prevent overgrazing. Allowing grazing only in areas of mature grasses optimizes and hastens regrowth, while preventing clumping, reducing weed growth, producing healthier, more productive animals and putting the carbon in the soil where it belongs.
Other techniques are used to increase topsoil growth. A special subsoil plow, also called a keyline or Yeomans plow, is used to loosen soil below the root zone and encourage new root growth, especially in managed pastures. A method used on both farms and lawns is aerobic compost tea. Aeration multiplies microbial life, and avoids unhealthy anaerobic conditions.
Soils contain more than twice the carbon as the atmosphere, more than terrestrial biomass and the atmosphere combined. Additionally, soils are depleted because of modern farming, deforestation and overgrazing due to loss of predators. This presents a remarkable opportunity —improve the soils while removing carbon from the atmosphere.
How much CO2 can be removed from the atmosphere? A lot. Some farmers are producing four to six inches of new topsoil per year, and reports of soils converting five or ten tons of CO2 per acre and more are becoming common. There are 12 billion acres of arable land, so even a fraction of that could be used to offset emissions and reduce atmospheric carbon if farmed holistically.
What about all the methane that animals produce? Relocating animals from unhealthy, inhumane, high carbon, high corn feedlots to pastures, restores nature’s balance and can even create a carbon negative hoofprint. On arid grasslands, animals are necessary. Only proper grazing can prevent desertification.
How can you help? Learn more about ecologically sound grazing, subsoil plowing and no-till farming. Make aerated compost tea and study soil food webs. Try out those techniques if you’re a farmer. If you’re in the suburbs, put compost tea on your lawn or potted plants. Help spread the word. And, vote—not just on election day, but at the market. Buy vegetables, meats and produce grown with methods that improve the soil. At a minimum, avoid feedlot meat products. Get to know your nearest farmer and support local foods.
According to Vermont farmer Abe Collins, “By purchasing the food we grow for you, you will help create the new topsoil in the next few years that will feed a thousand generations. Together, we can localize the mineral cycle, create an effective water cycle, stabilize the atmosphere, increase biodiversity, provide your family with perfect nutrition and true food security, enable you to power down while your life improves and give you the means to practice the deepest environmentalism possible at every meal.”
For more information, visit www.350how.org or email rapidtopsoil@gmail.com.