Study Unit 2: Regenerative Agriculture and the Challenge of Climate Change

Introduction:

Food Inc gives us a very limited view of the future of food. We are given two alternatives: The white libertarian figure of Joel Salatin as yeoman farmer and spokesperson for keeping agriculture more local and on a smaller scale, using regenerative practices of scientific pasture management as the basis for a more sustainable food system. And we have the figure of Gary Hirschberg, Stonyfield Yogurt founder, who uses the pressure from consumer demand to get organic food into major supermarket chains, such as Walmart. The film does not really explore the diverse ways that underserved communities are acting to regain control over their food systems through urban agriculture and reclaiming traditional diets. We will be exploring this aspect of food change in our tour of community gardens in Rome. A discussion of how the future of farming is being debated and the role of animals in envisioning this future will be introduced in the assigned reading on "Green Rebranding."

This unit is designed to introduce you to the concept of regenerative agriculture as an alternative to the industrial model as one of our best bets to deal with climate change. It is intended to give you a good grounding for your experience at Pulicaro and why this shows a viable pathway forward to the future of food.

Pulicaro is one of 50 farms in all of Europe that have been invited to be part of the European Alliance for Regenerative Agriculture, an advocacy group for promoting this model of agriculture. Pulicaro raises animals for food: chickens, goats, sheep, pigs, and cows, as well as vegetable produce for its farm kitchen and it also produces olive oil. Pulicaro is also famous in experimenting with human-animal collaborations through the extensive use of guard dogs that enable them to keep their animals on pasture most of the year to protect them from predators. It has also long been part of the Italian network for Educational Farms (Fattorie Didattiche Links to an external site.). Our farmers Marco and Chiara will be introducing you to all aspects of a biodiverse farm cycle integrating plant and animal production, as well as sustainable farm-to-table eating.

Two of the really big takeaways I am hoping you will learn in our visit is (1) how farmers are on the front line in confronting the challenge of climate change and (2) what role regenerative agriculture can play in bringing animals back into the picture as a means of cycling nutrients and building climate resilience through sequestration of carbon and organic matter in the soil. 

Stefano Liberti, the author of the book Italia Bruciata (Italy on Fire) and one of our local teaching partners, introduced to my students last time about the impact of climate change on Italy in particular. As a long narrow peninsula almost completely surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea, every additional degree of water temperature can be correlated with an astounding increase in climate distress, mostly in the form of drought and cataclysmic rains and flooding. These are the challenges our hosts Marco and Chiara face every year.

"The Lost Forest Gardens of Europe," one of the assigned readings, introduces us to how the ancient farmers of the mesolithic era, a time of great climate variability, devised resilient ways of food production to ensure their food supply. This is something we can learn from today.

The unit relies a bit more heavily on viewing assignments, due to the availability of excellent documentary film that will be invaluable in preparing you for your experience at Pulicaro.

The film The Biggest Little Farm will demonstrate how quickly regenerative practices can restore fertility and climate resilience. It is also a great demonstration of the importance of eco-systems thinking and how we need to rethink our relationship to other species in a more-than-human mindset. Incidentally, Dafne and I learned this spring that Melanie Luiz, one of our Rome alums from 2011, played an important role in this farm and the film based on it. It makes me so proud.

Moo Man explores the relationship between a farmer and the animals he grows for food in terms of our ethical responsibilities and obligations to the species that feed us. Marco will be talking extensively about the ethics of life and death as a meat farmer and how he views his responsibilities to the animals he raises. He has in the past invited students to participate in the processing of chickens on the farm so they can see at first hand how this is handled humanely. 

A Farm for the Future was made about 10 years ago and was envisioned through the frame of Peak Oil: How do we prepare ourselves for a future of declining fossil fuel? It is startling to see how much our frame has recentered on the challenge of climate change in the ten years since this film was made. It is almost as if we were given just enough fossil fuel to ensure climate destruction (LOL). But the film's exploration of other ways of farming, such as forest agriculture, permaculture, and agro-ecology, is no less relevant today.

Finally, the film short Farmer's Elegy (Omelia Contadina) was made by Alice Rohrwacher, one of the hottest film directors in Europe today. It was filmed near Pulicaro on the Alfina Plateau where she grew up. Her parents are farmers and beekeepers and good friends of our farm hosts Marco and Chiara. This short film will anticipate a deeper dive into food change activism in our final unit. It will also give us some insight into the current farmer demonstrations shaking all of Europe these past several months.