Regenesis

May 1, 2022
An energetic activist asks difficult questions about food production and finds some interesting answers. Monbiot, a Guardian columnist and founder of Rewilding Britain, covers many topics, but one of his primary subjects is soil. His interest started in his own backyard when he wondered why some plants failed while others thrived. This led him to study what was happening under the surface, where he found a teeming tangle of bacteria, subterranean plants, and tiny creatures. It's a jungle down there, although the various armies usually find a balance. The problem is that the equilibrium has been upset by modern farming practices, which drain nutrients from the soil and eventually reduce yields and variety. While Monbiot has plenty of harsh words for industrial-level agribusiness, he is equally skeptical of organic farming and its militant advocates. This type of agriculture is impossible to operate on a large scale, he notes, and often generates its own environmental costs. Neither does the author have time for activists who want to make food more expensive, arguing that it will make people eat less. Such an approach might be acceptable for wealthy people but would be very hard on those who are already struggling. "Just as it's impossible to feed the world on pasture-fed meat, it's impossible to feed the world on low-yield agroecology," Monbiot argues. "In every farming system, we should seek two properties: high yields and low impacts." Within this framework, he sees a range of paths forward, and he chronicles the work of several farms that are making progress at revitalizing soils while improving yields. There is also promise in new types of crops, including perennial species. Monbiot is also interested in creating food in labs using precise fermentation methods. This method is in use, but there is untapped potential in the area. These are interesting possibilities, and Monbiot is willing to follow the research to useful solutions. A fascinating, informative, eccentric look at the future of farming and food.

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May 9, 2022
Activist and journalist Monbiot (Feral) digs deep in this enlightening look at soil ecology. English soils can “be as diverse as the Amazon rainforest,” “composed of structures within structures within structures within structures,” yet “so neglected has this ecosystem been... that we are only beginning to unearth its complexities.” Monbiot describes the life that teems within, and talks with farmers and researchers to sound the alarm on European policies that “accelerate the destruction” of soils rather than protect them. Maize, for example, is grown to feed cattle and produce biogas, and is “probably the greatest danger to soil health” across Europe. On “the engrossing issue of excrement,” the author finds fault with the lightly regulated industry of chicken farming: across England and Wales, waste began to be dumped into rivers after governments decided it would have “no likely significant environmental impact.” In stark terms, Monbiot reminds readers “the more land that farming occupies, the less is available for forests and wetlands, savannahs, and wild grasslands,” and makes a strong case for the switch to a system of farming that takes soil health into account. Passionate and informative, this is a solid look at farming’s effects on a changing planet. Agent: Antony Harwood Ltd. (UK).

Starred review from June 1, 2022

Environmental campaigner and Guardian columnist Monbiot (Feral: Rewilding the Land, the Sea, and Human Life) brews up an intriguing solution to our troubled global food system, which he argues is complex and vulnerable to outside threats like climate change and rising demand. Agricultural sprawl is another concern--i.e., livestock operations that pollute waterways, damage natural habitats, and consume vast amounts of land. Monbiot has impressive evidence to support his "more food, less farming" message, and his articulate outrage at agriculturally caused ecological degradation is bracing. His book also reports from the field, visiting farmers and a food bank administrator to discover innovative farm practices and to learn how the food system impacts people in need. Particularly pivotal is his trip to a Finnish firm that produces protein using microbes grown in a fermenter, which Monbiot believes is a technological breakthrough--a food source not driven by photosynthesis--that promises a necessary end to most agriculture. This breakthrough could provide cheaper, healthier protein than that which is animal-derived and, at the same time, draw down carbon by releasing land for rewilding. VERDICT Provocateur Monbiot's "new restoration story about food" is sure to generate interest, both approving and dismissive.--Robert Eagan

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