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Wed Mar 9 06:22:29 CET 2016

with every word you have written. And you even got methane's GWP right, at
34! Some top science journalists are still using the wrong, old numbers. So
my congratulations.

The most urgent question in my mind therefore becomes, how? You mention
focusing far more than 1% of global agricultural research on organic
farming, which is clearly needed. And in your last paragraph, you emphasize
the need for democratic governance, which is also clearly needed. But many
countries already have good democratic governance, without undue corporate
corruption=E2=80=94I sympathize with GTN members living in America, which i=
s a
temporarily failed and corrupted democracy. So just as progressive states
can be laboratories of change in the US, so can progressive countries,
globally. If more key countries such as Sweden, Denmark (aiming at 100%
organic =E2=80=9Cas soon as possible=E2=80=9D), Bhutan (aiming to be 100% o=
rganic by 2020),
Ethiopia, Lichtenstein (31% of farmland is organic), and Austria (19.5%
organic) could show the world how effective small-scale organic and
agro-ecological farming is, it would establish a beach-head into larger
countries. (See
www.fibl.org/en/themes/organic-farming-statistics.html for statistics)

In my book Journey to the Future: A Better World is Possible (
www.journeytothefuture.ca), set in the year 2032, there's a dialogue
between a nurse and my visitor to the future, in which she explains how all
farming in Canada came to be organic. There are several chapters devoted to
food and farming, but this is a relevant contribution for GTN, since it
shows a way to make the switch:

****

=E2=80=9CHow much of it=E2=80=99s organic?=E2=80=9D All of it. All food gro=
wn in Canada is organic
these days. It=E2=80=99s not all five-star, but three or four-star is still=
 pretty
good.=E2=80=9D

I was really surprised.

Back in my time, only two percent of Canada=E2=80=99s farms were organic. =
=E2=80=9CWhat
made all the farmers go organic?=E2=80=9D I asked.

=E2=80=9CAnd what=E2=80=99s the five-star system?=E2=80=9D

=E2=80=9CFive-star means that as well as using no chemicals, the farmers bu=
ild
their soil, treat their farm animals with kindness, pay fair wages and take
care of their wildlife. They get a star for each if they meet the
requirements.=E2=80=9D

=E2=80=9CThat=E2=80=99s impressive.=E2=80=9D

=E2=80=9CAs to why the farmers went organic, it all happened quite quickly.=
 Soon
after the OMEGA Days the government commissioned a study to investigate the
full cost of conventional farming. They looked at everything from farming=
=E2=80=99s
climate impact to the loss of habitat and species, herbicide-resistant
super-weeds, nitrogen pollution from fertilizers getting into the water,
soil erosion, the impact on bees, the abuse of antibiotics, and negative
health impacts caused by the use of pesticides and fertilizers, and the
loss of essential nutrients from the soil. That includes cancer and
dementia, which had been linked to the use of pesticides and nitrogen
fertilizers. Maybe autism, too. Pre-natal exposure to pesticides was also
contributing to ADHD, and to a fall in children=E2=80=99s IQ. A crop like c=
elery
was being sprayed with as many as sixty-seven different pesticides. Can you
believe it? When the government saw the full social, environmental and
healthcare impact they brought in a tax on
pesticides and fertilizers, to recover the costs.=E2=80=9D

=E2=80=9CJust like that? Didn=E2=80=99t the farmers protest?=E2=80=9D

=E2=80=9COh, for sure. There was a lot of complaining. But there were many =
benefits
to going organic. It eliminated the cost of fertilizers and pesticides, and
when the farmers realized that they could save money and get better yields
it became a no-brainer. Conventional yields had been falling anyway due to
pesticide resistance and the spread of herbicide-resistant weeds,
especially with the genetically modified crops, so the farmers didn=E2=80=
=99t need
much persuading. The government gave the money back to the farmers to
subsidize their transition to organic, and the rest is history.=E2=80=9D

best wishes,
Guy Dauncey

FRSA Author, Speaker, Futurist
www.earthfuture.com
Author of Journey to the Future: A Better World is Possible Author of The
Climate Challenge: 101 Solutions to Global Warming
Founder of the BC Sustainable Energy Association

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Monday, February 29, 2016