I will start off this article by stating that this is not a scientific research paper loaded with numbers and data to make you go cross eyed. There already exists a large body of work from NGO’s, think tanks and universities around the world on the current state of global agriculture, positive and negative. There is no need to rehash what is readily available for all to see, and any numbers I throw around can easily be found using Google Search. One of the beauties of the 21st century and the internet is the ability to have access to information on demand.
The main point of this article is to posit a very simple thought; when it comes to agriculture, we are doing many things wrong in the face of better scientific and technical methods, and we must decide where our ethics lie. What may have been perfectly fine 100 years ago is no longer fine, in the same way that a rotary phone is nonsensical to use when compared to a Smart Phone, or that you no longer go to the creek to wash your clothes, but use the washer and dryer in your home or at the Laundromat.
** This strict adherence to traditional agriculture is not going to do us any favors, and subsidizing old modes of operation simply because, “That’s how it’s always been done,” is a woefully inadequate stance for an advancing culture to take **
Additionally, this distorted addiction to the improper use of science, when it is unnecessary, deserves further scrutiny. And yes, I’m talking about GMO’s, but not to discuss their health effects on people, but whether or not we even need such a science anymore in light of other advancements in agriculture.
The decisions we make today with regards to agriculture and how we manage our ‘affairs of the stomach’ will have consequences for generations to come. So what path do we wish to take and how do we wish to be remembered?
I’m going to touch on three points in this article, although an entire book could be written to address these and more. But for the sake of this article and how it links to what my company (CFS) is doing with regards to ethical, sustainable agriculture, I’ve reduced it to what I consider to be the top three.
GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOOD
The GMO debate will likely rage on until we start getting genuine scientific health effect data from unbiased sources that are NOT funded by the very companies that use the GMO process for profit. That alone is an ethical red flag that should be branded like a scarlet letter. Regardless, in some cases, GM food may be a worthy effort, as a means to protect a plant from a disease. In some cases, the word Frankenfood is appropriate. Super gigantic ears of corn is just plain odd.
But I want to talk about patents. There is no way on this Earth that ANY company should own the rights to seeds, just because they tinker with its DNA, but for reasons of money and politics we’ve allowed large agriculture companies to mold and shape the landscape in a most frightening way.
** Own the food, control the people **
The science of genetic modification can be a most noble endeavor, if researched properly and not shoved down our throats with little testing to assure it’s safe, but for private industry to have a godlike control over food is an ethical concern at the very least, and can be truly scary if one is concerned about overall global food security.
However, not all GM use is to make a seed more healthy, or more productive, or less prone to a disease, but to protect it against the vast array of chemicals and pesticides that are dumped on those plants. So you have companies that make pesticides, who also GM seeds to be resistant to those very same pesticides, and all the while we are eating all that. Not to mention the issues of superweeds, pollen drift, harm to wildlife, cross contamination with natural seeds, and other issues that are associated with GM foods.
** One of the core advantages of the agricultural paradigm shift is the realization that we don’t have to GM seeds, and that we can grow food in climate controlled environments that produce great tasting, organic, healthy, natural foods **
For example, a CFS building doesn’t care what the weather is like outside. As far as the plants are concerned, it’s always an amazing day, every day. Vertical farming systems can do the same, and since these buildings are indoor, with proper screened ventilation, there is no need to protect against bugs, because there aren’t any getting to the plants.
Such systems can go even further, allowing bees to be integrated in the system for local pollination. This goes back to the concept of local production and distribution. Eating food grown in your area, subject to your climate and your local crew of good pollinating insects, actually helps boost your immune system. Eating a fruit from France while you live in New Jersey, bears no connection whatsoever to your local environment.
The right and proper question today is not whether GM foods are good or bad, but whether or not they are even necessary. With our current capabilities to grow healthy, organic food without the need for chemicals, the debate needs to shift from usage to relevance. Just remember, you are what you eat…and it shouldn’t be chemicals! Ethical Bio-Science: Check.
FRESHWATER AND THE WORLD
Fact: 70% of the Earth’s freshwater is used for agriculture. This is easy enough to find via the U.N., F.A.O. and many other organizations who echo the same statistics.
Now, up to 70% of that 70% is wasted, not even going to the plants, but either evaporating or flowing away as runoff, carrying along with it whatever chemicals the plants are being doused in. Given the debate on freshwater in the world, and how we can go about improving the availability of this biological necessity for humans to exist, would it not be prudent to point out an already existing and viable solution to help reduce freshwater use overall for agriculture?
There is a reason why my company chose Aquaponics as its method for growing produce. Aquaponics is a food production system that combines conventional aquaculture (raising aquatic animals such as snails, fish, crayfish or prawns in tanks), with hydroponics (cultivating plants in water) in a symbiotic environment. In normal aquaculture, excretions from the animals being raised can accumulate in the water, increasing toxicity. In an aquaponic system, water from an aquaculture system is fed to a hydroponic system where the by-products are broken down by nitrogenfixing bacteria into nitrates and nitrites, which are utilized by the plants as nutrients. The water is then circulated back to the aquaculture system. In the most simple of terms, fish poop helps grow amazing lettuce…or tomatoes, or cucumbers, or a large list of other fruits and vegetables.
But to refocus on water use, please notice this statement, “The water is then circulated back to the aquaculture system.” Aquaponics recycles and reuses water over and over.
** Because of this constant reclamation system, Aquaponics uses 90% less water than traditional agriculture **
Now put this system in a vertical farm in a city center, or in a climate controlled greenhouse with some additional features like what we’re doing at CFS, and you have a robust, sustainable, healthy food growing operation that is significantly more efficient with its water use than traditional agriculture. Ethical Water Use: Check.
GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION
Although one may consider this common sense, the elephant in the room must occasionally be acknowledged. Shipping food all over the world has a big environmental impact! Planes, trains and automobiles eject vast amounts of pollution into the air, and shipping Kiwi from Italy to the United States on a regular basis, or shipping Cod from Norway to China to be processed and then sent back to Norway to be bought in stores, is something that needs serious attention. We’re not even discussing the chemicals that are sprayed on produce that is picked early to be shipped long distances, only to be sprayed again when they arrive at their destination to artificially ripen them for that “fresh picked” look.
I’m all for the globalization of thoughts and ideas, helping elevate everyone and open opportunities, but when it comes to the globalization of industry, we simply cannot afford to centralize production and ship stuff all over the world like this. Local production and local distribution is the answer. When it comes to textiles, 3D Printing is going to be the disruptive wrench in the system. When it comes to farming, it will be vertical farms in highrise buildings and self sustaining greenhouse systems, like what we’re doing at CFS, aided by the power of clean energy like solar, wind, wave, geothermal, etc. I can use very simple technologies to regulate a greenhouse to mimic the climate for a specific plant, allowing for the ability to grow anything, any time. Or I can find an average range that’s suitable for many species of fruits and vegetables, and hold that year round.
** Going vertical gives us the ability to grow more without taking up any more real estate, so we don’t need extra space to increase local productivity **
Now some people will assert that we go even further and go back to home production, where every home has its own garden. Sorry, but not everyone has a yard, or wants to grow their own food, nor do they have to. But we most certainly should make it a publicly accepted option for someone to grow food and not grass on their front lawn if they want to. If landscaped properly, it can be quite efficient and beautiful.
The point is that we have the scientific knowledge and technical capabilities to bring back the local aspect of food production, and you can still have your great tasting Kiwi in the off-season. It’ll just be grown over in that amazing agro-highrise downtown, or that swanky techno-greenhouse down the street, not shipped halfway around the world. Environmental Ethics: Check.
Welcome to the 21st century. Today, we have the means and capabilities to advance agriculture in a most profound and positive way. Cybernated Farm Systems is working to do this. Other groups, companies, non-profits and organizations around the world are also jumping on this wave to move mankind forward, so that our food is cultivated in the most clean and healthy way possible. From how we treat the planet, to how we grow the food, and from how it’s accessed, to how it nourishes us, ethical considerations are on the forefront of how we’ll handle global agriculture now and into the future.
TEXT BY DOUGLAS MALLETTE
