Source: theinertia.com
Published: August 1, 2016
Like it or not, our climate is rapidly changing. Although climate change is a natural occurrence, the cause for alarm isn’t the fact that it’s changing, it’s the speed at which it’s doing so. Humans have created a life so full of comfort that it’s destroying the place we all call home, and the way we eat isn’t helping. Our farming habits are turning the fragile ecological balance upside down, and it’s all coming to a head. Patagonia, Chris Malloy, and Farm League got together to make a film about it. It’s called Unbroken Ground.
The film “explains the critical role food will play in the next frontier of our efforts to solve the environmental crisis… [and] explores four areas of agriculture that aim to change our relationship to the land and oceans. Most of our food is produced using methods that reduce biodiversity, decimate soil and contribute to climate change. We believe our food can and should be a part of the solution to the environmental crisis – grown, harvested and produced in ways that restore our land, water, and wildlife. The film tells the story of four groups that are pioneers in the fields of regenerative agriculture, regenerative grazing, diversified crop development and restorative fishing.”
The film is part of Patagonia’s Provisions project, which, in the words of founder Yvon Chouinard does a few things: “It only makes sense that we’d want to share some of our favorite food with our customers,” he wrote. “But that’s just the beginning; we also believe there is great opportunity—and an urgent need—for positive change in the food industry. With Patagonia Provisions, our goals are the same as with everything we do: We aim to make the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, and perhaps most important, inspire solutions to the environmental crisis.”
One man in the surfing community who’s taken it upon himself to yell from the mountain tops about a very real issue is Cyrus Sutton. Here’s what he had to say about it on his website, Korduroy.tv:
“We are in the midst of an environmental crisis of global proportions. Our ecological footprint has left our rivers and seas, grasslands, wetlands and forests balancing on the brink of collapse. But there is time to repair what has been damaged and change a paradigm rife with shortsightedness, one guided by a driving principal to maximize profits at every turn, at all costs.
As consumers and stewards, we have the power to harness our energy and the innate power within each dollar we spend to change the paradigm that shapes our planet and the food landscapes that nourish us. With an intention to adopt regenerative and ecologically minded practices into the ways we grow and harvest crops, steward our top soil, manage water resources, raise livestock, practice animal husbandry, and harvest wild animals from the land and sea, we can blaze a trail forward with the support of a community all pointed in the same direction.”