Our method of food production puts so much pressure on the ecosystem ‘earth’ that irreversible damage is threatening. In the past one hundred years the policymakers of agricultural universities, trade unions and ministries have concentrated their attention and resources almost exclusively on an industrial approach to agriculture – this at the expense of natural processes and equilibria, and without a long-term perspective. I can still hear my professor of agricultural economics saying: ‘If a fertilizer or pesticide application of one euro leads to a yield increase of more than one euro, then this intervention is justified.’

That was 25 years ago. Meanwhile the end of the fossil fuels economy is gradually coming into sight and with it, at the same time, the end of agricultural production based on fossil energy. Decision-makers, and not the least among them, are beginning to realise that agro-industry has allowed our food system to degenerate into a crazy machine that urgently needs to be stopped. Shortly before his election Obama stated: ‘Our entire agricultural system is built on cheap oil. As a consequence our agricultural sector is actually contributing more greenhouse gases than our transportation sector. And at the same time it is creating monocultures that are making us vulnerable …’ He got this analysis from Michael Pollan who works as a food journalist for the New York Times among others. Pollan calculated that at present ten calories of fossil fuel are needed to produce one calorie of supermarket food, that is no less than 27 times more than in 1940. Eco-efficiency has dropped right out of the picture.

 

‘When we eat, we are eating fossil fuels and emitting greenhouse gases,’ says Pollan. What he recommends is something we at Velt have known for a long time: work with nature instead of against it. Replacing monocultures with farms full of biodiversity ensures optimal use of photosynthesis and reduces diseases and plagues, so less petrochemical poison is needed. Fertilizer too requires a lot of fossil fuels and is therefore not sustainable. Compost is a better option, which moreover restores impoverished soil to a natural, healthy, erosion-resistant storehouse of CO2.

 

In the 1970s organisations such as Velt saw the abuse of pesticides in food production and moved swiftly into action to show that there was an alternative. It was our volunteers who started the ‘biological cultivation method’ in Belgium, including the development of the Bio-guarantee label. The biomarket boomed, the demand for bioproducts currently exceeds the supply. For the agricultural sector and political leaders the changeover from conventional to organic agriculture is a major challenge. A change of mentality is needed in the farming sector, where being part of the alternative is still considered ‘not done’ by too many people with power.

 

At the same time many more citizens need to be informed about sustainable food consumption:  organic produce, but also regional and seasonal produce and, yes, even home-grown vegetables. Even now bigger involvement in authentic food is leading to changes in the consumption behaviour of many people, often families with young children. They are saying ‘Yes we can! We’re giving up bulk food and choosing a different type of quality, good for us, good for animal welfare, good for the planet’.

 

Pollan has replaced the term ‘consumer’ with ‘co-producer’, because our buying power gives us clout and in this way we also help to produce the reality. At Velt we take this one step further by calling for small eco-active groups to organise themselves to realise some concrete project: a collective garden, an eco-meal for schoolchildren, a stall with ecological bread rolls at a music festival,… While engaged in concrete action they can exchange ideas and together give meaning to ‘ecological living’. They can become really eco-active, they can walk their talk. These constructive civic actions will have an important educative value for the people and households involved, and gradually get a response from the media and the broader public. The hopeful result is that more and more people will be inspired to work together with soil, water, air and light for a beautiful planet Earth.