An Agrarian Renaissance

	Book review on Good food for everyone forever by Lloyd Fell (2011) Reviewed by David Lorimer, 2011 published in Network Review No 106
	(order this book from amazon.co.uk)

This is a revised and updated version of Colin's earlier book Feeding People is Easy, and introduces his new Campaign for Real Farming, involving the radical idea of a People's takeover of the world's food supply and the establishment of a College for Enlightened Agriculture. His basic argument is that everyone on the planet could be fed properly and abundantly without cruelty to animals or destroying the environment. The current food system is the exact reverse, involving mistreatment of animals and destruction of the resource base on which of food depends. This is largely the result of existing economic and political structures, and the policies that derive from them. The main drivers of the current system are governments, corporate and banks, operating on the basis of new liberalism and finance capitalism. These groups are convinced that our current economic system actually works, and that more the same desirable, even if it is moving us towards ultimate collapse of the systems on which we depend.

We know that the global population will reach about 9 billion people by 2050, which is 2 billion more than the current population. Colin sets out the current situation and the main trends creating the future. He points out that modern crops are already living at the physiological limits and insists, correctly in my view, that genetic engineering cannot and will not provide an instant fix. The good news is that increasing numbers of people are becoming aware of the situation and realising that an alternative agricultural and economic system must be established. However, this will only come about with a critical mass insisting on action, but this is unlikely to occur until the present system reaches a more critical point. The trouble is, that, by and large, power hungry people are in charge of the system.

We actually need to go back to first principles and start with three questions: what is necessary? What is possible? And what is right? The current food system is not delivering what is necessary, with 1 billion people undernourished and over 1 billion over nourished. Nor does it address the third moral question of what is right. For instance, under our current system, livestock consume 50% of the world's wheat and barley, 80% of the days, and 90% of the soya. At this rate, by 2050, livestock will be consuming enough cereal to feed 4 billion people. This means, as I pointed out in my review of The Meat Crisis in the last issue, that we cannot continue to increase our consumption of meat at the projected rate. Happily, the interests of the planet coincide with those of our health if we eat plenty of plants, not much meat and maximum variety.

If we are to provide good food for everybody indefinitely, then we need productive, sustainable and resilient farms on a much smaller scale than today. Industrial farming insists on further centralisation, enlargement and concentration. It is not actually designed to produce good food for everyone, but the cheapest possible whatever the ultimate cost. The main object is to produce maximum profits in minimum time by maximising turnover, adding 'value' and minimising costs. This translates into what Colin calls cash efficiency, which is absolutely not the same as biological efficiency. This latter term means producing as much good food as possible by minimally destructive means. Sound biology implies respect for the physical needs of human beings, as well as of crops and livestock. Much current food is not biologically sound, and has been shown to lead to the obesity crisis - junk food contains few if any micronutrients along with high levels of salt, sugar and calories. Colin provides plenty of evidence to back up his argument. Agriculture is not simply a business like any other, but makes a unique contribution to culture.

His solution is Renaissance rather than revolution, involving a People's takeover of the world's food supply. We need to rethink the economy and governance, activating democracy beyond its current form of what Quentin Hogg called elective dictatorship. He advocates entering an age of biology based on a new understanding of our relationship with nature and a corresponding holistic science or science assisted craft. Traditional agriculture is in fact 'an exercise in applied biology, carried out with proper humility.' Traditional farmers are in a sense craftspeople. This brings Colin to the Campaign for Real Farming, building on the philosophy of Frits Schumacher. Arguably, the Renaissance he calls for is already happening at a local level in many parts of the world, but most of the power and money remains within the current system, especially since food companies provide funds to elect politicians. It has to be, literally, a grassroots revolution, also propagated through the Internet with examples of best practice. Colin has certainly made a start, but there is a long way to go. See his website www.campaignforrealfarming.org for further information and ways in which you can become involved.

(order this book from amazon.co.uk)