I am part of the generation of organic farmers who developed the first organic standards and certification systems in the 1970s and 80s to ensure the integrity of organic agriculture and stop false claims when people were selling their produce as organic. We did this to protect both farmers and consumers. The worst thing that happened to the organic sector was when governments started regulating it. At the time, we believed that government regulation would protect the sector and stop fraudulent claims and substitutions, so we strongly advocated for it.

Dr. Vandana Shiva was the keynote speaker at two events on March 15 and 16 in Mexico City in support of the Mexican Government’s stand against glyphosate and GMO Maize. Regeneration International was one of the organizers of these events in partnership with Navdanya International, the Organic Consumers Association, Via Organica, and Sin Maiz No Pais.

The climate news isn’t good now, with devastating storms, droughts, floods, and fires everywhere. We have enough evidence based on current best practices that scaling up a percentage of best practice regenerative agriculture systems can remove more than the current emissions of CO2 to reduce the levels in the atmosphere and oceans. The scaling up of these systems by regenerating a high biodiversity of plants and animals in agroecosystems will cool the planet.

Over the last few decades, GMO crops have been imposed in countries all over the world, advertised as a solution to food insecurity and the malnutrition crisis. However, hunger, disease and malnutrition have increased, while biodiversity has declined and toxins have spread. GMO imperialism has destroyed the lives and livelihoods of small farmers and biodiversity in centers of origin. These centers of origin of biodiversity are the cradles of the world’s food supply, and the protection against plague, climate challenges, natural disasters or other hindrances to food production.

The essence of this project is to promote awareness of taking care of the planet, through different actions, among them, the experiences generated with our products and services from the Farm School. Have you ever wondered how many times you have been in an ecological farm in action? Well, now is the time to do it!