Did you hear that Bill Gates is now the largest owner of private farmland in the US? This is tragic news for regenerative farmers, and every American who wants to eat real food. Here’s why.
Gates has a long track record of funding research towards “better pesticides”, as if such a thing exists. The one big piece of knowledge you will (or should) come to realize in farming is that Mother Nature will always win. Always. It is when we realize that working with nature, instead of against her with synthetics, do we finally see some real, lasting results.
And what comes along with these “better pesticides” Gates is investing in? You got it, more GMO crops, which he has also invested in! Every regenerative farmers and advocate of real food’s best friend. Kidding, of course.
Masked in concern for climate change, and an alleged environmentalist, we also see Gates heavily invested in Caterpillar (heavy equipment company), and plant-based foods (immitation meat).
Gates claims a plant-based diet is better for the environment and that livestock heavily contributes to greenhouse emissions. Have you ever heard the saying “it isn’t the cow, it’s the how”? It’s a real thing, and any type of basic research into regenerative farming practices and the subsequent results quickly shows that livestock managed well increases your positive impact on the land (ability to actually sequester carbon) far faster than trying to better the land without animals.
While we are on the topic of climate change and environmental impact, let’s circle back to his big pushes to chemical dependency (pesticides) and GMO crops. For anyone truly interested in the real impact these products possess, look up videos of Gabe Brown and/or Ray Archuleta. In many, you will see soil samples from a number of different farms utilizing differing farming practices. An analysis of the soil shows that whether you are conventional or organic, till or no-till, the biggest impact on the land falls on a farms use of synthetics. Virtually every farming style previously mentioned results in compacted, depleted land thanks to the killing nature of products (pesticides included) sprayed on a field.
The one farming style that blew the other farms out of the water in terms of increases in organic matter and nutrient availability involves no/low chemical use farms that utilize a heavily diverse crop rotation, cover crops, no-till and grazing livestock. This is almost 100% opposite of what Bill Gates proposes is the answer to climate change.
Now, for those who have heard that we will not be able to feed the projected 9.8 billion people come 2050 without GMO’s, pesticides and fake foods, it just isn’t so. We already overproduce, to the point of massive waste and unsustainable commodity prices. A far better way to feed the world is with diverse enterprises, not monocropping.
That all said, there is one major way a food shortage can absolutely become reality – and it very well should be the biggest concern every human in the world has in regard to feeding a growing population, is the ever increasing number of arable (farmable) acres going out of production. 3 acres every minute. Read that again. 3 acres every minute! On average, every hour of every day we lose 175 acres of farm land to development. That’s staggering, and where the real problem with feeding the world lies.
Did you know that over 10% of the farmland Gates now owns is already slated for transition to suburb development? Interesting, no?
Once you put all of the pieces together you quickly see the sinister picture that this seemingly innocuous information (Gates being America’s largest farmland owner) shows. He single-handedly has the power to pull a massive amount of farmland out of production, not only greatly increasing his wealth with development but also “supporting” his story that we can’t feed the world without GMO crops, pesticides and fake meats – 3 more industries he stands to potentially make billions on.
Couple this with the notion that Tom Vilsack AKA “Mr. Monsanto” will likely be our next Secretary of Agriculture and it does not paint a promising picture for the future of our farmland and those of us who rely on it for real sustenance. I greatly encourage you to watch a video or two of Gabe Brown and Ray Archuleta and decide for yourself if working with Mother Nature, or against her, is the answer to correcting climate change and feeding the world.