This video was created for a webinar on regenerative agriculture I organised with the Rotary District 2060 and Resilience Frontiers, a UN interagency programme on collective foresight for resilience beyond 2030, launched by a UNFCCC official.
The webinar “From wine to Chocolate between Climate Change and Green Deal” took place on 29th October 2020. The speakers were Riccardo Illy, shareholder of the famous Illy Group, Lamberto Vallarino Gancia, former owner of Gancia (renowned Italian wine maker) and President of Brainscapital Benefit Company, Turin and myself.
“Our planet is heading for disaster”, says Sir David Attenborough in his heart-breaking documentary “Extinction: The Facts”.
Protecting the planet is not a luxury. We depend on the climate and biodiversity for our food, air, and water. Today’s agricultural practices must change as they cause a massive loss of soil fertility and biodiversity. The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) warns that “we could run out of topsoil in about 60 years at this rate”.
Agriculture, forestry, and other land use account for 24% of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions. Deforestation is an important cause of climate change. Forests are one of the most effective “sponges” for absorbing CO2 emissions and other man-made greenhouse gases.
Forests now cover less than 30% of the planet’s surface and forest ecosystems play an essential role in life on earth. Forests are a very important source of oxygen, absorbing large amounts of carbon dioxide and playing an essential role in the water cycle.
As Sir David Attenborough says “There is good news: If we #actnow, we can yet put it right. And we know how to do it. We can learn to live in harmony with nature, not against it” to save #biodiversity and transform agriculture.
#regenerativeagriculture can build healthier food systems.