A Bold Claim for Food Systems: We only need 2% of the land we currently use for agriculture if we farm “ecosystemically.”

Geoff Lawton with his wife, Nadia

Interview

Geoff Lawton has played a big role on the global stage embodying the sophistication and scientific elegance of permanent, self-regenerating food systems and habitat design. Combining multiple bodies of knowledge across climates worldwide, he is positioned to guide food system designers, funders, land owners, new students, city planners, and farmers in how to achieve an abundant and healthy future. He has given his life to serving this larger purpose, catalyzing others in the practice of permaculture through teaching, writing, a massive body of instructional videos, and consulting. In recent years, Geoff has been using the figure of 4% for the amount of land needed, which he always says is still ‘conservative.’ Please enjoy the above interview.

These are some take-home points from this interview with Geoff Lawton, by Tim Lynch on GreenPlanet FM. Listen Here

“Though he loves the words ‘organic food’ it will not feed the world, because it is not ecosystemic. It still allows topsoil to be depleted due to erosion etc. In saying organics will not really save the day, you will have to listen to the interview for his reasoning.

“He states that a new evolution is required and is actually happening. It’s called eco systemic - meaning it is soil creative, that while it is producing food, is it also creating soil and if it is, and it’s gaining even a little more soil - we can go on forever - we can live sustainably and the criteria of permaculture design system is that it does not deplete soil and it does not remove soil and to some degree - at least creates soil. 

“Because there is only so much of our base resource left and we are increasing the stress on our base resource and that is our soils. And it is only created by plants because plants create carbon from photosynthesis and ecosystems major in forests and major in trees. We have to start implementing agriculture which is integrated with forestry with trees and productive tree systems – we can’t just be out of scale.

“He states that permaculture could feed the whole world on only 2% of the land area that we use in area today. Listen to how he explains this of how to produce the same amount of nutrition on only 2% of present land use. It could be 3% by now as this was a 2004 interview. 

”We need to re-pattern for eco systemic production and have it close to where people live in huge cities. Permaculture being a poly culture or poly ecosystemic system which is enthusiastic for diversity in every form - the more diversity you have - the more potential links you have - thus the more stability and resilience within in the system.” from https://www.ourplanet.org/greenplanetfm/geoff-lawton-permaculture-teacher-systemic-regenerative-design