Regenesis - George Monbiot

We choose books here that alternate between providing serious scientific information about all aspects of climate change and those that celebrate biodiversity and describe wonders of the natural world despite it being under threat.

I think this one does both. I found it deeply moving. George Monbiot talks of the extensive damage to the environment by modern farming practices. It is passionate and angry but half the book focuses on projects attempting to arrest this downward trajectory. Monbiot explains that half the world’s habitable land is farmed to produce food from both crops and animals. The natural world is sidelined to more and more degraded and polluted areas. He believes that agriculture is at the heart of the destruction of the planet and yet still millions of people are near starvation.

By 2050 we will need to double our food production. In a time of escalating climate change Monbiot calls for the total remaking of the food industry. Linked to fundamental change is global governance and the financial markets. He draws attention to the hideously polluted UK rivers which are largely as a result of effluent in the form of fertilisers, pesticides and leakage from farms.

Although he displays his extensive scientific knowledge Monbiot has a humanity and appreciation of the people trying to farm regeneratively. He does not over simplify, recognising the dilemmas and contradictions these farmers face in attempting to maintain levels of food production whilst at the same time avoiding the methods used by farmers who are causing damage.

He has a particular interest in soil, with a chapter on this eco-system that underpins all our lives. He details the complex interaction between bacteria, fungi and plants in the soil and the degree to which ploughing with heavy machinery, fertilisers and even irrigation destroy these delicate relationships. Regenerative farmers he visits are revitalising their land with no tilling, avoidance of monocultures, and strict rotations.

However Monbiot accepts that producing more food from less land may not be commercially viable and will need subsidising. There are a number of technical solutions being developed such as perennial cereal crops which would reduce the need of incursions into the land.

Animal production is also not seen as sustainable at current levels and hence his call for more extensive plant based diets and substitute protein production using microbes and 3D printing. This will also make land more available for nature to reclaim.

Personally I was challenged by this book both in the need to grasp the complexity of the science but also in facing the the degree of destruction to soil, rivers, wildlife and the cruelty to animals. It has enlarged my understanding hugely. I think it has made more impact on me, living in a rural area, than any other book on the environment. I hope it has a similar impact on politicians, financiers and farmers.