Chapter 4 and conclusion

 

I found reading about rotational swidden agriculture very intriguing. I had never even heard of this before, so it seemed very resourceful and useful. Seeing that it used crop rotation, all the families would work together to harvest the crops as they became ready. Then see that when they came to America they were meet with hardship and disagreements about their generations long way of farming seem like a story on repeat with the reading we have had so many came to America expecting to have better lives but still be able to continue their traditions of farming only to be met with hostility and disapproval from other farmers and governing agencies that refused to work with them on following their traditions. Within her conclusion she talks about how it about building an ecosystem. Through out the book she has seen how natives had farms that did just that but when taken to the United States they were forced to end those was or risk poverty or return to the family farm that they had left to make more money to support. To me this shows that corporations have monopolized farming in America and that if you do not follow their ways, you are either forced to follow or driven out of business forced to find work elsewhere possibly even in a completely different field that you have no experience in.

Chapter 4 and conclusion

 Chapter 4 of healing grounds focuses on mostly asian farmers and their native techniques. I though it was super interesting how they would sometimes plant cover crops at the same time as their rice patties. They would then harvest and use these Chinese milk vetch as compost materials. Not only would these plants then be uses as fertilizer for the rice but the milk vetch would keep weeds from growing in the rice fields as well. In doing this they kept themselves from having to use synthetic fertilizers and herbicides. It's interesting how people who live naturally off the land and don't have access to lots of man made chemicals discover natural ways to protect and give nutrients to their crops. There are a lot of things the US could learn from these smaller natural farmers. Other farmers would use pigs to turn their left over crop scraps and food into fertilizer for their crops. Instead of separating animals and crops into separate spaces for use we can combine the animals and the crops and use them to benefit each other. 

The conclusion wraps up the book by stating how systematic injustice has kept many minority farmers from owning and farming their own land. The disparity in land ownership is evident. People of color make up 40% of the population yet own as little as 2% of farm land in this country. These statistics speak for themselves and there is obviously a deeper systematic reason as to why black and brown communities have been kept from owning farm land. As more people become aware of this disparity maybe there is a chance for change. 

Chapter 4 and Conclusion of Healing Grounds

One part of the conclusion that really struck me (again), was when Carlisle circled back to the idea of just how brutalized people of Native American descent were treated not too long ago. She had spoken with Stephanie Morningstar, co-coordinator of the Northeast Farmers of Color Land Trust, who believes the end of racial and food injustice goes back to the land. Carlisle writes of Morningstar's grandfathers experience with colonizers who would "kill the Indian in the child”, and would strip Indigenous children away from their families, as well as torturing them with gory punishments when those children would ask to go home, or speak their native language. 

It's crazy to me that these encounters too place not too long ago, and that there are people today to still tell their stories. I also wanted to touch on the fact that before reading this chapter, I have never known where the idea of composting came from. In fact, I've never actually thought about were the idea of composting came from. To read that the idea of composting came from somewhere other than the U.S was surprising to me, but then again, white farmers tend to receive the credit for everything so I was also not too shocked to hear this. 

Overall, I think this book covered a lot of important topics in regards to the agricultural field and practices. Carlisle does a great job at explaining numerous malpractices in farming, the endemic racism that continues to this day against black, indigenous, asian, and hispanic farmers across the globe, as well as food injustice and hunger msecurity. I can say I learned many new things from reading this book and taking this class, things that I never would have known if it weren't for having to read Healing Grounds. 

Chapter 4 and Conclusion

     This chapter brought up many important discussions based around Asian farmers, their traditional farming methods, and their experiences with farming in the U.S.  A section of the chapter that I found extremely interesting was the field day that took place at Keu Moua's farm.  Reading about the dozens of farmers from different backgrounds and experiences coming together to learn about the inner workings of a productive polyculture system really gave me a sense of hope for the future of regenerative agriculture.  Moua's use of rotating cover crops throughout different sections of her farm plot was a very effective method of increasing soil fertility.  In many people's eyes, methods such as this may seem "innovative," when in reality, these practices have been in place for thousands of years in different parts of the world.  An example of this is farmers in China raising fish within their rice fields.  This reminded me of the silvopasture systems I learned about last semester where plants and animals work in a mutually beneficial relationship within a farming system.  Fish excrement provides the plants with nutrients while the plants provide a habitat for insects which can be eaten by the fish.  Practices like these seem like the result of extensive modern research which was why I was shocked to learn that they were being implemented over 1,000 years ago.  

    There was one barrier to regenerative agriculture mentioned in the chapter that I never really thought about before.  Hmong farmers in the Central Valley that cannot purchase their own farmland must rent it out through a lease instead.  The major problem with this is that short term lease agreements and long term perennial agriculture do not mix.  Many of these land owners only allow annual crops which is basically the opposite of what regenerative agriculture is working to accomplish.  

Chapter 4 and Conclusion

        I found it interesting that the idea of composting came from these countries. The idea seems so much more modern, so it was surprising that these practices had been in use for thousands of years. I also found it funny how the Europeans and Americans who traveled to India and China thought that they were going to teach the indigenous peoples how to create agricultural systems, but they ended up learning from them and took the ideas of composting and cover cropping. 

        This chapter does a great way of once again highlighting how systematic racism has impacted so many different groups of people. The different laws that were passed to disenfranchise asian immigrants and Asian Americans, as well as the Japanese internment camps, almost destroyed any chance of people being able to make a living and employ the practices that they used back in their home countries. 

        The conclusion really wraps up the ideas of the book well. The ideas that land needs to be redistributed and shared among the people so that there is greater opportunity. In chapter four, the importance of letting people develop long lasting relationships with the land lets regenerative systems be created. The book tied together the different struggles that minority groups face/have faced throughout history, and how they are often related to one another. 

Ch 4 putting down roots + conclusion

This chapter was the first time I have ever heard of a bunch of things. It was so interesting to hear about Chinese farmers keeping fish/ducks in rice fields to control pests that I had to google some pictures. Practices like these and the ones used by Hmong farmers are really the golden standard. Dropping the reliance on chemical fertilizers and picking up natural composting practices is the only way to restore the soil with the addition of crop rotations and cover crops. 

    It was almost funny how fast law in California was altered so quick. In the span of a few years, it had been created and amended just to keep Japanese farmers at bay from becoming stable citizens. I think that the specific wording of the amendment is really crazy. Japanese are not allowed to possess, use, occupy, or even enjoy land? This chapter combined with a related lesson in my environmental science class has convinced me to eat less beef and more chicken/fish. 

 I also love how the end of the chapter says it's no wonder that there is a lack of organic matter in the soil, because people were never allowed to root. -Its cutely worded and it reveals that soil fertility issues we are facing now are really from past societal injustices and ignoring how Asian people have been farming for some time. 

The conclusion ties all the chapters up nicely. I like how each one focused on a different community, it made it less confusing and easier to follow. America's population is so diverse, the agricultural system needs to reflect this. It is insane how 60% of agricultural laborers are people of color, but then only 2% of US farmland is actually owned by people of color. I especially love Morningstar's quote, "If you want to heal the planet, our communities, or racism, it always ties back to land.

Chapter 4 putting down roots / conclusion

 My favorite line from this chapter was: "this is why her dad couldn't throw out those peaches, he respected them too much." The practice in Japanese Buddhism of listing gratefulness for everything that went into bringing food onto your plate is something that is severely lacking in the American food system. Food is not seen as reverent and deserving of respect and gratefulness. Instead, it is treated as a commodity, something to be bought, consumed, and discarded without much thought. This disconnect extends to how the food is produced, with industrial farming prioritizing efficiency and profit over sustainability and quality. There is a detachment between consumers and the origins of their food. Many Americans are utterly aware of the labor, resources, and environmental impact of how their food is produced. This lack of awareness only furthers the cycle of wastefulness and disconnection, where food is taken for granted. This is in stark contrast to Japanese buddhism, and highlights the impact that culture and spirituality can have on our views toward food, and in turn the entire food system. 

As Ichikawa argues, it is more efficient to teach about the interconnectedness of the whole system than to simply tell them not to waste something. I also really liked the last paragraph in this chapter. We blame the industrial food system and modern agricultural policy for the destruction of rural environments. However, it is the extensive history of immigration policy and systematic racism in this country that prevented people from "putting down roots". Therefore it is no wonder that this country has been dominated by large scale, commercial, industrial farms. 

I also loved the last paragraph of the conclusion: 

"So healing the climate means healing land, I asked, trying to follow Morningstar’s train of thought, and healing land means healing colonization?

“That’s it,” Morningstar said. “That’s the work.”

I feel as though it summarizes the main, but often overlooked, issues that drive unsustainable agriculture. It highlights the idea that regenerative agriculture isn't just a field of science, it is a philosophy. 

Chapter 4 and Conclusion

 I love that communal harvest came up again. Techniques like rotational swidden agriculture in the tropics are cool but the concept of food and work being a shared, connecting experience is so much deeper.

I loved the anecdote of the "field day" at the one farm mentioned; teaching by interactively showing examples is a genius pedagogy. I would have loved to see large pictures demonstrating what the farm and crops looked like in each season!

Cover crops are the topic of my project proposal in senior seminar, so that stood out to me. I was interested that peanuts were grown after a cover crop had been planted because peanuts are a legume and can be used as a cover crop themselves!

This also stood out to me: the soil in Central Valley, California is basically just hydroponics- if enough nutrients and water are applied, stuff can grow. The land is missing soil, the living, dynamic medium from which plants grow. 

I've never heard of a soil physicist before, and while I've heard of ethnobotany, I haven't actually seen an example of a scientist in this niche.

The chapters in this book highlight people who have a holistic, dynamic view of life, not the individualized, manipulated view of conventional agriculture, colonialism, etc. The concept of composting human waste as fertilizers for plants that will then feed the humans, etc is symbolic of this holistic, cyclic perspective. I shared the system of fish in rice fields with my best friend because I was so excited to learn about it (he wasn't nearly as excited as I was). Fish inhabit the rice fields and eat weeds and insects and even release a chemical that prevents some diseases; personally, I think this is way cooler than the classic bees and flowers symbiotic relationship example. Also, the paddling of ducks in rice fields stimulates the rice to be stronger; just one more example of why nature-mimicking, holistic take on agriculture is superior! I've never heard of Howard's Law of Return, but I sort of laughed that some English dude wrote a rule that the entire Earth has been living out for gazillions of years. (Sir Albert Howard is considered the father of modern organic agriculture, so I'm not trying to be disrespectful to him!)

I've personally been working through how much humans should be manipulating nature for agriculture. I would love to just forage food, fish, and hunt or just let my yard follow natural succession and not mow. I am not as much a fan of monoculture, GMOs, or synthetic fertilizers (I'm not saying these are bad, I just love the goal of being as natural as possible). These chapters have given examples of a compromise between the two extremes. Hedge rows are pockets of "nature" but next to agricultural fields. Drip tape was also mentioned, which is a system of irrigation made of a network of small flexible plastic hoses/pipes that sit on the ground next to plants and slowly drip water out. I'm still thinking through all this, but I appreciated these examples of holistic agriculture that still involved rows of crops and human-made synthetic irrigation.

To wrap up, I noted this definition of climate change: a "profound imbalance".

chapter 4

 

This week’s chapter tells us more about Guzman’s research and other farmers she came across along the way. We’re enlightened more of how long regenerative practices have been around in other cultures and the hardships they faced trying to make a living in America. Before we look into that I wanted to mention how intrigued I was hearing about the synergy between the pond raised fish, rice, and ducks. It’s so fascinating how the three can support each other while the crop thrives with little human input.

     It’s almost like America is against organic farming, we covered various situations where small minority have been put through troubles keeping their land and it gets crazier every time! I thought the title “Asians not Welcome” was a wild heading until I began reading the passage. I’m genuinely curious on how our country gets away with the blatant discrimination, on the other note it was nice reading how the farmers found loophole after loophole to keep their land with the support of the American stockholders and help from Japanese Americans. It’s crazy that climate change has to scare our country into promoting regenerative practices that always been around.

Chapter 3

 I really enjoyed reading about this chapter I liked learning about the old agricultural techniques that were used by Aztecs and Mayans and how ahead of their time they were. I like seeing these farming ways passed down to small farmers but wish that the industrial farms could learn a lesson from them. I also found Aidee Guzman to be super inspiring. It’s cool to see such a strong woman in this field who really is on the path of making big changes in the farming industry. I love how she kept learning about the land and soil and connected it to her home and much smaller farm. It’s interesting to see that if we really listen the land and bees will tell us what to need. Such as the development of small fungi or the farmers that were able to have large crop production without fertilizers by listening to the land and following those farming practices. This all reminds me of the Mayan word that was brought up MeyajbilK’aax which means working with nature. That is what farming is about. Working with nature has proven to be much more successful than working against it. It’s upsetting that these techniques were suppressed by those more focused on monoculture and large industrial farm production when in reality the small farmers seem to providing much healthier and more sustainable ways.

Hidden hotspots of Biodiversity

 I of course loved the shoutout to arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in this chapter. I am currently conducting similar research as Guzman, intending to analyze the mycorrhizal communities of the regen ag experimental field using DNA quantitative PCR. The biggest roadblock that we have run into so far is that there simply isn't enough DNA in our samples to reach the needed threshold for PCR--aka, the soil is so barren of microbial biodiversity from decades of conventional agriculture that we are struggling to even find DNA to analyze. The benefits of AMF are so widespread yet so overlooked. I am excited that fungi is having its "moment" in both the scientific community and pop culture. It deserves our love and gratitude, as human life wouldn't have been possible without them. Remember to thank your local fungi today. 

I also found the second half of the chapter very interesting. I had a long-term partner whose family was from Mexico, and their family garden was essentially a permaculture food forest. They weren't planting fruit trees, with understories of food-producing shrubs, ground cover plants, and integrating vegetables and chickens because they read it in some permaculture book or a regenerative ag specialist told them to. It was simply their common cultural practice and indigenous knowledge. What was even more interesting to me was that the mayans didn't have a word for agriculture, and the closest direct translation means "working with nature." I've said this multiple posts in a row, but the West isn't "discovering" anything. Working with nature seems so novel and revolutionary, but it has been indigenous practice for thousands of years. Farms in central/south America are thought of as crop communities, and monocropping is almost unthinkable. 

I had heard of NAFTA before, but it was shocking to me just how destructive it was to the Mexican economy and traditional agricultural practices. I wonder how we go about remedying this with such extensive damage?

Biodiverse Hotspots: Chapter 3

In this chapter of Healing Grounds by Liz Carlisle, we delve deeper into the idea of hidden hotspots of biodiversity. What are these "hidden hotspots" you may ask? To that, the answer is simple; Hotspots are considered to be ecosystems around the world that fit a certain criteria, such as biodiverse plants and vegetation that are found scarcely found outside of these areas, as well as animals and wildlife that are limited to these hotspot ecosystems. These hotspots are rich in many aspects, but mainly because they are not your typical run of the mill biomes.  

Carlisle talks about Guzman and here research throughout this study she conducted. It is first here that I learn about squash bees, which I have never heard of. It is interesting to see just how much research Guzman did when trying to find these ecological hotspots in farming culture, even down to testing the DNA of the soil she collected to determine how much AMF (arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi) was detected in the samples. Through doing so, she was able to determine that the soil underneath these lands were extremely rich, almost two times richer than the average farm soil.  

It was nice to hear that she went around and talked to the individual farmers as well, as she was eager to hear their secret to such rich soil, come to find out that most of the farmers were women, usually following the milpa technique of bringing seeds from their homeland that you don't usually find in the average grocery store. 

Overall, it is unfortunate to read that these farmers have been blatantly ignored and these crucial farming techniques have been discarded by mainstream society, but this book is bringing the positive light to these farmers and techniques that they deserve, which will hopefully make all the difference. 

Hidden hotspots

 Learning that the planting of the three sister was also called milpa was interesting. I had heard of planting corn, peas and squash together was and old native American method of growing. I had also known that it was a beneficial way of growing the three plants. However, I had not known its name or that it originated in Mexico area. I had also heard of the beneficial root fungi in my Regenerative Agriculture lab, but I had never heard that there are one that the author referred to as selfish AMFs. Lastly, hearing the difference between the farms in the northwest American and Mexico was both inspiring and a little sad to hear about. The farm in Mexico sound like it was more mirrored in nature whereas the farm in the United States seemed like the typical monoculture farm that had nothing but a single plant with farmers that believe their methods to be the civilized way and thus superior method of farming when compared to Mexican farmers. To me this thinking leads the US farmers to believe themselves superior and to thus then look down on the Mexican farmers believing they have been doing it wrong for their entire lives.

Chapter 3

Firstly I want to say, we are right back at it again with the mushrooms again. I wonder if we had listened more, if some of the topics in here would have been brought up.

One of the first things that caught my eye while reading was the section "Plating the Seeds of Their Ancestors". From the start there was quite a bit that was brought up that I never knew about, or at least didn't know much about. I knew that people would plant different crops together but the combination of corn, beans, and squash had an abundance of benefits to the growth of these plants. The corn was highly productive as a means for food and the beans absorbed nitrogen to help the plants grow and fertilize. The fact that squash helped prevent erosion and weeds from getting in the way while also providing a natural weed suppressant was fascinating.  

Unsurprisingly these ideas used by peoples long before us were eventually cast to the side by the US government. The practices that were being used had little to no flaws in how they functioned. The US decided that it was their turn to be in the limelight and take over. The amount of corn that was imported to the US jumped nearly 20 times more than before and the price even dropped nearly $200 per ton. This doesn't completely sound like a bad thing, if other people are not accounted for. People had family farms in Mexico to grown corn and other crops as a way to provide for their family. Once corn became as abundant as it is and the prices dropped, there was less and less of a need for family farms, especially after the US started large farming operations. This is one of the biggest societal issues behind this whole operation. What gets me is that it even gets worse after that. A scientist has counted around 32 different kinds of plants in some local milpas in 1960. Checking back in almost 50 years later in 2005 that number has dropped down to 8. This is due to the US transplanting them. Not because the info was forgotten or lost but because there was a supposed need for all of this to be exclusively in the US.

Biodiversity and Diverse Practices

        I think this chapter really puts into perspective how inefficient and exploitative modern US agriculture is. This chapter, like the others, focuses on the current state of soil while also tying in the context of how it got there, and how communities industrial agriculture has impacted. It starts with Guzman's investigations of California's Central Valley. On the way, they find small farms that are completely different from the modern industrial agriculture. The people who have created these systems are often immigrants from latin America who use indigenous or other cultural practices to grow their food. This led us down a path of the different practices that took place in Mexico or other neighboring countries, and how the agricultural system was forced towards industrial agriculture, similarly to the US. 

        As I was reading this chapter, I was just wondering why the government would change a system that was already working? By pushing for the removal of ejidos, they lowered the capacity for the nation to be self sufficient in their food production and forced entire communities out of "business." I put business in quotations because the way that people experience their cultural versus industrial agriculture is like night and day. Modern agriculture forces people to work long hours, often with little pay and interact with high amounts of chemicals. The different cultural agriculture was more of an aspect of people's lives. They worked together as a family or community to sustain themselves while being able to care for their well beings (ergonomic tools and no chemicals). Along with this, they often produced more food of higher nutrition to the extent that immigrant communities continued to bring their practices to the US while working on industrial farms. Another thing that I never thought about was how many plants in different communities are adapted to grow in that specific environment, while the majority of modern mass produced seeds are bred to exist in a specific area that many farmers cannot fully replicate.

Chapter 3

     This chapter gave me a whole new perspective on regenerative agriculture, more specifically, what goes on beneath the surface in the soil.  I knew that fungi were an integral part of any agricultural system, but I didn't know the specifics of what they accomplished.  Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi have a very strong symbiotic relationship with about 80% of terrestrial plants.  They extend their hyphae throughout the soil to gather nutrients and water for plants to use, and in return, the plant provides them with carbon.  Reading about this symbiotic relationship made me think about the other relationships that might take place in a regenerative farming system.  Crops that rely on pollination receive this service from a variety of insects while the insects receive nourishment in return in the form of nectar.  Trees and other crops with connected root systems can warn each other about dangerous insects.  Regenerative agriculture is full of these relationships which is a big key to its success.   

    Another extremely important relationship in agriculture is one that's been neglected by far too many - humans and their connection to the farm.  However, reading about the patches of biodiversity in California's Central Valley gave me some hope that this relationship can eventually become stronger.  We provide so many inputs like synthetic fertilizers and fossil fuels to our daily farming operations when we really don't need to.  If we stop trying to plant crops that don't thrive in an area and start farming with the surrounding ecosystem instead of against it, we will put our planet on a path to a more sustainable future.  A part of this chapter that really exemplifies this idea is the section on wetland agriculture.  Farmers in the Puebla Basin floodplain recognized the ecosystem's characteristics (tons of decayed organic matter, flooding, etc.) and developed a farming operation where a diverse polyculture of crops could thrive.  By simply digging rows of trenches between rows of crops, they had established an irrigation system where the crops wouldn't be damaged by flooding and established a space where nutrients could accumulate into organic fertilizer.  As stated by Gliesssman and Crews, this system was "largely self-reliant in energy and nutrients."  This is the fundamental idea of regenerative agriculture.  

Hidden Hotspots of Biodiversity

 Chapter 3 of healing grounds focuses on biodiversity and the work of Aidee Guzman. She focused on pollinators, soil microorganisms, fungi, and how farms growing a variety of crops have a positive impact on pollinators. Her findings support concepts Ive learned in other classes such as Entomology. In Entomology we discussed how growing a variety of different crops not only benefits a wider variety of insects but also protects the crops from diseases spread by those same insects. Growing many different types of plants acts as almost a buffer for diseases vectored by insects. Instead of a pest spreading a disease to the entire crop field a buffer plant that is not as susceptible to certain diseases will clear a bug of that disease before it moves to another plant that would have been more vulnerable to that disease. This is a super interesting concept to me and its just another way nature uses biodiversity to protect itself and maintain a healthy ecosystem. Guzman also dives into the relationship between fungi and plants. I would definitely recommend the movie fantastic fungi if you're interested in this topic. It's a great movie that goes into how important fungi and mycelium are for plants. Plants are all basically connected underground through a huge interconnected web of fungi that allows them to communicate and send nutrients to plants who have become sick or aren't getting enough nutrients. It's crazy to me how plants are able to do this and it really shows that nature is so connected in so many ways that we cannot see. 

Chapter 3

This chapter mentioned the fractured habitats in Central Valley, the small hotspots of biodiversity scattered through all the monocultures. This made me think of the butterfly habitat simulation I did in environmental biology lab recently. The simulation showed the effects of having scattered habitats. Most of the time, the butterfly metapopulation was able to maintain its numbers. So hopefully these small pockets can survive!

I loved the fact that even squash bees prefer polyculture to squash monoculture! 

I enjoyed more fungi information and i look forward to hearing Ava's comments during class :)

This statement stood out (paraphrase): everyone wants healthy fertile soil, which is only obtained through biodiversity underground, which relies on biodiversity above ground. Every farmer wants fertile soil, so we should be increasing biodiversity!

I am fascinated by traditional methods of agriculture, and I was excited to read about the milpas. I've heard of the three sisters before: beans, corn, and squash together. It makes so much sense and I really want to try it myself soon.

I found it ironic that even monoculture farms have polyculture gardens. It's just sad the biodiversity of a small scale personal garden isn't extended to the large scale. 

I also love learning about words in other languages that give a peak into that culture's way of life. In maya, there is no word for agriculture, but the closest word means "working with nature". I think "working with nature" is what our food systems are meant to be!

While I found this chapter interesting, it also displayed a complicated web of people, motives, governments, and selfishness and survival. Its messy and not inherently right and wrong, which frustrates me.

I also loved the irony of draining the fields in the marshlands to increase the growing time to increase yeilds, but instead doing so reduced fertility and reduced yields. 

I was impressed by the Mexicans' advanced soil science. They had 60 soil classes and a word for land degraded by careless farming! 

I loved the concept of calling an undesired plant a "non-crop plant" vs a "weed"! I've never liked the word weed, especially referring to stuff like dandelions that can be so beautiful and useful! However, I am still unconvinced that thistle is only a "non-crop plant" because I have yet to see any benefit it has to their environment other than to be a pain in the butt.

Finally, I loved the comparison of long, harsh, unpleasant, and tiring harvests in the US to the communal, fun, and fruitful harvests of Mexico (and most past cultures). I wish we still had that sort of community and attitude towards our food system. 

Chapter 3

 

  This week’s chapter focused mainly on the importance of biodiversity and its significance in agriculture. The author includes multiple stories of scholars and scientists trying to promote working with nature and understanding its possible synergies. We also are presented with the common problem of “increasing profit” and trying to take notes from America which tainted Mexico’s agricultural practices.

 We start off learning about Guzman and her learning about how successful diversified farming systems are. Again, we’re left with cool facts of fungi supporting its environment foraging for nutrients other plants can’t reach. I was also interested by the synergy of growing corn, beans, and squash together and how their co-existence solves problems we’re currently facing in agriculture like the beans increasing nitrogen retention, while the squash help prevent erosion and weed control. Like we mentioned in past blog posts, these regenerative practices have been around for a long time. We are told about the Mesoamerican systems diversity and how their systems resembled rain forests with such variety along with the incorporation of animals. Like I mentioned earlier, Mexico’s practices were tainted taking notes from America. To clarify, after a change in leadership it mentioned the new leader wasn’t too enthusiastic about the current agricultural practices. The new leader wanted to increase government dependency and ensure political loyalty during the Green Revolution, along with the use of herbicides and hybrid seeds.