Beyond organic, the future is plant-based

A GLOWING AND APPEALING PLEA FOR MORE PLANT-BASED AND LESS ANIMAL-BASED...
‘More than Organic’ shows how it is possible to grow organically without using farmed animals and that it is even preferable. The book focuses on the
question of how it works to grow healthy crops without using products of animal origin.

Animal manure adds nothing to the cycle. We can better use the arable production that currently goes to animal feed for humans or compost it directly, without animal suffering. The fact is that more land is needed to feed livestock than to grow edible crops directly for humans. The farm animal is therefore an extremely inefficient link in a world with an exponentially growing population.

Animals produce nothing that cannot be made more efficiently and humanely directly from plants. The simple arithmetic of animal production speaks volumes. We cling to the great inefficiency of 'filtering' plants through animals before considering it as food. Feeding animals instead of feeding humans directly means we lose 90% of the calories that would otherwise be available for our consumption.

If people in developing countries adopt the Western consumption pattern, we will need four Earths. The remarkable thing is that attempts are being made to alleviate this impossible situation by intensifying agriculture in every respect. A disastrous path. More and more people are realizing that the sustainability revolution we are all waiting for is also a revolution in the way we grow our food crops and use our forks and knives.

By rebelling against the animal industry of our world, we help create a healthier future for all who are yet to come. What we are doing today in intensive animal farming will one day be a distant nightmare of which we will say: what were we thinking?

Review:
In his latest book ‘Meer dan biologisch, de toekomst is aan plantaardig’ (More than Organic, the future is plant-based), agricultural and food writer Theo Grent addresses the complex relationship between food production and natural resources, arguing that switching to a more plant-based diet simultaneously benefits the preservation of biodiversity, land, water, energy, climate, human health, and animal welfare.

"Reducing livestock farming is now high on the political agenda: smaller livestock herds, less imported animal feed, fewer manure surpluses, and a more extensive agricultural sector. Protein production for human consumption will be as plant-based as possible; livestock farming will have a limited and subservient role."

According to Grent, a different wind needs to blow: from the bottom up, not from above. "‘More than Organic’ helps livestock farming with the urgently desired transition. Our only future is plant-based!"