Kiss the Ground

September 25, 2017
The soil in which food is grown will fix everything, including desertification and climate change, according to this overwrought manifesto. Tickell, an activist and film director (Fuel, The Big Fix), fleshes out his documentary (also titled Kiss the Ground) on “regenerative agriculture,” a suite of farming reforms that aim to restore soil health through no-till agriculture, crop rotation, fertilization with compost and manure, and free-range livestock grazing. In his messianic telling, this program will halt erosion, feed a swelling population, save farmers from bankruptcy, summon rain, and sequester enough carbon underground to reverse global warming. Tickell entwines his explanation of the new agriculture in vivid reportage, featuring much dirt porn as farmers, ranchers, and agronomists savor rich, dark soil full of earthworms and fungi. It also feels like a one-sided treatment, drawn from the most optimistic reaches of scientific literature and paired with a biased attack on conventional farming, aka “the Nazi chemical experiment that has become our modern industrial agriculture.” (His condemnation of genetically modified crops repeats long-debunked claims that they helped cause a wave of farmer suicides in India.) Tickell’s vision is captivating, but these complex agricultural innovations deserve a more balanced, clear-eyed investigation. Photos.

October 15, 2017
A journalist, activist, and filmmaker examines how soil-conscious farming practices may affect climate change and aims to move consumer sentiment to support them. Tickell (Biodiesel America: How to Achieve Energy Security, Free America from Middle-East Oil Dependence, and Make Money Growing Fuel, 2006, etc.), whose films include Fuel and The Big Fix, is a vocal disciple of value-based consumerism. Unfortunately, in seeking to convert the uninitiated, the author too often preaches to the choir. The book will appeal the most to readers who are already pro-organic foodies and/or anti-GMO crusaders. Refreshingly, the narrative is richly visual, likely due to the author's primary vocation as a respected documentary filmmaker; his description of the arrival of the French Minister of Agriculture reads like a scene from a James Bond film. However, the science at the center of this thesis is lacking. Tickell argues that the reason these farming techniques will transform agriculture is because they foster the health of the billions of microbes and fungi that live in the soil, but he only rarely mentions the name of a single species (there are thousands). Furthermore, it takes more than two-thirds of the text for the author to note that soil microorganisms thrive when suspended in water and go dormant without it, a premise central to his thesis. Similarly, Tickell discusses soil microbes that break down methane, a greenhouse gas found in cow excrement, but he fails to adequately explain the scientific research focused on it. In addition, the entirety of the book takes place in France or the United States, where food is plentiful. What happens when you take Tickell's ideas to nations that struggle to feed their people? Fellow members of the author's choir will find some useful nuggets, but readers seeking to learn more about microbial soil health and its implications for farm practices and climate change should look elsewhere. Regarding microbes and our bodies, a good start is Alanna Collen's 10% Human (2015).

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December 1, 2017

Journalist, activist, and filmmaker Tickell supplements his 2017 short documentary of the same name with this book that extols the theory that replenishing the planet's soil is the key to overcoming climate change and strengthening the world's food supply. The author travels across the United States and to France to interview scientists, farmers, politicians, and chefs to discuss how degenerative farming techniques have deplinished the soil, and how the world's foods and diets have negatively changed. According to Tickell, the answer to turning this agricultural crisis around is to adopt new regenerative standards, such as replenishing soil with compost and manure along with using crop rotation and no-tilling methods. Tickell explains technical jargon in an engaging and fluid style but often fails to describe the scientific reasoning behind his suggested methods. Generous charts and graphs are provided throughout the book, which concludes with tips on how consumers can practice regenerative methods at home. VERDICT This well-written and engaging book will appeal to devotees of the cause, but critics might be unconvinced.--Phillip Oliver, formerly with Univ. of North Alabama, Florence

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