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03/12/21
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12:48 ,
These findings clearly demonstrate how the cooperative areas of the brain responsible for reading skill are also at work during apparently unrelated activities, such as multiplication, suggest that reading, writing and arithmetic, the foundational skills informally identified as the three Rs, might actually overlap in ways not previously imagined, let alone experimentally validated.

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11:48 ,
Adding the triglyceride-lowering medication icosapent ethyl cut the risk of a first stroke by an additional 36% in patients already taking statin medications to treat high cholesterol. In previous research, icosapent ethyl reduced the risk of major cardiovascular events. The prescription medication is a highly purified form of an omega-3 fatty acid. The study's results do not apply to supplements available over-the-counter.

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11:48 ,
Millions of people die prematurely every year from diseases and cancer caused by air pollution. The first line of defence against this carnage is ambient air quality standards. Yet, according to new research, over half of the world's population lives without the protection of adequate air quality standards.

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07:48 ,
A gene therapy for chronic pain could offer a safer, non-addictive alternative to opioids. Researchers have developed the new therapy, which works by temporarily repressing a gene involved in sensing pain. It increased pain tolerance in mice, lowered their sensitivity to pain and provided months of pain relief without causing numbness.

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00:22 , ,

Evidence suggests that eating ultraprocessed foods may have a negative effect on bone strength and increase the risk for fracture.1 Osteoporosis is the medical term that describes a loss of bone density and quality of bone as people age. It is a widespread and serious condition that increases the risk of a bone fracture, which is especially problematic for older people.

Evidence suggests that individuals who have an osteoporotic hip fracture have a higher risk of mortality in the following years.2 Researchers have found variables that increased the risk of mortality included age over 75, mild to severe liver disease, heart failure, diabetes and hearing impairment. Statistically, of the people over age 50, about 50% of women and 25% of men will suffer a fracture at some point before the end of their life.3

According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation, “For women, this is equal to the risk of getting ovarian, breast and uterus cancers combined.” There are many factors that contribute to the development of osteoporosis, including age, smoking, excessive alcohol consumption and a suboptimal diet.4 Bone loss is a side effect of some medications or can result from the loss of hormones after menopause.

Other modifiable risk factors include a vitamin D deficiency and a lack of exercise. Eating a diet high in ultraprocessed foods is the very definition of a suboptimal diet. A study5 published in BMJ Open found that ultraprocessed foods made up 57.9% of all calorie intake and 89.7% of calories that came from added sugar.

Not only do ultraprocessed foods increase the risk for obesity,6 but they also raise your risk for other conditions including cancer7 and diabetes. Yet, food manufacturers have discovered that many people eating a Western diet cannot get enough of them. However, the effect ultraprocessed foods have on bone development is a relatively new discovery.

Ultraprocessed Food May Slow Growth and Weaken Bones

In a 2021 study published in Bone Research,8 scientists investigated the effect ultraprocessed foods would have on skeletal development using an animal model. There were two study groups, one which received a diet similar to the standard Western diet high in ultraprocessed foods and soft drinks, and the other, a standard rat diet.

The animals were given unlimited access to food and drink for six weeks, during which the researchers measured body weight and total body, femur and lumbar vertebral length. The animals were 3 weeks old when the trial started, which represented the six-week growth period before sexual maturation.

The results revealed that weight gain was lower, and total body and leg lengths were also significantly shorter, in the group eating ultraprocessed foods as compared to the control group. Although growth was underdeveloped in the experimental group, these animals ate significantly more calories. This suggested to the researchers that an ultraprocessed diet stunts growth, but not because of a caloric deficiency.

The NOVA classification system9 splits food into four different categories beginning with unprocessed or minimally processed foods. These are foods you would typically find around the outside aisle at the grocery store such as vegetables, fruits, meat and dairy products. They are the basis of what you would use to make food at home.

Group 2 includes processed culinary ingredients that you would use to season or add to unprocessed foods. For example, this group includes honey, salt and oils. Group 3 includes processed foods that have two or three ingredients that may be used to season or preserve the product. For instance, they include canned and bottled vegetables, salted nuts, cured meats and cheeses.

Finally, Group 4 contains ultraprocessed food and drink products, which are the majority of foods found in convenience stores. These typically have five or more ingredients and include carbonated drinks, ice cream, chips, breakfast cereals, energy bars, powdered or fortified meals, and ready-to-eat products such as pizza, chicken nuggets and instant soups and desserts.

Exposure in Adulthood May Increase Risk of Fracture

Additionally, the vertebra and femoral bones were scanned to examine trabecular and cortical bone properties.10 They found that the trabecular bone parameters in the experimental group were inferior when compared to the control group.

Bone volume fraction had decreased significantly when measured at six weeks and again at nine weeks during the intervention. The mean trabecular number and thickness in the femoral bone were also lower. Additionally, they found that trabecular separation was significantly higher in the experimental group when measured at six weeks and nine weeks during the intervention.

This number represents the mean distance between the trabeculae. These findings indicated an increased risk of fracture from poor bone development, and interestingly are some of the same findings in aging bone. The role of trabecular atrophy, as indicated by the reduction in number, thickness and increased separation, has a direct relationship on the strength of the bone and the resistance to fracture.11

In one study where researchers evaluated trabecular bone in older adults, they concluded it was “unlikely that treatment would replace trabeculae that have been removed or would restore biomechanical strength to the skeleton.”12 In the human skeleton, the trabecular bone is surrounded by a dense outer shell of cortical bone.

The proportion of the two varies depending on the location in the body. The trabecular bone has a network of rods and plates that are integral to bone strength. In fact, this architecture is “significantly stronger than an equal mass of solid bone.”13

Although the featured animal study demonstrated poor structural development of the trabecular bone in the femur and vertebra during growth before sexual maturity, it is important to note that new trabecular bone formation continues until a peak bone mass is achieved from age 30 to 40 years in men and women.14 This raises the question of how ultraprocessed foods affect the risk of osteoporosis in older adults.

Ultraprocessed Foods Impair Your Gut Microbiome

Ultraprocessed foods are aggressively marketed by food producers as they are highly profitable. Yet, as outlined in The BMJ following the release of two studies finding an association between ultraprocessed foods and the risk of death and cardiovascular diseases:15

"... packaged baked goods and snacks, fizzy drinks, sugary cereals, ready meals containing food additives, dehydrated vegetable soups, and reconstituted meat and fish products — often containing high levels of added sugar, fat, and/or salt, but lacking in vitamins and fiber … account for around 25-60% of daily energy intake in many countries."

Past studies have also linked this food group to an increased risk of metabolic syndrome, obesity, high blood pressure and cardiovascular diseases.16 These are comorbid conditions that increase your risk of severe disease with COVID-19.17 The basis for these metabolic and health changes may reside in the gut.18

Science continues to reveal the vital effect that your diet has on your gut microbiome, and your gut microbiome’s ability to ward off disease.

Gut microbiome diversity with healthy microorganisms is better able to support your immune system. This has become increasingly important according to Tim Spector, professor of genetic epidemiology at King's College in London, as COVID-19 has spread across the world. Writing in The Conversation, Spector says:19

"The immune system is complex and highly responsive to the world around us, so it’s not surprising that many factors affect its function. What’s important to know is that most of these factors are not hard-coded in our genes but are influenced by lifestyle and the world around us.

As well as mounting a response to infectious pathogens like coronavirus, a healthy gut microbiome also helps to prevent potentially dangerous immune over-reactions that damage the lungs and other vital organs. These excessive immune responses can cause respiratory failure and death …

The fine details of the interactions between the gut microbiome and the immune system are not fully understood. But there seems to be a link between the makeup of the microbiome and inflammation — one of the hallmarks of the immune response. Gut bacteria produce many beneficial chemicals."

Mexico Uses a Unique Strategy to Lower Obesity Risk

As I mentioned, individuals with cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity are at greater risk of severe COVID-19 illness. And, the evidence clearly indicates that a diet rich in ultraprocessed, convenience foods contributes to those conditions. In late 2020, parts of Mexico took an unprecedented stance in protecting their youth.

Lawmakers in several states pushed legislation that would ban the sale of junk food to anyone under 18. The first legislature to pass the ban was in Oaxaca, followed closely by Tabasco.20 Magaly López, a lawmaker in Oaxaca's Congress, commented on the move to a reporter from NPR,21 "I know it can sound a bit drastic, but we had to take action now. The damage of this kind of diet is even more visible because of the pandemic."

It’s interesting paradox that an infectious disease that disproportionately affects those with obesity and cardiovascular disease is what may lead to better recognition and action against ultraprocessed foods when these same conditions have contributed over the past decade to many of the top 10 leading causes of death.22

Mexico also instituted a food warning label on packaged foods that are high in sugar, trans fats, saturated fat and calories. Businesses had only until December 1, 2020, to add those warning labels to avoid fines.23

As Reuters reports,24 these new warning labels and bans on junk food met with “super-sized opposition” from the U.S. and EU. Mexico consumes more processed foods than any other Latin American country and is the fourth largest consumer in the world.

Mexico took the labeling law one step further, saying that any product “containing caffeine and sweeteners must bear warning labels that they should not be consumed by children, and products with warning labels cannot include children’s characters, animations, cartoons, or images of celebrities, athletes or pets on their packaging.”25

Ultraprocessed Foods Raise Risk of Death

In the first of two studies26 published in The BMJ that linked ultraprocessed foods with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and death, researchers concluded that consuming four or more servings of ultraprocessed foods daily was independently associated with a 62% relative increase in the risk of death from all causes and for every additional serving the risk rose again by 18%.

In the second study,27 data revealed eating ultraprocessed food increases your risk of cardiovascular disease, even after adjusting for known confounding factors and second analysis.28 Through a variety of mechanisms, junk food can destroy your metabolism and affect your appetite control.

As detailed in “The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food,” your body is designed to naturally regulate how much you eat and the energy you burn. However, manufacturers have figured out how to override your intrinsic control by engineering foods that are hyper rewarding.29

This stimulates such a strong response in your brain that it becomes easy to overeat. Some of the most addictive junk foods on the market are potato chips, which hit all three bliss points: sugar from the potato (and sometimes from added sugar), salt and fat.30

It is likely not a coincidence that as ultraprocessed foods have become a norm for many Americans, so have chronic illnesses. The food you eat is a key factor that determines health and longevity. I believe that eating a diet of 90% real food and 10% processed foods is achievable for most and it could make a significant difference in your weight and overall health, including your bones.

To help you get started, you'll find more information and suggestions in “Processed Foods Lead to Cancer and Early Death.” To address your gut microbiome, in addition to eliminating ultraprocessed foods and eating primarily whole foods, traditionally fermented foods and probiotics are the best routes to optimal microbiome health.

Healthy fermented choices include lassi (an Indian yogurt drink), fermented, grass fed organic milk (kefir), fermented soy or natto and different types of pickled fermentations of cabbage, turnips, eggplant, cucumbers, onions, squash and carrots. For more information and tips on how to make fermented foods at home, see “Flavorful Fermented Foods Have Healing Properties.”



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00:22 , ,

Unbeknown to most, Bill Gates has been buying up farmland across the U.S. through various subsidiary companies. At present, he owns about 242,000 acres of farmland, plus another 27,000 acres of nonagricultural land.

While many media outlets claim this makes Gates the biggest farmland owner in the U.S.,1 that may be an exaggeration, seeing how there are at least 50 other families that own far greater landmasses, including Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.2 According to a USA Today investigation3 published in November 2019, Bezos owns a respectable 420,000 acres, most of it located in Texas.

Is Bill Gates Too Powerful?

Either way, Gates certainly owns a sizeable chunk of U.S. farmland, which places him, yet again, in a position to have a significant impact on the direction of American agriculture and food production. In the video above, Russell Brand reviews some of these controversies.

Were Gates a proponent of organics, his land ownership would probably be seen as a good thing, but he’s anything but. On the contrary, not only is he a longtime proponent of GMOs and toxic agricultural chemicals, he’s also gone on record urging Western nations to switch to 100% synthetic lab-grown imitation beef, and has railed against legislative attempts to make sure fake meats are properly labeled, since that will slow down public acceptance.4

He’s also in favor of transitioning to other fake and unnatural food sources, such as a microbe found in a Yellowstone geyser. Rich in protein, this microbe can “be turned into a variety of foods with a small carbon footprint," Gates says.5 Not surprisingly, Gates is financially invested in many of his proposed “solutions” to the world’s problems, be it hunger, disease, viral pandemics or climate change.

As noted in a long and detailed article by The Defender about several of Gates’ more questionable endeavors:6

“Thomas Jefferson believed that the success of America’s exemplary struggle to supplant the yoke of European feudalism with a noble experiment in self-governance depended on the perpetual control of the nation’s land base by tens of thousands of independent farmers, each with a stake in our democracy.

So at best, Gates’ campaign to scarf up America’s agricultural real estate is a signal that feudalism may again be in vogue. At worst, his buying spree is a harbinger of something far more alarming — the control of global food supplies by a power-hungry megalomaniac with a Napoleon complex.”

Master and Commander of Failed Agriculture

The Defender goes on to detail Gates’ “long-term strategy of mastery over agriculture and food production globally,” starting with his support of GMOs in 1994. Ever since that time, Gates’ “philanthropic” approaches to hunger and food production have been built around his technology, chemical, pharmaceutical and oil industry partners, thereby ensuring that for every failed rescue venture, he gets richer nonetheless.

“As with Gates’ African vaccine enterprise, there was neither internal evaluation nor public accountability,” The Defender writes.7 “The 2020 study8 ‘False Promises: The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA)’ is the report card on the Gates’ cartel’s 14-year effort.

The investigation concludes that the number of Africans suffering extreme hunger has increased by 30 percent in the 18 countries that Gates targeted. Rural poverty has metastasized dramatically …

Under Gates’ plantation system, Africa’s rural populations have become slaves on their own land to a tyrannical serfdom of high-tech inputs, mechanization, rigid schedules, burdensome conditionalities, credits and subsidies … The only entities benefiting from Gates’ program are his international corporate partners.”

Gates Is a Corporate Globalist, Not a Philanthropist

AGRA was launched in 2006 with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation. However, while touting a “green revolution” approach to ease hunger in Africa, it’s hard to imagine a less sustainable or destructive solution. As reported in “False Promises”:9

“[AGRA] promised to double the agricultural yields and incomes of 30 million small-scale food producer households by 2020, thus halving both hunger and poverty in the focus countries. To achieve these goals, AGRA received over one billion U.S. dollars — mainly from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, but also from governments like the U.S., U.K. and Germany.

The study issues AGRA a decidedly negative report card: yield increases for key staple crops in the years before AGRA were just as low as during AGRA. Instead of halving hunger, the situation in the 13 focus countries has worsened since AGRA was launched …

AGRA in fact harms small-scale food producers, for example by subjecting them to high levels of debt. In Zambia and Tanzania, small-scale food producers were unable to repay the loans for fertilizer and hybrid seeds after the first harvest.

AGRA projects also restrict the freedom of choice for small-scale food producers to decide for themselves what they want to grow. This has dramatic effects on crop diversity. AGRA’s focus is on the one-sided cultivation of maize. Traditional climate-resistant and nutrient-rich crops have thus declined …

Moreover, AGRA lobbies governments on behalf of agricultural corporations to pass legislation that will benefit fertilizer producers and seed companies instead of strengthening small-scale food production and alternative structures.”

Rescue Technologies That Aren’t

It’s these kinds of self-serving endeavors that have earned Gates the unofficial title of the most dangerous philanthropist in the world. As noted by AGRA Watch,10 Vandana Shiva, Ph.D., and others, Gates’ philanthropy creates several new problems for each one he promises to solve, and can best be described as “philanthrocapitalism.”

As noted in the AGRA Watch article, “Philanthrocapitalism: The Gates Foundation’s African Programs Are Not Charity,” philanthrocapitalists:11

“… often expect financial returns or secondary benefits over the long term from their investments in social programs. Philanthropy becomes another part of the engine of profit and corporate control. The Gates Foundation's strategy for 'development' actually promotes neoliberal economic policies and corporate globalization.”

In the featured video, Brand also quotes Shiva, co-founder of Regeneration International, who had the following to say about Gates’ efforts to improve farming in India:

“When Bill Gates forced his ‘rescue’ technologies on Indian farmers, the only one to benefit was Gates and his multinational partners. He gave money to the government and a company called Digital Green, and made extravagant promises to digitally transform Indian agriculture.

Then, with the cooperation of his purchased government officials, Gates put cameras and electronic sensors in the homes and fields of Indian farmers. He used their cell phones, which he gave them for free, and his fiber optic and 5G installations, which he persuaded the Indian Telecom Company to finance — to catalogue, study and steal farmers’ crop data, indigenous practices and agricultural knowledge for free.

Then he sold it back to them as new data. Instead of digitally transforming farms as he promised, he transformed Indian farmers into digital information. He privatized their seeds and harvested the work of the public system.

He ripped out their knowledge assets and heirloom genetics, and installed GMO seeds and other ridiculous practices. His clear agenda was to drive small farmers from the land and eventually mechanize and privatize food production.”

Sustainability and Globalism Are at Odds

Again and again, Gates’ globalist approach to farming has had devastating consequences for food and environmental sustainability in general and local food security in particular. India and Africa are just two of the most obvious examples. It just doesn’t work. It is profitable for Gates and his corporate allies, though, and furthers the technocratic plan to control the world by owning all the world’s resources.

The Gates-funded World Economic Forum, founded by technocrat figurehead Klaus Schwab, is just one of the global nongovernmental agencies that help promote Gates’ destructive agricultural and fake food agenda. As reported by The Defender, the Great Reset was officially unveiled during a World Economic Forum summit in May 2020:12

“It is a vision for transferring the world into a totalitarian and authoritarian surveillance state manipulated by technocrats to manage traumatized populations, to shift wealth upward, and serve the interests of elite billionaire oligarchs.”

Every conceivable aspect of life and society is scheduled to be “reset” according to their plan, including global food policies. Leading that charge is an organization called the EAT Forum, which describes itself as the “Davos for food.” EAT Forum is co-founded by the Wellcome Trust, an organization funded by and strategically linked to GlaxoSmithKline, a vaccine maker in which Gates himself is financially invested.

The EAT Forum’s largest initiative is called FReSH, which aims to transform the food system as a whole. Project partners in this venture include Bayer, Cargill, Syngenta, Unilever and Google. According to The Defender, “The EAT Forum works with these companies to ‘add value to business and industry’ and ‘set the political agenda.’”

EAT also collaborates with nearly 40 city governments in Europe, Africa, Asia, North America, South America and Australia, and helps the Gates-funded United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) create updated dietary guidelines.

“According to Frederic Leroy, a food science and biotechnology professor at University of Brussels, EAT network is working closely with some of the biggest imitation meat companies, including Impossible Foods and other biotech companies, to replace wholesome nutritious foods with Gates’ genetically modified lab concoctions,” The Defender writes.13

Dismantle the Globalist Machine That Undermines Success

If sustainability and food security is the goal — not to mention individual freedom and liberty — then we must dismantle the globalist machine and return to historically proven methods that are sustainable and productive. As noted by The Defender:14

“African agricultural practices have evolved from the land over 10,000 years in forms that promote crop diversity, decentralization, sustainability, private property, self-organization and local control of seeds. The personal freedom inherent in these localized systems leaves farm families making their own decisions: the masters on their lands, the sovereigns of their destinies.

Continuous innovation by millions of small farmers maximized sustainable yields and biodiversity. In his ruthless reinvention of colonialism, Gates spent $4.9 billion dollars to dismantle this ancient system and replace it with high-tech corporatized and industrialized agriculture, chemically dependent monocultures, extreme centralization and top-down control.

He forced small African farms to transition to imported commercial seeds, petroleum fertilizers and pesticides. Gates built the supply chain infrastructure for chemicals and seeds and pressured African governments to spend huge sums on subsidies and to use draconian penalties and authoritarian control to force farmers to buy his expensive inputs and comply with his diktats.”

The end result should have been foreseeable, yet Gates forged ahead nonetheless. By replacing traditional nutritious crops with industrial cash crops — staples in processed food manufacturing, such as corn and soy — global commodity traders and junk food manufacturers profited while locals had little to eat.

On top of that, the heavy focus on chemicals destroyed the soils, resulting in a decline in both nutrition and productivity. All the while, organizations that are actually succeeding in furthering agricultural strategies with proven sustainability have not received a single dime from Gates.

At the same time that Gates is promoting the destruction of our natural climate systems with his foolhardy agricultural policies, he has invested in a variety of climate change technologies aimed at reducing the amount of sunlight that reaches the earth,15,16 the side effects of which have the potential to wreak far more damage on global agriculture than anything we’ve seen so far.

Regenerative Food and Farming Is the Answer

As noted by Shiva, “Regenerative agriculture provides answers to the soil crisis, the food crisis, the climate crisis and the crisis of democracy.”17 So, just what is regenerative farming? In the words of Ronnie Cummins, founder and director of the Organic Consumers Association:

“Regenerative agriculture and animal husbandry is the next and higher stage of organic food and farming, not only free from toxic pesticides, GMOs, chemical fertilizers, and factory farm production, and therefore good for human health; but also regenerative in terms of the health of the soil, the environment, the animals, the climate, and rural livelihoods as well.”

A leading organization for this movement is Regeneration International,18 which currently has 400 affiliates in more than 60 countries. They’re working to identify “best practices” around the globe to facilitate the scale-up of regenerative farming everywhere.

Ultimately, the goal is to have regenerative agriculture be the norm rather than a niche alternative to the chemical-based degenerative food, farming and land use system that’s currently dominating.

You can contribute to and speed this process by being selective about where you buy your food and the kinds of foods you buy, and/or by starting your own regenerative garden. For gardening tips and general guidance, see “Regenerative Gardening and Living, an Online Program.”

Regeneration International has a handy regenerative farm map that can help you find local producers of various foodstuffs around the globe. If you live in the U.S., the following organizations can also help you find local sources of farm-fresh foods.

• Demeter USA — Demeter-USA.org provides a directory of certified Biodynamic farms and brands.

• Weston A. Price Foundation — Weston A. Price has local chapters in most states, and many of them are connected with buying clubs in which you can easily purchase organic foods, including grass fed raw dairy products like milk and butter.

• The Cornucopia Institute — The Cornucopia Institute maintains web-based tools rating all certified organic brands of eggs, dairy products and other commodities, based on their ethical sourcing and authentic farming practices separating CAFO "organic" production from authentic organic practices.

• American Grassfed Association (AGA) — The goal of the American Grassfed Association is to promote the grass fed industry through government relations, research, concept marketing and public education.

Their website also allows you to search for AGA approved producers certified according to strict standards that include being raised on a diet of 100% forage; raised on pasture and never confined to a feedlot; never treated with antibiotics or hormones; and born and raised on American family farms.

• Grassfed Exchange — The Grassfed Exchange has a listing of producers selling organic and grass fed meats across the U.S.



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00:22 , ,

The Billion Agave Project is a game-changing, ecosystem-regeneration strategy recently adopted by several innovative Mexican farms in the high-desert region of Guanajuato. With your support, we've been the primary group to donate to Organic Consumers Association supporting this crucial project that is now proven to green arid regions and provide both food and income for some of the world's most challenged farmers.

This strategy combines the growing of agave plants and nitrogen-fixing companion tree species (such as mesquite), with holistic rotational grazing of livestock. The result is a high-biomass, high forage-yielding system that works well even on degraded, semi-arid lands. A manifesto on mesquite is available in English1 and Español.2

The system produces large amounts of agave leaf and root stem — up to 1 ton of biomass over the 8- to 10-year life of the plant. When chopped and fermented in closed containers, this plant material produces an excellent, inexpensive (2 cents per pound) animal fodder.

This agroforestry system reduces the pressure to overgraze brittle rangelands and improves soil health and water retention, while drawing down and storing massive amounts of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2).

The goal of the Billion Agave campaign is to plant 1 billion agaves globally to draw down and store 1 billion tons of climate-destabilizing CO2. The campaign will be funded by donations and public and private investments.

Why Agave?

Climate-Change Solution

Agave plants and nitrogen-fixing trees, densely intercropped and cultivated together, have the capacity to draw down and sequester massive amounts of atmospheric CO2.

They also produce more above-ground and below-ground biomass (and animal fodder) on a continuous year-to-year basis than any other desert or semi-desert species. Agaves alone can draw down and store above ground the dry-weight equivalent of 30 to 60 tons of CO2 per hectare (12 to 24 tons per acre) per year.

Ideal for arid and hot climates, agaves and their companion trees, once established, require no irrigation and are basically impervious to rising global temperatures and drought.

Livestock Feed Source

Agave leaves, full of saponins and lectins, are indigestible for livestock. However, once their massive leaves (high in sugar) are chopped finely via a machine and fermented in closed containers for 30 days, the end product provides a nutritious and inexpensive silage or animal fodder.

This agave/companion tree silage, combined with the restoration of degraded rangelands, can make the difference between survival and grinding poverty for millions of the world’s small farmers and herders.

Drought-Resistant

Agaves require little-to-no irrigation. They thrive even in dry, degraded lands unsuitable for crop production because of their Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) photosynthetic pathway.

The CAM pathway enables agave plants to draw down moisture from the air and store it in their thick leaves at night. During daylight hours, the opening in their leaves (the stomata) closes up, drastically reducing evaporation.

A New Agroforestry Model

A pioneering group of Mexican farmers is transforming their landscape and their livelihoods. How? By densely planting (1,600 to 2,500 per hectare), pruning and intercropping a fast-growing, high-biomass, high forage-yielding species of agaves among preexisting (500 per hectare) deep-rooted, nitrogen-fixing tree species (such as mesquite), or among planted tree seedlings.

When the agaves are 3 years old, and for the following five to seven years, farmers can prune the leaves or pencas, chop them up finely with a machine, and then ferment the agave in closed containers for 30 days, ideally combining the agave leaves with 20% of leguminous pods and branches by volume to give them a higher protein level.

In Guanajuato, mesquite trees start to produce pods that can be harvested in five years. By Year 7, the mesquite and agaves have grown into a fairly dense forest. In Years 8 to 10, the root stem or pina (weighing between 100 and 200 pounds) of the agave is ready for harvesting to produce a distilled liquor called mescal.

Meanwhile the hijuelos (or pups) put out by the mother agave plants are being continuously transplanted back into the agroforestry system, guaranteeing continuous biomass growth (and carbon storage).

In this agroforestry system farmers avoid overgrazing by integrating rotational grazing of their livestock across their rangelands. They feed their animals by supplementing pasture forage with fermented agave silage.



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