Indigenous Wisdom And The Future Of Food

By 2050, the United Nations reports that farmers will need to produce 70% more food, in order to feed rising populations. According to the first global assessment they put out of the planets land resources, reports show that more than 1/3 of what was healthy farmland, is now being degraded at a rapid rate, due to modern industrial agriculture; over grazing, synthetic pesticides, and heavy tilling methods. All of which have been directly related to the rise of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, causing desertification, water contamination, and furthermore-Climate Change.

“Indigenous people are as much part of the land as the land is part of us. We cultivate the land while the land cultivates us. This relationship that has supported my people since time immemorial is remembered daily when we place our fingers in the dirt, pull the weeds from our fields, or plant our seeds with water, prayer, and hope, cook the food which we grow, and ingest the world with each bite of food we eat.”

— Vena A-dae Romero-Indigenous Farmer

Most available farmland is already currently being farmed, but in ways that over time, decrease productivity and soil health needed to grow food. While the extent of these theories is complex, the solution is simple. We need more Sustainable Farming on the little land we have left.

What better way to understand how to live and grow food in a way that restores the land, then looking back at our ancestors who have been farming for thousands of years. Through droughts, floods, and cold ages, native people have always found a way to adapt to their surroundings and work with what nature provided not against it. Indigenous Farmer Vena A-dae Romero, said “indigenous people are as much part of the land as the land is part of us. We cultivate the land while the land cultivates us. This relationship that has supported my people since time immemorial is remembered daily when we place our fingers in the dirt, pull the weeds from our fields, or plant our seeds with water, prayer, and hope, cook the food which we grow, and ingest the world with each bite of food we eat.”It is through this deep connection to the earth and place that we today can still enjoy some of the fruits of past labors.

Many Indigenous food growing practices have evolved and adapted to specific, local environments and climates, and work harmoniously. Using varieties of native plants available, past farmers knew how to attract pollinators, help specific crops grow, and fight against disease and pests. For example, the Three Sisters method (shown above) is a traditional farming practice Native Americans have been using for over 3,000 years. A genious practice that involves companion planting; which combines corn, beans, and squash. This method helps each crop grow more abundantly together. Corn helps give bean stalks something to grow up, while together they both give squash some shade during hot months, as well as ground cover. Helping to protect the soil from erosion, retain water and deter certain pests.

Practices like these have endured the test of time and are still being widely practiced today. By following sustainable food growing methods such as companion planting, rain watering, composting, and natural pest management we are in turn acknowledging and sharing vital knowledge that has been passed down over thousands of years. It is up to all of us to keep this ancient ecological wisdom alive, learn from them, show others, and give thanks to all Indigenous farmers before us. The future of our food will depend on this connection to land, respect for those before us, and sustainable farming practices.