Since the green revolution agriculture has had an ever increasing impact on local ecosystems around the world. It is the increasing use of agrochemicals that kills our pollinator insects at alarming rates and contaminates our rivers and air, it is the indiscriminate deforestation of healthy forests for monoculture production for livestock feed which drys up our fields and also floods our houses, it is the belief that food production can only be achieved through horizontal expansion of the agrarian frontier, it is the belief that we do not need the forests and animals to thrive, that we are separate. Agriculture has long been entrapped in a mindset product of a period of enormous economic growth through a unidimensional relationship with nature and its resources. Like many other spheres of human development in the XX century, agriculture fell trap to the myth of infinite growth at the expense of a deteriorating environment and quantity over quality.

Agricultural production in the previous century increased exponentially, providing food for millions more, but in doing so, more precisely in the modus operandi, it caused unprecedented  biodiversity loss around the world, soil degradation, and major production of GHG emissions.

It is therefore imperative to say that agricultural practices and policies are central to mitigating and hopefully stabilizing climate change.

Regenerative and sustainable agricultural practices seek to understand the production logic behind ecosystems and integrate it with technological advancements for a growing population demanding quality food. Focusing on regenerating degraded soil, purifying polluted water bodies and cleaning the air are key shifts of ultimate importance.

Sustainable agriculture, from large to small scale farms, is fundamental if we want to provide a healthy future, not just for future generations, but for present ones as well. Having healthy ecosystems and agroecosystems are the main CO2 sequestration systems in our planet. Taking care of the soil, using native species of crops, increasing biodiversity, reduction in agrochemicals and a more holistic, nature based perspective of agricultural and food systems are needed for a future worth living.

In order for food producers to realize a complete shift to more sustainable and regenerative agricultural practices, governments, citizens, and consumers alike need to also make an effort in their everyday decisions to make this possible. Agricultural environmental impact is not an isolated event, but is dependent on governmental policies, and on the everyday actions of consumers in every corner of the world.

As agricultural students, we believe a shift in agricultural practices which seek a synergy between the natural and human systems with a non-anthropocentric perspective on food production are fundamental for stabilizing climate change today and tomorrow.