6th November 2026
Nature friendly farming
Goulson begins this chapter with what is again at the nub of the issue. “As we have explores, there is overwhelming evidence that the industrialisation of farming is a major driver of the loss of wildlife around the globe; ecosystems rich in wildlife have been swept away, and replaced by serried ranks of oil palms, vines or vast fields of arable crops, which are treated multiple times per year with many different pesticides to keep the crop as close to a perfect monoculture as possible. Industrialised farming and nature are mutually exclusive.
“Loss of wildlife from the land is clearly undesirable for many reasons, not least of which is that it undermines the stability of farming itself, which needs bees and pollinators, ladybirds and other natural enemies of crop pests, and the diverse array of small creatures that keep soil healthy and recycle nutrients.” (P168 Eat the Planet Well)
Goulson follows this with an overview of the many ways in which nature-friendly farming provides a positive and productive alternative. He takes the example of hedgerows which were ripped out following the Second World War to make maximise field size and increase productivity. On the ground trials and research shows the contrary to be true. “If every arable farmer …put the least productive 8% of their land into wildlife habitats, there would apparently be no impact on overall crop production but huge benefits for nature; 8 per cent of arable land in the UK would amount to a staggering 320,000 hectares of wildlife habitat.” (P169) Other examples covered include expanded crop rotations, agroforestry, the UK government’s and various EU environmental policies and subsidies, as well as regenerative and organic farming practices, ending with this recap:-
“In short, conventional farming could adopt a suite of measures that would boost biodiversity considerably with little or no impact on overall crop yield or farm profitability, and some of these would help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We should be encouraging and supporting farmers to deploy as many of these measures as possible, ideally with government funding and incentives. Going organic also boosts biodiversity, but comes at the cost of decreased yield for some crops. The ideal system, from both environmental and human health perspectives, would combine both, but to be viable without increasing food imports this would require a shift in diet.” (P179)
