Sustainable Food Practices

On my last trip to Kenya, I visited partners who are strengthening the country's food system, and one innovation stood out to me: dual-purpose chickens.   This weekend, The New York Times shared another example of how partners in Zambia are also leveraging this small-but-mighty bird to help smallholder farmers adapt to climate change. Extreme weather in the region challenges farmers with droughts that lead to food shortages. The Zambro chickens provide a stable resource amid the changing climate conditions because they need less water and feed while also being more resistant to disease.   When farmers have access to innovations, they are more resilient to the impacts of climate change and can create sustainable food systems in their countries. https://lnkd.in/efP4_wYP.

Bamboo & Cattle: India’s Untapped Duo for Sustainable Feed Security!! India’s livestock sector, home to over 300 million cattle, faces a critical challenge: scarcity of affordable, nutritious animal feed. Traditional fodder crops like maize and soy demand vast amounts of water, land, and fertilizers—resources that are increasingly strained amid climate change and shrinking farmland. But what if a humble, fast-growing plant could revolutionize this system? Enter bamboo, an ancient resource with modern potential to transform India’s feed crisis into a story of sustainability and prosperity. Why Bamboo? The Superfeed for Cattle Bamboo isn’t just for furniture or construction—it’s a nutritional powerhouse for livestock. Rich in protein (up to 22% in leaves), fiber, and essential minerals, bamboo shoots and leaves can supplement or even replace conventional cattle feed. Unlike water-guzzling crops, bamboo thrives in marginal soils, requires minimal irrigation, and grows up to 3 feet per day. In states like Assam, Tripura, and Kerala, where bamboo is abundant, farmers are already experimenting with bamboo-based feed, reporting healthier herds and improved milk yields. Solving Two Crises at Once: Feed Scarcity & Environmental Stress India’s reliance on traditional fodder contributes to deforestation, soil degradation, and groundwater depletion. Bamboo flips this narrative. A single hectare of bamboo produces 10x more biomass than maize, sequesters 40% more CO₂, and prevents soil erosion with its deep root system. By integrating bamboo into cattle diets, farmers can: - Cut feed costs by 30-50%, reducing dependency on expensive commercial feed. - Reclaim degraded land for bamboo cultivation, boosting rural livelihoods. - Slash water use by up to 70% compared to water-intensive fodder crops. A Win for Farmers, a Win for the Planet For smallholder farmers, bamboo offers resilience. It grows year-round, survives droughts, and can be harvested sustainably for decades. Dairy cooperatives can work on bamboo feed programs, aligning with India’s National Bamboo Mission to promote agro-ecology. Results in some trials show cattle with stronger immunity and higher fat content in milk—critical for India’s $50B dairy industry. The Path Forward: Collaboration & Innovation Scaling this solution requires partnerships between farmers, policymakers, and agri-tech innovators. Bamboo isn’t just a plant—it’s a paradigm shift. By reimagining cattle feed through the lens of sustainability, India can secure its livestock sector, empower farmers, and combat climate change, all while honoring its cultural reverence for cows. Are you ready to be part of this green revolution? Let’s connect in Delhi on 22nd April during the SAVE THE EARTH CONCLAVE organised by Indian Chamber of Food and Agriculture, to collaborate, and cultivate a future where cattle and bamboo grow together—literally.

The Chihuahua desert once had tall grasses and they are coming back. This superhero Alejandro Carrillo fighting climate change with CATTLE. This used to be a dry barren crusty desert in Las Damas ranch in the Chihuahuan desert. Anyway, he doesn't apply fertilizer, doesn't irrigate, and doesn't use chemicals on his beasts! He changed his grazing patterns to mimic the wild herds and studied the plants to make sure they are the right stage for grazing. This land is also fire resistant, and drought resistant. he only gets 6-8 inches of rain a year. Now that he has applied the method, he watches rainclouds form over his ranch on radar and in plain sight. The new tall rich grasses protect the soil from drying out, capture all the rain instead of letting it runoff, and will be grazed down before it dries out. GRAZING RETURNS NUTRIENTS BACK TO THE SOIL. Grazing is another word for NUTRIENT CYCLING. When you don't graze, and don't graze wisely and just let the grasses dry out, they just oxidize and all the nutrients held in the grass dissipate into the hot air instead of cycling back into the earth. The old 100,000-member bison herds used to come in stomping, pooping, peeing, munching, and completely crunching out the area, perfect for rejuvenation, then wait to return until the grass had recovered to a yummy stage. LIVESTOCK ARE KEY TO MANAGING CLIMATE. Without them grasslands desertify. When you look at the methane the livestock produce and only methane, you miss the big picture. Wisely managed livestock create an ecosystem that cycles the methane and CO2 out of the air. #Holistic #Regenerative #ClimateManagement AgReserves, Inc.J.R. Simplot Company

How did ancient farmers harvest TWO full crops from a single piece of land without modern chemicals or technology? 🌾🐟 The secret lies in an ancient engineering masterpiece: Rice-Fish Co-Culture. Here is how this self-sustaining system worked: 🔹 Smart Field Architecture Instead of flat fields, farmers engineered alternating shallow and deep channels with a deeper "refuge pond" in the corner. This allowed fish to escape scorching summer heat without drowning the rice seedlings. 🔹 Natural Pest Control & Aeration Crucian carp swam through the paddies, feeding on weeds and insect larvae, while their movement continuously loosened and oxygenated the soil. 🔹 Organic Fertilization Fish waste rich in Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium served as a high-quality natural fertilizer for the rice plants. 🔹 A Perfect Symbiotic Loop • Rice canopies shaded the water, keeping temperatures ideal (22–28°C). • Fallen rice blossoms provided rich carbohydrates for the fish. • Photosynthesis from rice plants continuously oxygenated the water. When it came time to harvest, lowering the water level naturally guided the fish through the channels into the refuge pond for effortless catching. The Result? Zero chemical pesticides. Zero artificial fertilizers. Double the harvest (Rice + Fish) from the exact same footprint. True engineering isn't always about high-tech gadgets it’s about deeply understanding nature's systems to create maximum efficiency. What ancient practices do you think modern design and systems thinking could learn from today? Let's discuss in the comments! 👇 Follow up - Sachin S. 💫💞🙏 #Engineering #Innovation #Sustainability #SystemsThinking #AncientWisdom #Agriculture #Ecosystems #GreenTechnology #FutureOfFarming #Leadership

Our current food production system, with agriculture at its core, is the single largest driver of planetary boundary transgression. The same system, however, can become part of the solution. In our new review in Global Sustainability, we assess the global evidence on Conservation Agriculture, based on 3 principles: no soil disturbance, permanent soil cover, and diversified crop rotations. The evidence is clear: Conservation Agriculture has expanded from ca. 100 to 200 million hectares in just a decade and now covers about 15% of global cropland. It could reach 50% by 2050. Converting cropland to Conservation Agriculture can sequester around 0.5 to 0.9 tonnes of carbon per hectare per year, potentially about 0.4–0.8 gigatonnes of carbon annually at global scale, while cutting fuel use by up to 70%. Healthier soils mean higher water retention, less erosion and greater resilience to droughts and floods. Conservation Agriculture on its own will not solve all food system challenges, but it is difficult to find a more ready-to-scale transformation in land management that addresses climate, biodiversity, freshwater, and soil degradation at once. It can be adopted at scale and speed, i.e., across all agro-ecological zones within the coming 1–2 decades. To operate within planetary boundaries, we need both an energy transition and a soil transition. Healthy soils are foundational to food security and Earth system stability. https://lnkd.in/dUTG3DSi

East Africa is facing repeated, devastating droughts, wiping out up to 80% of cattle herds in parts of Somalia, Ethiopia, and Kenya. For many pastoralist families, this has meant losing their main source of milk, income, and food security. But amid these challenges, a powerful shift is underway. The camel, long adapted to extreme heat and scarce water, is becoming the region’s most reliable milk producer. Able to survive more than two weeks without water, depend on bushes and trees, and thrive where cattle cannot, camels are helping communities rebuild resilience in an era of accelerating aridity. Governments are now supporting pastoralists in transitioning to camel milk production, and census data shows camel herds steadily rising as cattle numbers fall. Pastoralists consistently report more dependable milk yields and stronger drought survival when relying on camels. The message is clear: Camel pastoralism is emerging as one of East Africa’s most effective climate adaptation strategies. A good read: https://lnkd.in/d_uJFfkJ #CamelDairying #ClimateResilience #Pastoralism #EastAfrica #DroughtAdaptation #FoodSecurity #AridLands #SustainableLivelihoods

💧 🅴🆅🅰🅿🅾🆁🅰🆃🅸🅾🅽 Over Electricity: The Ancient Science Solving Modern Food Security Who knew mud and water could outperform power-hungry fridges? Kenya’s clay beehive coolers show that low-tech solutions can be sustainable, accessible, and revolutionary. High-tech isn't always the answer to food security. Sometimes, the best solutions are built from the earth. Take a look at this incredible zero-energy innovation from Kenya: Clay refrigerators shaped like beehives. While modern refrigeration relies heavily on electricity and chemical coolants, this design uses a fundamental principle of physics: Evaporative Cooling. 💧💨 How it works: These clay structures are placed in the shade. As water naturally evaporates from the porous clay surface, it pulls heat away from the inside. This simple thermal exchange keeps fresh produce cool and preserves it for days without a single watt of power. Why this matters for society: ✅ Food Security: It dramatically reduces post-harvest crop loss for off-grid farming communities. ✅ Sustainability: Zero emissions, zero electricity, 100% biodegradable materials. ✅ Accessibility: Built using cheap, locally sourced clay and mud. In our rush toward complex biotechnology and smart grids, it is a powerful reminder that sometimes the most effective, sustainable engineering is ancient in its roots. 💭 Question for the community: What other traditional or "low-tech" science solutions do you think we should bring back to tackle modern climate challenges? #Sustainability #FoodSecurity #GreenTech #ScienceForGood #Innovation Posted: 28 March 2026 (06:00)

I split a field this year and now use half of it for grazing—This is the first year it's been grazed in decades. It supports 120 head, and it still has residual feed left for fall. Last week, I had Marc, his MIT guest, out on hands and knees, looking at cow manure and bugs and feeling how the field that was being grazed still held moisture and had a lower temperature on the ground than—the adjacent field, which until this year was the same field. None of this could be perceived without a combination of human senses—the direct and humble smell and feel of organic soil—the visual perception of bug life in one place but absent across the fence. In 1986. First, it was hormone-free, antibiotic-free, and Low-stress handling. Eventually, it gained humane treatment certification. Studying Allan Savory's holistic resource management, we applied those practices to our ranges and pastures. Since 2014, I've focused more intensely on regenerative agriculture—studying Gabe Brown, Will Harris, Fred Provenza, and Nicole Masters. At its core, regenerative agriculture is about the direct relationship between the farmer or rancher and the land—daily interaction and observation of soil, plants, and animals. Here are some of my takeaways. Regenerative Agriculture isn't about technology. If you rely heavily on technology, go back to the beginning. The essence of regenerative agriculture is working WITHIN natural systems. It is a fool's requiem to believe a natural system can be controlled or understood with technology. In a natural system, technology is folly. We live in an agri-era where technical dependence increases and the quality of our food and health falls. Coincidence? Regenerative agriculture creates positive feedback loops that conventional farming often disrupts. It doesn't take much to set land into regenerative motion, but that nudge must come from a place of profound understanding. Those who genuinely know their land don't complicate the process—they work with it, leading to healthier, more resilient ecosystems. Positive feedback loops don't require grandiose inputs. Just a little change here and there. A butterfly flaps its wings in...or a 1/4 mile fence, changes a paradigm. In regenerative agriculture, if there is no equal investment, time, and risk to that of the farmer or rancher. There cannot be expertise. Claiming otherwise is unacceptable and irresponsible. The path is always investment and risk—wisdom from sacrifice. Whether in Portland or little ol' Adel, we are all in it. Being close to the cash register puts you far from root and reason. At first, I thought was meant to feed the world. Later, my purpose was to feed my neighbors. None of that is true. I do it for The Boy, the cattle, the grass, water, and soil. That's the only way it will work. The most important human in the chain is at the soil. They are the only ones that matter.

#InverterCattle:⚡ Heritage Genetics Meeting Utility-Scale Agrivoltaics ☀️🌱 The rapid expansion of the #solar industry has created an unprecedented land management challenge: how do we maintain thousands of acres of vegetation under sensitive, low-clearance infrastructure without relying on costly mechanical mowing or chemical spraying? Our answer lies in an innovative, 4-way composite cattle type engineered specifically for solar arrays—combining the time-tested traits of Dexter, Belted Galloway, Pineywoods, and Milking Devon cattle. By selectively breeding this composite, we are bridging ancient genetic resilience with modern infrastructure requirements: * Low Stature, High Safety: A compact frame allows these cattle to navigate low-tilt trackers seamlessly, while naturally polled heads eliminate any risk of wiring or panel damage. * Climate Resilience: Shifting towards the heat-tolerant red hide ensures continuous grazing performance under unshaded areas of properties. * Low Impact, High Efficiency: Their lightweight footprint prevents soil compaction and erosion along panel driplines & protects basins, while their aggressive foraging instincts helps suppress tough weeds, briers & brush. 💡 The Big Picture: A New Market for Heritage Breeds For decades, heritage livestock preservation has relied on niche market enthusiasm. By deploying #InverterCattle into agrivoltaics, we are unlocking a massive, high-utility commercial market for critically endangered #genetics. These cattle aren't just adapting to the land; they are securing the reliability of our energy grid. We are proving that the survival traits honed by legacy breeds over centuries are exactly what modern green infrastructure needs to scale sustainably. Let's build a more resilient #energy landscape, one pasture at a time. https://lnkd.in/eRguTzbD #Agrivoltaics #SolarGrazing #RenewableEnergy #AssetManagement #HeritageBreeds #SustainableAgriculture #cattlevoltaics #solarcattle