Written by Anna Abgaryan
If you’re ever scrolling through Netflix and you don’t know what you should watch, I only have one thing to say to you: Kiss the Ground.
If you’ve never heard of this film before, let me introduce you. Kiss the Ground is a Netflix documentary that was released last year. It centers around how regenerative agriculture can save the planet’s topsoil and reverse the effects of climate change. It is an important and optimistic documentary to watch. As students of MAST@FIU, it can inspire change and new ideas. Minimally, it is quite an interesting documentary to get your science teachers to play for you in class.
The central theme of this documentary is that soil is essential for us and the planet’s health. In other words, to have a healthy planet, we must keep our soil healthy. Throughout the documentary, you learn about how the uses of pesticides such as herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, etc., have harmed our soil (by leading to soil erosion) and the benefits of sustainable farming, like the ideas and the importance of regenerative agriculture.
In case you don’t know what that means, regenerative agriculture is the practice of farming in a conservative approach. It aims to increase biodiversity, regenerate topsoil, enhance the ecosystem, and all that jazz. Other than promoting the benefits of regenerative agriculture, this documentary briefly talks about some misconceptions about climate change that centers around cattle. It is widely known that cattle release methane due to their waste, which is why they can be viewed as a problem. However, this documentary features a method of grazing known as “mob grazing” which is a process that allows cattle to eat and defecate on certain areas of land to grow/regenerate and fertilize the soil. So, something that is viewed as a problem can, in fact, be the solution that you never realized. Just as a regenerative rancher, Gabe Brown, said in the doc, “The problem isn’t the animal. The problem is where the animals are at.”
I think it’ll be worth it if you gave this documentary a chance. Who knows, maybe it may spark a change in you. It may even be useful to know if you plan to take an Environmental Science class in the future.
In the meantime, go ahead and watch the trailer below…
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