Is Regenerative Farming the Future? with Neil deGrasse Tyson & Will Harris

Is industrial farming bad for us? Neil deGrasse Tyson and co-hosts Chuck Nice and Gary O’Reilly learn about the future of food production, regenerative agriculture, and greenwashing with herdsman, land steward, and author Will Harris.

Why move away from industrial farming? Learn about pesticides and the toll that linear and monoculture farming take on the land. We discuss desertification and the importance of organic matter in the soil. We discuss animal welfare in the cattle industry. What is the difference between grass-fed and corn-fed cattle?

We break down linear farming, its impact on communities, and why we started doing it. Should food be more expensive? We explore the connection between retail eating and industrial farming. Is it a sustainable model? Find out about different farming models’ impact on the environment and how farming practices can sequester carbon.

Learn about Will’s path to restoring his land and what motivated him to make the change. When you cut out pesticides what do you replace it with? How do small regenerative farms size up against multinational corporations? Plus, learn how consumers can help make regenerative farming mainstream.

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Science meets pop culture on StarTalk! Astrophysicist & Hayden Planetarium director Neil deGrasse Tyson, his comic co-hosts, guest celebrities & scientists discuss astronomy, physics, and everything else about life in the universe. Keep Looking Up!

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00:00 - Introduction: Industrial Farming
2:58 - Unintended Consequences of Pesticides
9:26 - Desertification of the Soil
10:54 - Grass-Fed Cattle & Animal Welfare
16:24 - Linear Farming in Rural America
18:20 - Why Are We Farming This Way?
22:19 - A More Sustainable Model
28:20 - The Journey To Regenerative Farming
37:05 - What Consumers Can Do
41:50 - The Future of Farming
43:04 - Closing Thoughts