Already published in 2020 and published for the second time last year, the popular scientific work “Alle satt?” (Everyone fed?) by the former head of FiBL (Research Institute for Organic Farming in Frick, Switzerland), Urs Niggli, is a concentrated summary of the view of our food system from the perspective of organic farming. Niggli, one of the world’s leading experts on sustainability in agriculture, takes a critical but very constructive look at today’s agricultural economy.
With this book, which goes deep into the subject, Niggli also offers the layman views and arguments in favour of converting conventional agriculture to organic farming. In doing so, he does not meet the expectations of his own “eco-clientele”, no, he even takes on them in some respects. To increase the productivity of organic farming, he argues, for example, that new breeding methods could improve crop production. He explains “Why the juxtaposition of ‘natural’ and ‘artificial’ in agriculture is probably wrong”. He believes that “organic farming has put itself in a tight corset to influence the direction of future innovation“. The scope for technical innovations in organic farming has become even smaller due to new organic regulations. He criticizes the fact that there is a backlog of innovation and is therefore focusing more on conventional farming. With these and many other topics, Niggli argues that conventional agriculture must be made more ecological.
A very readable book for people interested in food and agriculture. The topics and answers just seem to be gushing out of Niggli. The reader can expand his horizon of knowledge since the scientific basis of Niggli’s statements seems to be secured. Disadvantage of “the gush” is that I couldn’t always find the path of the book. Niggli literally “surfs” through all topics and you often come back to a topic that has already been dealt with. The big question of the title of the book “Everyone fed?” he doesn’t answer. But: For me, this book by Prof. Niggli is a must for those who deal strategically with the development of agriculture and the food industry.
You can order the book here: https://www.residenzverlag.com/en/buch/everyone-full