The systems
that created
the climaTe crisis
can’t solve IT
WE NEED NEW SOLUTIONS
Native Farming solves for
CARBON
BIODIVERSITY
WATER
FOOD SECURITY
CARBON
Topsoil is the most effective carbon sink on earth.
The world’s topsoil contains more than four times as much carbon as all living plants and the atmosphere combined.
Conventional agriculture destroys topsoil, degrading future yields and releasing carbon.
Agriculture contributes around 22% of greenhouse gasses, and industrial agriculture has significantly increased release of carbon from topsoil compared to earlier farming systems. In fact, the US corn belt has now lost more than a third of its topsoil.
Intensifying conventional agriculture accelerates this problem. This is not just bad farming, it’s bad business.
Oak forests are uniquely good at building topsoil.
This is why they’ve been targeted for clearing by agriculture: farmers knew how good the soil was. Preserving and restoring oak forests sequesters up to 30-40 tons of carbon per acre. Biochar made from nut waste stores additional carbon and further improves soil quality.
The deep roots of other native and native-derived crops, particularly perennials, add structure to soil and can also dramatically accelerate topsoil rebuilding and carbon sequestration - improving future yields in the process.
BIODIVERSITY
Biodiversity is in crisis across the world.
Climate change, habitat loss, and invasive species are destroying food webs that took millennia to evolve.
Agriculture is a leading cause of this collapse.
Almost 40% of the worlds ground surface is used for agriculture, much of which is monoculture non-native crops that provide no habitat value, and leech toxic herbicides and pesticides into our water systems.
Half the world’s bird species are in decline and one in 8 species is facing extinction.In North America, 3 billion birds have disappeared since 1970 - a roughly 30% population decline. Agriculture is the biggest contributing factor. Insects are facing an even steeper collapse, with populations declining at an average of 2% a year.
Oak forests support more biodiversity than any other North American biome.
Supporting more than 6,000 other species, oak forests are critical to reversing these trends.
Agriculture can preserve and rebuild habitat instead of destroying it - and we’re proving it.
Our native-derived protein crop stems from a keystone species for native pollinators - and preserves its wild ancestors’ habitat value. Organic regenerative farming techniques that don’t rely on chemical pesticides and herbicides safeguard adjacent wild lands.
WATER
Western water systems are at risk
The American West is getting hotter and drier as the climate changes. California - the largest agricultural producer in the U.S. - is set to lose around 10% of it’s already strained water within the decade.
Agriculture based on watering non-native crops that are not well adapted to Western climates consumes around 80% of California’s water; almond alone consumes more than 17% of California’s water. Alfalfa consumes more water than all of California’s cities combined.
Safeguarding our water protects native land, river, and sea animals.
From collapsing aquifers to the destruction of rivers and wetlands to serve conventional agriculture, water diversions are directly responsible for the collapse of salmon populations, and the removal of millions of salmon that used to spawn and die in California’s rivers has measurably decreased soil fertility statewide.
Our native and native-derived crops are evolved to work with California’s natural water systems and can save trillions of gallons of water a year if deployed at scale, allowing for the restoration of natural water systems and the species that rely on them.
FOOD
SECURITY
The World’s food supply is badly over-centralized
The climate that let this small number of crops thrive and dominate global agriculture is quickly becoming a thing of the past.
3 crops (wheat, rice, and corn) are more than 50% of our calories.
Soy is 3/4 of all plant based protein. Out of the more than 30,000 species that can produce food, only 174 are commercially grown worldwide. Experts agree this creates unnecessary risk.
Crop failures are on the rise.
We’ve seen shortages of sugar, chocolate, rice, and more in recent years. According to the USDA, payouts on crop failure insurance have increased 15% a year for 3 years running and show no signs of slowing. NASA predicts US corn yields will decrease by around 24% by the end of this decade, and soy may face even steeper declines.
By diversifying our food systems, we diversify risk.
Our proprietary rapid domestication program develops native-derived new species to thrive in the coming climate.