of his conference
at the Botanical Garden
from Montreal.
April 27, 2010 – The plundering of natural resources, especially mass agriculture, is part of today’s economic “logic”, which will ultimately kill man. These words come from Pierre Rabhi1, French pioneer of ecological agriculture, invited to deliver the inaugural speech of the series of Great Meetings at the Botanical Garden of Montreal.
Pierre Rabhi’s roadmap is as rich as the land he defends. Writer, philosopher and farmer, he has been recognized as an international expert on food security under the aegis of the United Nations (UN). It is in this capacity that he participated in the elaboration of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification.
In his presentation entitled Reconcile humans and nature, he spoke about his country of origin, Algeria, where he lived subsistence farming in very difficult desert conditions. An environment, he says, that requires taking care of the land that nourishes us with the greatest care to ensure our survival. Quite the opposite of what we do today, explains Pierre Rabhi.
“The richest countries consume 4/5 of the resources, even if they only count for the 5e of the world’s population, he emphasizes. The frenzy of productivity led to the plundering of the land. “Our vision of modernity is based on the unbridled accumulation of material wealth,” explains Pierre Rabhi. It is in rupture with this “human alienation” that he founded Oasis in all places.2, a concept of small-scale ecological agriculture, respectful of nature and accessible to all, especially the most disadvantaged. Already, several projects have emerged in North Africa and are now extending to Europe.
City-countryside solidarity
Here in North America, how can we integrate a more humane agriculture in a context of increasing urbanization and mass food production? From philosophy to practice, Pierre Rabhi shows the Quebec example of community agriculture supported by the community3 (ASC), where local farmers offer baskets of vegetables every week to more than 30,000 Quebecers. The Équiterre organization coordinates the program and supports the network of family farmers across Quebec.
The salvation of humanity can be found precisely in this city-countryside solidarity, affirms Pierre Rabhi. “A rapprochement between humans and with nature is not only essential, but crucial in order to slow down the physical and human desertification that threatens us. “
Danny Raymond – HealthPassport.net
1. Pierre Rabhi is the guest of a series of conferences entitled Grandes Reunions, presented on April 22 and 28 at the Montreal Botanical Garden. For more information: http://ville.montreal.qc.ca. The speaker also undertakes a tour of Quebec. To find out the dates, visit the website of the Mouvement québécois pour une décroissance convivial: www.decroissance.qc.ca.
2. To learn more about Pierre Rabhi and Oasis everywhere, consult his blog: www.pierrerabhi.org.
3. To learn more about the Community Supported Agriculture program, visit the Équiterre website: www.equiterre.org/categorie.