"Share of the Land - Agriculture as an Art" from Louise Browaeys and Henri de Pazzis - Edition Delachaux et Niestlé - 224 Pages
This book is an invitation to put a foot down.
The Share of the Earth attempts a portrait of this singular art which links nature, man, tool, history and the out of time, which conjugates the four elements in their permanence. In his first morning, man wakes up a farmer; in his fertility, he remains suspended in the surf of this birth profession, in his breaths and in his wounds.
Some of you know this great subject in depth; others have a more distant perception of it. It is an important part of our common imagination... In these times when artifice fascinates, this contemplation of human anchoring is good for finding accuracy and energy in the future.
"The wheat germinates because it obeys its wheat nature, because it contains in power all the wheat to come. The first handful of grains thrown by a man's hand draws a collaboration, it does not ensure control. When the wheat withdraws from the world, what is left of the bread? »
"The man-farmer is not on the periphery, he is not the simple representative of an economic activity that could disappear, the familiar servant in charge of the maintenance of the granaries. On the contrary, he is the vanguard of a humanity confronted with the choice of conciliation and the vitality of marriage. »
Through an in-depth reflection on agriculture as an art, the authors address what makes up the very essence of man and the way in which it is built or, on the contrary, damaged through the ages. A meditative walk between history, agronomy, society, philosophy and poetry, this book traces the history of humanity through what defines it: agriculture - sometimes respectful of nature, sometimes forgetful of nature in favour of yield at all costs.
In short, an oscillation between revelation of humanity and loss of meaning. The reflection leads to the very idea of sustainable development, which appears to be an error of perspective, because the question does not lie in sustainable development but rather in integrated development, because man is a part of the earth. And to unite ourselves with the earth today is to accept once again disorder, life at work in its violence; it is to accept that technology cannot respond to all the complexity of living things.
A date to remember:
- The one from a France Culture show: You don't talk with your mouth fullby Alain Krüger, aired on Sunday, November 9 at noon, then rebroadcast as a podcast.
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About the authors
Louise Browaeys pursued agronomy studies at the Institut national agronomique Paris-Grignon (now AgroParisTech) during which she studied organic agriculture, associated crops and toxicology. Specializing in human nutrition, she worked at Danone, then at the Interprofession of Fruits and Vegetables. Today she is a freelance journalist, contributing to various publications in the fields of agriculture, landscape and food. Her daily practice of vegetable gardening is vital to her.
Henri de Pazzis is the founder of ProNatura, the first network of organic market gardeners and arboriculturists, today one of the major players in Europe in the distribution of organic fruit and vegetables. His profession has been nurtured by his long experience in the farming environment and the varied agronomic and climatic realities. Everywhere he has seen people's passion for the land and the damage caused by industrial monocultures. As a member of various professional organisations, he has participated in discussions and developments in European regulations for organic products.
