From the Soil Up: Regenerating the Economy
Not everything at DLD this year was on the growing US-European economic and technological divide. There were many speeches on the environment including from heavyweights like Kate Raworth. And I had the opportunity to catch up with my favorite advocate of regenerative agriculture, the managing partner at Acton Capital, Jan-Gisbert Schultze. According to Schultze, today's deepest problem is our spiritual disconnection from nature. We've lost 50% of our soil carbon, he notes, and with it the fertility that sustains us. We can save ourselves, he says, from the soil up — by embracing regenerative agricultural practices that prioritize local community activation and sustainable farming. Schultze is putting this into practice at Lake Constance, Germany's largest lake, where his Regenerate Forum is working to transform an entire county into what he calls a "climate landscape" — retraining farmers, rebuilding soil, and relocalizing the food system.
Keen On America is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe
The Noise of Typewriters: Lance Morrow remembers the golden age of American journalism
Empathize Empathize Empathize: Chris Shipley on how to "empower" the workforce in our post COVID world
How To Outrun Artificial Intelligence: Ashley Recanati on protecting YOUR job from the voracious smart machines of the AI revolution
Without a Female Doubt: Surbhi Sarna on how woman can go from underrated to unbeatable
42 Today: Michael G. Long on why Jackie Robinson's political legacy is at least as important as his sporting one
THE BIG CON: Rosie Collington on how the consulting industry weakens our businesses, infantilizes our governments, and warps our economies
A Venture Apocalypse? Keith Teare on the collapse of start-up value, the failure of government to rein in Big Tech, and the relentless rise of AI
The Marriage Box: Corie Adjmi on her guilt at writing about "flawed" Jewish characters
Women Are the Fiercest Creatures: Andrea Dunlop on why today is such a rage-inducing time to be a woman
The New Language of Building: Reinier de Graaf on how our cities and buildings have been infected with the corporate doublespeak of "wellness", "innovation" and "livability"
A Radical Take on Putin's Invasion of Ukraine: Benjamin Abelow on how the West brought war to Ukraine
A Psychiatric Novel about Donald Trump: Peter Kramer fictionalizes the "Great Man's" inner life.
A Wooden World of Mud, the Stars and the Forest: Alexander Nemerov's Fable of America in the 1830s