An important book that tries to move the line from “environmentalist” to “environment humanist” in the sense that it points to the space that stands between romantic visions of nature and sustainability and pragmatic measures guiding us to a durable planet.

The actual writing in the book is not enjoyable and overly dense of facts that are not woven into ideas clear enough to be memorable, rather they shape a critical comment on state of the art approaces to food production and also to the organic movement.

Nevertheless the ideas presented, even if in early form are powerful, useful, practicable and inspiring. This is the sort of book that anyone that cares shoild spend time to understand.

The book looks at many interconnected issues that are dense and could have shaped a number of separate books. Roughly the areas are:
- Unsustainable food production practices
- The disastrous paradox of using land based production for other applications from animal feed to biofuels
- The proposed metric of land use / land health as a measure of sustainability and reduced environmental damage
- The underestimated impact of soil quality
- Farming wirhout externalities
- Processing protein / fermentation
- The disaster of the cultural tradition of raising animals

I find many of the points convincing and informative in non obvious ways. I am not sure it will manage to reach the readers to have impact. I wish it had been longer and a bit more accessible, more visuall charts etc… ( )

This is the first book of George Monbiot's I have read but I am familiar with his newspaper columns so expected this to be well researched, and it is. The end of the book comes more quickly than you expect because of the around 100 pages of bibliography and index. The bursts of humour were unexpected and made this a book written on a human scale. The science is never overwhelming and it is always fascinating. I learnt a lot about soil ecology and growing plants. This is therefore a book you can different things from. The big picture about why avoiding meat and dairy is better for the planet is here. The hopeful examples of growers doing things differently are here. The future of farmfree 'meat' substitutes is explained. I found the concept of agricultural sprawl enlightening and something that I have taken so much for granted. The realisation that it doesn't have to be like this was an eye opener. '... over many years as an environmental campaigner, I've slowly reached an outrageous conclusion. One of the greatest threats to life on Earth is poetry.' George Monbiot backs up this flippant statement with many examples of bucolic herders. The subtitle is feeding the world without devouring the planet and he constantly refers back to this as his focus. Locally grown this and grass-fed that are all very well but they will only feed the rich, not the world. His call for UK subsidies to consumers for fruit and veg, rather than farm subsidies, is compelling and surprisingly cheap! To readers from other countries the book might feel UK-centric but it does refer to farming in other countries but he writes about what he knows. The book is hopeful and life changing. ( )

Por primera vez desde el Neolítico tenemos la oportunidad de transformar no solo nuestro sistema alimentario, sino toda nuestra relación con la naturaleza. La agricultura y la ganadería son la principal causa de destrucción del medio ambiente en el mundo, pero apenas se habla de ello. Criticamos la expansión urbana, pero el sector primario ocupa una superficie treinta veces mayor. Hemos arado, vallado y destinado al pastoreo grandes extensiones del planeta, talando bosques, extinguiendo la fauna autóctona y envenenando ríos y océanos para alimentarnos. Regénesis nos presenta un nuevo futuro para la alimentación y la humanidad, con el objetivo de resolver el mayor de nuestros dilemas: alimentar al mundo sin devorar el planeta. A partir de los asombrosos avances de la ecología del suelo, Monbiot muestra cómo ahondar en el todavía escaso conocimiento de la tierra que pisamos podría permitirnos cultivar más alimentos con menos agricultura. Algunas estrategias están ya en marcha: desde el hortelano que ha revolucionado nuestra comprensión de la fertilidad; pasando por las nuevas variedades de cereales perennes, que liberan a la tierra de arados y sustancias químicas tóxicas; hasta los científicos pioneros en nuevas formas de producir proteínas y grasas; todos ellos nos muestran cómo las formas de vida más pequeñas pueden ayudarnos a hacer las paces con el planeta, a restaurar sus sistemas vivos y a que a la Edad de la Extinción le suceda la Edad de la Regénesis.

A must read for everyone. The food system is broken. Farming is broken, The soil the sea and the climate are all at breaking point. There are technologies that may get us out of this mess but we need a major shift in our thinking about food and where it comes from. ( )

I have listened to the audiobook and want to buy a print edition. I was unsure of the book when I started reading it, but as I got into the book, George Monbiot opened up new worlds of possibilities for me.

I am not an agronomist, nor am I a farmer. But, I have been associated with food and health for many years, and am alarmed by the trends in farming, pesticides, and artificial fertilizers. George Monbiot proposed a new way forward. He says there are no easy solutions, and this is true.

The book's narration is engaging. I like it. ( )