Can We Fix Our Farming System? Why Tech Must Not Eradicate Tradition

Recently, I found myself at the centre of an agro-centric day (no, not Groundswell). In the bustling city of London, two compelling dialogues about the UK food system unfolded, offering contrasting perspectives and unveiling the complex issues that face modern farming.

In the tapestry of discussions on farming and agriculture, a significant thread is often overlooked – that of the intimate bond between humans and the surrounding natural world. Throughout history, farming has been an essential part of the intricate ecosystem that sustains life. The cultivation of crops, the tending of livestock and the rhythms of planting and harvesting have woven humans seamlessly into the fabric of nature. Today, not only are these connections often forgotten, but the people who still work in partnership with the natural world and their local landscapes run the risk of being dismissed, too.

In the morning of Tuesday 18th, the ‘Future of Food’ talk (hosted by the Spectator at the Royal Society) saw Therese Coffey and a panel of policy professionals and journalists delve into the pragmatic world of regulations, politics and trade deals – still in flux for the UK since the impact of Brexit. Here, an emphasis on efficiency, productivity and modernity emerged as the dominant perspective, with technological advancements and synthetic inputs considered the panacea for the problems of nourishing a growing population and ensuring food security, whilst marching to the monotonous tune of net-zero goals – all without mentioning the fact that global fossil fuel use only continues to increase and that 40% of food produced currently goes to waste. 

The evening brought with it an altogether different tune, as Vandana Shiva and Michael Smaje took to the stage at UnHerd. Zooming out to capture a macro view of farming's status quo, the panel offered a broader lens through which they explored digitalisation and its cascading impact on biodiversity, livelihoods, human health and even the very essence of flavour within our food. In this emotive sermon of ideas, Shiva's vision gleamed with agro-ecological wisdom, underscored with a sobering reflection of reality. This was an ode to embracing the small-scale, diverse farming methods that pair harmoniously with giving dignity back to farmers.

While dangling promises of increased yields and precision, the pursuit of high-tech agricultural practices (“cows that can milk themselves,” boasted Coffey) risks uprooting – and ultimately losing – the traditions and wisdom that we have passed down through generations. The reliance on digitalisation and automation (“drones that pick apples that taste like they’re designed for transport, not flavour,” said Shiva) threatens the livelihoods of those upon whom we depend to keep food on our plates. This is not to mention the huge energy costs of running such operations at scale – and the unseen data processing plants needed in support, ironically called “data farms”. The very essence of farming, once so deeply intertwined with the seasons and the land, is being eroded away on the very soil we are fighting to save.

Driven by the allure of efficiency, we are now seeing digitalisation take the reins, and with this comes a shifting narrative of where we humans fit in The Grand Scheme of Things. Currently, small farms with less than two hectares of land represent 84% of farms globally, but produce only one-third of global crop production… but a future where farming is done with the faceless, relentless efficiency of machines is a future of sterile hands, severed connections and withering, Botox-injected soil. 

Reading between the lines, an unsettling trend emerges as we see more people in power with referential delusions, pushing the advancement of farming technology that distances us from the very ecosystem of which we’ve been an integral part for millennia. 

Although these two events took place in the same city, on the same day, and were grounded in the same themes, questions surrounding pesticide use, glyphosate, trade deals, farming technology and lab-grown meat drew vastly different viewpoints – and responses.

The future of farming need not be a binary choice between tradition and technology; rather, it can and should be a nuanced integration of both, a convergence that honours the interconnectedness of the ecosystem as well as our own leaps in modernity. In this envisioned future, we retain the wisdom of the past while simultaneously embracing the possibilities of what is yet to come. There was one thing that participants at both events agreed on: we shouldn’t rely on a future in which insects are our main source of protein to fix all our problems.  

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