In conclusion

The objective of the conventional agriculture has been to produce artificially enlarged “farmed vegetables” through the use of science and technology. This is ironic in the sense that the more effort that is dedicated to this pursuit, the further the plants travel away from a natural, healthy state. When I look at the current agriculture and their plant species, I can’t help seeing a resemblance to our own species and struggles with countless health issues such as lifestyle disease and metabolic syndrome.

Additionally, as biodiversity on this planet is reducing at an alarming rate, human population is growing at an exponential rate, which could be compared to a large outbreak of pests in the ecosystem of monocultural farm.

In Synecoculture, our objective is to return to the natural state of plants and animals as our primary food source, which we have relied on for our survival over millions of years. Furthermore, considering our exceptional ability to affect and modify natural environment in global scale, it is not an overstatement to say that we, the human species, hold the leading role to a truly sustainable society in harmony with nature where all living species can coexist. Such an endeavor depends, wholly on the success and sustainability of our primary industries, starting with agricultural practices.

I believe that goal is attainable if we advocate for the cultivation and utilization of plants in their natural state rather than continually furthering research on element-wise pesticides and fertilizers.

To this end, relying purely on research and academia will not be sufficient. Practical implementation and experience from the general public should be brought together, and our responsibility to the environment must also be addressed as an integrated citizen science. Synecoculture aims to take on part of that responsibility in realizing a truly sustainable social ecological system.