Feeding humanity doesn’t have to cost the Earth

A renowned scientist says ethical, abundant food systems that lasted successfully for thousands of years can be reintroduced again.

Dr Lyla June Johnston aka Lyla June (Diné/Navajo, Tsétsêhéstâhese/Cheyenne, and European) is a human ecologist, public speaker, poet, musician and community organiser, and a keynote speaker at the upcoming World Green Infrastructure Congress 2024, being hosted by Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland.  (See the programme.)

From her home in Gallup, New Mexico, Johnston says she’s excited to attend the event, being held in collaboration with Design for Nature and the World Green Infrastructure Network. The international event promotes the exchange of knowledge, discussing nature-based solutions in urban environments.

She says history has many examples of successful food systems, and the sharing of this knowledge between various peoples, making her look to the future with optimism.

“My main message will be to share about a dozen examples of humanity creating successful, highly productive and deeply ethical food systems that lasted thousands of years. Each of these examples shows how humanity has not harmed the earth, but has been a great asset to it. And if we’ve done it before, by god, we can do it again.” 

She has spoken about the American chestnut tree, now nearly extinct. Evidence demonstrates they were planted by humans and ‘cared for by Indigenous peoples, like a vast orchard’.  Spaced far apart, the trees enjoyed ample access to sunlight, water and nutrients to keep healthy. 

Indigenous peoples would burn around chestnuts to wipe out competing vegetation and put ash into the soil for fertiliser. The result produced nutrient-dense meadows that would sprout and attract deer, bison and other undulates - herbivores that were also good for food.  

Johnston has presented soil core samples containing almost 10,000 years of fossilised pollen information, demonstrating that Indigenous people managed a biodiverse food forest of black walnut, hickory nut, chestnut and other edible species for 3,000 years. 

“We need to fall in love with humanity again. We’re not pests, we’re not a stain on the fabric of creation, we actually belong here, especially when we’re guided by the right practical and ethical compass. We can create beauty for ourselves and other species.”

Johnston’s multi-genre presentations have inspired personal, collective, and ecological healing worldwide. At Stanford, she blends her study of human ecology, graduate work in Indigenous Pedagogy, and traditional worldview to craft insightful perspectives, solutions, and music.

Her doctoral research showed how pre-colonial Indigenous Nations shaped Turtle Island (the Americas) to create abundant food systems, empowering humanity to connect with the natural world. She also acknowledges the University of Alaska Fairbanks as a crucial pathway to her journey and career.

Returning to Aotearoa New Zealand

Johnston says she’s especially looking forward to engaging with tangata whenua when she arrives for the Congress, being held from 3-5 September. 

“I’m excited to create more alliances and relationships, to dine with our relatives in Aotearoa. As a person from the settler colonial state of America, I’m excited to visit Aotearoa. Every time, I am deeply moved and inspired by Māori, the land, the way they are working towards a better world.” 

Currently writing a book, Johnston says it was important to use an accessible format to communicate the scientific findings of her research to a broader audience. 

“I have to communicate scientific knowledge beyond the university, so that it can help the world. I need to more beyond academic jargon and communicate these ideas through the likes of  TED Talks and through this book I’m writing now. It shares scientific findings through the medium of story.” 

When asked how scientific peers viewed her research, she says a speech she gave on the greatest technology – love – received a standing ovation. She argues that the science community, in wanting to be more rigorous, excluded the concept of love and the emotional world from their analyses. 

“Love is as important as gravity. When you try to explain natural phenomena, the only reason the eagle flies back and forth to the nest to feed some ugly birds; is because of love. 

“Love is the greatest technology, even with wealth disparity, and all the technology; powerful telescopes that help see out into space - yet we can’t see the person who has no home standing right in front of us. What good is this technology if we are devoid of love? To cut out love, we are denying our own reality.” 

The 11th World Green Infrastructure Congress will be held at the Sir Owen G Glenn Building, Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, 3 - 5 September.

Read more about Lyla June Johnston here.