Jimmy Videle is a farmer, naturalist, and researcher. He is the author of The Veganic Grower’s Handbook: Cultivating Fruits, Vegetables, and Herbs from Urban Backyard to Rural Farmyard (Lantern Press, 2023) and the co-founder of NAVCS-Certified Veganic. His writing has appeared in CounterPunch, Countercurrents, and LA Progressive, among others.
Jimmy Videle is a farmer, naturalist, activist, consultant, and researcher. He has been a consultant, researcher, and volunteer with A.U.M. Films (producers of “Cowspiracy,” and “What the Health,” Humane Party USA, and the Animal Protection Party of Canada.
He lives with his wife, Melanie Bernier, and five rescue cats on the small-scale veganic market farm, La Ferme de l’Aube Accueil (lafermedelaube.com) in Boileau, Québec. He has been growing his own food and homesteading for over twenty-five years and became a professional full-time organic farmer in 2005.
From 2010 to 2014, he worked and consulted on eleven vegan, organic, and permaculture farms throughout Hawaii, Mexico, Central America, South America, and Québec before settling at his current home in 2014.
His veganic farming and research have been featured in the biannual publication Growing Green International Growing Green International Magazine—Vegan Organic Network since 2016.
He is the host of The Veganic Grower’s Hour Youtube show Jimmy Videle-Veganic Grower - YouTube, agriculture and rewilding ambassador for the Plant-Based Treaty Ambassadors - Plant Based Treaty, and the co-founder of the North American Veganic Certification Standard (NAVCS)-Certified Veganic North American Veganic Certification Standard, serving the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, whose mission is to certify farmers throughout North America in 100 percent plant-based agriculture principles and practices that work to end animal agriculture forever.
As a naturalist, Videle has conducted numerous field studies, logging more than 10,000 hours of fieldwork as a citizen scientist working with the National Audubon Society, the National Park Service, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Nature Conservancy, Birds Canada, and the Arizona and Québec Breeding Bird Atlases.
Understanding the distribution, abundance and status of at-risk birds in any area where human impact is low is an imperative in understanding the larger ecological situation. Birds have been widely seen as reliable indicators of ecological health and there have been significant population declines in North America, especially among migratory aerial insectivores, and are escalading rapidly. As a worldwide community we must seek out those forests, grasslands and wetlands that are currently the least exploited to measure species—listed as threatened and declining.
This paper documents the research study that took place within the Upper Boileau Biodiversity Reserve—a proposed key biodiversity area. The six-acre site at La Ferme de l’Aube is indicative of the larger UBBR with mixed coniferous and deciduous woodlands, riverine and marshland habitat, open wildlands and a forest edge. During the 357-day study, 122 species were documented, the highest yearly total at the site and a 18.4 percent increase over the next best yearly effort. 13.9% of all birds observed during the study year are deemed either at-risk or declining.
Looking at regional gaps in bird distribution and filling them with observations will help to understand the impacts of climate change, habitat loss and human interference. Specifically focusing not only on birds currently listed as at risk, but also on those that have been deemed in decline will give us the tools necessary to take aggressive action now so that these species do not end up on these inevitable watch lists.
Unequivocally, protein from soybeans, dry beans, dry peas, lentils, wheat, and sunflower seeds are viable replacements for animal products. The most productive protein source (whether plant or animal) is soybeans, which produce 314 percent more protein per acre than chickens for meat (the most productive animal protein source).
Dry peas produce 29 percent more protein and dry beans 3.8 percent more. Even though wheat produces 3.1 percent less, lentils 7 percent less, and sunflower seeds 7.5 percent less than chicken, they all produce more protein per acre than the next most productive animal product, turkeys for meat. Sunflower seeds, the lowest production of protein per acre among the plant-based crops analyzed, produces 1,812 percent more protein per acre than cows for meat (the lowest protein production per acre of the animal sources analyzed).
From the most current information available on jobs, we found:
• The amount of jobs in the agriculture, food, and related industry sectors total 23,234,985 (15.1 percent of total workforce)
• There were 2,509,362 jobs (10.80 percent) that specifically exploited animals
• There were 796,050 jobs (3.43 percent) that existed because of the exploitation of animals
• There were 16,989,533 jobs (73.12 percent) that supported the exploitation of animals
• There were 2,940,040 jobs (12.65 percent) that did not exploit animals
• The largest work sector was restaurants and other eating places that employed 10,509,980 workers (45.23 percent)
The solutions do not require finding more efficient ways to raise animals, but how to best transition farmers to completely grow plant-based crops.
Animal agriculture requires vast amounts of land for space and manure dispersal (cows/all types) and land to grow their feed (grain or hay fed animals). Production per acre for animals is on average 770 lbs./acre where the field crops surveyed can produce 32,331 lbs./acre, a 4,197 percent better production per acre.
Animal agriculture based on the feed needed to feed grain-fed animals has a net loss result of 163.95 billion lbs. of food. However, those grain-fed animals require in total 241.63 billion pounds of grain that could be fed directly to the human population.
This report shows how small-scale vegan-organic agriculture compares to conventional and organic agriculture in the United States. To make the comparison this report utilizes data from the 2018 growing season at La Ferme de l’Aube, Jimmy Videle’s small-scale vegan-organic farm.
After reviewing all sources of data, it is concluded that the United States is one of the leading countries in the world in the live animal trade industry. In total the live animal trade industry for the U.S. exceeded $3.544 billion and ‘traded’ 119,070,845 animals in 2016. In many cases, the U.S. exported the same animals whom they imported, resulting in unnecessary trade of individual species.
Fact: The farming industry generates enough manure in five days to cover the entire continental U.S. land territory with the annual recommended amount for farmland.
There is sufficient evidence to support the claim that plant-based agriculture, in the U.S., can produce far more pounds of product (5 times as much) on a little over 40 percent of the total land utilized for agriculture, and at a lower cost for both the farmer and the final consumer.
Abstract
Agriculture is a major contributor to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and biodiversity loss, mostly through deforestation for the cultivation of animal feeds; enteric fermentation from ruminants like cattle, fertilizers and manure; and soil degradation from intensive farming practices.
There is currently a push to transform our farming systems to attempt to alleviate the almost-assured catastrophic burden of increasing amounts of atmospheric carbon. Many forms of agriculture claim they have evolved to follow a more regenerative form of agriculture by increasing soil organic matter (SOM), thus capturing said carbon in their soils.
This study reports SOM results from one veganic agriculture (VA) farm from a study period of seven years. There was an observed increase of SOM from 5.2% to 7.2%, equating to an increase of 38.46% over the study’s duration, suggesting that VA is an effective farming mechanism for increasing soil organic matter utilizing 100% plant-based regenerative practices and materials to nourish the soil.
The VA farm also realized respectable yields per hectare, reporting a 46% increase in total crop production. This was all achieved by growing a diversity of plant-based crops, implementing four-year crop rotations, building soil fertility through plant-based inputs, cover cropping, and leaving the farm’s fields covered as often as possible.
Additionally, by its processes, the VA farm fully eliminated the industrial chain of animal agriculture and associated land use and methane emissions, suggesting VA to be a holistically regenerative form of agriculture, in comparison to animal-based forms of any other system.
The Veganic Grower’s Handbook is a comprehensive guide that provides the tools, techniques, and insight into food cultivation from seeding to harvest, while wisely considering the totality of Earth’s inhabitants. It seeks to give the new, amateur, and professional gardening enthusiast all the tools and techniques to be successful in vegan-organic methods.
Mirroring the gardening year, this manual delineates garden planning to seed-starting in the early season, to garden preparation and transplanting when the weather warms. Composting and maintenance of seedlings in the heat of summer are discussed, harvesting and post-harvest handling with the cool mornings prevail. Ideas are brought forth in long-term storage and closing down the gardens when the nights delve deep.
In addition, The Veganic Grower’s Handbook includes six comprehensive annexes on crop profiles for over seventy different species of fruits, vegetables, and herbs, as well as plant spacing and yield charts, tools and other resources are included.
This comprehensive guide is specifically geared to small-scale gardeners and farmers in North America from urban to rural environments who wish to cultivate mindfully and compassionately.
Jimmy Videle - Sentientism Ep:192
Jimmy Videle (https://sentientism.info/sentientist-...) is a farmer, naturalist, and researcher. He is the author of The Veganic Grower’s Handbook: Cultivating Fruits, Vegetables, and Herbs from Urban Backyard to Rural Farmyard and the co-founder of NAVCS-Certified Veganic. His writing has appeared in many publications including CounterPunch, Countercurrents, and LA Progressive. In Sentientist Conversations we talk about the two most important questions: “what’s real?” & “what matters?” Sentientism is "evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings." The audio is on our Podcast: https://apple.co/391khQO & https://anchor.fm/sentientism.
Bring joy to yourself and your neighbors, as you break from the norm and support the birds, butterflies, and bees with this “gardening-made-easy” episode.
Learn how anybody, with whatever space you already have, can make huge strides in supporting your local wildlife and ecosystem, all while growing your own delicious, nutritious, and affordable food supply.
Farmer, researcher, and naturalist Jimmy Videle join Plant-Powered People Podcast hosts Michelle Cehn (founder of World of Vegan) and Toni Okamoto (founder of Plant Based on a Budget) to show just how doable it is to start small with a veganic garden, from building happy soil to saving money on seeds. It’s all here to get you growing today.
“This is such a high energy and hopeful conversation on a shift to sustainable plant-based agriculture. For a few years I’ve been aware of the huge benefits, to animals, to human health and of course to the environment of veganic farming and yet, I was not sure of how it might actually work. How realistic is it to remove both all chemical inputs AND all animal inputs and exploitation? How productive? How scalable? How financially feasible? Veganic farmer, activist, consultant, and researcher Jimmy Videle a paints beautiful, incredibly appealing picture of how it might work: with small scale veganic farms.” —Kate Galli
There is no place more relaxing than a beautiful garden, and nothing better to eat than homegrown fruits and vegetables, but what is a vegan to do when all of the potting soils and fertilizers are riddled with animal products? Jimmy Videle has the answers, and he joins us today to discuss his new book, The Veganic Grower’s Handbook: Cultivating Fruits, Vegetables, and Herbs from Urban Backyard to Rural Farmyard, as well as the new North American Veganic Certification Standard.
This episode covers:
What the best type of agriculture is to feed the world without destroying the planet
The differences between regenerative ranching vs regenerative plant agriculture
What they improve on the environmental metrics and if it is scalable
Regulation and accountability (or lack of) within the regenerative label
Soil issues, what causes it and how do we fix it?
Is buying local food a way to reduce your environmental footprint?
Is there enough land in the US, or globally, to support meat demands if we switched to grass fed/finished beef?
If it’s unrealistic to expect people to reduce their meat and dairy intake
Where most methane comes from and If there is such a thing as carbon negative beef
Allan Savory and his claim that holistic grazing can reverse climate change
This is Jimmy Videle’s first interview about the Veganic Grower’s Handbook, with Caryn Heartglass.
November 10-12, 2023
The first annual Veganic Summit was held online November 10-12, 2023. The summit included talks, hands-on advice, and a deep dive into the world of veganic farming and gardening. Experts from around the world (including Jimmy Videle) gave interviews, conferences and Q&A’s on everything you could possibly want to know about veganic gardening/homesteading and farming.
Brought by the amazing work of the Veganic Agriculture Network.
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It is my great privilege to launch an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign (Help protect 3,500 acres for biodiversity please share widely) to protect this 3,500-acre (1,400-hectare) biodiversity reserve in Boileau, Québec. 60 countries from around the world have made a promise to attempt to preserve 30% of all lands and waters by 2030. It will not happen without us.
The 3,500-acre Upper Boileau Biodiversity Reserve (UBBR) (45.944944, -74.813827) is one of the most biodiverse regions of the Laurentian mountain chain. It includes a deciduous/coniferous forest mix, forest edge, grand lakes, riparian and riverine ecosystems. Over 550 species of flora and fauna have been identified within the reserve, of which 20 are species-at-risk or in steep decline.
Due to the low human exploitation (farming, logging and mining), for the last 75 years and human density (just 13 permanent home sites) this area is prime for conservation.
Working with the governments of Canada, Québec, Papineau (county) and Boileau (municipality) it is our hope to protect all public lands forever from all forms of human encroachment. We will be working with private landowners to create eternal conservation easements to create the wildlife corridor that all species require to thrive.
What We Need
We are seeking crowd funding of $15,000 for 2024. This money will specifically go to:
Risks & Challenges
Protecting this 3,500 acre reserve will not be easy. Over 1,200 acres is public land, owned by the Québec government. We must convince them that the area is more important for conservation than for hunting, logging and mining. This is why we must continue the intensive research into the natural world to solidify its' worth in the minds of bureaucrats.
The remaining 2,300 acres is in private hands. We must go door-to-door explaining to each individual landholder why creating conservation easements is beneficial. Some land holders agree outright, some require further convincing.
This is not the first time I have led a conservation campaign. In my former home of Arizona I co-created the Blue River (2001) and Little Colorado River Watershed (2004) Important Bird Areas. Like the Upper Boileau Biodiversity Reserve those lands were jointly held public and private.
In 2023, I volunteered over 700 hours of my time for: the initial administration conceptualization of the reserve; a 357-day, 450-hour research sturdy to the distribution and status of the avian community, obtaining approval to go forward from the Boileau town government and face-to-face meetings with half of the private residents within the reserve.
There are many obstacles that face us, but with your support the diligent research can be undertaken to prove this area's worthiness for all beings that call these sacred lands their home. I am committed to see it happen and will work tirelessly to make it so.
Other Ways You Can Help
We understand the financial difficulties that some of you may be encountering. Maybe at this moment it is simply not possible to donate. We are seeing this in our attempt to seek conservation funding. Many of the organizations and foundations that once gave, have now ceased their grant programs. This is why we have reached out to you in this crowd funding campaign.
But if you can't donate, there are other ways you can help make this campaign successful.
You can share this Indiegogo campaign widely with your friends and social media contacts. The more people that know about our work, the more potential donations may come in.
In closing, thank you for your support and helping us realize our vision of protecting the Upper Boileau Biodiversity Reserve forever.