A Champion of Vegan Organic in Latin America
Wednesday 4th March
1pm GMT, 10am in Argentina, 8am EST
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Live Q & A
Anuar is an investigative journalist and soil microbiologist with 19 years of cannabis cultivation experience. He told us that he first became inspired to join the veganic movement when he found out about VON in 2014. Since then he has been on a mission to pioneer veganic farming in Argentina, focusing on cannabis to leverage its unique legal status and high nutritional value. His achievements in promoting vegan organic methods both in Argentina and other parts of Latin America have been staggering. Anuar has:
- Taught veganic farming at more than 10 universities and in more than 70 cities. (He uses data-driven arguments (e.g., 30–40% cost reduction, 4.1% yield increase) to convince farmers, as he believes that emotional appeals are ineffective.)
- Trained more than 200 home growers and agronomists.
- Due to continuous encouragement from CVC three fertilizer brands opted for “Vegan Friendly” or “Suitable for vegan crops” labels.
- Been invited to speak at regional expos in Chile, Uruguay, and Brazil.
- Written a book with a 300 page text on veganic farming which is nearly complete. The book contains 3 manuals: bio-inputs, plant-based recipes, and medicinal infusions.
- Conducted research into Flavonoids, plant intelligence, and allelopathy (plant to plant interactions).
However, he is not content with this and has several other projects in the pipeline. One of his goals is to establish a formal veganic certification standard in Argentina. He believes that securing institutional support from the Vegan Organic Network (VON) will add credibility when lobbying Argentine certifiers. We agreed that VON will provide institutional backing and feature CvC on our website. We also agreed that Anuar will contribute articles and a pre-recorded, subtitled video interview for VON’s audience.
Anuar founded the organisation Circular Vegan Culture (CVC) www.cultivovegano.com five years ago. It offers a range of services, all under the CVC heading:
- Cultivo Vegano Cannabis – plant breeding, veganic production of cannabis plants and sale of varieties registered in Argentina.
- Cultivo Vegano Consultora – Consultancy for businesses, research projects, associations and agricultural co-operatives looking to enter into the cannabis industry and production of healthy foods. Registration of nurseries, seeds, products and patents.
- Cultivo Vegano Cursos – Advice and courses on regenerative and veganic agriculture.
- Control Vegano de Calidad – Investigation, soil analysis, analysis of cannabinoids, terpenes and flavonoids, vegan certification.
- Comunidad Verde Creativa – Marketing for businesses wishing to innovate in the sector. Events and sustainable tourist routes. Audiovisual presentations, press and product launches.
The Argentine Context
Anuar believes that there is plenty of potential for growth in veganism in his country. We were surprised to learn that in a country famous for its beef, a Union Vegana Argentina (UVA) survey suggests 12% of the population is vegan. Unlike in the UK, Argentina also has a progressive legal framework in terms of cannabis legislation. Production for medicinal purposes was legalised in 2017 and there are now more than 300,000 registered patients. Industrial cannabis for textiles and hemp for food were approved in 2021. Anuar believes that the next obstacle to overcome is the certification gap. As yet, no official veganic certification exists for agriculture. He is, therefore, developing standards and negotiating with three major certifiers.
Anuar is also developing a seed bank to preserve indigenous varieties and supply veganically grown seeds to native communities.
Watch live and and ask questions or click here to watch later.
Contact Anuar
Email: cultivoveganocannabis@gmail.com
