"When In Doubt, Plant A Nut Tree" - Reforesting America With Chestnut, Other Keystone Food Species [View all]

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For Judd, the chestnut is a solution to environmental and economic problems facing the area. The chestnut is a perennial crop, meaning it doesn’t have to be replanted every year, so it’s a better moneymaker than the annual monocultural agricultural system that dominates so much of the American landscape. It grows easily in a variety of environments, from Maine to Florida. As a source of protein and carbohydrates, the chestnut – nicknamed “the bread tree” – can provide food security for communities. And they can be a boon for farmers: once chestnut trees mature, they can produce 50 to 100lb of nuts per tree annually, retailing from $3 to $16 per pound. Planting one, Judd said, means “you’ve got a real valuable, storable, nutrient-rich food you can rely on annually”.

Judd, who organizes his efforts through the non-profit SilvoCulture, which he helps to run, is not alone in his enthusiasm for chestnuts. His project is part of a surge of interest among food activists, academics and farmers in using nut trees to replace large-scale forms of agriculture and food sources, which dominate billions of acres of land globally and produce 11% of US greenhouse gas emissions. Nut trees, on the other hand, are easy to maintain once established and boast all the same benefits as other trees: they sequester carbon, stabilize and retain topsoil, buffer against flooding and other extreme weather events, and provide a habitat for wildlife.

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In Wisconsin, hazelnuts are taking off thanks to the Upper Midwest Hazelnut Development Initiative, a non-profit that encourages growers to plant, harvest and sell hazelnuts. Further south, the University of Missouri Extension School is researching best practices for planting and selling black walnuts. And the Savanna Institute urges landowners to consider a variety of perennial nuts – especially the chestnut. The institute recently released a report saying that the “broad adoption of chestnuts could also help ‘flip the script’ on agriculture’s role in climate change”.

When many east coasters hear chestnuts, they might think about the American chestnut, a storied tree that dominated American forests and cityscapes until it was killed off by blight in the 20th century. Four billion trees died in what is often considered one of the worst ecological disasters in modern times. Now, some universities and foundations are attempting to reintroduce a blight-tolerant version of this tree to the American landscape. But Judd’s project doesn’t share that goal. The American chestnut produces small nuts, he said. His goal is to introduce a hardier, more productive hybrid variety, in the service of feeding people – chestnuts can be eaten whole or made into flours and purees for cooking – and encouraging environmentally stable land usage.

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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/dec/24/push-to-seed-america-with-chestnuts