Healthy Food Comes From Healthy Soil
Our health and that of our children is directly related to the quality of the food we eat. The quality of the food, in turn, is dependent on the health of the soil in which it is grown.
Ms. Shetreat-Klein told the NYT’s: “The organisms in soil have an impact on the health of our food. Part of what makes fruits and vegetables good for us is the phytonutrients in them, the things that make cranberries red or coffee bitter.
Phytonutrients are part of the plant’s immune systems. Organisms in the soil that we might think of as pests actually stimulate plants to make more phytonutrients.”
Many American diets are based on foods grown in mineral-depleted, unhealthy soils. This is certainly the case with genetically engineered (GE) processed foods and meat and dairy products from concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs).
One of the more insidious aspects of the industrial food system is that, as soil becomes sicker and less able to perform its functions, farmers become increasingly dependent on the chemical technology industry they become trapped.
The use of glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto (NYSE:MON) Roundup herbicide, begins a downward spiral, making it necessary for farmers to use more and more herbicides, pesticides, and synthetic fertilizers that kill soil microbes — especially if they are using GE seeds.
Weeds and pests become resistant to glyphosate, so farmers must use more weed and insect killers. Crops become nutrient-deprived, so they’re forced to increase their use of synthetic fertilizers.
Weeds and bugs become superweeds and superbugs, and all the while the food becomes less and less nutritious. It’s a vicious cycle.
In her quest for healthier food, Ms. Shetreat-Klein began growing her own, frequenting farmer’s markets and even raising her own chickens, an impressive feat considering she lives in the Bronx, New York, but one she said wasn’t as difficult as she’d thought it would be.
The food many US children eat is seriously lacking in nutrition and is ultra pasteurized, which means any beneficial microbes are killed off in processing.
This is a shame, as it’s known that children who consume natural foods in their natural state — like raw milk — have a lower risk of respiratory infections, asthma and allergies. These beneficial microbes aren’t only stripped from their food but also from their very environments.
Where children once spent long hours outdoors, they now spend long hours inside sitting in front of screens (often on floors scrubbed clean with anti-bacterial detergents).
The rising rates of asthma, allergies and other autoimmune conditions among children may be the culmination of a dirt-free childhood. The fact is, we’re all microbial beings and our children need exposure to microorganisms for reasons we are just beginning to understand.
As Shetreat-Klein explained, it’s not only a matter of exposure to microbes but exposure to a diverse variety of microbes that may be most important of all.
She told the NY-T’s: “We used to think that children who grew up on farms were healthier than children in urban environments because they were exposed to more microbes. But studies have found that the number of bacteria in urban environments and on farms is similar.
The difference is the diversity of the bacteria. Microbial diversity seems to have a very powerful impact. Children’s immune systems are very social: They like to meet and greet a lot of things.
It seems the more they meet and greet, the more likely they are to be in balance, and the less likely they are to let any one microorganism grow out of control, as occurs with infection.”
Indeed, European researchers have discovered that children raised on organic farms have far lower incidence of allergy and asthma compared to those raised on conventional, industrialized farms or in the suburbs. This know as “The Farm Effect.”
According to Dr. Daphne Miller, author of “Farmacology: What Innovative Family Farming Can Teach Us About Health and Healing,” “In one study, researchers cultured farm children’s mattresses and found a potpourri of bacteria — most of which are typically found in soil.”
We need not live on a farm to reap the benefits of healthy soil.
Parks, nature preserves and backyards can all provide children and adults with much-needed access to green space and soil microbes.
According to Ms. Shetreat-Klein:
“In one teaspoon of soil there are more organisms than there are humans on our planet. Soil houses about 25 percent of the world’s biodiversity.
What we also know from studies is that when children spend time in green environments — in natural playgrounds, for example, or in parks and forests — they perform better on standardized tests, they’re more creative, they’re happier and their cortisol levels are lower, so they’re calmer and less stressed.
And I think that might be somewhat related to the kind of organisms they’re exposed to when they are playing outdoors.”
For instance, Mycobacterium vaccaeis a type of bacteria commonly found in soil. Remarkably, this microbe has been found to “mirror the effect on neurons that drugs like Prozac provide.” It helps to stimulate serotonin production, helping to make you feel happier and more relaxed.
In one animal study, mice that ingested Mycobacterium vaccae had a demonstrated reduction in anxiety and improved learning.
The researchers noted that natural exposure to microbes by spending time outdoors may be important for emotional health and behavior.
Further, in a study of 2,600 children between the ages of 7 and 10, those with greater exposure to green spaces, particularly while at school, had improved working memory and decreased inattentiveness.
In that case, a large part of the benefit, anywhere from 20 to 65% was attributed to a reduction in exposure to air pollution as a result of the Green spaces, but there’s also past research that suggests “microbial input” from spending time in nature plays a role in brain development.
Agriculture, the way it is typically done today greatly accelerates the soil aging process.
Soils that would have remained viable for millions of years in nature are rendered dead and lifeless by monoculture in a few short years.
These soils will take hundreds to thousands of years to recover fully in nature, and not until all agricultural assaults are ceased.
Chemical farming results in waterlogged soil that’s easily compacted by heavy machinery, rendered impermeable and susceptible to erosion.
33% of the world’s arable land has already been lost to soil erosion.
Regeneration is possible, but as it stands most US “farms” are only contributing to soil degeneration; they’re not interested in changing their methods to support regeneration.
I am particularly dedicated to soil regeneration and am a member of The Genesis Industries Team working diligently to that end.
Our company has taken an ancient method known as making “terra preta” “Black Earth” and making it available to the commercial and residential gardener.
We label this method “a new tool in the shed”.
There are almost as many ways to achieve goals of sustainability, as there are farms and ranches in America, although most involve intensive labor or mechanical methods to achieve sustainable agriculture.
Our new tools in the shed are the soil amendments of biochar and wood vinegar, which are aimed toward making it easier and less expensive to grow higher yield crops faster and easier with less inputs from chemical fertilizers and pesticide. (http://egenindustries.com/a-sustainable-future-with-genesis-biochar/)
A new bill announced in Vermont, Senate Bill 159, is very important.
The bill will introduce a state-level certification program that would allow farmers to have their land and farming methods certified as regenerative.
Something referred to as “carbon farming,” regenerative farming methods include planned rotational grazing, which eliminates the need for chemical fertilizers and tilling and instead supports carbon sequestration in the soil.
Carbon sequestration refers to taking the carbon from the atmosphere and putting it back into the soil, in a stable form of organic matter.
Many scientists say that regenerative agricultural practices can turn back the carbon clock, reducing atmospheric CO2 while also boosting soil productivity and increasing its resilience to floods, pests, and drought.
Organic farming is good.
A recent study even found organic farming systems are more profitable and environmentally friendly while delivering equally or more nutritious foods that contain less (or no) pesticide residues compared to conventional farming.
The regenerative certification, however, goes beyond organic certification, as it informs consumers not only what’s not in the food, pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, etc, but also how the food is raised and how its production actually helps improve the land.
If SB 159 is passed, it will result in a visible seal added to foods. In order to be certified regenerative, the farm must meet one of the following criteria over a 3-year period and in each successive year:
- Increase in topsoil
- Carbon sequestration
- Increase in soil organic matter
Jesse McDougall, a regenerative farmer in Shaftsbury, Vermont who first wrote the bill, told EcoWatch: “Regenerative farming can rebuild the soil, sequester carbon, produce nutrient-dense food and eliminate the need for toxic chemicals … If we want the next generation of farmers to do this work, it is our responsibility to provide them with the tools that make it possible. We wrote this bill to begin building those tools.”
At present, about 10% of US farmers have started incorporating practices to address soil health. Only about 2% have transitioned to full-on regenerative land management.
On an individual level, each of us can get involved by growing some of our own food using some of these regenerative principles on a small scale.
Gardening can help boost your mental well-being and may help promote a healthier microbiome to boot, and to get dirty.
Once started, I believe you will find the Joy of interacting with nature, watching your garden grow and flourish, knowing that you are going to get nutrient-dense foods that are not only nourishing you and your family but also helpful for the environment.
Ms. Shetreat-Klein also shared the following tips to begin your own “dirt cure:”
“Take a trip to the forest with your family … Community gardens are also wonderful. So are farmers’ markets. They expose children to fresh foods, which taste completely different. And it also exposes them to potentially healthy microbes through the traces of soil that might be left over on the fruits and vegetables when you buy them at a farmers’ market.”
Eat health, Be healthy, Live lively
Paul Ebeling
HeffX-LTN
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