Regenerative agriculture may not be on your radar, but it should be — it affects more than you know. Let’s take a look. What would you guess the following have in common?
Climate change
Reduced nutritional quality of our food
Toxic chemical exposure
Water pollution
Increase in chronic diseases
Loss of biodiversity
The fall of the Roman Empire
The answer is simple but probably surprising: dirt. And to get more specific, the soil our food is grown in. It turns out that modern farming and ranching technologies introduced over the past 70 years have diminished the quality of our precious topsoil, and this affects all of the above.
The Green Revolution and Soil Exhaustion
What is regenerative agriculture? It's the answer to the problems caused by decades of poor farming practices.
Chances are you’ve heard of the human microbiome (read, How to Improve Your Gut Health in 4 Steps & the Emerging Science, written by Dr. Austin Perlmutter, Senior Director of Science and Clinical Innovation, Dr. Bland's colleague at Big Bold Health), it’s been a popular health topic for several years. As researchers have uncovered more and more information about the beneficial impact a diverse and thriving intestinal microbial community has, interest in achieving optimal gut health has soared.
Would it surprise you to learn that soil also has a microbiome? It’s a fact. We’re talking about an ecosystem that teems with bacteria and microorganisms that affect plant health and nutrient quality. When soil is overused and not renourished, that microbiome can become less stable over time. This leads to a phenomenon known as soil exhaustion. In essence, the soil can no longer perform vital functions that nourish and nurture a crop to its full potential.
Regenerative agriculture encompasses farming, grazing, and ranching practices that focus on soil preservation and the reconstitution of soil health.
This concept of soil exhaustion tracks back to the 1960s and to the so-called Green Revolution. This was a time when industrial agriculture practices included the use of genetic hybrid seeds, deep tilling, intensive chemical fertilization, herbicides, pesticides, and other chemicals to increase crop yield. Some experts predicted that the Green Revolution would have long-term adverse effects on environmental stability. And… that’s exactly what has happened. (You can read more about this in Charles Mann’s excellent 2018 book, The Wizard and the Prophet.)
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The Price of Poor Agricultural Practices
Just a few decades before the Green Revolution, the United States endured a catastrophic agricultural event. This should have established a profound respect for soil health. The years 1930-1936 are now referred to as the Dust Bowl, and the lives of millions of people were affected. Across numerous midwestern prairie states, a devastating drought was exacerbated by irresponsible farming practices.
The entire region was plagued by severe dust storms that not only contributed to crop failure, but also to health issues among the people who lived in that region. With no way to make a viable living from the land, a mass exodus to California and other states ensued. It took several years and government conservation initiatives to restore the ecological balance of the areas affected by the Dust Bowl.
Healthy soil — rich from the complexity of organisms that nourish it — improves the nutrients in our foods that support our immune systems, such as flavonoids and other polyphenols.
Today, many people believe we are repeating the mistakes of the past through our use of exhaustive agricultural practices. To remedy this and prevent further disasters, we urgently need to not only preserve existing topsoil, but increase soil health. This new model is called regenerative agriculture. It’s a movement that is growing and becoming more established, even among agricultural producers. To read more, I recommend Growing a Revolution, a book by the acclaimed environmental scientist, David B. Montgomery, PhD.
Regenerative farming is vital to ensure food security
What is Regenerative Agriculture?
When soil is healthy, as it is with regenerative agriculture practices, our food is more nutritious.
Regenerative agriculture encompasses farming, grazing, and ranching practices that focus on soil preservation and the reconstitution of soil health. Research indicates these techniques also help combat climate change by reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide.
Here are some of the factors that set regenerative agriculture apart from the organic food certification process:
Avoidance of deep tilling
Use of cover crops to prevent the erosion of bare soil and to naturally increase nitrogen (an important soil nutrient)
Crop rotation
Incorporation of grazing animals
Increasing carbon capture in the soil and enriching soil organisms associated with healthy soil
Why is regenerative agriculture more than just a trend? The benefits may start with the soil, but there is a network effect that must be considered. Healthy soil — rich from the complexity of organisms that nourish it — improves the nutrients in our foods that support our immune systems, such as flavonoids and other polyphenols. (Read, I’m a Doctor, You Can’t Boost an Immune System—Try These 5 Balancing Tips Instead, by Dr. Bland's fellow Big Bold Health colleague, Dr. Austin Perlmutter.)
In a field trial with Himalayan Tartary Buckwheat grown in soil that included natural mycorrhizal and other bacterial inoculants, analyses showed a trend toward increased rutin concentration (or plant pigment) in bran produced from the plants. Studies like this demonstrate how the microbiome of the soil influences the health of a plant grown in it. Just as our human intestinal microbiome supports the health of the individual.
Regenerative Agriculture Certification vs Certified Organic
You’re familiar with organic certification — an entire generation has come of age with this standard. (Historic Stag's Leap Cellar Wines just went certified organic and the biodynamic winemaking is making its mark.) Is a new certification — regenerative agriculture — really necessary?
The Organic Food Production Act (1989-1990) was passed by Congress to establish standards for producing foods that could carry organic certification. This criteria includes the following: (1) the land could not be treated with agricultural chemicals for at least three years, and (2) the crops grown on this land could not be genetically modified. You’ll note that these standards do not adequately define farming methods to improve soil health, which we now know is crucial for long-term safe and sustainable food production, the stability of the farming system, and — significantly — the health of our planet now and in the future.
Within the 5 million acres of Certified Organic land, ROC™ (Regenerative Organic Certified) has certified a very small percentage.
Recently, several organizations have been established to provide certification standards for regenerative agriculture. One of the earliest to emerge is Regenerative Organic Certified™ (ROC™). This standard incorporates both organic and regenerative criteria, a fact that has led to some debate among leaders in the field. As with any movement in its formative years, we may see evolution over time.
Presently, within the United States, there are 35 million acres of wheat, 87 million acres of soy, and 100 million acres of corn in production. That’s 222 million acres. Very little of it is organically certified, and virtually none of it is regenerative certified. Only 5 million acres (or 0.5%) of the 893 million acres of total farmland in the U.S. is “Organic Certified.” Within that 5 million acres of organic land, ROC™ has certified a very small percentage. We have a long way to go, and consumer involvement is critically important. More detailed information on the specifics of regenerative agriculture can be found at the Center for Regenerative Agriculture website.
The Price We Pay for Poor Soil
Yes, Green Revolution technologies created tremendous increases in crop yield, but at what price? The loss of soil health has translated into — and caused — many of the problems we are experiencing as a global society. These include climate change (due to increased carbon dioxide output and decreased carbon capture by soil), loss of topsoil, water and air pollution, a drastic decrease in the biodiversity of our farmland. Not to mention human health issues due to a decrease in the nutritional value of our foods and an increase in exposure to toxic agricultural chemicals. It is truly time to start moving toward a regenerative agriculture future.
The Fall of the Roman Empire
Back to the fall of the Roman Empire. This is a factoid borrowed from Dr. Montgomery and his research. The Roman Empire was a culture of epic scope that spanned nearly 1000 years of existence. Did a lack of soil preservation contribute to a dramatic and crippling reduction in food production? We know the rest of that prophetic story. It’s time to act now to prevent the sequel.
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