Food Pharmacy: connecting the dots between soil health, nutrient density, and human health (Zuzanna Zielińska)

I met with Zuzanna Zielińska in Rotterdam 🇳🇱to discuss her amazing Food Pharmacy project: HarvestCare. Connecting the dots between soil health, nutrient density, and human health could be a total game changer in my opinion and I am a big supporter of Zuzanna’s vision 😍

This is the first QuickSeed, a shorter and more casual episode format than the usual long format conversations. 

Zuzanna's Inspiring Journey:

Her journey began at a care farm in Denmark, where she worked with individuals with mental disabilities, helping them reconnect with society by growing their own food. This experience ignited her passion for soil health and sustainable agriculture. 

She later collaborated with a start-up focused on upcycling coffee waste into food products, aiming to improve the livelihoods of farmers, especially in the Global South. These experiences opened her eyes to the importance of soil health, leading her to join Fresh Ventures Studio, a venture building program dedicated to accelerating the transition to regenerative agriculture.

The Importance of Soil Health and Nutrient Density:

Zuzanna's mission is to address critical questions: How can we make nutrient-dense foods accessible to those who cannot afford them? The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) currently favors large-scale farmers, overlooking small farmers dedicated to growing healthy vegetables locally and in healthy soil.

Research from the Bionutrient Food Association and institutions like Leiden University's Soil2Gut program, a partner of Harvest Care, demonstrates that soil health and farming practices significantly impact the nutrient density of foods. For example, carrots grown regeneratively can contain several times more vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals than those from intensive farming systems. The book "What Your Food Ate" by Montgomery & Bikle is a comprehensive reference that compiles scientific evidence showing the correlation between farming practices, soil health, and nutrient density.

Health and Socio-Economic Impacts:

Harvest Care aims to explore the health benefits of nutrient-dense foods. By selecting 10 farmers who follow agroecological principles and providing fresh food boxes to participants from socio-economically challenged backgrounds for three months, the project will study the health outcomes in collaboration with Erasmus MC. The goal is to prove that healthy farming practices produce healthier foods, making them more accessible to all, and ultimately reducing healthcare costs.

RHEA: Regenerative Health European Association:

Zuzanna was one of the five female professionals in nutrition and regenerative agriculture who co-created RHEA (Regenerative Healthcare European Association), educating and raising awareness about the connection between soil health and human health. Their mission is to foster the regenerative healthcare transition in the EU.

Join us in this episode as we explore the incredible work being done to bridge the gap between soil health, food quality, and human health, and learn how initiatives like Harvest Care and RHEA are paving the way for a healthier, more sustainable future.

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This podcast was produced in partnership with Soil Capital, a company that supports #regenerativeagriculture by financially rewarding farmers who improve soil health.

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