What your Food Ate - Or why you should never eat industrially farmed food ever again- With Anne Bicklé and David Montgomery
Oct 4, 2023
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Anne Biklé, a biologist and expert on soil microbial life, and David Montgomery, a geomorphology professor and musician, share insights on the deep connection between soil health and human well-being. They explore the vital links between gut microbiomes and soil ecosystems, emphasizing the impacts of farming practices on nutrition. Hear about the significance of regenerative agriculture, the importance of cow diets on food quality, and the transformative potential of urban farming. Their passion for improving food systems shines through in this enlightening conversation.
Healthy soil microbiomes are vital for both plant growth and human health, highlighting the interconnectedness of our food systems.
Historic agricultural practices that respected soil health provide a blueprint for current regenerative methods to combat sustainability challenges.
Regenerative farming not only improves food quality but also supports healthier human gut microbiomes, affecting overall well-being significantly.
Deep dives
The Importance of Soil Health
Healthy soil is crucial for human well-being, influencing food production and ecosystem stability. Anne Biclay emphasizes the role of microbial life in soil, which supports plant growth and overall soil health through complex symbiotic relationships. Soil supports life by retaining nutrients and water, while diverse microorganisms contribute to nutrient cycling. Understanding soil health is essential, as degraded soil can lead to poor agricultural yields and affect food quality.
Human-Soil Relationship and Agriculture
The conversation explores humanity's evolving relationship with soil and how agricultural practices impact it over millennia. David Montgomery discusses how certain civilizations faced collapse due to soil mismanagement, linking historical farming practices to contemporary sustainability challenges. Regenerative agriculture is highlighted as a way to restore soil vitality and improve crop production over time. Historic practices that honored and nurtured soil health remain relevant today in guiding sustainable farming methods.
Nutritional Differences in Farming Practices
Nutritional differences in food produced through industrial versus regenerative farming are significant. Industrial farming often results in poorer food quality due to lack of nutrient diversity and reliance on synthetic inputs. In contrast, foods grown using regenerative practices are shown to have better nutrient profiles, including beneficial fatty acid ratios. The quality of animal products, such as milk from grass-fed cows, demonstrates how diet can influence nutrient content and, ultimately, human health.
Microbiomes: Soil and Human Health
Microbiomes in both soil and the human gut are explored, emphasizing their essential roles in maintaining health. Healthy soil microbiomes enhance plant growth and nutrient absorption, while a balanced human gut microbiome supports digestive health and overall well-being. Feeding gut microbes with diverse plant-based foods is critical for human health, highlighting the interconnectedness of agricultural practices and nutrition. Disruptions in these ecosystems can lead to metabolic diseases and health issues prevalent in modern diets.
The Path Forward: Policy and Community Action
The need for transformative agricultural policies to support regenerative practices is emphasized as a critical step toward sustainability. David Montgomery discusses the role of economic incentives and state-level policies promoting soil health, suggesting that both large and small farms can thrive using regenerative methods. Community-supported agriculture (CSA) can empower consumers to source healthier foods locally, contributing to a more sustainable system. Collective action and conscious food choices are presented as fundamental to driving change in food production and consumption.
How does soil health intimately and profoundly impact human health? What's the link between the soil microbiome and the human gut microbiome? How can we begin to restore our health, and the health of the living earth in concert with each other?
These are the questions posed by the outstanding book 'What your Food Ate: How to heal our land and reclaim our health' and the co-authors, Anne Biklé and David Montgomery are this week's guests as we delve deeply into the nature of soil, the functions of fungi, the populations of bacteria we depend on that inhabit our guts, and how we might affect total systemic change in the food and farming system. So a little light listening for your day.
In detail, Anne Biklé is a biologist, avid gardener. She is among the planet’s leading experts on the microbial life of soil and its crucial importance to human wellbeing and survival. She is married to David Montgomery, who is a professor of Geomorphology at the University of Washington. David has studied everything from the ways that landslides and glaciers influence the height of mountain ranges, to the way that soils have shaped human civilizations both now and in the past.
I read What your Food Ate earlier this year and if you've listened to the podcast for any length of time, you'll have heard me mention it more than once. It's the most readable exploration I've come across of how our food is grown, and how it could - and should be grown - it's really easy to read, but it's full of the kind of mind-blowing data that we need if we're going to change our habits. You'll hear more in the podcast, but truly, the detail they gathered on the difference in content between food grown in the modern agri-business farm and that grown on a regenerative farm with no chemical inputs and no or minimal ploughing, one that strives to build the soil health and so build the health of everything else... it's both terrifying and inspiring. If you want something to persuade you that you need to change the places you buy your food, this is it. So, here we go. People of the Podcast, please welcome Anne Biklé and David Montgomery.
