As soil health degrades the nutritional quality of our food also degrades. We used to say “an apple a day keeps the doctor away” but now to get the same nutrition from one apple we would need to an entire bag of apples. Food is becoming increasingly more expensive to buy, yet the quality continues to fall. If the nutrition is not available in the soil it cannot be incorporated into our food. Our health is suffering as our food supply suffers.
APPLE 1914 | APPLE 1992* |
Calcium | down 48.15% |
Phosphorus | down 84.51% |
Iron | down 96.09% |
Potassium | down 1.71% |
Magnesium | down 82.70% |
| *USDA 1997 |
How much worse is the nutrient deficiencies now, decades later? And these are just the basics. We need 200 elements, not just the 72 major, minor, trace, and ultra-trace elements listed as important for food production. Lack of these elements in our food leads to imbalances, which leads to disease.
Too much Nitrogen decreases Vitamin C and Iron
Too much Potassium leads to decreases in Mg, Zn, Ca, Se
Mineral deficiencies & imbalances
Lead to decreased immune system function
Increase molds, fungus, insects etc. in crops
Resulting in increased use of fungicides which kills soil microbes
Decreased soil microbes lead to
Soil degradation & erosion
Nutrient efficiencies in plants
which lead to deficiencies in animals & people
This is a cascade of bad conditions that further deteriorate people’s health & the environment. This is insanity.
But what if….
There is a technology that solves these problems.
In Natural Farming, the soil is imbedded with vibrant, balanced soil biology. The microbes and soil life interact with plants in an intricate dance of life, just like in Nature.
Plants capture the energy of the sun, and the soil microbes make any necessary minerals and nutrients available to the plants. The plants are then able to selectively uptake exactly what they need, at the amount needed, and at the right time.
A healthy Natural system has
1. Organic matter cycling through the system making nutrients constantly renewed & available
2. Active soil biology ensuring all nutrients are bio-available on demand to the plants
Minerals remain in balance and available and therefore nutrient deficiencies do not develop. Crops that are healthy experience less pests and disease, and are able to begin to reach their genetic potential for yield and health. This is when food becomes medicine.
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