Over the past few years I have been deepening my understanding of how to grow food. I have come to the understanding that if you are not growing food regeneratively then you are not really farming — or gardening. You are simply harvesting or extracting nutrients that had previously been developed in the soil by a complex, interactive system. When fossil fuels are used as fertilizer, you are not even extracting nutrients. You are simply growing plants that look like food but have very little nutritional value.
Nate Hagens speaks with Anné Biklé and David Montgomery about the relationship between the soil and our health. Anné is a biologist who looks at nature through a lens of agriculture, soil, and food. David, her husband, is a renowned geologist who studies the effects of geological processes on ecological systems and human societies. In the last few years they have began writing and speaking at the intersection of their areas of expertise. Their books include The Hidden Half of Nature: The Microbial Roots of Life and Health and their most recent joint effort, What Your Food Ate: How to Restore Our Land and Reclaim Our Health.
I listen to a lot of podcasts and this one was so good I had to listen to it twice. Through Anné’s explanation of exudates I finally understand (in my own simple way) how plants communicate with one another. It’s amazing.
She also explains the shortcomings of agro-industrial farming and how adding fertilizers is a far cry from growing crops in rich, regenerative soil. She said that the American agricultural industry does not produce enough nutrients to satisfy the needs of all Americans. They produce more than enough calories, but the “food” they produce is woefully short on nutrients.
You can watch the episode on YouTube and download a transcript from The Great Simplification.
You can listen to all of Nate Hagen’s podcasts (as I do) via audio. Just look for The Great Simplification in your favorite podcast app and subscribe.
