Broccoli Is Dying. Corn Is Toxic. Long Live Microbiomes!

[Mike 03]

From Scientific American

“You would have to eat twice as much broccoli today to get the same nutrients as a generation ago.” That is according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, from 1975 to 2010, as reported by Planetary Health/Amberwaves. So much chewing! And in fact, the situation may be even more dire. Data going back to 1940, as reported by Eco Farming Daily, shows: “The level of every nutrient in almost every kind of food has fallen between 10 and 100 percent. An individual today would need to consume twice as much meat, three times as much fruit, and four to five times as many vegetables to obtain the same amount of minerals and trace elements available in those same foods in 1940.” Thank goodness for multivitamins, but we’ve also got to fix this.

Why are nutrients in our food declining? Well, for one, we are killing the soil it grows in. Prodigious use of biocides (herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, as well as synthetic chemical fertilizers and antibiotics) kill or disrupt soil microorganisms that allow plants to absorb nutrients. Also, increased atmospheric CO2 is accelerating photosynthesis; plants grow faster but contain fewer nutrients, which is expected to lead to worldwide nutrient deficiencies. Vegetables becoming more like sugary snacks? Not good.

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As physician and medical communicator Zach Bush, summed it up, “It is time to realize that pesticides are antibiotics themselves—antibiotics that are killing what is left of the good bacteria and biodiverse microbiomes in both our soil and in our physical bodies.”

The key to this microbiome renaissance will be nurturing rather than killing or disrupting the balance of our friendly and essential microbiota. This will require us, humanity, to make organic regenerative farming and gardening the status quo. Regenerative farming means working with, not warring against, nature—planting and saving diverse varieties of heritage seeds, protecting pollinators, growing biodiverse crops that are rotated, using natural fertilizers such as legumes and nitrogen from the atmosphere, recycling organic matter (mulches and composts), multispecies cover cropping and crop rotations to build soil, and grazing (not confining) farm animals. This can be at all scales, including climate victory gardens in yards, local parks, terraces and rooftops.

Additionally, a recent study found that "after only six days on an organic diet, every single person would see significant drops in those pesticides, including several linked to increased risk of autism, cancer, Parkinson’s, infertility, and other significant impacts on health."

More at link: https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/broccoli-is-dying-corn-is-toxic-long-live-microbiomes/

[bronxiteforever]

1. K & R. Fascinating and sad simultaneously.

[democratisphere]

2. Humans continue in self-destruct mode.

Great article with extremely important information for everyone. Who knew we were doing all that chewing for little or nothing.

Thanks for THIS Mike 03!

[karin_sj]

3. Wow...

I had no idea. I guess I'd better start taking a multivitamin.

[Eyeball_Kid]

4. That's not necessary. Just eat organically grown foods.

Yes, it's more expensive, but so is your health. Good quality food is way better than a multivitamin.

[patphil]

5. It's all about greed.

Quantity of food to sell maximizes profit. No concern for quality.
Just soak the fields in pesticides, and cheap inorganic fertilizer to increase the yield.
Profit Trumps health concerns every time in the world of corporate farming.

Patrick Phillips

[yonder]

17. Yes. Profits/greed rule the day. More, bigger and faster.

[Ferrets are Cool]

6. It's just not that easy to "eat" organically grown foods

prices have been going up on everything and many average Americans just cannot afford the price of organic.

[Auggie]

16. THIS. And it's not just organics -- a lot of crops are just expensive to grow.

Only through mass production can enough food be generated to make it just worthwhile enough for farmers. Of course, no one ever mentions wholesalers or retailers, both of whom add ridiculous mark-ups, built-in profit margins, or set retail prices absurdly low.

[Ferrets are Cool]

19. +1

[mopinko]

7. there are products out there now to feed your soil biome.

there has been a shift from saying permaculture to regenerative agriculture. similar, but goes a little farther.

no green new deal is complete if it doesnt address ag.

[Ellipsis]

14. You betcha... we are fortunate in the area we live

Very cool folks all around here's just one.

https://www.midwesternbioag.com/our-approach/practices/

[crazytown]

8. "plants grow faster but contain fewer nutrients"

What 'nutrients' are we talking about here?

[paleotn]

11. Good question.

The level of every nutrient in almost every kind of food has fallen between 10 and 100 percent..

100%?! 90%?! 50?! What nutrients are we talking about? My first thought is...source, please. Secondly, has said research been peer reviewed and replicated? If not, then we have the left wing version of spouting bullshit. Synonymous with anti-vaccers and a whole host of other crockery. Truth is a slippery thing, and sometimes the left has as tenuous a grip on it as the right.

But, to some of the authors points, desolate sol is a dangerous, limiting factor in feeding a growing global population. The fact that for all practical purposes we eat oil, as commercial ag, be it conventional or organic, is addicted to petroleum and cannot function without it. Soil health reduces the need for petroleum based inputs in commercial ag. The destruction of the natural environment with increased cultivation to feed so many people. These are real issues. Don't cloud them with foolish beliefs uncoupled from reality.

I will say that homegrown maters taste far better than commercial, but that's more cultivar than source. Cherokee purple would never survive the trip to your local grocery and if they did, you better buy them quick before they spoil.

[crazytown]

18. "spouting bullshit"

!

[Paka]

9. K&R

Grateful I grew up 80 years ago. More nutrients and more flavor.

[keithbvadu2]

10. As we see more articles about fake organic labeling.

As we see more articles about fake organic labeling.

It is more profitable to make industrial food suddenly become 'organic' by printing the right label.

[keithbvadu2]

20. Fake organic food scammers.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100212407304

Fake organic food scammers.

[paleotn]

12. OK...

From the author's first cited source....

Other than a chart of FDA recommended daily intake of certain vitamins and minerals, the actual analysis is done by....

The latest analysis of the official U.S. Food Composition tables conducted by Planetary Health, Inc., the parent organization of
Amberwaves...based on some FDA nutritional database that's not referenced directly. OK. How was the research done and who did it? Are their findings replicated by other researchers? Is Planetary Health, Inc. or Amberwaves reputable? Never heard of them so I don't know. What do they do? Have they published any of this in peer reviewed publications? In an environment of publish or perish, I expect academics to be all over this, but I'm just not seeing it.

Not that the author doesn't make some valid points. They most certainly do, but don't take those points and go off the deep end.

[Ligyron]

13. That's why I eat as much junk food as I do.

I figure what's the use and I can rarely afford organic (whatever that actually is) anyway. Besides, I'm 66 and happy to go anytime to make more room. I do hit Whole Foods once in awhile for their frozen clams, decent olive oil selection and the best Brie I've had since France. Oh, their Chocolate cupcakes too: "Moon over Miami" I think is the one that's such a killer (pun intended).

Am I wrong in assuming that Ag breeding for attractiveness, durability for shipping, etc. has as much to do with nutrient decline as pesticide/fungicide soil amendments?

[BarbD]

15. 20 years ago a Vermont organic farmer told me

The biggest threat to sustainable farming was Monsanto. By promoting their GMOs and forcing the use of Round-up, they were destroying the land.