Healthy soil, healthy world
Alyssa scanlon
Problem
Soil degradation caused by industrial agricultural practices like monocropping and over-tillage has reduced the concentration of diverse microbes found in soil. Lack of plant diversity and declined health of soil directly impacts human health as availability of both nutrition and gut microbiota are decreased. Negative impacts on public health increase in response to declining soil health, a symptom of climate change caused by human activity, including industrial agriculture.
Purpose
The health of the earth and the health of the human body are one and the same. The microbial ecosystem that lives in healthy soil is very similar to the microbial ecosystem which lives in the gastrointestinal tract of the human body. If plant biodiversity in agriculture is improved, then health of soil will improve as well (Saleem, 2019). In response, the health of the human body will improve through better nutrition and enhanced immunity. Increasing the diversity of both the soil microbiome and the gut microbiome will result in better mineral absorption, disease resistance, and improved efficiency. Enhancing soil health will improve the health of humans and the health of the planet.
“The soil is the great connector of lives, the source and destination of all. It is the healer and restorer and resurrector, by which disease passes into health, age into youth, death into life. Without proper care for it we can have no community, because without proper care for it we can have no life.”
- Wendell Berry
purpose
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HOW DID WE GET HERE?
Agriculture has been around since the dawn of permanent civilization, but with the birth of industrialization we began plowing unchartered territory.
3000 BC
Early Agriculture -
Ancient Mesopotamia
Agriculture has been a part of human civilization since ancient times of Mesopotamia. There were small changes in technology but overall was mechanized by horse, plow and human hand.
1930
The Dust Bowl in Middle America spanned the 1930's. Caused by monocropping of wheat and over tillage of fields resulted in destruction of the top soil.
1950
This graph shows the rise of Industrial Agriculture from the 1950's to the 2000's. Consolidated large farms grew exponentially while small, family farms declined readily.
2020
Mimics the cycles of the earth by promoting diversity among crops, encouraging friendly pollinators, and reduced use of pesticides, herbicides or fungicides. Regenerative agriculture creates a more resilient food system for all living beings both above and below the soil.
1900
Farming in the U.S. prior to WW2 - plow by horse, many small family farms, original "organic"
1945
Farming post-WW2 - with discovery of synthetic nitrogen in WW2 by German scientists, was used for bombs but then for agriculture when the war ended
1970
A result of the Peace and Love counterculture in the 1960's, the 1970's brought on organic movement. This was also when Rachel Carson's Silent Spring broke into the mainstream.
2020
Modern industrial agriculture promotes practices like monocropping which is growing an overabundance of specific commodity crops like corn, soy and wheat, degrading soil through lack of diversity and over-tillage. This can be harmwhen it rains because the excess rain water will flow into waterways as top soil does not the capacity to retain water as well as healthy soil.
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Improvement of soil health can help slow and reverse climate change. Increasing biodiversity above the soil with more sustainable agricultural practices like regenerative, organic and permaculture can improve the biodiversity below the soil which in turn, enhances nutritional content of plant foods and the human gut microbiome. Improved gut health in humans can improve immunity and disease resistance.
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According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, as a result of rapidly depleting top soil, there are only 60 annual harvests left globally.
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Without healthy soil, we will have no food. Biodiversity helps everyone thrive, whether it's microscopic organisms in the soil or in our bellies. Biodiversity creates strong ecosystems which are built to thrive.
I M P A C T
COMMUNITY
Urban and community garden spaces give people more opportunities to connect with their food, improve their food system and get their hands in the dirt. Smaller scale gardens and farms will likely have more variety which is good for the soil and good for human health. Community garden spaces can also act as living classrooms for children where they can learn about science, spirituality and health.
CourseS
Courses
Courses
PSC 399
FOOD POLITICS
PSC 399, Food Politics, taught me about industrial agriculture, food justice, community gardens and the role of advocacy in the food system.
HEA 242
INTRODUCTION TO PUBLIC AND COMMUNITY HEALTH
In HEA 242, Introduction to Public and Community Health, I learned the significance of prevention in overall health. It also taught me about socioeconomic factors like income, location and accessibility to basic needs, including clean air, clean water, and safe, nourishing food as determinants and correlations of disease development.
NTD 325
THE FOOD CHAIN
In NTD 325, The Food Chain, we discussed sustainable agricultural practices like permaculture, polyculture, agroecology and regenerative agriculture, which encourage soil health, enhance nutrition and fight climate change rather than induce it. Sustainable agricultural practices like regenerative and permaculture are stewards for the soil, using techniques such as cover cropping, no till, and pesticide and herbicide-free farming.
BIO 100
GENERAL BIOLOGY
Soil isn’t something that most people think about. I never thought I would think about soil as often as I do now. However, I also never realized how the health of soil is imperative soil was to our survival until I learned about photosynthesis in BIO 100, General Biology. We had been taught about photosynthesis in school growing up, but not until BIO 100 had glycolysis, or cellular respiration, become part of the conversation. In that class, I learned that the carbohydrate that is found in the fiber of the plant as a result of energy from the sun and nourishment from water, is the carbohydrate that makes up all of our plant foods. Without photosynthesis, we as a planet would have no food.
ANT/NTD 277
SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEMS
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ANT/NTD 277, Sustainable Food Systems, taught me about the triple bottom line: People, Planet, Profit; which also make up the pillars of sustainability. We discussed both industrial and sustainable agricultural practices and the differences in global, regional and local food systems. Agricultural practices such as monoculture cropping are a cause of soil degradation and the intensely concentrated meat industry is a prominent cause of climate change.
NTD 303
BASIC NUTRITION
In NTD 303, Basic Nutrition, I learned about the importance of variety in our diet to achieve a full spectrum of macro and micronutrients and how our bodies break down food and turn it into energy. In this class, I was able to relate my studies of cellular respiration and photosynthesis in BIO 100 to the human body.
NTD 305
VEGETARIAN NUTRITION
As photosynthesis gives us life, the cycle must come full circle with plant death which we understand as compost. Compost is food for our soil. In NTD 305, Vegetarian Nutrition, we participated in the composting program for the South Campus Garden. All fruit and vegetable scraps were saved, rather than wasted, and added to the compost bin in the garden.
BIO 269
HUMAN ANATOMY & PHYSIOLOGY
In BIO 269, Anatomy and Physiology 2, I learned the processes of the various body systems for energy usage, delivery, breakdown, and waste disposal. In both classes, we learned about the value of good bacteria in our bodies to break down our food, help fight disease, and help us to thrive.
Seed to Exhibition Paper
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