023 - Soil Health, Gut Health, and Regenerative Agriculture with Dr. David R. Montgomery
Improving Our Health And Environment At The Same Time
Dr. David R. Montgomery is a professor of geomorphology in the department of Earth & Space Sciences at the University of Washington in Seattle. In this episode David shares a bit of his story, and we delve into the details of building healthy soil, and how it’s connected to our own health. He does a great job of communicating the science, and explaining these details. I had a great time interviewing him.
Thanks to everyone who supports us in some way shape or form. We always love hearing how you’re living a probiotic life.
Links
Website: dig2grow.com
Twitter: @dig2grow
Facebook: dig2growbooks
SHOW NOTES
Geomorphology
- study of topography
- soil erosion
- works on the here and now of geography
- looks at sustainability, long term perspective
Geology & the Human Element
- David wanted to learn about the world
- took geology, “competing against [their] lack of knowledge”
- saw how ecosystems & farming impact soil erosion
- wrote a book about how religious thought & geological science have historically affected each other
- wrote a book with his wife about how microbial life influences health of plants, people, farms
Formative Influences
- spent lots of time playing outside as a kid
- his wife Anne (a biologist) had a similar experience
Humans Have a Lot to Learn
- when it comes to modern impact on natural age, humans are in the driver’s seat
- we are still figuring out the blueprint of how this earth works
Soil & Geology
- takes lots of micronutrients to grow a healthy plant
- the vast majority of these come from the ground
- need to get rocks broken down and their minerals released into the soil
- this is mostly done by microbes
- soil is a grand recycling system, that takes organic material and returns it to the ground to feed new life
- earth is the only planet we know of currently where this is the case
Soil Around the World
- discussion of specific places in the world, where availability of different mineral elements has greatly impacted the botanical world
- most soils around the world have the basic sets of minerals needed for plant growth, but they are often locked up in the soil unreleased
- it’s possible to add the nutrients needed to the soil
- we need to bring the biology back to the soil
The Soil & Our Gut
- aha! moment while writing The Hidden Half of Nature”
- striking similarities between soil system and human gut
- inflammation is a very important part of immune function, goes to fix problems
- we don’t want to be constantly in inflammation
- what you are feeding your microbes has a direct impact on your immune system function
- we need to eat fibre for our gut function, to feed our microbes
- what we eat and how we treat the soil really does matter
- probiotics are the microbes; prebiotics are what we feed the microbes
Restoration of Farmland
- discussion of restoring farmland
- 3 principles in common shared by farms where soil was restored quickly
- 1) no-till or minimum-till farming
- 2) keep the land covered with cover crops to act as green manure
- 3) plant a diversity of crops
- these all promote the growth of beneficial microbial life
- these are all against modern conventional agriculture
- the places that used the conservation agriculture made the land even better than nature had it in the first place
- the future of biodiversity is tied to the future of agriculture
- on all markers, these regenerative farming techniques are a win
Final Thoughts
- American indigenous agriculture: they were practising crop diversity on their planting
- all of the people David & wife Anne interviewed shared a common desire to rebuild the land’s fertility, as the foundation of our civilisation
- past civilisations stopped their soil to their societies’ detriment
- if we can change these practices in our current century, that would alter the arc of history, and we need to get it right this time
- David’s books: 1) Growing A Revolution: Bring Our Soil Back To Life;
2) The Hidden Half of Nature: The Microbial Roots of Life and Health;
3) Dirt: The Erosion of Civilisations
- books available wherever books are sold
Links
Website: dig2grow.com
Twitter: @dig2grow
Facebook: dig2growbooks