In A Pinch of Soil
Within every pinch of earth there is a vast system of life incredibly rich and complex, and so easy to miss. In each pinch of soil is a living medium, a community of perfectly interdependent beings evolving the complexity and fullness of life, and yet this life escapes our eyes.
With advances in science we can see these microbial communities in ever-greater detail, even identifying their evolution through their genes. Yet the advancement of tools is only half the story when it comes to truly seeing our microbiome. Without the right perspective, we could observe the soil microbes and only notice the pathogens. Without the right sense of cooperation between all life forms, we could be missing out on the story of our microbial support system, and the richness of the food-soil web.
Under our feet this earth feels solid and unwavering, maybe a little bit passive, while in the wilderness it becomes obvious this soil is living and brimming with action. To see the Earth’s bounty we only need to look at what soil left to its own devices produces, from lush jungles to far-reaching prairies. To taste its microbial richness, we can take a sip of wine, which changes in taste based on the microbes as much as the wind. To feel the microbiome’s healing properties, we can spend an afternoon in a garden or change our diet. By eating foods raised in living soil we can rebuild our own personal microbiomes with a diversity of life often lost to antibiotics and through food farmed using chemical techniques. By changing our eating habits we can recover the microbial life that help fuel our serotonin production, making us happier.
“Mycobacterium vaccae is one organism that boosts serotonin levels in the brain to levels similarly achieved by pharmaceutical antidepressants.” — Dr. Maya Shetreat-Klein, Author of The Dirt Cure
Within the thousands of species and millions of microorganisms hidden in plain site in the soil, is a network based on cooperation and balance. This invisible, living mesh that makes up the soil’s biology has everything to offer us, including a livable planet. Soil at its living best is able to sequester carbon, reduce flooding, and increase drought tolerance. In wellness terms that collection of tiny organisms in the soil –- the microbiome — can improve accessibility and affordability of healthy food for millions by increasing crop hardiness. For each of us it can stave off depression, chronic inflammation, stress and other diseases. In each pinch of soil there is support for a more equitable, and more joyful existence for all.
“In an ideal situation, just the bacteria in your gut represent 30 thousand species.” –Dr. Zach Bush
The proof of the microbiome’s power is in its presence, not only in soil, but in us humans. Each of us houses thousands of species of microbes and the healthier we are, the more diverse and healthy they are, too. It may sound like science fiction to think of these thousands of species living inside us as useful and constantly changing, but really it has a lot to do with old wisdom found in sayings like “You are what you eat.” We are part of the earth and with every study using new techniques in science we are learning with greater depth that the earth is first and foremost a community that starts with microbes.
“Climate change is revealing the vulnerabilities of an industrial agriculture system that relies on predictability. And it’s shining a light on alternative growing practices that are potentially more resilient to these environmental shifts.” — A Time of Reckoning in the Central Valley
It can be hard to imagine the networks of known and unknown bacteria, viruses, fungi, and others working with the roots of our plants and trees. It can be hard to imagine the innumerable living microorganisms involved in converting light into leaves and stalks, at every moment, all around the world. It can be harder still to imagine similar patterns of microbial exchange taking place along our digestive systems all the way up our spines to our brains, influencing our health, mood and vitality, but that is exactly what happens. By believing in this interconnected worldview, we can support the type of world we want to see. By changing the way we can eat we can support farmers so they can convert their lands from “net emitters” to “net absorbers” of carbon.
“Soils are the basis of life,” Maria-Helena Semedo of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
Countless connections between ourselves and our microbes fuel our happiness and our resistance to disease in ways we are only discovering. We dedicate ourselves to supporting regenerative agriculture because only those practices support the natural microbial diversity alive both in the soil and in ourselves. Only regenerative agriculture rebuilds soils, individuals, and communities. Eating with the soil as life-building system in mind, we can revolutionize our health, and bring resilience back to our lands.
Healthy, living soil might be the easiest resource to miss with the naked eye, and the most important to appreciate because the benefits to us as a species are endless. Despite the many unanswered questions about the role of the microbiome in our health what we do know is that when the communities of the soil thrive, we thrive, too. In every pinch of soil we touch the foundation that unites all life on this planet, and this is enough to inspire us to change the simple things we can for ourselves and all we love.
#ClimateIsWhatWeEat
#NextLevelDelicious
