Countdown to Zero

How Modern Agricultural Practices Are Jeopardizing Our Health

By Dr. Richard Drucker

When you hear the phrase health and wellness, what images come to mind? Exercise, nutrition, fruits and vegetables, supplements? What about dirt? Does that come to mind?

That's right, dirt. Soil is the primary factor in nutrition because much of our food comes from the earth. The human body is composed literally of earth, if you think about it. The minerals that are essential to how the body functions are connected directly to the state of our soil. If an element is missing from our soil, it will be missing from the foods we eat; hence, from our bodies. Unfortunately, that is the reality these days. Much of the Earth's soil is depleted, and depleted soil doesn't produce healthy, nutrient- and mineral-rich plants. Moreover, crops produced in depleted soil are more prone to invasion by insects, viruses, fungi, etc. Insects and infectious organisms get rid of unhealthy vegetation and don't typically attack truly healthy plants.

The Perils of Modern, Inorganic Farming

Much of the modern world is now aware that our industrialized methods of farming have not only depleted the soil, but also have created a cycle that requires pesticides to protect the unhealthy crops grown on depleted soil. The commercial applications of agriculture have depleted the soil of precious, organically complexed trace minerals and hindered the ability of plants to utilize those elements. That means our food is nutritionally deficient right from the source. Our food is then refined and processed, which further degrades its nutritional value!

Who suffers? We all do. More than 30 organically complexed trace minerals are necessary to produce healthy, nutrient-rich crops, yet most current farming methods routinely put back only three to five of them. And that's only a part of the problem. Inorganic (synthetic/dead/toxic), ammonium-based fertilizers, along with herbicides and pesticides, kill precious microorganisms in the soil that are essential to the creation of organic mineral complexes. We have used up the available trace minerals in our soil and destroyed the means of replenishing these soil-based microorganisms.

Is there a consensus among health care professionals that depleted soil is a nutritional concern? While some diehards believe you can avoid supplements if you eat a "balanced diet," it's a verified fact that most of our livestock feeds contain nutritional supplements. Without supplemental nutrients being added to the feed, far too many animals were getting ill. What does that tell you? Grain doesn't possess enough nutrients to keep the livestock healthy. If our livestock can't stay healthy eating our modern crops, how can we?