How Nutritious is Your Food?

By Michael A. Smith, MD

The first U.S. soil surveys were completed in the 1920s. They all concluded that our soil was depleted of key nutrients like nitrates and carbonates, which are necessary for the growth of healthy crops and, ultimately, nutrient-dense food.

And that was way back in the 1920s.

Things have only gotten worse since then, unfortunately.

Not-So-Good Soil Interventions

Sure, some steps have been taken to improve the condition of our soil. In the 1930s and 1940s, following the Great Dust Bowl, farmers planted soy as a cover crop to reinvigorate topsoil. (Soybeans are nitrogen-fixing, meaning they extract nitrogen from the …read more