We are living out of balance with nature. It is causing harm to our mental and physical health and the interconnected ecosystem we depend upon for survival. Industrial farming claims to be the only way to provide the food needed for the growing population. But as you will hear in this deep, thorough conversation with guest farmer Gabe Brown and host Dr. Mark Hyman, (a) it is not true, (b) the consequences of industrial farming are disastrous, and (c) industrial “food” scarcely has the healthy nutrients it’s supposed to.
Growing crops and raising livestock in sync with nature allows our food to be incredibly rich and diverse in nutrient density, providing us with the full spectrum of health benefits it is meant to. This traditional or indigenous way of farming is not only better for our health and the environment, but, as you will hear, it is also more efficient and productive than the industrial model. And when it reaches scale, it will be much cheaper too.
Listen to the entire conversation for full context, which can be found here.
See more information about the guest, farmer Gabe Brown, on his website.
See more information about the host, Mark Hyman, on his website.
For more on regenerative farming, I highly suggest the Netflix documentary Kiss The Ground, in which both Gabe Brown and Dr. Mark Hyman appear.
My 5 favorite quotes from the conversation:
“What I’m trying to do is work with nature instead of against her. I tell people that my old mindset was: I used to wake up every morning trying to decide what I was going to kill that day. I was either going to kill a weed or a pest or a fungal disease. Now I wake up every morning (and ask), “How do I get more life on my ranch? How do I encourage life?” Because it’s through life, whether it’s animals or insects or a diverse array of plants, that we have true health.”
Gabe Brown
“I read Buffalo Bird Woman’s Garden, which was about the indigenous people in northern Missouri here on the Missouri river, and what they were growing in their garden and how they grew species together. They grew corn, and squash, and beans together. Well, that was diversity. That really got my mind thinking.”
Gabe Brown
“I look at it (regenerative agriculture) as a type of food and farming system which aims to regenerate top soils; it aims to heal the water cycle, the nutrient cycle, and to produce nutrient-dense food so that ours and future generations can be both sustainable and profitable… We all want a better life for our children. We all want clean air and clean water, and a healthy world.”
Gabe Brown
“The reason the plants become nutritious is because of the life of the soil.”
Gabe Brown
“Nature is way smarter than we are.”
Dr. Mark Hyman
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