Farmer's Footprint: How It's Working To Keep You and Future Generations, Not Only Healthy, but ALIVE

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Chances are you know a farmer. Well, if you’re a midwesterner, you probably do. They’ve been on both sides of my family for generations as well as my husband’s. I first heard about Farmer’s Footprint from a podcast (shocker) when Rich Roll interviewed Dr. Zach Bush. My mind was blown yet everything he talked about made so…much…sense.

I’ve followed Bush’s work since which is how I learned about his latest mission of improving soil health through Farmer’s Footprint. Before you wonder why in the hell you should read a post about soil health, I assure you, this is not a Farming 101 post but an eye-opener as to how modern farming impacts your health. Folks, it’s not pretty.

I was shooketh when I learned about the impact modern farming negatively had on our current health crisis. SHOOK-ETH! It just cemented my crusade to make wellness the highest priority for everyone and not looked at as just some bougie trend. (Yes, I used the word bougie. Learn it then use it in front of your teens; your coolness quotient will skyrocket! ;) ) Moving on.

Alright, realized I AM going to give you a little Farming 101.

Modern farming looks like this:

  • Synthetic fertilizers

  • Pesticides

  • Genetically-modified seeds to resist pests

  • Modern equipment

  • Monocropping

  • Tilling after harvest

Modern farming methods are proving to be the demise of modern culture’s health. Pesticides and herbicides are in our food. Monocropping promotes poor soil health and increases the amount of pests and weeds. This creates nutrient poor food as well as requires more and more chemicals. Farmers who use modern farming methods lose 3-4 tons of topsoil PER ACRE each year which is bananas. Topsoil is the top 5-10 inches of soil and is where the nutrients are. So if that’s gone, what do we have? Nutrient-void food, that’s what. In other words, our food is dead. So it’s no wonder that no matter how “healthy” you eat, if you are buying conventional farmed foods, you will come out on the losing end when it comes to getting sufficient vitamins and minerals you need.

What’s the solution here? There is a trend happening that I’m 100% all for. It’s called regenerative farming and I cannot WAIT until it becomes the norm and not the exception. But it’s going to take a lot for that to happen which is why I’m writing this post. I want to spread the word and wake people up to what modern farming practices are costing us as a human race and how it impacts you on a daily basis.

Here is how regenerative farming is different:

  • No-till farming and pasture cropping

  • Organic annual cropping

  • Compost and compost tea

  • Holistically managed grazing

  • Animal integration

  • Agroforestry

All of these things lead to healthier crops, nutrient rich topsoil, absorbs carbon rather than releasing which adds to the climate crisis, improves watersheds, and creates biodiversity.

Where Farmer’s Footprint comes in is that it is a “coalition of farmers, educators, doctors, scientists, and business leaders aiming to expose the human and environmental impacts of chemical farming and offer a path forward through regenerative agricultural practices.”

They are also a non-profit organization that supports farmers who are regenerative farmers or who want to be but need financial support to help make the switch. Dr. Zach Bush is behind this organization and is using profits from his product, Ion Biome (formerly known as Restore), to help relieve that financial burden as well as awareness and education around the benefits of regenerative farming.

They’ve also created a documentary film series which shares the stories of farm families on the forefront of the regenerative agriculture transition as well as the health and environmental impacts that put us at risk.

I want you to know about this because it impacts your health directly as well as your future generations. This video series is, in my mind, should be required viewing by everyone, especially for those want to be farmers. Please, please, PLEASE take the time to watch because the current methods of modern farming are absolutely impacting you. I promise you will not be the same after watching.

I would LOVE to hear what you think in the comments and I hope you forward this on because this NEEDS to be common knowledge. Thank you!

AwakeHallie SawyerFarmer's Footprint, Dr. Zach Bush, soil health, cancer, farming practices, midwestComment