For the Love of Soil

with Nicole Masters

Healthy soil. It’s not just what we need for potted plants. It’s what we all need to survive. Nicole Masters, agro-ecologist and author of “For the Love of Soil,” explains on today’s podcast just why our health and the health of the soil are so inextricably intertwined.

She tells her personal story of how an herbicide jeopardized her health, though she did not know it at first. She goes over why monocrops are a problem (even organic monocrops), the correlation between chemical companies and pharmaceutical companies, and how personal testing meters are being developed to help us better assess the quality of our food and the health of the soil. In the end, she offers ideas to diversify and regenerate both the land, and our guts, for improved health.

Notes:

Highlights from the conversation include:

what Nicole contracted walking barefoot that led to a huge health struggle
her mission to help take chemicals out of the soil and our food
the correlation of our personal gut microbiome and the microbiome of the planet – how microbial diversity is necessary for both
Carbon as a food source and how even the smallest lifeforms benefit from it and how it can help heal the soil
The importance of using our consumer dollars to choose the better
The value of knowing your farmer and the real issue of 100% organic
How monocrops (even organics) on a large scale can spell trouble for the health of the soil – the importance of microbial diversity
How fulvic acid restores both the human gut and the planet’s soil
Systems in nature – The relationship of carbon, water and soil and the consequences if broken down
How the herbicide Paraquat differs from Glyphosate (Roundup)
How Paraquat caused Nicole her many unexplained health symptoms for over 15 years
The value of intuition: the deep wisdom of our bodies
Toxin loading of our soil and how we really need to address it
The correlation between chemical companies and pharmaceutical companies
Personal hand testing meters for testing soil/food quality