What Your Food Ate: How To Heal Our Land and Reclaim Our Health

Geologist Montgomery and biologist Biklé (the married coauthors of The Hidden Half of Nature and Growing a Revolution) have penned a clear, well-researched look at the benefits of regenerative agriculture. They present evidence gleaned from dozens of research studies that soil health is the key to growing healthier food and livestock that will ultimately benefit people through increased nutrients, micronutrients, and improved fatty acid ratios in our food. Increasing soil organic matter, no-tillage, and not using pesticides and chemical fertilizers will protect the soil microbes and fungi that aid in plant nutrient uptake. They show how produce contains lower levels of nutrients and micronutrients than in the past and how and why regenerative agriculture practices increase these levels. They also show how ranchers can make their livestock healthier, and therefore people healthier, by grass feeding with plants grown in soils rich in organic matter. An extensive list of sources, by chapter, closes the book, but it would have been helpful if the numerous studies were footnoted.