“The Food You Eat Is Your Farmer’s Choice. You Do Have Your Own Choice – Find It!

About 55 years ago, in 1966, I came across the book Soil Development (published 1952) written by Edward H Faulkner, American original thinker-farmer, displayed at the open shelves of the library of UPCA, now UP Los Baños. That’s when I began to think organic farming gave us healthy foods. It was something like, “Health comes from the soil.”

Here comes Earwin Belen with his Facebook sharing (05 Jan 2022), “Still True In 2022!” (image sources: “WiFi,” m.facebook.com; fruits, EcoWatch, ecowatch.com)

 “Organic food is not healthier” – British Alan Dangour. “Organic food is healthier” – British Carlo Leifort. Eh?

Karen McVeigh says “Organic Food Not Healthier, Says FSA,” (29 June 2009, The Guardian, theguardian.com/). Findings over the past 50 years were reviewed by a team of the London School Of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine headed by Dr Alan Dangour. “We have concluded that there's no good evidence that consumption of organic food is beneficial to health based on the nutrient content."

EcoWatch says, “Organic Food Is Healthier Confirms New Analysis” (15 July 2014, EcoWatch, ecowatch.com): “More nutritional antioxidants, far fewer toxic pesticides.”

Using Science, I will insist that all foods grown following Regenerative Agriculture (RA) theory & practices – are healthier than foods grown via Chemical Agriculture.

Keiro says (Keiro.org, keiro.org):

Organic fruits, vegetables and grains are grown without the use of conventional pesticides, artificial fertilizers… and they are processed without ionizing radiation or food additives. For animals, “organic” means that they were raised without the routine use of antibiotics and without the use of growth hormones.

Without pesticides, without artificial fertilizers, without radiation, without additives. “Healthier!”

And yes, personally I will consider it healthier if the seed of the rice variety does not originate from a genetically modified organism (GMO). ProCon says, “Over the past 30 years of lab testing and 15 years of field research, there has not been a single health risk associated with GMO” (procon.org) – but that is not enough assurance for me, a certified teacher of Agriculture (Civil Service Professional, ’64) and a critical/creative thinker. I do not need a GMO rice for my farming.

My version of regenerative agriculture prohibits the use of any chemical right at the beginning of one’s farming. Residues of chemical fertilizers in foods have not been medically considered as any form of poison to the human body, but I still will exclude them from my RA. Most especially chemical pesticides – bactericides, fungicides, insecticides, nematocides, weedicides, whatever-cides – I do not need to use them in growing my crops or animals. 

I do believe that regenerative agriculture begins with the soil – you rejuvenate it by making it as healthy as you can by naturally enriching it – first of all, you return the organic matter that it has lost. Rotavating, I can do that easily using what I now call “Mulching Matilda” – for the procedure, see my essay, “PH Farmers Want Cost Of Fertilizer Way Down – Much Better, Yield & Net Income Way Up!” (24 Dec 2021, RegINA, Queen Mother Earth). You’ll come a-mulching Matilda with me!@517