D2_Agraria_Journal_21_OPT

As a physician, I was trained in the detection and treatment of disease. During my 35 years in the practice of gastroenterology, I noted a marked increase in diet related disease. NASH (non-alcoholic steatohepatitis), which is primarily caused by obesity and diabetes, is now the leading cause of cirrhosis in the USA. Eosinophilic esophagitis is an inflammatory disease of the esophagus that is due to food allergies. It causes painful swallowing and dysphagia (difficulty swallowing). Once rare, it is now the leading cause of food becoming lodged in the esophagus. The costs associated with the treatment of these and other diet- related diseases are becoming unsustainable. I felt that we needed to start focusing our efforts on prevention. While the USA boasts of providing the best health care in the world, our populace suffers from an epidemic of obesity, diabetes, and other chronic illnesses that are related primarily to diet and lifestyle¹. To address this problem, we must change our focus from treatment to prevention of disease, with good nutrition being the cornerstone. We need to emphasize whole foods as opposed to the highly processed, high calorie, hyperpalatable foods that are often deficient in nutrients and minerals.² , ³ As a farmer, I have developed a more holistic view of health and nutrition that includes the environ- mental impact of the way we produce food and its effect on the nutritional content of food. Soil is the foundation of health. Healthy, nutrient dense food comes from healthy biologically alive soil. Our soils have become degraded through the lack of biological diversity, high levels of chemical inputs, and bare fallows. Our current agriculture is extractive and unsustainable. Regenerative agriculture is a way to grow our foods that mimics Nature. It is a system that produces healthy, nutrient dense food while continuously building topsoil. It helps restore our broken carbon and water cycles. As a first-generation farmer, my goal was to farm regeneratively. The farm I purchased was in conventional crop production of corn and soybeans with its associated tillage, chemicals, and bare winter fallows. The 5 tenets of regenerative agriculture are: 1) keep the soil covered; 2) minimal soil disturbance i.e., no tillage; 3) increase biodiversity; 4) keep living roots in the soil year around; 5) incorporate livestock. I started out by planting the entire farm in perennial grasses. I repaired a large erosion gully by building a dam to create a small farm pond. What followed demonstrated the richness and generosity of Nature. This pond is now lined with willows, cattails, and beautiful American Lotus water lilies. It is home to hundreds of fish, insects, amphibians, and reptiles. An explosion of biodiversity. Mother Nature knows The pond on White Clover Farm was regenerated along with the soil. JIM LINNE 22 AGRARIA JOURNAL 2021 OPTIMAL HEALTH A Physician/Farmer Perspective BY JIM LINNE