Human Health
The way we farm has a direct impact on our health.
Industrial farming practices pollute the environment and have led to global epidemics of obesity and diabetes. Regenerative organic farming keeps nutrients where they belong—in our food—and helps farmers and rural communities improve their quality of life.
The Effects of Industrial Agriculture
Toxic Chemicals
Chemicals commonly used in industrial agriculture, like atrazine and glyphosate, are known endocrine disruptors with the potential to cause cancer in humans.
Antibiotics
Excessive use of antibiotics in conventional livestock management contributes to antibiotic resistance in humans.
Water Pollution
Excessive nitrates from chemical fertilizers and animal waste wash into waterways, threatening public health and causing Blue Baby Syndrome.
Air Pollution
Fumes from nitrogen-rich fertilizers are a major source of air pollution.
Declining Nutrition
Industrial farming's pursuit of yields above all else has led to a decline in the nutrient density of crops
Mental Health
The rise of mechanized, industrial methods has fractured rural communities and led to a mental health crisis among farmers.
Additionally, industrial agriculture has made corn both cheap and abundant, saturating our culture with high fructose corn syrup and leading to global epidemics of diabetes and obesity.
Current Trends
Despite an abundance of calories, food today is less nutritious than it was in previous generations. Conventional farming practices can damage production of the vitamins, minerals, proteins, and phytonutrients in fruits and vegetables, all while contaminating food with pesticide residues.
As a consequence of our misguided food system, 75% of the United States’ $3 trillion annual healthcare expenditure is related to preventable lifestyle diseases including heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Autoimmune and neurocognitive disorders, also greatly influenced by diet, are on the rise. At the same time, we’re using record levels of pesticides—5.2 billion pounds per year.
The statistics aren’t isolated. They’re connected.
The Power of Regenerative
Regenerative organic agriculture eliminates the threat of toxic chemicals and antibiotics from our food system and improves the soil for stronger, healthier plants. Even more powerfully, it improves farmers’ lives.
Health is more than macronutrients. It includes mental, emotional, and interpersonal quality of life. The rise of industrial farming, with its emphasis on mechanization and consolidation, has fractured rural communities and led to financial and mental health crisis for farmers.
Regenerative organic farming earns farmers a higher profit, encourages equitable working conditions, and can rebuild rural communities on the brink of disappearance.
Learn more about Regenerative Organic AgricultureWhite Paper: The Power of the Plate
To learn more about the connections between human health and regenerative organic agriculture, check out "The Power of the Plate" — a holistic analysis written by farmers, doctors & scientists.
Read the Paper