By Stella Solitana
When humanity transitioned from a hunter/gatherer society into an agricultural-based one, it meant not only a decrease in starvation levels, but also foreshadowed a profound change in our diet. Millennia ago humans subsisted on the “cave-man”, or Paleolithic, diet; we ate whatever was provided in nature, from meats to fish, wild fruits and nuts, roots and vegetables. There were no grains or carbohydrates in the sense that we have today. Carbs are defined as simple sugars, starches, and gums. The paleo-diet only had the sugar that was contained in fruits, not the complex chemically processed and refined sugars we have today.
Most people have seen or experienced some sort of jungle-like environment. Look at all the abundant plant growth; from towering trees, with triple canopy layers, that block out the sun, down to the mid-level foliage, smaller saplings, giant ferns, even the twisting, turning vines ensnaring everything. Every square inch of jungle floor is covered in some form of plant life. The environments with the most profuse plant growth also have a plentiful supply or source of three ingredients; sunlight, water, and rich, organic soil. As it relates to agricultural farming, the life is in the soil!
Healthy soil is rich in humus, or partially decayed organic material. Anyone who has been around old river bottom soil will relate how black, crumbly, and rich-smelling it is. Over the millennia, ocean and river bottoms collect all the silt, sediment, and run-off from the land. That also includes weathered and decayed rock, a vital source of trace minerals and nutrients. Through natural earth activity, from earthquakes, volcanoes, floods, hurricanes, etc., this organically rich soil is raised up to become land. It is ideal for growing agricultural produce. Unfortunately, modern industrial farming has reversed the process, so that we now have depleted and literally “dead” growing soils.
The corporate industrial agri-farm has replaced the traditional “mom & pop” small farms. Prior to the advent of industrial farms, mankind had an almost spiritual contact with the source of their food, organic soils. In fact, there were spiritual practices linked to growing agricultural foods. The farmer had a variety of methods to keep their soils healthy and productive. Certain green crops, like clover, were grown on the fields, and then plowed under, to rejuvenate the soil. Earthworms are a sure sign that you have healthy, organic soil, since they aerate it, allowing moisture and oxygen to penetrate. Composting was standard practice for the old farm ways.
Modern farms are about profit rather than health. Chemical methods utilizing toxic fertilizers, herbicides, insecticides, growth hormones, and now GMO’s (genetically modified organisms) are used to produce food that LOOKS beautiful, but is in fact nothing but PLASTIC, DEAD food!! Why is there such an epidemic of nutritional-deficiencies, and related diseases and illnesses, especially in the United States? Park outside a supermarket and count the number of men and women, with huge, fat bellies! Their internal organs have been damaged, especially kidneys and liver. The subject of diet CURING diabetes is worthy of an entire volume of writing!
The future of humanity regaining its healthy agricultural produce lies in part with the science of permaculture, which is defined as “…an agricultural system or method that seeks to integrate human activity with natural surroundings so as to create highly efficient SELF-SUSTAINING ecosystems”.
When humanity transitioned from a hunter/gatherer society into an agricultural-based one, it meant not only a decrease in starvation levels, but also foreshadowed a profound change in our diet. Millennia ago humans subsisted on the “cave-man”, or Paleolithic, diet; we ate whatever was provided in nature, from meats to fish, wild fruits and nuts, roots and vegetables. There were no grains or carbohydrates in the sense that we have today. Carbs are defined as simple sugars, starches, and gums. The paleo-diet only had the sugar that was contained in fruits, not the complex chemically processed and refined sugars we have today.
Most people have seen or experienced some sort of jungle-like environment. Look at all the abundant plant growth; from towering trees, with triple canopy layers, that block out the sun, down to the mid-level foliage, smaller saplings, giant ferns, even the twisting, turning vines ensnaring everything. Every square inch of jungle floor is covered in some form of plant life. The environments with the most profuse plant growth also have a plentiful supply or source of three ingredients; sunlight, water, and rich, organic soil. As it relates to agricultural farming, the life is in the soil!
Healthy soil is rich in humus, or partially decayed organic material. Anyone who has been around old river bottom soil will relate how black, crumbly, and rich-smelling it is. Over the millennia, ocean and river bottoms collect all the silt, sediment, and run-off from the land. That also includes weathered and decayed rock, a vital source of trace minerals and nutrients. Through natural earth activity, from earthquakes, volcanoes, floods, hurricanes, etc., this organically rich soil is raised up to become land. It is ideal for growing agricultural produce. Unfortunately, modern industrial farming has reversed the process, so that we now have depleted and literally “dead” growing soils.
The corporate industrial agri-farm has replaced the traditional “mom & pop” small farms. Prior to the advent of industrial farms, mankind had an almost spiritual contact with the source of their food, organic soils. In fact, there were spiritual practices linked to growing agricultural foods. The farmer had a variety of methods to keep their soils healthy and productive. Certain green crops, like clover, were grown on the fields, and then plowed under, to rejuvenate the soil. Earthworms are a sure sign that you have healthy, organic soil, since they aerate it, allowing moisture and oxygen to penetrate. Composting was standard practice for the old farm ways.
Modern farms are about profit rather than health. Chemical methods utilizing toxic fertilizers, herbicides, insecticides, growth hormones, and now GMO’s (genetically modified organisms) are used to produce food that LOOKS beautiful, but is in fact nothing but PLASTIC, DEAD food!! Why is there such an epidemic of nutritional-deficiencies, and related diseases and illnesses, especially in the United States? Park outside a supermarket and count the number of men and women, with huge, fat bellies! Their internal organs have been damaged, especially kidneys and liver. The subject of diet CURING diabetes is worthy of an entire volume of writing!
The future of humanity regaining its healthy agricultural produce lies in part with the science of permaculture, which is defined as “…an agricultural system or method that seeks to integrate human activity with natural surroundings so as to create highly efficient SELF-SUSTAINING ecosystems”.
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