Solutions to Mineral-Depleted Soils and Our Health

Thursday, November 06, 2008 by: Lynn Berry
Tags: soil depletion, health news, Natural News

(NewsTarget) Many individuals are experimenting with, and producing, viable solutions to soil depletion. As discussed in a previous article (see www.naturalnews.com/024581.html), soil depletion is a serious problem for the world's population because of the quality of food. No longer can we rely on food to contain a good quantity of minerals and vitamins, especially food produced for, or by, large agribusiness organizations in mineral-depleted soils.

The richest countries in the world now have populations with reduced capacity to fight off disease due to weakened immune systems caused by an overload of chemicals in the body, as well as, by a lack of nutrients. The time is now to adopt solutions.

To those working with soil, the solutions are clear. The soil must have a biology; a viable ecosystem. Current farming practices have ensured a sterile ecosystem in which micro-organisms, nutrients, even natural life itself, are absent. The use of chemical fertilizers rids the soil of the good bacteria needed to sustain life.

According to Michael King (Herbalist, Author on self-healing, soil health, environment), a good soil needs five key elements (1). These are:

(1)A complex of the full range of minerals – clay (2), rock dust (3), seaweed and sea solids (4)
(2)A good amount of amorphous silica
(3)Humus/humic substances (dead organic material)
(4)Mycorrhizae (a crucial relationship between plant roots and fungi that improves nutrient uptake)
(5)Abundant soil biology

These elements encourage nutrient uptake, as well as unlock and modify minerals in the soil, creating a healthy ecosystem and thus, healthy, nutrient-rich plants.

Clay is typically formed from volcanic ash and acquired various organic and inorganic content over time. However one type of clay from north west USA, a pyrophyllite clay, is made underground and is reported to have a high amount of silica necessary to make minerals bio-available, as well as, the ability to detoxify soils, amongst other impressive qualities. (2)

According to Don Weaver (Author of To Love and Regenerate the Earth) in an article called Restoring Our Earth to Vibrant Health , California's largest organic farm, called Cal-Organic, used 3,000 tons of rock dust to re-mineralize the soil.
Rock dust is gravel from a range of rock types – glacial, river, and seashore. The dust contains a range of elements and trace minerals, and helps balance the pH level of the soil, as well as improves the soil biology, leading to better crops.

Many people have reported success using seaweed and other elements from the sea which contain a large amount of minerals. Like clay and rock dust, the benefits of ocean food is to improve biology of the soil as well as the uptake of nutrients.

The solution to improve the biology of the soil using the elements discussed can be implemented straightaway. Is there a need for any research, further debate or to wait any longer?

It is becoming clear that certain priorities will need to be established with regards to our health and that of the environment. How important are these as opposed to the financial welfare of organizations? How will health systems cope with more and more illness and who is to pay?

It will also be important to determine what role, if any, producers of agricultural chemicals will play. If they were savvy, they would have already started to work in partnership with us, the people. They would have clear and honest policies that overturn current untenable ones that have put money before our health, the health of wildlife, farm animals, and the environment. If they were concerned about us, they will acknowledge their mistake and work as an integrated, open, ethical body to ensure we have access to affordable, good quality nutrient-rich food.

We cannot rely on governments to protect our health, our finances maybe, but not our health. We can take action. We can buy organic food grown in nutrient-rich soils. We can refuse to buy canned fruits and vegetables, and we can refuse to buy fresh fruits and vegetables from supermarkets known to stock poor quality ones.

We can urge our shops to start creating policies that ensure we can buy good quality food from them, preferably affordable organic food grown locally by farmers, or if that fails, create a co-operative or a group to purchase directly from organic farmers. Our health is in our hands.

(1) Personal Communication
(2) www.PyroClay.com
(3) www.remineralize.org
(4) http://oceangrown.com

About the author

Lynn Berry is passionate about personal development, natural health care, justice and spirituality. She has a website at www.lynn-berry.com.