Is Modern-Day Farming Causing The Modern-Day Illnesses?
We're getting sicker. And is it what's happening to our food?
I deal with bodies and what I’m seeing is inflamed bodies. Everywhere. Knee and hip replacements are sensationally on the rise, while all the skeleton’s joints are sooooo much more sensitive; quick to react and slower to calm down. I believe our raised inflammatory status is connected to the food we eat - and what happens to it before we eat it.
(A message to my farming friends: Don’t throw me under the bus . . . )
Parts 1 and 2 discusses the combined effects on the soil of modern cultivation methods of industrial-scale soil tillage and laser levelling, repetitive mono-cropping, poor crop rotation and the use of fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides. It has brought about steady decline of the land, so that today one third of the world’s best arable land is severely degraded. Deforestation means that soils are no longer anchored, letting topsoils blow or wash away with everyday climate events. Loss of biodiversity, worms and vegetable matter, combined with higher yielding genetically modified crops are greatly depleting our soils of their fertility - and leading to salination and desertification.
Parts 3 and 4 discusses the raising of animals for human consumption (beef, veal, chickens, pigs and salmon) in ‘concentrated animal farming operations’ or CAFOs. Large numbers are kept in close confinement with limited attention to animal welfare. They are fed corn and/or soybeans together with low dosages of antibiotics to control disease outbreaks (and promote weight gain). The ubiquitous use of antibiotics in this way makes them scarce for humans and is thought to be the root cause of the burgeoning crisis of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Parts 5 and 6 discusses the effects of modern farming on the food we eat - the chemical residues, antibiotic concentrations and reduced nutrient levels. Crops are often selected for size, rapid growth and resistance to pests - not for food value. And in the case of wheat - the biggest cash crop in the world - the modern dwarf varieties have a much higher gluten content, causing gut inflammation with widespread implications for human health.
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