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Soil and Community - The "Matrix" For Good Nutrition!
Chef Jemichel continues on the theme of identifying what good nutrition is, the vital importance of how food is grown and / or raised as the source for its nutrient-density.
Date: 5/28/2012 4:27:59 AM ( 12 y ) ... viewed 3375 times March 10, 2019 - Foods of and/or Through Commerce -
Weston A. Price most probably coined the phrase: "foods of commerce" (aka "displacing foods of commerce") with the publishing of his book: "Nutrition and Physical Degeneration." The term refers to all the modern-day processed "foods" such as white flour, refined sugar, canned milk, etc. and all the products that food manufacturers make with these and similar ingredients. In addition to the obvious loss of nutrients that is immediately consequential to all "foods of commerce" there are other concerns to consider in regards to any food that enters into the realm of commerce. Although I am only briefly noting this here for now it is my intention to return and continue with an overview of what occurs when food enters the realm of commerce.
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May 28, 2012 - The Greater Whole of Nutrition -
A greater whole and more complete nutrition is revealed within a larger context than the one presented by modern-day conventional "science of nutrition", if only we have the eyes to see it.
The bedrock foundation of nutrition is based on how food is grown and raised. The full reality and impact of this direct relationship between real food and where it comes from is not included in the conventional courses in nutrition (and consequently not taught to medical students or any of the conventional health fields where it could be most instructional to those who need the instruction - just as Thomas Edison had predicted that the role of the doctor of the future would be as a teacher who instructed their patients on diet). This missing component about nutrition can be called the "agricultural factor".
The "agricultural factor" is the primary source for nutrient-density. It determines the lion's share of nutritional content of all our foods[1].
What is the number one determinate in this agricultural factor? The answer is that nutrient-density is determined most largely by how the soil is cared for. In other words human nutrition comes directly back to soil nutrition.
Because of the wide spectrum of variances in agriculture our foods vary in nutrient content. Virtually any food item that you can get at your convenient food market (that was commercially grown to make a profit) will have a different nutrient profile than the same food item grown by a grower devoted to soil fertility.
The state of commercial agriculture in the U.S. of A. is such that most all of that agriculture is failing to provide us with nutrient-dense foods. Once this food is grown and harvested the food processing done by commercial food processors does not add any additional nutritional value to the nutrient-lacking foods.
"... mid-sized farms tend to preserve an intimate knowledge of place and reverence for the land that is lost in industrial-scale operations where profit governs most, if not all, decisions."[2]
(The above was revised on May 17th, 2014 and further tweeked on January 21, 2015)
See Scientific America regarding the depletion of soils resulting on nutritional loss[3]
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April 6, 2015 - Biodynamic Agriculture -
One of the many great gifts that Rudolf Steiner gave humanity is Biodynamic Agriculture. My "High Ideal" includes community as an eco-village literally and figuratively built on the foundation of Biodynamics. See my blog devoted to this community vision[4]
"Steiner wondered why so many involved in his spiritually-oriented communities demonstrated such reactive, irresponsible, virtually criminal behavior, when these, of all people, were the ones who had focused so hard on self-improvement. Why, Steiner wondered, were his communities such hot beds of internicine strife, such deep-seated backstabbing and covert politics? He finally concluded that the problem was not in his teachings or in the methods he was suggesting for self-improvement. The problem lie in the nutrition of those who were his followers. Until the body was well nourished, there was little or no point in talking about spiritual nourishment. So Steiner began to study agriculture, and the result was Biodynamic farming and gardening."[5]
"Being 'on sale' or 'cheap' is the worst reason to buy food. One of the goals of the USDA under Earl Butz[6] was to produce cheap food. We now have cheap food and very expensive medical care and poor health as a result of the subsidies that make fast food cheap and healthy foods more expensive." -
- Charles Anacker Urban Farm Educator[7]
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January 21, 2015 - Mineral Deficiency -
Your televised news will not report the facts regarding mineral depletion in agricultural soils. However the information is readily available for anyone with search engine access. I especially appreciate the reports I read from people who have devoted their lives to understanding what makes for healthy soils - knowing that this is the foundation for growing healthy plants that in turn fully-nourish farm animals from where our most nutrient-dense foods come from!
If one suffers a mineral deficient diet then it makes perfect sense to do the best we can to get the missing minerals. Ideally that would be from real food however there are times when some kind of a "supplement" is in order.
Following here is a unique account that one individual reported.
"... I took 30 mg of borax twice daily, this was 6 mg of elemental boron a day and in a week the pain was less, in ten days the pain was less. In three weeks the pain, swelling and stiffness had all gone, so I stopped taking the borax. A year later the pain and swelling returned so I took more borax and in two weeks all was right again. ..."[8]
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Fishing is another source for harvesting food, traditionally occurring in natural wild environments of oceans, lakes and/or rivers. Now there also are fish farms, however we are realizing that the fish that are farm-raised are not the same as the fish caught in the traditional aquatic environments. I do not recommend any farmed fish![9]
As I mentioned above - the most important practice in land-based "agricultural factor" is the care of the life and vitality of the soil. This is our primary source of nutrition through land-based foods. It is most essential that our agricultural soils be properly cared for! There are several documentaries out now that can give you a good introduction to the importance of soil as the foundation in the whole food web. I suggest starting with "The Real Dirt On Farmer John".[10]
Then "One Man, One Cow, One Planet".[11]
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August 13, 2012 - The "Community Factor" for Good Nutrition -
Rudolf Steiner: "... when one speaks of nutrition one has to consider how the foodstuffs are being obtained. It is tremendously important."[12]
The suggested documentaries also point to another part of the "larger context" of community. It should be noted that the isolated peoples that Dr. Price visited were all sustained in real "sustainable" communities. This deserves to be called "the community factor" for good nutrition. The whole crux of the farm crisis that is so well portrayed in the first half of "The Real Dirt On Farmer John" is transformed by "the community factor".
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September 27, 2012 Also see:
"Rethink All Your Relationships With Corporate Agriculture!"[13]
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July, 21, 2012 -
Another consideration within the matrix of the "larger context" is the invisible dimensions of the human being!
"The most obvious portion of the human being is the physical body. It is the body composed of minerals of the Earth — Mother Earth, as it is called — an apt metaphor because we receive all of our nutrients from Her to build and sustain our physical body. Those nutrients are composed of lifeless minerals from the Earth that have been organized in various forms, from liquids such as water to plant and animal organisms. Mother Earth rotates on her axis so that we may have the life-giving benefits of the Sun's rays for a certain period each day. We are as dependent upon the Earth as a finger is dependent upon the human being it is attached to — the finger can only live detached from its mother human for a short period of time before it begins to decompose and the minerals and liquids will dissolve, evaporate, and eventually turn to lifeless dust. When a finger is severed from a body, what is it that is lost to the finger? Obviously blood flow, nerve connections, and muscle connections are lost — these can be seen with our normal senses. But something else is lost that is vital to the finger, that gives it sustainable life, and that causes dissolution of its minerals when it is lost. That something is also vital to our entire body and its permanent loss brings death."[14]
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August 21, 2012 - Especially for parents, teachers and pediatricians:
"... senses are like a form of nutrition to the developing child, especially for the developing brain; and the seemingly incredible idea that organic forces of vitality (or ‘etheric forces’) are becoming released as the developing child develops mental awareness. "[15]
Also at the "taruna" site[15]: Nutrition in addition to food comes through - "... the sense of Touch, Life, Movement and Balance.
After the ‘physical’ embryology which precedes physical birth, there is an ‘etheric' embryology that precedes etheric birth at about the age of seven. In this second embryology occurring between 0-7, the four bodily senses are like an ‘etheric-placental’ nourishment. The brain is an organ which most readily gives up its organic vitality for the purpose of mental development – in fact its whole form and function is like a permanent foetus! This picture explains why there is a variation in brain formation, for it is in proportion to how well it receives the sort of ‘etheric nutrition’ that the four lower senses provide in the early years."
and
"... After years of stigmatizing dirt, parents and children have become somewhat afraid of touching things – 33% of children will themselves avoid play for fear of getting dirty. Add to this a world made of and wrapped in plastic. ... it is an example of ‘tactile junk food!’ ... on a tactile level it is all the same, it is all plastic, all the same tactile experience. On a physical nutrition level this would be like feeding a child only on sugar. It can be made to look like all kinds of tempting foods, but in the end it’s just more sugar. There is no bio-diversity of experience on a more profound level."
This underscores my vision for a farm-school for children. The farm not only provides the traditional sources of nutrition it also provides the tactile sensory sources as well.[16]
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September 18, 2012 - Continuing with the "Community Factor" -
Before the notion that "dog is man's best friend" everyone know that worms were our best friends. Can you imagine making friends with worms!
Imagine making friends with other life forms that are here to support nutrient-density in our foods. Take for example the microbial world! Worms are the possible the best soil-builders and therefore they certainly deserve our "friendship"! Some other life forms that can give us nutrient-dense foods include: Kefir grains, Kombucha scobies, sour-dough starters and others.
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July 22, 2015 - The Agriculture of Commerce -
"Entire generations are growing up with poor nutrition and its accompanying illnesses because of modernization in agriculture that depletes soils, deprives plants and animals of the nutrition they need, and considers speed and profit as a priority over physical health and ecological well being.[17]
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Comment:
I don't think can say it any better than this!
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March 11, 2017 - More Re: Minerals -
May probably need to add a good mineral supplement to your diet, even if you rely upon organic foods!
"Magnesium, in fact, is one of the most depleted minerals in farm soils. To add insult to injury, new plant hybrids are continually introduced that have been bred to survive on these mineral-depleted soils. Of course, when mineral-depleted crops are eaten by animals or by us, they will sooner or later cause disease. Even though organically raised crops should be a better bet nutritionally, this isn’t always the case, and it pays in terms of your health to learn how your farmer replenishes the minerals on his fields."[18]
Does your farmer replenish the minerals on his fields? .........
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Footnotes:
[1] How food is prepared also comes into play, especially when preparation actually increases the nutritional value of foods.
[2]
- See more at: http://civileats.com/2015/01/05/the-hudson-valley-farm-hub-a-big-vision-on-1200-acres-of-land/?utm_source=2015+January+E-News&utm_campaign=Biodynamic+Association+E-News&utm_medium=email#sthash.ck7gZjw0.dpuf
[3] http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/soil-depletion-and-nutrition-loss/
[4] http://www.curezone.org/blogs/f.asp?f=3569
[5] http://www.curezone.org/blogs/edit.asp?i=1881780
[6] "Asked by President Nixon to try to drive down the cost of food after it had spiked in the early 1970s, Agriculture Secretary Earl Butz shifted the historical focus of federal farm policy from supporting prices for farmers to boosting yields of a small handful of commodity crops (corn and soy especially) at any cost."
[7]
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/oils-vs-traditional-healthy-fats-chef-jemichel
[8] http://www.rexnewnhamarthritiseducation.com/paper.asp
[9] "Tilapia Has Both Nutritional And Environmental Drawbacks.":
http://www.curezone.com/blogs/fm.asp?i=1807075
[10]
http://www.angelicorganics.com/ao/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1...
[11] http://www.onemanonecow.com/
[12] https://wn.rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA354/English/AP1987/19240802p01.html
(See the 13th paragraph.)
[13]
http://www.curezone.com/blogs/fm.asp?i=1990637
[14] See under: "Chapter 2 - The Essential Nature of Mankind":
http://www.doyletics.com/arj/earthlyk.htm
[15] http://taruna.ac.nz/articles/sensing-the-world-and-ourselves/
[16] http://curezone.com/blogs/fm.asp?i=1881780
[17] http://paleoleap.com/the-work-of-the-weston-a-price-foundation/
[18] https://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/abcs-of-nutrition/magnificent-magnesium/
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Keywords:
nutrition, The Real Dirt On Farmer John, angelic organics, One Man One Cow One Planet, biodynamic agriculture, 12 senses, touch, dirt, child development, nutrient-density, soil depletion, nutrient loss, weston a price, embryology, boron, foods of commerce, minerals
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