There are several theories Is it the salt? The crunchiness? The addictive artificial flavoring? There is another less popular idea. There is some research which indicates we may want to eat more just because our body is not getting the nutrients that it needs. This may be a contributing factor to people being over weight.1 A processed potato chip typically has no nutritional value.2 I do not want to pick on potato chips as I really like them.
Arguably, we can enjoy nutrition free potato chips but what do we do when all of our food is nutritionally deficient. In the US, we spend more on health care than any country in the world. At the same time America has a pattern of poorer health at all stages of life among developed nations. Covid-19 deaths are far higher than any other countries. In addition, 105 million of our citizens have diabetes or pre-diabetes. Of course our life styles are not necessarily helping our health but the nutrition of our food we eat is a major issue.
One study says that our food has lost 5 to 40 percent of its nutritional value. Many people say that the farming soil is depleted of nutrients which is kind of like saying the ocean is running out of salt. Do not get me wrong soil depletion and erosion is a problem. The bottom line is that our current subsidized, commoditized, industrialized farming and even most organic farming systems are producing nutritionally deficient foods.
Mother Nature in her magnificence maintains biodiversity and year long living roots which keeps soil alive and thriving. By not disrupting the soil and avoiding chemical agriculture we can mimic mother nature in our farming methods. Regenerative farming pulls carbon to the ground and makes a carbon sponge which allows a healthy deep root system. Herein lies the answer to nutritious food. The roots then work in a mutually beneficial relationship and and the roots can absorb and access the nutrients and micro nutrients. As a great by-product the carbon cycle aids to cool the planet, saves water, rebuilds soil, and prevents erosion.
Nutrient rich food is said to be to be sweeter, aromatic and really delicious. Maybe not as good as a potato chip but at least you can get some nutrition. I really love food and think about it a lot. Imagine how much more we can enjoy food and be healthy too.
There are things we can do to feed healthy food to a growing population and reverse global warming. We can start by creating consumer demand by paying for what we want to eat. General Mills( generalmills.com) Danone (danone.com), Kellogg’s( kelloggs.com) and Applegate farms(thenewfoodcollective.com) are making the shift. How exciting to be pioneering in a common good for our citizens and the planet.
1. Kiss the Ground by Josh Tickell
2. Natural Society
3. Investopedia
4. Atlantic New Health Rankings
5. Bloomberg
6. Natural Society
7. American Society for Horticultural Science
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