…Because anything is possible, and everything is up to you. In this absolute whopper of an article, we explore and navigate a range of issues and a whole lot of possibilities relating to today’s landscape of sustenance:

the issues around modern industrial agriculture, GMOs, Glyphosate, the whole nine yards
grain-fed vs. grass-fed vs. grass-finished and all the nuances
general nutrition basics
conventional vs. organic vs. biodynamic vs. permaculture vs. regenerative agriculture vs. wild foods vs. the unknowable
how to build living fertile soil, and a bit about carbon
navigating everything from modern grocery stores to local CSAs, farmer’s markets, homegrown, wild caught, and DIY
rebirth and reconnection to our wholeness, and more

This is unequivocally a space of non-judgement. You are worthy of vibrant health. Life is really an inside job, so the best nutrition will support you the most. May this article be a helpful mirror, inspiration, and a starting point if you need it. I went all out for this one (it was a little cathartic), and hope you find it useful in at least some capacity as it addresses some of the topics that have been lingering in the back of my mind (and somatically) for many years. As always, feel free to send me a note if you have suggestions of your own.

I’ll be blunt: something is wrong around us today, we have lost our way… and it actually has everything to do with our soil health. Conventional industrial farming practices are an ailment that has swept across what is now commonly referred to as North America and many parts of the globe as one of the biggest causes of destruction on earth and human health. Most (around 75%) of the food in typical grocery stores is GMO, meaning it has been patented, injected with genes, bacteria, and other manipulations in a lab before it has sneakily made its way to the majority of people’s plates, especially in North America. On top of that we have inflation, rising food prices, perceived isolation, fear induction and separation, inaccessibility and an unsustainable cost of living… and in my opinion, protesting in the streets or ranting online can only do so much.

The good news is that we can do something about it with the life we are living now. It’s fine to be where we are, but when we realise we’ve had enough and it isn’t working for us anymore, we can become aware of the bridge that takes us to where we’d like to be. The only way out is through. When the world seems like it’s out of balance (news flash: it has always been chaotic), the best and most important thing you can do, in my opinion, is to find your own inner balance, nervous system regulation and untethered joy in the here and now. Nothing will change until you change, and in the process, we can recover a sense of home, community, belonging, reconciliation, re-enchantment, and deep-rooted connection to place, moving ourselves into becoming more powerful, becoming our best and most embodied selves while being your own actual life creator. We are all navigating these changes of states of being, together.

These days in the globalised, post-industrial (yes, I called it) media-saturated world, a sense of isolation and inertia has become common as the traditional Western institutions and divisions we grew up with begin to carry less power and relevance (for better or for worse). It is easy to see and be told everything. Thoughts, rules, desires, expectations. We become almost completely unconscious, resentful, dissociated, overwhelmed, numb, and disconnected from the life and death cycle, the flow of the forces, right down to how our food is grown and prepared. Yes, climate anxiety is real (via Harvard Health). This is totally fine and even expected… until it isn’t.

Is this someone else’s energy, or your own? In what ways can you come back into you?

If you’re looking to take action, free yourself, thrive among unhealthy environments often containing dense energetics, take back your power and protect yourself, creating vibrant health through a nutritional surplus while increasing enjoyment and a sense of safety and trust in your life, we ought to take a good hard look and get absolutely clear on where our food comes from and how it was grown and raised. This, to me, is a good place to start. It does take some effort, but the results reach far beyond anything we could ever dream of, and transforms every aspect of your life. I see food as one of the most powerful forms of medicine and an investment in my future wellbeing and longevity, and so I see no other option than to support (at bare minimum) the local small-scale conscious farmers and food growers who are most connected with the source, and get closer to the life force (aka prana, chi, whatever you want to call it) myself by growing and cooking my own food, and getting outdoors and foraging, fishing, and even hunting.

As you’ve probably noticed, human need has become greed and unconscious materialism, and not only have we been losing our wild places, but we have also been losing ourselves. With the climate and economies in uncertainty comes the need to reawaken and relearn the language of the land as means of survival, thriving and renewal. It’s no longer a matter of “can I afford it?” but rather, “can I afford not to?”.

Until we see past the modern distractions, plastic glossy advertising, competitiveness and alienation, passive news and reaction cycles and empty lifeless shiny material objects, we will not adequately address aspects of health; soil health in farming, conscious sourcing, or growing in tune with nature’s rhythms and diversification. We can focus on what isn’t working in our lives, or focus on what is. This also doesn’t have to be a black-and-white situation, just make sure it’s an enjoyable process and explore what interests you the most. Bear witness to whatever you feel an aversion to, let yourself feel it through, and let it die, bringing your creative focus to what you actually enjoy and all you want to experience and share with natural gratitude. We are one with the Earth, the living organism, so let’s allow our nature to lead.

How do we even navigate this wild, overwhelming world, though? Today, let’s explore the impacts of genetically modified and conventional foods, have a brief glance at an array of alternative agricultural practices and various regenerative approaches that you can consider to make sense of all of this and help create something good in this world. The slowdowns and setbacks of these past years have revealed that now is our time, and we still have time to evaluate where we’ve come from and where we want to go when it comes to awareness, food sovereignty, and regenerative culture including the food, soil, plants, and humanity itself. There are no more pressing issues than these if we want to keep living with this planet, adapting with the challenges, breaking the glass ceiling, so to speak.

This goes beyond heated politics and debate. We only have so much personal energy, and many things are simply just out of our direct control. You helping others in your capacity helps. With every action you take, you cast a vote informing the whole ecosystem, and there is no opting out of this election. Let thriving and creation be your biggest form of positive defiant action: nature is on your side and it is all happening for you. I hope you can approach this article with curiosity and an open, expanded mind. We’re all here to learn and humble ourselves with the mysteries.

“Our body is essentially soil and water. The quality of our soil will determine the quality of our food, our body, and our life.”

— Sadhguru

The more you know: what is a GMO?

A GMO (genetically modified organism) is the direct human manipulation via genetic engineering or transgenic technology of a plant, animal, microorganism, or other organism’s genetic makeup in a laboratory environment. GMOs have become a heated topic in the past decade, thanks to raised awareness and increased food literacy. A GMO is created when genes from one organism (often bacteria, virus, or animal) are inserted into another, often unrelated species. Genetic modification may also involve removing specific strands of DNA (it’s a sh*t-can of franken-food at its finest).

Once GMOs are released into the environment, they often spread outside the intended farm in which they’re used. We can clean up an oil spill, but once GMOs make their way into the ecosystem, even spreading to organic environments, there’s no turning back with unknown consequences.

The term ‘genetically engineered (GE) food’ refers to any product containing or derived from GMOs. GMO foods have only existed in grocery stores since the late 1990s and there has been no long-term testing or studies, but we may be witnessing its impacts in real time.

I personally avoid GMO foods and have done so ever since awareness about them was raised through my Canadian public school curriculum as a teen.

A GMO is not:

a plant or animal traditionally bred to achieve specific characteristics such as breeding dogs or cross-pollination of plants (although sometimes these can certainly carry various ethical issues in themselves).

Health

The most common GE ingredients come from heavily sprayed mono-crops like corn, soy, and canola. Biotechnology companies like Monsanto (now owned by Bayer, a pharmaceutical company… you can sort of guess the closed negative feedback loop direction this is going) genetically engineer these crops to produce their own pesticide or to withstand the application of herbicides. This may increase yields and profits, but it’s poisoning us and the earth, along with a modern industrial food culture trying to render us helpless and powerless.

Foods are not only being sprayed with pesticides and herbicides which build up as neurotoxins in your brain like those from unfiltered tap water, but modern crops such as wheat are hybridised and genetically modified to the extent where it’s unrecognisable to the human body. Even heirloom wheat is messed with to create weather resistant and easier-to-harvest crops, but comes at the cost of having over a dozen different types of gluten than their ancestors, causing health problems for us today.

Our food may look shinier, more attractive and easier to harvest, but it’s sprayed, depleted of nutrients and minerals, and often covered in wax, tearing holes in our guts, causing an antibody response, chronic inflammation, allergies, and autoimmunity. BT Corn is one example GE crop, which is a genetically modified corn that produces its own endogenous pesticide. When this is consumed, this GMO corn produces pesticides in the gut and continues to do so, turning the gut into a pesticide factory. Mice fed GE pesticide-producing corn over 4 generations showed abnormal structural and chemical changes to various organs and significantly reduced fertility. Other issues (unfortunately also from animal studies) include gastrointestinal disorders, autoimmunity, accelerated aging, reproductive organ problems, lesions, inflammation, altered blood biochemistry, infertility, altered gut bacteria, tumours, cancers, and premature death. Varieties of GMO potatoes have also been engineered to produce their own pesticides… no bueno.

It has been argued that GMO foods are harmless due to the short term studies (mostly by biotechnology companies) on them, but to date, there have been no long term studies on human health. We can even question the blurry line between “natural” hybridisation and human initiated genetic modification. Right now, actually the more concerning issue to me is the presence of pesticides and herbicides like Glyphosate most often sprayed onto these GMO foods. Glyphosate, a herbicide which is a glycine-phosphate created by Monsanto, commonly known as Roundup, proven to cause cancer, is also a massive ubiquitous environmental issue that displaces proper glycine in gene expression. From contaminated foods, unfiltered tap water, and the environment, Glyphosate gets into your myelin and connective tissue, resulting in your own immune system attacking it, causing suffering and autoimmunity, connective tissue and nervous system issues, and various related conditions like leaky gut with a whole load of implications affecting human health (PS. consuming grass fed bone broth with glycine is a remedy for this). When we introduce Glyphosate into the growing and harvesting process, it has been shown to break down the tight junctions of the gut (aka the barrier that protects your bloodstream from things like pathogens, food particles and bacteria), and even increases the bioavailability of toxins. Glyphosate does not affect the GMO crops they’re sprayed on, so farmers can spray the fields with inhumane amounts without killing their crops. Is it any wonder that we have dead depleted soil, widespread suffering (even in the “developed” world), and severe imbalance?

Even though I personally don’t have a gluten intolerance, I still notice subtle negative effects (mostly brain and performance related) from introducing even certified organic ancient grains like spelt and einkorn, compared to something like nutrient-dense, bioavailable grass fed and finished, neutral elk liver. Generally, I don’t give my energy to conventional grains due to the potential effects of not only the gluten or the Franken-gluten, but also the Glyphosate and other pesticides in conventional grains (and sometimes even organic). Regardless, I can still digest organic ancient grains without serious setbacks. Before assuming you’re allergic to gluten, consider if you’re actually being poisoned by Glyphosate or a double whammy including the hybridised Franken-gluten, especially if you’re in North America.

Health is an ever-evolving spectrum without definition. It is a means of navigating conflict to return to harmony. It’s good to be informed, but when you take things into perspective, there are always going to be dangers and toxins in the environment, so there’s no need to get overly neurotic or myopic as the unresolved stress and overmanagement will do more harm than good. Life is too short to be anything but relaxed and aligned with your goals, and you should never feel guilty about any choice that you make (or have made) for yourself, given your circumstances. Regardless, making the moves to better your health and simultaneously soil health involves making more informed choices as you continuously evolve.

You may benefit from a range of simple remedies to detoxify and restore the physical body through the following:

organic/regenerative or wild, locally grown and ethically pasture (sun) raised plant and grass fed/finished nose-to-tail animal foods and optional prayer at meals (doesn’t even have to be formal, do as you wish) to release the animal’s soul from suffering in the cycle of life
avoiding 99% of supermarket foods (most are GMO, including plant foods)
nutritional surplus (the primary and most foundational precursor to your natural, effortless detox processes—generally there’s no need for fancy protocols unless you really feel that you want them where you’re at. Ask your practitioner!)
physical and emotional movement, ancestral practices and guidance
gratitude, mindfulness, meditation, breathwork or whatever you prefer
the regular intake of glycine (bone broth) and/or magnesium glycinate and/or grass fed gelatin and/or collagen supplementation (detoxifies Glyphosate from the body)
grass fed and grass finished, homemade, gelatinous animal bone broths (for the healing glycine as well, restoring the gut’s tight junctions) in wild living spring water charged by sunlight (visit findaspring.com to find pure spring water near you. To learn more about Gerald Pollack’s work on EZ/coherent cellular water, visit pollacklab.org. When sunlight hits water, this creates the 4th phase of water or coherent cellular water, gel-like water in cells that repels toxins and neutralises ROS signalling in your organism properly, helping restore mitochondrial function with glowing skin. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1084952116303834

Glyphosate and agricultural runoff has been found in municipal tap water, so be sure to invest in a shower filter and a reverse osmosis or Berkey drinking/cooking water filter as well (or source pure wild spring water via findaspring.com or in bottles from your grocery store or local supplier). Health, to me, is rooted in soil health, and our mental, physical, and emotional resilience is a direct reflection of the health of the soil on which we live.

You may have seen the “non-GMO project verified” label on many foods, most likely of the packaged sort. While this is a great awareness-raising initiative, it’s important to note that not all non-GMO certified food is organic and may still be sprayed with toxic chemicals. It’s likely easier just to choose organic/biodynamic to cover more bases, grow your own, and/or simply go to your local farmer’s market or health food store/organic delivery service.

Impact

GE organisms have been released into the environment without undergoing health studies or a clear understanding of the long-term implications and how they would interact with other living organisms. Illnesses get stronger the more antibiotics we take, and in a similar fashion, some herbicide-resistant GMO crops are already proving ineffective against new strains of super-weeds.

Statistics

30,000+ different GMOs exist on typical grocery store shelves, largely due to the prevalence of soy, corn and wheat (more often than not sprayed with toxic, gut damaging Glyphosate) in processed and prepared foods
Percent of GMOs in total crop production: 94% soybeans, 90% cotton, 88% corn
Canadian Parliament has decided against mandating labelling of GMO ingredients, which means it’s more important than ever to take your power into your own hands, and go organic when possible.
95% of Canadians believe they have the right to know if their food is genetically engineered
75% is the estimated amount of processed foods available on shelves and in freezer aisles containing at least one ingredient that’s GMO [x]
The USA is the largest producer of GMO crops and does not mandate labels for GMO food. In 30 other countries there are bans or restrictions on the production of GMOs because they are not considered proven safe

Identification

The Canadian government has ignored consumer pleas for labels on genetically modified foods, placing corporate globalised interests over public welfare. Without labels, how are we to make an informed choice and determine what is safe for us, our friends and families to eat? The good news is that you have more power than you may think, and hopefully this article will help serve as a starting point into understanding the very real role your choices and actions play in creating the kind of world you’d like to live in, which goes beyond any election, cult, religion, ideology, doctrine, or political party.

Crossbreeding

Once a GE plant is released, it’s virtually impossible to remove it entirely from the environment. As with all seeds, they’re carried on the wind to neighbouring fields (even organic fields!), threatening to contaminate and crossbreed with organic and non-GMO strains. Cross-species—or transgenic—genetic manipulation has gone so far as to combine fish DNA with strawberries and tomatoes, inserting genes from one species into another, often with significant losses in the nutritional value. Herbicide-resistant crops can cross-pollinate to create herbicide-resistant weeds, and pesticide-producing GMO crops have led to resistance in insects.

The blight of monoculture

Mono-cropped foods are also an issue, which even includes the majority of certified organic produce. This is where thousands of ancient, nutrient-dense varieties cultivated by our ancestors have been replaced by relatively few commercial genetically engineered varieties grown on large industrial agricultural plots. This method is profitable for biotech companies, but creates a significant vulnerability in the food supply since single varieties of crops are more susceptible to disease or environmental changes—with different pesticides and treatments thrown at them in a vicious cycle, quite literally rendering the soils infertile.

The majority of it all really began after the first World War when two generations of self-sufficient farmers tragically did not survive the influenza pandemic or the war. Millions of farm animals also died due to neglect and starvation. These farmers and the animals were replaced with modern agricultural machinery developed by the invented military battle tanks. Weapons technology was modified to create soluble chemical fertilisers to boost yields, while nerve gas technology was used to create weedkillers and pesticides. The use of this technology contributed to the wiping out of biodiversity, wild habitats for birds and bees, increased pollution of the soil and waterways, less manure to compost to keep soils fertile, and the crops’ high yields were offset by greatly reduced nutritional value and rising levels of chemical residues. Heritage seed varieties were replaced by hybrid seeds that produced more predictable yields, so farmers found it increasingly difficult to save their own seed or become self-sufficient.

“Farming” became more predictable, efficient and safer, but also more profitable for those controlling the technologies and less so for the actual farmers. Many farmers sensed (and still sense) that modern methods were making their soil, crops, seeds and animals feeble and less fertile, with much bigger “weeds”.

Traditional industrial farming (including both conventional and organic farming) actually erodes the soil’s quality over time via grazing livestock, crops, and nutrient-draining vegetation grown in the same massive fields over and over every season. The result is artificially enlarged, yet nutritionally deficient produce (essentially empty sacks of water) with decreased nutrient and mineral absorption in our bodies, decreased diversity leading to vulnerability towards “pests and weeds”, modern farmers’ excessive usage of pesticides and herbicides, and illness, profound mass malnutrition and suffering—even in “developed” countries. Remember that traditional cultures didn’t experience much chronic dis-ease, and only did so at very low rates. They had better nutrition because, in part, of the wild plant and animal species they consumed. The interesting part is that today, you can actually heal yourself in many ways with proper nutrition!

Life goes on, so don’t despair. If you want to adapt, simply move farther away from large scale, industrial farming and big globalised agribusiness in typical grocery stores, and start to source and support smaller scale, nutrient-dense foods (especially grass-fed, grass-finished, regeneratively raised, nutrient-dense organ meats) from your local small farmer, or even grow or raise some food yourself to thrive. When it comes to food, just say no to GMOs—and begin to heal your gut.

Solutions

Organic certification may guarantee the absence of GMOs, but even that’s not a panacea. I know of many unethical uses of the organic certification in which companies use it as a marketing tool with no integrity. Organic doesn’t always mean “healthy” either, as many certified organic prepackaged non-foods such as sugary nutrient-void breakfast cereals are still full of preservatives, manufactured flavours, refined sugar, and iron filing “fortification” that accumulates in your organs, which is damaging whether it’s certified organic or not. Organic isn’t a perfect certification but it will at least give you the best odds of nourishing your body with real, toxic chemical-free food, helping you become more alive.

Between poor nutrient-void diets, GMOs, pesticides, hybridization, nutrient-void decimated soils, lack of community, and modern deleterious domesticated sedentary lifestyles, it can be challenging to navigate your way through it all. Personally, I’m a hardliner and kind of a lunatic, and have cultivated (99% of the time) whole food organic/homegrown dietary patterns with some wild foraged foods, and mostly local/biodynamically/permaculturally/regeneratively raised, home cooked meals according to my shifting cravings and body wisdom wherever I travel, and have never felt (or looked) better or more balanced and energetic in my life. I also do everything in my power to avoid many aspects of the modern Western default lifestyle, including most restaurants, cafes and fine dining establishments, most grocery stores the majority of the time, unfiltered municipal tap water, convenience/take-out foods, smoking, drugs and alcohol. I even take regular breaks from decaf organic coffee according to my menstrual cycle. My body has reached an intuitive place where it can immediately be repulsed and negatively affected by non-foods, synthetic perfumes/scents/makeup/skincare (masking your pheromones), chemical cleaners, etc. I was lucky, in a sense, to have been raised in a relatively low toxin environment with reverse osmosis filtered water, and careful minimization of unnecessary pharmaceuticals (of course this is a grey area open to interpretation and choice), but ever since continuously clearing my body of inflammation and tapping into biofeedback, especially with getting more sunlight regularly, the difference between beneficial and draining is more noticeable than ever. If you would like to reduce and break free of any spiritual, emotional, and/or physical suffering, I invite you to explore getting to know your food. It just might save your life. You may notice that once you experience a restoration of your life force, you can let your transformation positively affect others on their own timing!

Organic foods are grown without the use of synthetic oil-based chemicals or irradiation and the use of genetically engineered organisms is prohibited under organic food standards. The best way to avoid GE food, if you can, is to opt for certified organic fresh produce whenever possible, grass fed and finished nose-to-tail meats, medicinal herbs, natural salts, animal fats, and whole foods invigorated by the sun’s rays and structured, wild spring water (H302) in glass or stainless steel bottles—while getting plenty of sun exposure to tolerance throughout the day, yourself. Implementing this has been one of the straight up most empowering experiences of my life. While it’s great to be intentional about everything you consume while knowing the mechanisms behind it all so that your mind and body work synergistically in your favour, it’s also beneficial not to become too neurotic about it, as the stress it induces will do more harm than good.

With that said, ignorance is no longer an option in this age when we have all this information at our fingertips that we can turn into positive action. With the advent of the Industrial (agriculture) Revolution, the mass disconnect between food and table along with the commodification of food divorced from soil health has led us down the path of malnourished, suffering, subjugated, divided humans overwhelmed by toxicants… but the brightest light can be found in the darkest depths. What can we do? Reclaim your power, heal yourself and reconnect to your food all the way down to the soil in which it has grown. Vote with your fork, which impacts the whole ecosystem and the very trajectory in which human civilization plays out.

Every little thing we do actually matters, we move and with every word we create our very reality. The way we eat is a reflection of our values on this planet, and the money you spend sends energy and supports the kind of world you’d actually like to live in. This happens every single time you buy something to eat. When you become inspired to make more informed choices, and get to support your local regenerative farmers and food growers, you cleanse the old energy, create balance with the force of the natural elements, reconnect with your food and your body, remember ancestral ways, and evolve your human experience on this planet. You begin to rebirth on an expansive journey inward and embark on a path that fractally and reciprocally nourishes, heals, and flourishes local economies, communities, bioregions and your loved ones, while creating minimal harm and living a new paradigm. It begins with you, your creation, and your experience. Your unique lifelong process may seem painstakingly slow at times, but undoubtedly impacts the whole.

Whether or not you “believe” in climate change, your priority should be real food and real water to maintain yourself, and if this is out of your price range, I can only suggest taking a step back and examining your budget and hobbies to make room for the very things informing your health and fertility (if you’re so inclined) at the cellular level.

“Healthy soil is the basis of all Life on the planet. Without addressing the immediate need to preserve the organic content of our soil, food security will inevitably come under severe threat.”

— Sadhguru

Nutrition

We are meant to feel energetic and limitless. Full stop. Aim to nourish your every cell with nutritional repletion via enjoyable sun-ripened foods. Think regeneratively raised/wild caught, nourishing grass-fed and finished animal meats/fats/nose-to-tail foods, daily sunlight exposure, sea salt, homegrown or wildcrafted herbs/teas full of bioavailable minerals, activated nuts and seeds, seasonal fruits and vegetables grown according to your current latitude and UV light environment. If not for yourself, at least to reduce your suffering.

Your body’s ability to carry out metabolic processes, heal from injury or sickness, and defend from pathogens has evolved with a diet vastly different from what most people experience today. Reliance on big globalised agribusiness in grocery stores, mismatched UV light information from foods unsustainably packaged and shipped across the planet (including ‘superfoods’), and industrial food-like products have not outdone our need for wild, locally and regeneratively grown food. Many of today’s common illnesses such as cardiovascular diseases, depression, various cancers on the rise earlier in life globally, autoimmunity, diabetes, certain vision problems, dental and peridontal issues, poor jaw development, and neurological issues are the direct result of nutrient-poor industrial diets that supply excessive omega-6 fatty acids, such as today’s average grocery store diet and the readymade TV dinners of the ‘60s that probably got passed down by your grandparents. These mindless industrial diets and patterns, as you’re probably familiar with by now, rely heavily on refined sugars, overly processed Franken-grains, and indoor cage-reared, grain, corn and soy-fed, sad animals (most often just the muscle meats, which is an issue in itself since nose-to-tail eating provides the more balanced deep nutrition of our ancestors). I would like to offer the constant possibility of hope to regenerate your health at any age by making increasingly informed decisions, breaking out of old patterns, and sourcing foods more wisely, reconnecting profoundly with your food, and healing your gut, as I have done and continue to do myself.

Weston A. Price (1945) showed that “primitive peoples” (this is a major compliment IMO) were free from many of these now common dis-eases, and diet coupled with sunlight/circadian rhythm/grounding in an outdoor lifestyle with lots of natural movement played a massive role in shaping, promoting and creating health. Foods consumed by ancient people were vastly different in important ways than the foods consumed by contemporary people.

These primal foods were much more nutrient dense, with higher levels of vitamins, minerals and fiber needed by the human body for innumerable reasons, several vitamins (ie. A, C, D, E are antioxidants with cancer-protective properties)
Richer sources of beneficial phytochemicals (polyphenols, glutathione, bitters) beneficial for metabolic processes and some with potent antioxidant activity
More balanced ratio of omega–6 to omega-3 fatty acids. There is a dramatic difference in the general ratios of primitive peoples compared to modern domesticated humans, primarily due to the modern day drastically amplified use of mono-cropped, nutrient void cereal grains and inflammatory, industrialised seed and vegetable oils
Primitive “paleo” foods generally provide less energy per unit weight (less calorie dense), lowering blood glucose variance and total amount of fiber consumed, positively affecting intestinal tract function

The foods consumed by ancient peoples were supremely nutrient-dense and supplied more vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, and fiber than contemporary, cultivated plants. They also supplied a better ratio of omega-6 to -3 fatty acids, contributing to the overall greater health and vitality of various groups. Remember that we all hail from (and have the capacity to be) wild ancestral people who understood very clearly they were but one species that lived upon the landscape. As I write this, our genetic make-up is essentially identical to pre-agricultural humans (hunter-gatherers), and I feel this myself, so I believe it’s in our best interest to begin to remember and consume the foods, collecting them according to that which the human genome is adapted to. Most people in the context of the modern, colonized world are faced with a massive disconnect between the food they have evolved to consume and the food they actually consume. This incongruity has serious implications for health, which is not truly found or cultivated in any fad diet label or supplement stack, but by actually engaging in the activity we humans have participated in for millennia: hunting, wild foraging, fishing, all according to the earth’s rhythms. It is time to return to the forests, the marshlands, the beaches, mountaintops and prairies.

Sun raised food is foundational to the creation of thriving life on a soul level. It supports our potential to reach our highest expression in this lifetime. Food is critical to the childbearing continuum with intergenerational impacts. Leave the dead food-like products and industrialised vegetable/seed cooking oils behind, cook for yourself more, and any stagnation and even blockages will dissipate. Nourishment is truly a path to connection, wholeness, embodiment, and reclaiming your power and presence, your life. Real food should make you feel clear, energised, coherent, calm, grounded, open, and *good*. Any fatigue or discomfort after eating indicates gut and brain (systemic) inflammation, most often from processed non-foods and a toxic, incompatible lifestyle.

Much of contemporary Western culture is overly insulated from the energy and flow of the natural elements, creating high levels of inflammation and stagnation that can be hard to notice especially when you haven’t known anything else better in the first place (sort of like the concept of frogs slowly being boiled in water). To create balance aside from proper nutrition, it will also do you good to charge your body like a battery by being barefoot while grounded to the earth with sun exposure on bare skin (like the Hadza, with thriving microbiomes and perfect teeth) to tolerance throughout the day, keeping an open mind to new experiences and improving your digestion so that the nutrients are assimilated properly. All of these things work in tandem to create and shape the whole you. Your mitochondria produces light that charges the water in your cells and this is used to neutralise cellular stress while optimising cellular energy generation. When all of this is done together with trust, reciprocity, and the medicine of emotional competence (what’s up, Dr. Gabor Maté), you can shed the social conditioning, old patterns, emotions and fear, and you’ll experience on a deep level how simple, good, and drama-free life can feel on the ever-evolving spectrum of vibrant health. Relaxation and play is key to thriving and resilience.

Organic

Organic is definitely a buzzword these days, and you could even see it plastered all over my recipes on this blog, so let’s explore further and separate the wheat from the chaff (pun always intended).

Organic can be narrowly defined as food that is produced without toxic chemicals (poison). This includes any synthetic fertilisers (like synthetic nitrogen), pesticides, herbicides, or other destructive inputs detrimental to soil health, all of which are the norm with conventional farming methods.

But before we paint organic as a panacea with a broad stroke, the certification and practices still have their pitfalls and critiques. I do eat organic 99% of the time myself, but despite not using chemical/oil-based pesticides or fertilisers, organically grown food does not always guarantee nutrient-dense food, nor does it guarantee that the farmers/growers have treated the farm as a whole living organism/ecosystem (regeneratively). Organic produce can still be mono-cropped and industrially produced with greater land use, creating deforestation, increasing carbon dioxide emissions, reducing biodiversity, depleted of vital minerals and nutrients without the regenerative component. Per unit of product, mono-cropped and industrially farmed organic produce generates higher nitrogen leaching, nitrous oxide and ammonia emissions, with more acidification potential.

Certified organic liquid NPK fertiliser can still cause soil depletion, shallow roots, imbalance, and create low-nutritional value organic food. Organic pesticides include nicotine sulfate, methyl bromide, copper sulfate, rotenone, and pyrethrins, and they may only be marginally better than the toxic pesticides used for/in conventional foods, and can even be worse for the environment as they can kill not only the pests they target, but also their natural predators as they’re often less specific. Organic foods are not necessarily more nutritious than conventional foods either, but depending on where you source, produce (whether certified organic or biodynamic or not at all) may be regeneratively grown to actually increase nutritional value on a tangible level (ask your farmers and food growers!).

Even certified organic animals could still be tragically locked indoors in factories (with no/very little sunlight exposure which is required to orchestrate the biology and balance the nutrients of the meat), eating grains for their whole lives (this creates imbalanced omega-3 to omega-6 ratios in the meat, even if it is indeed certified organic grain). Organic chickens can be “free range” yet still crowded indoors under toxic artificial lighting and fed a nutritionally deficient grain, corn and soy diet (chickens are omnivorous and eat bugs, mice and nutritious field greens, and should be fed a variety of nutritious foods including seaweed, food scraps, and probiotic foods).

Organic farming prohibits the use of antibiotics, which not only increases the amount of ‘good’ bacteria, but also more ‘bad’ bacteria and microbes, so the risk/reward ratio can be greater. No matter how you approach this, if they’re suitable for you, be sure to include anti-microbial herbs and spices into your life as well as probiotic foods such as kefir, sauerkraut and kimchi, all of which can effectively prevent the growth of bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcal enterotoxins which can cause food poisoning (whether organic or conventional).

Even some of the most regenerative, holistically managed farms can’t be certified organic, even though they go above and beyond organic. For example, regenerative practices using fly tags contain an insecticide to help keep flies out of cow’s faces and preventing tick bites, keeping them from having to constantly swat them away and losing too much weight due to the excess energy used. The use of these fly tags renders any “organic” certification null, despite the great care and attention given to a well-holistically managed regenerative farm that constantly balances its soil health and otherwise uses no toxic pesticides, herbicides, or fertilisers.

As you can see, organic certification (and any certification for that matter) is merely a single way to build proper nourishment that goes beyond the label, and a marketing scheme at worst. The issue that is personally more significant to me is the ethos of the farmers, the level of mindfulness given towards their regenerative practices, and the care and attention to detail given to the soil that sustains it all. Given what we are faced with in our daily modern environment, it can be wise to choose organic whenever possible, depending on your personal context.

Canada Organic/Biologique Canada

To qualify for organic certification, farms have to be pesticide-free for at least 3 years, and must avoid synthetic inputs such as pesticides and antibiotics as well as the deliberate use of GMOs, while regenerating soil fertility and guaranteeing preservation of biodiversity with relative regards to animal welfare.

USDA Organic

The USDA Organic system was implemented in 2002 as the US equivalent of the Canada Organic certification. The requirements are similar to Canada Organic in that farms have to be pesticide-free for several years, and must avoid synthetic inputs like pesticides and antibiotics and the deliberate use of GMOs, all while building the soil to an extent. This certification has various flaws, however, and is not my primary choice.

ECOCERT

ECOCERT is a highly respected organic certification organisation founded in France in 1991, with a subsidiary in Quebec, Canada. As one of the largest organic certifications in the world, they conduct inspections in over 80 countries globally, not only in food, but also in cosmetics (super important). Certifying your practices allows you to establish trust and meaningful relationships with your customers and stakeholders. Look for the red ECOCERT icon.

Regenerative agriculture: the new black

The concept of regenerative agriculture is a newly emerging umbrella term and not at all clearly defined, but it’s powerful, and can even be seen as a viable solution to essentially every issue on this planet that humankind grapples with today. “Regenerative” as it applies to food was first used by organic gardening pioneer Robert Rodale, according to Jeff Moyer, executive director of the Rodale Institute. The gist of it is about doing better by our current agricultural practices, learning from our elders, and reconnecting to nature’s wisdom informed by our ancestral honouring of the land, aligning with the force of the elements. As such, there is always room for synthesis, evolution, and working with different ancestral practices and even your own lifestyle. It’s nature-led (older than time), it’s individualised, and varies according to microclimates even within the same bioregion. It’s about moving forward without guilt, learning from your past, and making informed choices regarding your food, synergistically restoring the wholeness of your human experience, and that of the health of the soil. It is my hope that with this article you might find a feasible technique or direction that speaks to you and your context, and begin to pass down the principles to future lineages, teaching children to love the land and the food they eat, becoming great people in the circle of life.

Indeed, “regenerative agriculture” is the latest trendy term in farming and food, often thrown around with no integrity. Companies such as Nature’s Path and Patagonia have received Regenerative Organic Certification, General Mills has “regenerative” plans for 10 million acres, and even the likes of Walmart has pledged its intention to become a “regenerative company” (whatever that means). For us, this might mean sticking to certified organic/biodynamic foods from the farmer’s markets until “regenerative” becomes a defined term backed by a regulatory system. This might even mean getting our own hands dirty in the meantime while taking back control of our food sovereignty, implementing legitimately (according to your own definition) regenerative practices in home and urban gardening, reinvigorating the spirit of the community in which we live.

According to Jeff Moyer, organic should be a prerequisite for being considered regenerative.

“We believe that in order to be regenerative, you have to start by being organic. It’s a little disingenuous to say you can regenerate soil health and sequester carbon and still use nitrogen fertilizers and synthetic pesticides. What you’re really saying is equivalent to saying ‘I want to be healthy as a person, but I still want to smoke cigarettes.”

— Jeff Moyer, CEO of the Rodale Institute and author of Organic No-Till Farming

Regenerative agriculture is actually a movement as old as time itself as it seeks to move closer to nature’s rhythms. The earth evolved with plants, animals, microbes and soil co-evolving together. Regenerative farms see their entire farm as a living ecosystem, restoring the health and harmony of the land’s ecosystem through regenerative principles. Farmers are land managers rather than stock managers; instead of blindly seeing their outputs as a commodity, they ask themselves what they can do to protect the natural ecosystem and ways in which they can produce food in accordance with the natural cycles (biomimicry); a smorgasbord of diverse plants and animals operating together to create harmony, restoring the health of the land and paradoxically creating more outputs.

Biodiversity is food security. Regenerative ag practices include:

No use of toxic chemicals or GMOs
Low-till/no-till methods
Cover cropping
Emulates nature (biomimicry) rather than going against it
Using animal impact rather than pesticides
Getting the animals out of the factories and back out on the land under sunshine where they belong
Takes all the attributes of the fair-trade, animal welfare and climate movements, and opens up possibilities for the next stages
From a business standpoint, customers are eagerly waiting for people to be farming in these ways

Regenerative almond orchards in California, for example, use a whopping 30% of the water they did only 5 years ago. Pesticides aren’t even considered as part of the process, input costs are minimal, and yields haven’t declined. Every 1% increase in organic matter can hold 20,000 gallons of water. This illustrates merely a tip of the iceberg of potential.

“We have to have regenerative food, farming, and land use if we hope to survive.”

— Ronnie Cummings, Executive Director of the Organic Consumers Association

Regenerative organic agriculture certification, an introduction to the topic and an explanation of the importance of regenerative agriculture.

Living soil = healthy soil = thriving you

Healthy soil is lush; it is alive, it feeds you, creates you. The quality of your food is contingent upon many factors, but what it always starts with is the quality of the soil itself, which depends on its structure, biology and chemistry. The healthier the soil, the more carbon the plants sequester, the healthier the animals. In order for agriculture to be sustainable, the soil must be attentively and mindfully cared for, respected and conserved, enlivened and regenerated consistently. This should be an ongoing endeavour. The earth, nutrition, sustainability and human beings are one.

“Our body is essentially soil and water. The quality of our soil will determine the quality of our food, our body, and our life.”

— Sadhguru

Healthy, nutrient-dense soil is alive, teeming with microbes, bacteria and fungi, mindfully managed and abundant in minerals; it contains calcium, carbonates, magnesium, phosphates, sulfates, potassium, nitrate, ammonium and iron, all in a delicate balance. These nutrients (or lack thereof) reflect in the food that is grown in the soil, and regenerative farming is the lens through which soil is restored. Healthy soil has deep, lush root systems with space for airflow and life, retaining water in times of drought, and structure and strength through organic matter and humus, full of the life and death cycle. It is rooted in human relationship to nature that most of us have become alienated from, but we cannot dwell on these past unchangeable actions, we can only respond to the present landscapes and listen to what they are telling us, learning to listen to the land.

Through the miracle of photosynthesis, the activity of the sun, and the formative forces of the universe, plants create living substance from the mineral kingdom. Each plant enlivens the soil by its root secretions (rhizospheres) by drawing carbon dioxide and nitrogen from the atmosphere as well as from water. In living soil this activity produces an increase in humic levels (microbial humus).

The importance of building soil in this era is vital not just for food security. Even a 1% increase in soil organic matter holds another 22,000 gallons of rainwater per acre, infiltrating and cooling the land, nourishing regenerative life, increasing crop output and providing resilience in the midst of droughts and climate change.

Sorry, but mowed and toxic pesticide-sprayed lawns are not beautiful. We need to leave lawns be, and rewild them into beautiful, balanced, relaxing meadows with wildflowers and other plants so we can attract and sustain pollinators while accessible, chemical-free food is grown and we can roam barefoot in health and actually thrive and support our local communities. Photo by *Rémi Müller* on *Unsplash*

The industrial agricultural practices that emerged in the 19th century completely ignored the cyclical wisdom of nature and ‘give and take’ principles, and evolved into a ‘take and take some more’ mentality, which led to the global blight of mono-cropping we see today, especially to feed the livestock in a single paddock, narrowing the biodiversity of the land through separation and synthetic pesticides. Then came the hybridization, GMOs and lawn mowing, which led to the further sterilization, loss of diversity, imbalance, separation and widespread decimation we see today.

The ecosystem feeding and sustaining itself through the cycles of life and death became dominated by that of the farmer. The largely Western (as far as I can tell) ‘human’-centric worldview led the ecosystem down a slippery slope into what we see today, and the systems have led us into interfering too heavily with nature’s cycles, little value at high costs, high carbon emissions (vs. beneficial carbon sequestering), and dead soil.

A thriving ecosystem transmutes death into life, sterility into fertility, trash into treasure. All elements from the fungi, microbes, bacteria, bees, plants and animals are required for a synergistic balance, and with a single crop we see the imbalance and decimation of the health of the soil.

Regenerative certification is in the works, but there are countless farms that manage their land holistically using regenerative principles that are not certified, yet yield incredible, nutrient-dense food. Sometimes regenerative certification may piggyback on an organic certification, but many people believe regeneratively farmed does not need to be certified organic. Certification or not—it’s not a matter of black or white, we must see beyond the superficial label and into the actual practices. It should be noted that no practice takes precedence over the other, they’re merely tools for you to use, not full-blown ideologies or lifestyles to follow. May this be a springboard into your own explorations, knowing the importance and very real benefits of investing in food raised with these techniques. We owe it to ourselves and to the earth. You do not have to be certified in order to improve your practices!

The fertility of the soil is a direct reflection of the fertility of humans and other creatures; we are what our food eats. Quality soil supported by regenerative farming practices, looking at old ways, ancient practices and ancestral wisdom, results in delicious, better quality of food for the community, and a better and more harmonious, joyful experience on this planet.

To learn more about soil biology from Elaine Ingham and how to grow food in harmony with nature, visit soilfoodweb.com.

Carbon

Massive, contentious topic here, so I’ll keep it quick. Chances are that you’re at least slightly aware there is a carbon problem, but carbon itself is actually not the enemy. Carbon is in fact one of the main building blocks on this planet, and without it, we would not be sentient. It is a natural part of the cycle of life that keeps everything in balance, from the carbon dioxide/co2 that comes out of our mouths, to cow farts, to volcano eruptions and decomposing bodies. The particular imbalance is that of the emissions from the advent of the Industrial Revolution (cars, factory machines, cities, etc.) and carbon-based energy sources (fossil fuels, coal, oil). In building and repeating the modern, overdeveloped world and standard of living, this has tipped the balance of stored (sequestered carbon sink) vs. air-bound (in the atmosphere) carbon by burning the carbon bonds that were stored in the earth for energy, not to mention the fossil fuel emissions contributing to accelerated temperatures.

The UN’s 1992 Kyoto Protocol was an international treaty that addressed man-made CO2 and global warming, shedding light on the carbon sink concept. When we improve soil health (therefore our food, our health, through regenerative agriculture and growing nutrient-dense foods), we actually sequester carbon to balance out the carbon cycle, a win-win situation.

Carbon stored underground (ie. oceans and soil) helps the ecosystem’s carbon cycle most efficiently. Trees, plants, and greenery are also massive keys to carbon sequestration and locking it in the soil. Plants photosynthesise energy from the sun (duh) and take CO2 from the air, split it into oxygen and carbon, release the oxygen into the air and use the carbon to grow. Photosynthesis is key to carbon sequestration from the air, and so when they’re intelligently managed, regeneratively raised cows and other ruminants can actually help turn lands into carbon sinks when they rotationally and naturally graze on grass in ebbs and flows, which promotes photosynthesis.

So whether or not you "believe” climate change is real or whether we can do anything about it, we can “save the planet” in many ways by both saving ourselves and supporting regenerative practices.

It’s not the cow, it’s the how

Low quality commercial farming has increasingly come under fire in the past few decades, understandably, and the blame is often pointed at the emissions of factory farmed cows contributing to climate change. Fair enough: factory farms are indeed horrible places, and if you can afford not to support conventional industrial agriculture, all the more power to you. However, we should remember that as much as cows can be part of the problem, they can also be a part of the solution.

With the advent of the industrial agriculture revolution, the cows (at least in Turtle Island/North America) were increasingly pried away from their natural habitats with herd-based grazing patterns onto a single paddock, reducing the biodiversity of the land. The problem is not as simple as just the cows; it’s in the way humans have come to (mis-)manage them. Abundant herds of millions of thriving, wild nutrient-dense bison also used to freely roam Turtle Island since prehistoric times, and a large amount was unnecessarily killed in the US alone in 1872-1874. By the time 1884 rolled around, only 375 known wild bison were left in the US—nearly extinct due to overhunting. Only recently have there been efforts to restore the bison population in both Canada and the US, to the point where they are no longer endangered, but still in a quite fragile place, a small fraction of what they used to be.

With regenerative practices and rotational grazing (we’ll touch on this a bit later) that allows the soil and plants to naturally thrive and create carbon sinks, we can properly care for and honour both the land, the animals, and ourselves in the circle of life. Speaking as an ex-vegan myself, it is not realistic nor healthy to incentivize the ‘developed’ world to become vegan (which can be highly polluting and simply nutritionally inadequate) or even locally grown organic whole food plant-based 100% of the time. Regeneratively and ethically raised real animal meat actually heals and creates health and should remain an option for those who cannot (and refuse to) live off of plants and bugs. I’m sure you’ve heard people’s stories of no longer being able to sustain such a depleted unnatural plant-based/vegan diet, and this has also been my experience, personally.

Will regenerative agriculture singlehandedly solve the predicament of climate change? Who knows, but all we can do is make sense of things with every choice we make and bring back the heart and soul. At the end of the day, we are here to help each other and thrive. Sustainable or not, it’s going to be on a spectrum, and it’s just better for the earth, our communities and our bodies to take the effort to choose regeneratively grown and raised animal and plant foods wherever we go, and support our local farmers and growers in a reciprocal, circular relationship. You will notice positive impacts on your daily mood, emotions, well-being, and eventually, increased ability to tangibly support your communities in return (even if your lifestyle is nomadic, you can always support local!).

Terra preta and biochar to heal the soil

Deep in the Amazon region, there are anthropogenic soils known as terra preta, or black soil, which date back over 2000 years. The Amazonian peoples understood not only the value of rich soils, but they actually knew how to make them. Terra preta are not soils of normal geologic processes, but rather amended with rich charcoal deposits and organic materials. Modern, disconnected cultures knew nothing of terra preta until at least 1870, and only within the last ten years has there been more attention given to its value towards regenerative agriculture.

Today, what we know as biochar is one of the oldest and most beneficial tools we have for regenerative farming and revitalising the planet’s arable lands, with a high capacity for nutrient retention and crop productivity. It is a charcoal-like substance derived from organic materials and provides immediate opportunities for agriculture during these times of tumultuous change.

Biochar is derived from organic (most often woody) materials, burned at high temperatures for short periods before being extinguished, preserving their rough exoskeleton and cavernous structure of internal micropores and channels. This is where nutrients, water and beneficial microbes can be stored in a sponge-like fashion to absorb excesses in the soil, releasing them back again as the soil environment requires.

Figure 1. This scanning electron microscope image shows a piece of pine wood biochar at 100x magnification. The plant cell walls visible in the image contribute to biochar’s porous structure and can improve soil properties (photo: Jake Nash)

Biochar provides balanced resilience against extremes in soils with low organic matter, low biological activity, and infertility, perfect for these times with increasingly parched agricultural soils. Its unique three-dimensional inner architecture gives it an unparalleled resiliency and buffering capacity, so much that even well-balanced soils can benefit from the addition of biochar, producing eternal soil fertility and therefore profitability in more ways than one.

Biochar’s unique structure gives it an unparalleled buffering capacity and resiliency as a vital amendment towards today’s parched agricultural soils. It’s also very simple to make and apply: just sprinkle it liberally on the soil’s surface!

Rotational grazing and holistic land management

These are merely two concepts under the loose regenerative agriculture umbrella that are quite new to me, yet they’re vital practices when it comes to nurturing ethically pasture raised, grass fed and finished, sun kissed animal and plant foods.

*River’s Edge Goat Dairy* *in Arthur, Ontario*

The secret to keeping meadows and grasslands fertile in farming is to implement rotational grazing in a good rhythm, as opposed to monotonous and continuous grazing that stagnates and depletes. Rotational grazing is a regenerative practice where cows and other ruminants freely graze in herds, naturally grazing down in one area and moving on as they were always meant to, allowing the area to recover and regenerate. A large pasture is often divided into smaller paddocks, allowing animals to move freely through sections of sunlit pasture to improve plant, soil, and animal health. Only one portion of the pasture is grazed by the animals at a time while the remainder ‘rests’. In doing so, forage plants are naturally allowed to recover and deepen their root systems, boosting soil biomass and fertility while sequestering carbon from the atmosphere into the roots and soil, with the healthy soil structure preventing erosion and reducing agricultural runoff, feeding the biology of the soil, seeing big returns and even protecting the land from droughts by storing water in the topsoil.

Wild birds naturally follow ruminants, and their pecking and digging disperses the cow poop (full of nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium) and fertilises the soil, sequestering even more carbon and balancing its chemistry… all without any human intervention. Along with ethically raised ruminants, mobile chicken coops may also thrive with these practices while basking in the direct sunlight, and the chickens’ excrements also nourish the soil to make it healthy, alive and nutrient-dense.

Not every culture has disconnected so badly from their food and soil health. Around the globe we still see thriving food creation today in places like Greece, Spain, Mexico, and small pockets of humble, often poor (money and/or land-wise) villages and various cultures that have maintained the ancestral honouring of the land (wise medicine matriarchs and their vegetable gardens may come to mind here)... and not to mention Indigenous practices and worldviews that have been in tune with the elements for thousands of years. Even around me, there’s a permaculture farm 20 minutes away, and my own (roughly speaking) humble backyard food forest that increasingly flourishes year after year. Your own personal reconnection won’t look the same as anyone else’s, but this should likely involve returning to life across the board.

Modern society likes to think we invented agriculture not too long ago, and it is true that big leaps have been taken in order to grow food for increasingly more people. In doing so, this has unfortunately precipitated and contributed to the demise of native cultures, native crops, traditional farming and lifeways, biodiversity, and soil health (aka nutrients) in the midst of general environmental uncertainty. The best thing we can do, in my opinion, is to see it for what it is, and begin to take matters into our own hands, on our own time.

Around 10,000 B.C., the Neolithic revolutions gave birth to the rise of farming and agriculture, from scattered, thriving nomadic bands of foraging hunter-gatherers that evolved into farming villages and eventually to technologically complex societies and a reliance on domesticated plants and animals in general.

For centuries, hunter-gatherer and agricultural patterns existed simultaneously in different regions of the earth, with the hunter-gatherers being mostly nomadic under sunlight on whole food, nutrient dense, balanced nose-to-tail and wild foraged diets with thriving dental health and gut microbiomes, and the agricultural ways becoming the origins of villages. Rather than the tribes moving around to find food and to allow for wild regeneration of the land, cultivating food in villages allowed humans to settle throughout the seasons and produce more local food especially for sparse seasons and failed harvests… but this created mixed results for the early agriculturalists as it also led to a narrower range of food and poorer soil quality coupled with a monotonous diet, greater inequities among fabricated social groups, poorer dental and overall health according to archaeological skeletons examined in the 1970s and 1980s, and Neolithic diseases. It is widely accepted that agriculture exacted a steep price in human health. More people packed together for longer periods created stagnation and increased risk of illness from contaminated food, domesticated animals, air, water and soil. We can clearly see this continue and accelerate today.

The trade of food sources was already happening with the hunter-gatherers, but the agriculture in the villages allowed for trade to become a source of greater security, creating the foundations of economy. They started to change the landscape to meet human needs, but this urbanised our entire existence, disconnecting us from the land, from spirit, losing our sense of being part of the land, causing pain, isolation, depression, stagnation, and loss of sense of self. We stopped feeling the destruction of the earth as the destruction of ourselves, and today most of our technological advances and cleverness are nothing but a façade for today’s failing agricultural industry.

When we transitioned from idyllic hunting and gathering to settled agricultural “set stock” models and domestication on a fixed piece of land that is continuously grazed upon and depleted, there was enough fertile land elsewhere to plant the seeds of wild foods in areas we could manage, harvest, and eventually sell and trade at mass scales. It was easier to move from one section of the land to the next after it lost its fertility. Now we are running out of land, and so it is time to reexamine our current agricultural practices, work with what we have, and get closer to nature’s wisdom.

So what does this mean for us today? The development from hunting and gathering towards these first agricultural practices was only possible after the stabilisation of the post-ice age extreme climate hostility. Nowadays, the changing climate has accelerated, calling for us to remember our most primal nature, interconnectedness and interdependence with the land. To take a step back, stay primal and wild, get out of our heads and back into our bodies, and experience unfettered joy and reconnection, wholeness, and a vibrantly healthy future on a personal, community, and global level. This doesn’t mean regressing to the average primitive lifespan of 25-30: given what we know now, this would very likely turn out to be quite the opposite in today’s world: a longer, more fulfilling life, thriving in all circumstances.

Reconnecting to ancestral lifeways for those who have lost their way might involve exploring holistic land management, which includes countryside management. Holistic management is an approach popularised by ecologist, farmer and environmentalist, Allan Savory. It means that we see the short and long-term impacts of our decisions, considering the actions both above and below the soil, the micro and macro as a living whole. Holistic management is sort of a controversial concept, particularly among those who feel that they need the narrow validation of current science to fuel their every decision (which is totally cool, but science grows and expands, just as life moves and evolves!). It’s always another option to help make life more magical and worth living (I realise this might sound corny, but it’s true. If none of my content works for you with regard to this, I hope you get to find some way to re-enchant your life).

Holistic land management is powerful. It restores the land naturally without any need for chemical treatments by recreating the way animals evolved to interact with their environment and symbiotic relationships (biomimicry). This is a fundamental part of ecology and human health, reimagining farming as not just flat squares of land with monotonous rows/sections of crops, but in reality, a healthy balance and diverse mixture of forests, meadows, cultivated fields, groves, orchards, and gardens as part of large-scale crop farming. Wooded areas, hedges, diversified fields and natural grasslands are important as well. It is also recommended to maintain some non-productive areas that won’t be grazed such as damp fields where mushrooms and fungi can freely grow, encouraging them to become less aggressive in neighbouring crop fields.

Biodynamic agriculture: bridging spirit into matter

Supporting organic agriculture is merely a baseline and actually the bare minimum when it comes to cultivating a thriving body and planet, but if you want to go a step further in your nutrient intake and earth/spirit connection, I recommend exploring biodynamic agriculture which honours harmony with the earth, the cosmos, creatures and human beings. The land and soil is regenerated and grown in ways that are inspired by various esoteric concepts drawn from the ideas of philosopher and scientist Rudolf Steiner, combining careful scientific observations with a poetic vision and recognition of the spirit in nature. These meticulous observational skills are highly valued by biodynamic farmers, allowing for greater insight into challenges and possible solutions, dynamically working to harmonise these elements to support the health of the whole, along with the no-toxic input methods.

Even the emotional nature of the farmer is taken into consideration, crucial to the overall harmony and sense of balance on the farm and how it is maintained. Challenges are unavoidable, but the farmer must face them with a certain level of conscious moral, ethical, and social awareness. Steiner noted that the level of human consciousness is a factor in the evolution of the Earth and its inhabitants.

Biodynamic agriculture takes a holistic, ethical, ecological approach that was initially developed in 1924, and the produce is simply top quality. It’s so special that you could feel it in the vegetables. Biodynamic carrots and potatoes, for example, are hands down the best tasting I’ve ever had. The growing demand for fresh, Demeter-certified, sun-raised biodynamic-quality vegetables is important for both local networks (farm shops, markets, etc.) and larger-scale national retail and cooperatives. When it comes to diversification, growing vegetables in open fields as part of a larger farm is one possible avenue. There is also a trend among younger farmers towards more specialised forms of veggie growing, such as in cold frames or polytunnels.

Biodynamic is regenerative, but not all regenerative farms are biodynamic. Some biodynamic principles go beyond what some regenerative agriculture farms implement. Biodynamic principles can even extend into the personal garden and within you. It is a way of seeing and navigating the world, adaptable to any scale or skillset, and if you’re into sustainability, regenerative practices, health and recovery at all, I highly recommend exploring the works of Rudolf Steiner. Look for the Demeter certification, or enter the keywords “biodynamic farmers’ market/CSA/produce” + “your location” into your favourite search engine to find food sources near you. It’s also possible to grow your produce on a smaller scale informed by some biodynamic principles (such as a home garden/food forest) and not have to be Demeter certified.

As a very brief overview, several principles characterise biodynamic agriculture, drawing from a deep pool of wisdom from over the ages. Farms and other agricultural living organisms are integrated not only into their physical environment (terroir) but also their cosmic environment, cultivating health, balance and sustainability in inexplicable ways. Although I don’t currently take astrology very seriously, I see it as one of the most fascinating and impactful forms of regenerative agriculture that I know of. I feel it could require some serious neurogenesis to really grasp the principles and explore, which is why I’m so adamant about nutrition.

Biodynamic agriculture is based on three main underlying principles:

Cosmic/spiritual forces in the universe influence life on Earth
Each farm/living organism attempts to function with a sense of wholeness, that is; it is self-contained;
The role and even emotions of the farmer is central in achieving the equilibrium needed on the farm (source: earthhavenlearning.ca)

In biodynamics, some ways that this integration occurs should happen through:

Sustainability of resources including plants, animals, and soil
Respecting the natural habits of animals
Application of horn manure (500 or 500P), horn silica (501… yes, they have code names), and the use of the six to nine biodynamic preparations often with rainwater tea stirred and dynamised to carry the forces through the preparations, mirroring the cosmos above
Following the rhythms of nature and the cosmos (with the loose help of annual biodynamic calendars, sowing done at favourable times based on the movement of the Moon and planets)
Aiming for a sustainable level of productivity which doesn’t affect the balance and health of the land
Aiming for the greatest diversity of plants and animals as possible (therefore productivity and thriving)

Formation of living soil (I’m talking constant and obsessive levels of dedication to maintaining and forming soil health)
Proper management of organic matter and compost
Working the soil when conditions are right, using appropriate tools; cosmic influences are at work each time the soil is worked so unfavourable times, especially days with nodes in the calendar, should be avoided
Long term and diversified crop rotation
Using seeds and plants adapted to local conditions and the local environment, ideally heirloom and local seeds which are vital in the era of globalisation where introduction of GMO plants is driven by corporate financial interests
Ensuring the soil is never bare
Proper management of cover crops and pasturing

Biodynamic ag can only create a new relation between earth and cosmos through the plants and good agricultural practices like those above. There is also a social dimension to the living organism that is a biodynamic farm and practice. It is not appropriate to work out of a sense of competition or materialism, rather it is better to facilitate a kind of economic community to be developed, whether through free association and active decentralized participation in local meeting and work groups to address production and consumer issues, or through encouraging a continual seeking for a deeper knowledge of life processes, empathy with the living world around us and the forces that act on it. All in the name of producing quality nutrition whilst respecting nature’s kingdoms and the creatures that live in it, practising the science of adaptation and customising methods and processes to deal with novel challenges.

In his Agriculture Course, Rudolf Steiner said that in agriculture, we must sometimes loot the earth, but that we must compensate in forces for what we remove in substance.

Overall, the underlying theme in biodynamics is interconnectedness: between the cosmos and earth, plant and soil, sky and plant, human beings and their surroundings.

Permaculture

Permaculture is a portmanteau of “permanent agriculture” and “permanent culture”. It’s not so much a farming technique as it is a loose blueprint for how we can live our lives. Permaculture integrates land, resources, people, and the environment through mutually beneficial synergies, imitating the zero-waste, closed loop systems observed in diverse, natural ecosystems. It is the conscious design and maintenance of agriculturally productive ecosystems with the diversity, stability, and resilience of natural ecosystems, creating the harmonious integration of landscape and people. Its principles can be applied to all other ethical lifeways with the potential of taking place in any human’s endeavours. It drastically rethinks and rehabilitates current (unsustainable) agricultural lands and already settled areas. The great thing about permaculture is that it can be applied with holistic solutions no matter where you live, at any scale—whether in a rural, remote or urban context.

It can seem overwhelming as the toolbox includes organic agriculture, water harvesting and hydrology, energy, natural non-toxic building, forestry, waste management, animal systems, aquaculture, appropriate technology, economics, and community development, but any step is indeed a step in a new direction. Food forests (also called forest gardens) are the ultimate organic gardens that also fall under the permaculture umbrella without the need for tilling, weeding, fertilizer, or irrigation, and I’ve even contributed to one in my own backyard inspired by ‘do nothing’ farming principles and pre-existing vegetation!

“In Permaculture we look at how energy is captured, used and re-used in our efforts to feed, clothe, transport and educate our society. We optimise the use of natural energies, engage and empower people to meet their own needs and ensure that the waste is well used and re-used”

— Permaculture Visions

‘Do nothing’ farming/gardening

This is one of my favourite methods due to how easy and accessible it is. Masanobu Fukuoka pioneered a school of farming referred to as “natural farming” or “do nothing farming”; agriculture at the limits of human knowledge. His methodology involved minimal human interference in the agricultural process, instead creating conditions in which natural processes and cycles are left to their own accord, maximising crop outputs and creating effortless balance in Taoist/Zen/Buddhist-inspired fashion.

The paradox here is that the less you do, the more you’ll yield, and the more harmoniously your garden and immediate ecosystem will thrive. It’s funny how sometimes when you let things flow, good and abundant things occur in divine timing. This concept may even reach beyond the farm with implications for the workplace and climate change itself. Maybe we should allow ourselves to do a little less, work less, acquire less junk and effortlessly gain more energy, so we can create more beautiful things. Try it yourself, it’s ironically easy and low maintenance, and may yield more than you would from more nitpicky, involved methods. Low-input farming sort of rides off of these principles, but no matter how you approach it, you’ll be doing yourself good.

“The more the farmer increases the scale of his operation, the more his body and spirit are dissipated and the further away he falls from a spiritually satisfying life.”

— Masanobu Fukuoka

In a sort of parallel, we can also see the great return on investment with the minimal human intervention that happens with regenerative rotational grazing. Cows and other ruminants graze freely, then move on, giving the grass a chance to re-grow, sequestering carbon from the atmosphere down to the roots, and into the soil. The roots that were disturbed by the grazing are given a chance to decompose into the soil, feeding the biology of the soil along with the air from the roots promoting healthy soil structure. Birds who naturally follow ruminants peck and dig, dispersing the cow poop, fertilising the soil while sequestering further carbon and balancing its chemistry without any need for human intervention! The more of a smorgasbord of many, many diverse plants and animals we have, operating together with the microbes, the more we create harmony which restores the health of the land.

Low-input farming

“Low Input Farming Systems (LIFS) seek to optimise the management
and use of internal production inputs (i.e., on-farm resources)
... and to minimise the use of production inputs (i.e., off-farm
resources), such as purchased fertilisers and pesticides, wherever
and whenever feasible and practicable, to lower production costs,
to avoid pollution of surface and groundwater, to reduce pesticide
residues in food, to reduce a farmer’s overall risk, and to increase
both short- and long- term farm profitability.”

— Parr et al. 1990

Similar to ‘do-nothing’ farming, low-input farming can be regenerative, sustainable agriculture. Livestock should be managed intelligently, there should be large biodiversity on the land, soil should be rich, and cover crops should be used effectively.

Grain-fed vs. grass-fed vs. grass-finished

The presence of industrial, commercial, low quality animal foods has become increasingly notorious with the rise of increased information, whistleblowers and documentaries that shed light on the cruel, unethical practices in indoor large scale factory farms, often feeding them GMOs, pesticide sprayed corn, soy, canola, grains, and even waste junk food products under artificial lighting, making the animals stressed and sick, having lived a toxic lifestyle. Their stressed, sad energy will not nourish you optimally. Without getting into too much detail, I do not recommend supporting this if you can afford to. What I do condone is taking the time to prioritise, taking a step back and examining where and why you source your food, and reconnecting to your food. Chances are, if it’s from a conventional grocery store or even some health food shops, it won’t be optimal for you, so it’s important to be vigilant. Your food patterns will literally reflect on your health day-to-day. Navigating the labels and farms is certainly a task on its own, but here’s how to decipher it all so you can rest easy and know what you’re investing in, once and for all.

Some companies label their foods as “vegetarian-fed”, whether it be eggs, meat or dairy. Not only is this an incredibly vague label, but it could also mean they were likely fed a species-inappropriate diet, whether it be organic or genetically modified, grains fortified with iron filings, and/or sprayed with Glyphosate: grains, corn and/or soy. Bottom line: it is best to investigate, ask questions, and get to know the farmers’ practices. Find a farmer you trust. You, as the consumer, have the power to shape the demand and conscious practices.

And don’t get me started on foods labelled “all-natural”. This also means essentially nothing, so it is better to inform yourself of the farmers’ and growers’ practices.

Grain-fed denotes that ruminants have been fed grains in their life cycle, whether ethically pasture-raised or factory farmed. This is an unnatural diet for ruminants. These grains may be organic, non-GMO or mono-cropped, conventionally sprayed with poisons, and genetically modified, all in some way destroying the land and ecosystem’s balance. Varieties can include corn, soybeans, and wheat. Regardless of the type of grain, feeding animals grain creates an imbalance of omega-3 to omega-6 in the meat after only 30 days (not enough anti-inflammatory omega-3s and too many omega-6s, generating inflammation). Typical grocery store-bought vegetable grain-fed beef has an omega-3 to omega-6 ratio of a whopping 20:1. Meanwhile, grass-fed beef has a ratio closer to 3:1, much closer to the guidelines of 4:1 in a generally standard healthy diet, and contains more conjugated linoleic acids (CLA), more vitamin E and beta-carotene.

Grass-fed (this may include hay in the colder months and vegetables, wild plants and herbs depending on the farmer) is an increasingly well-known label and major market trend that promises a marginally healthier cut of meat. At first glance, it seems like a step in a better direction, and it truly is, but grass-fed is a deceiving label often thrown around without much context because it does not mean that the animals have eaten grass/hay for the entirety of their life cycle. It’s possible that they’ve been fed grass for most of their lives, but right at the end to be grain-finished (organic or conventional) in order to cut costs, fatten up cattle faster and get them to market sooner, yet producing a lower nutritional value cut of meat and changing its flavour and composition last minute.

The quality of the feed determines deuterium content in at least dairy and beef, and grass-fed is overall healthier than grain-fed for metabolic water formation, and also contains critical vitamin K2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8605975/

In Canada, a cow must be fed herbaceous plants that can be grazed or harvested, including grass, legumes, brassicas, peas, tender shoots of shrubs and trees, and cereal grain crops in the vegetative state for only 75% of their life. Even wild hemp plants can fortify the nutrition of the animals!

Grass fed and finished is the better option out of the three. This practice takes all the most beneficial attributes of solely grass fed practices and goes the extra mile to have the animals grass finished towards the end of their life cycle. Similar to the label of grass fed only, grass fed and finished animal foods boast more omega-3 fatty acids, more conjugated linoleic acids (CLA), more vitamin E, and higher levels of beta-carotene. Grass fed AND finished practices are more likely correlated to the regenerative practice of rotational grazing (holistic management), ensuring higher quality soil and healthier, more nutrient-dense and drought resistant grass. We end up with happy cows, healthy soil, nutrient-dense food, and a healthier and happier community. It’s farmer friendly, people friendly, animal friendly and earth friendly.

The list of benefits is virtually endless, both tangible and intangible, and can skyrocket your health, cognition, thriving, and more. If you’re truly serious about the health benefits of nose-to-tail meats, opt for supporting this practice and get to know your farmer. When the cows/other animals are full of joy and health from the smorgasbord of lush grasses in rotational grazing, the higher of a vibration the meat will be to pass on in the circle of life, and the happier we will be as well.

The awareness of the link between the animals we eat and what the animals themselves consumed during their lives has inspired consumers and farmers alike. Grass-fed and finished animal foods have been at the cornerstone of this movement, and to ensure the health of the animals, consumers, ranchers, butchers, transporters, retailers and marketers alike, telling the truth is a win-win situation and will take these practices far beyond just a trend. We benefit from a sense of fulfillment when we know we’re regenerating the soil and the earth according to our highest good.

Wild caught is the best and most beneficial option out of all. It can take some effort to navigate local sources and take the time to hunt or fish yourself, but the sharp senses of the animals when they’re selecting their foods in the wild according to their natural diet with sunlight exposure will ensure a superior nutritional profile. While fishing and hunting, you also benefit from the sunlight exposure, relaxation and fresh air yourself, the natural movement and intention you hold, and the privilege of the ultimate connection to your food, honouring the life of the animal and releasing the soul from suffering. If you can find someone to hunt with, consider yourself lucky.

Beware of greenwashing!

Regardless of the label you choose, your best bet is getting to know your farmer’s practices to determine what works for you. Make sure your animal foods have all been humanely pasture raised without added hormones or antibiotics, receiving sunshine for their whole life cycle. Personally I always take the effort to opt for grass fed and finished (or even better, wild caught) when it comes to all animal foods, because my health, future wellbeing and longevity depend on them. It’s no secret that high quality foods can be more expensive than conventional foods… but if it’s truly a priority like it is for me, you’ll make it work.

If you are reading this, chances are likely that you are a simple online search away from the best quality, ethically sun raised foods in your very location. The best stuff will be from the small farmers and growers you trust and can visit, that most likely doesn’t have a fancy glossy printed mass-produced label on the packaging. Do not hesitate to switch up your routine and source better quality foods raised and grown with ethical practices and adequate sunlight exposure. It feels so good, and to me, the process itself is quite fun, often involving a quick scenic refreshing drive to the farm on a weekend, but you could also find various organic delivery services that bring the foods right to your door!

Be sure to introduce a variety of cuts and parts of the animal. It doesn’t have to be all at once. Eating nose-to-tail balances out the nutritional profile including the methionine (in muscle meats) to glycine ratio. Ensure you supplement with magnesium if you can, heal your gut, and get daily sunshine to tolerance to reap the full benefits of high quality meats. Cultivate a thriving relationship with everything you consume—trust your inner knowing. Nutritional repletion and nutritional surplus ensures your detoxification processes will run smoothly, and compounds positive benefits into all other areas of your life.

Think global, eat local

When alienation from place, connection and purpose is the problem, localism is the resolution. Localism is really a state of mind and can be practiced wherever you go, creating balance. Locally grown food is where it’s at, no matter where you live or where you travel. I’ve been consciously nourishing myself with a majority of locally grown whole foods for nearly a decade, and these days local food comprises the vast majority of my cooking, 99% organic, and 100% whole and sun raised.

For genuinely anchored balance including metabolic and mitochondrial health, you’ll want to proactively make it a priority and put effort into seeking locally grown, fresh, sun raised food from your local latitude, and the good news is, it couldn’t be easier nowadays with search engines online at your fingertips to find sources (and foraging/fishing/hunting locations) near you.

As the consumer and supporter of local small businesses and creators, you have the power to:

Reduce food mileage from farm to your table, less fossil fuel usage and less greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. Imported food from other latitudes often travels thousands of miles through truck and plane trips, packaged in excess plastic, requires extra refrigeration along the way, and loses freshness, nutrition, and potency

Locally grown foods contain the appropriate UV light information from your current latitude, properly informing your metabolism, circadian and mitochondrial health
Supporting local, ethical growers and creators grows a robust community and decentralised economy
Vote with your fork, which sends the energy and creates the kind of world you’d like to live in
Protect local land and wildlife. Farmers with thriving businesses are less likely to sell their land, keeping out overdevelopment for commercial and industrial use
Locally grown food is more flavourful and nutritious, protective for your health
Create less packaging and food waste (less rotting and wilting) when locally grown food is directly sold to vendors and markets

Whether or not you believe in the power of conscious consumption, only the truth remains: your health, future wellbeing and longevity depend on it.

Unfortunately, some companies use the “local” term quite loosely—apples from British Columbia, for instance, are considered “local” here but shipped unsustainably across the entire continent to where I currently live in Ontario at latitude 43.9, which does not feel right to me. There is no real demarcation when it comes to “local”, but a general rule of thumb is to source closely within your geographical radius. Wild sardines from Maine, US shipped to Southern Ontario, Canada would store more optimal UV light information than, say, wild turbot fish all the way from the Canadian Arctic. Making the effort to grow and catch your own is the absolute best.

Choose local foods over imported, not only for the sake of the environment, but also because your cells are designed to recognize and assimilate locally grown food. Whole, real food is stored UV light information at the end of the day. Eat according to your latitude and seasonality, no matter where you go, and you’ll properly inform your internal zeitgeber/body clock and metabolism, creating vibrant health.

That being said, there’s no need to get neurotic and obsessive here. Enjoy what you can access (like a glass of orange juice with your favourite people in January), but know that locally grown, fresh and pesticide-free whole foods are something truly special.

Grocery stores

Grocery stores are virtually everywhere, but this is going to be the one place where you’re the least connected to your food… and the less you’re connected to your food, the less well you will be. It’s as simple as that.

Some stores are definitely better than others in that they bring more awareness to their sourcing, ship in locally grown organic foods, and stock simple ingredients with lots of life force. Even the budget grocery stores can stock some great certified organic options at lower prices (this life hack has been good to me). On the other hand, in grocery stores it is also way too easy to encounter processed food-like products filled with additives and industrially grown mono-cropped foods sprayed with toxic chemicals. If you’re in a pinch, definitely choose the whole foods which tend to dwell at the outside perimeter of the store if available, but if you’re serious and conscious about investing in your health for the long term, grocery stores actually aren’t the ideal place to go. If you’re in a food desert, find a way to source seeds, seed save from existing produce in the times you can access it, eat nutritious nose-to-tail meats, and do some growing with what you’ve got.

CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture produce boxes)

CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. If you’d like to connect further with ultra-fresh, organic produce while supporting your local farmers in a direct relationship from field to table, look into subscribing to a seasonal CSA produce box from a farmer near you. Chances are that they’ll provide you with abundant seasonal, delicious produce, the opportunity to try new foods, and pride in knowing that you are reducing your environmental footprint and directly supporting sustainable, organic farming only a short distance from where you live. Produce shipped from around the world doesn’t hold a candle to the freshness of a CSA produce box. Subscribing to a CSA ensures your food is grown with utmost agricultural integrity and the highest attention to nutritional value (aka your health and wealth). Where I live, the CSAs tend to proceed throughout the growing season and close off during the winters, encouraging seasonality and metabolic health to the highest degree (a win-win situation).

Farmer’s markets/farm shops

*The fre$hest potatoes in Prince Edward County, in nitrate-free lard and flaky sea salt.*

Farmer’s markets and farm shops make for an excellent weekly trip for all of your local food needs! They’re a step closer to the source, full of juicy life force. Farm shops, often located at the front of farms, are amazing in that they offer what the actual farm grows, and often with homemade goods, preserves, jams, and raw local honey. Before you explore, make sure that the farm’s offerings are certified organic, biodynamic, or permaculturally grown.

At a typical farmer’s market, it’s important to note there are many markets that have stalls that don’t represent a local farm, but are actually individuals buying wholesale, taking the stickers off, and selling it at an inflated retail price, charging you a premium with lies just so that you can feel good about yourself. Chances are, if a market boasts a huge range of perfect looking produce, they are not from a local farm and are just resellers.

Not everything is always organic or biodynamic at farmer’s markets, either. This is why it’s important to ask questions and connect further. It takes a little effort to make space for what matters to us, but the rewards are priceless, and once you take the initial effort to dig further, you can confidently navigate and make informed choices when it comes to the food you eat and the life you live. Connecting to your food connects you to the earth and yourself, and empowers every aspect of your life.

If you’re lucky enough, you may even be able to find an organic delivery service that ships fresh seasonal food right to your door (slightly different from a seasonal CSA).

It’s SO easy. Simply conduct an online search in your favourite search engine to discover the potential options nearest you: “your town/region” + “organic farmer’s market/delivery service”.

Homegrown/wild caught/DIY

*You don’t really ‘grow plants’ so much as you create the environment in which they grow themselves.*

In the 1960s, studies of societies that pursued traditional ways of life showed that hunter-gatherers actually didn’t suffer from presumably barely staying one step ahead of starvation. They were even considered the original affluent societies because of the plentiful wild health food and leisure time they were said to possess, with a deep spiritual relationship with the land, a heightened awareness of interdependence and connection with the land, taking only what was needed and giving back as a conscious and living part of the cycles, the seasons, and the emotional and spiritual rhythms.

Hunter-gatherers, who were initially well-off with minimal dental problems, were beset by various ailments once they settled down and adopted agriculture. The situation deteriorated even further when organizationally complex states first developed about 5 millennia ago. Nowadays with modern agriculture and dense, built-up cities, humans are disconnected and diets are more monotonous and nutritionally depleted than ever—and this shows in real time. Most vegetables these days are basically empty sacks of water devoid of nutrients and vital minerals, mono-cropped, shipped and packaged unsustainably from unsuitable latitudes. Never before have we been so divorced from our core survival technologies (ie. friction fire, cordage, fiber arts, knapping of stone, manufacture of bow and arrow). Never before (from my current perspective) has there been a people who have known so little about the acquisition of food and medicine from their landscape, at risk of slipping away in a tunnel-visioned race towards an imbalanced techno utopia.

If we want to see a way through and reduce harm and suffering today, we must rewild and remember the ways of our human ancestors, use technology and screens wisely… and stay human. Whether or not you “believe in” climate change or whether you can actually “mitigate” it: this is a process, in my opinion, that requires starting deep within yourself, setting boundaries, finding a deeply anchored inner equanimity and peace. This is not hyperindividualism—once you can handle your business with a sense of calm and firm groundedness, the better and more effectively you can tend to your communities, make real and tangible change, and foster resilience.

The problems are also the key to the solutions. When food prices are rising, it is actually a gateway to reconnecting with the land, having your own local food supply to ensure the health and healing of yourself and your loved ones, and that of the habitat in which you live.

Why local? In consciously choosing locally sun grown and ethically raised foods that haven’t been soaked with poisons, not only is your food fresher and more juicy with nutritious life and stored UV light information, you connect with the surrounding land and light environment on a cellular and mitochondrial level, taking in the sun’s information from your food at your latitude, and calibrating your circadian zeitgeber (time giver) along with meal timing and composition (such as going outside and seeing the morning sun with breakfast)! Imported produce, or produce that has travelled long distances with its stored UV light from different latitudes actually creates a circadian mismatch via gut absorption into your body. It is also prematurely picked (like avocados) to ripen inaccurately on its long journey, or decomposes/wilts to a degree by the time it gets to your fridge.

Indeed, locally grown food entrains your peripheral clocks—and may act in unison with other abiotic factors such as the incredible primary zeitgeber that is natural sunlight exposure on bare skin, and temperature from outdoors that matches with the light information inside food. This has deep implications for nurturing and restoring your mitochondria, metabolism, healing, and longevity, similar to that of the global Blue Zones.

Benefits of wild caught and wild foraged foods:

Superior nutritional value, since plants and mushrooms are grown in a natural habitat with more resilience, and wild animals have a keen sense of what they nutritionally need out in the wild as opposed to being fed an unnatural mono-slop of corn, soy, and wheat in farms
Distinct flavour unrivalled by anything commercially cultivated from a grocery store or even farmer’s market
Contains all the relevant UV light information for your physical body at your current latitude
Costs nothing, creates health, and you can also simultaneously reap the benefits of full spectrum sunlight exposure, quantum and circadian biology, photosynthesising, distance from any cell towers, wi-fi and nnEMFs, presence of fresh air, natural movement through walking/hiking (no need for expensive, boring indoor gym memberships), neurogenesis and barefoot earthing if you’re in the right conditions to wear barefoot grounding sandals like Earth Runners. (You can’t out-eat a bad light environment, just as you can’t out-exercise a poor diet.)
You can feel more connected if you go foraging with people you trust. Your heart will be content, your harvest will taste better. It is the medicine, regardless of your health status. And it’s fun AF. Foraging is one of the ultimate empowering, refreshing actions, and hiking feels like home. We’re returning home.
Easier on the bioregion and for future harvests if foraged sustainably with an essential conservation ethic to preserve wild edibles
Foraging facilitates harmony, ease, grounded integrity, wholeness, presence, genuinely anchored balance and metabolic and mitochondrial regeneration via consistent sunlight exposure, grounding, movement, and the foods’ stored local UV light code information at your latitude—this goes beyond ‘biohacking’!
Foraging calls us back to ancestral hunter-gatherer practices and lifeways necessary to adapt in order to thrive among suboptimal, deleterious, stagnant, domesticated, often isolated modern industrial environments with dense energetics.
Growing, catching, and foraging your own food is the ultimate positive act of rebellion and play, at any age
It is a gift to be able to teach children (and adults!) practical skills that will benefit their health and livelihoods well into old age.
Increase food and personal autonomy, foster self-sufficiency and local community resilience.

Local wild foods are exponentially more potent because of shared microclimate and environmental stressors. The globalisation of food created more abundance, but in the process, broke the circadian rhythm aspect and rapidly depleted the soils (minerals and nutritional value) through agricultural mono-cropping. Eating foods out of season shipped from a long distance, different latitude and different bioregion, or processed, creates a circadian mismatch, an environmental mismatch between our enzymes, gut microbiome, soil, and solar/UV light information, all of which plays a role in adversely impacting digestion, metabolism, and circadian/mitochondrial alignment and restoration. If you travel a lot, be sure to seek locally grown and wild foods wherever you go in order to modulate your gut microbiome.
This whole process can be a beautiful meditative practice. Try releasing the energy/qi/prana outwards from your body into your surroundings, visualising and extending, connecting to every blade of grass, tree branches, birds chirping, water flowing.

The Inuit guiding principle of Pilimmaksarniq reminds us that we learn through our ability to observe the world around us. Whether or not you “believe in” or “care” about climate change, we are being called to get back to the fundamentals and create space to become more tangibly connected, skilled, and capable.

Volunteer and restore your health on your favourite biodynamic farm, or teach your kids and clan how to grow, hunt and preserve food, forage, cook, compost, seed save, skill share, first aid, collect and conserve water, how to use medicinal herbs, and how to reduce and manage/compost waste. Start a regenerative gardening practice in your own backyard/allotment/community garden as a part of the greater living organism. One way or the other, we are being called to return to basic simplicity and primal skills, giving back to the earth, and not just for healthy food security. With tapping into our roots comes a deep ancestral remembrance and revival of ancient wisdom, respect, connection and belonging.

Once you understand the why, the how will reveal itself. I’m not gonna lie—it takes courage, self love, a shedding of self-limiting beliefs, self-inflicted cycles and lifelong conditioning, and a sense of radical responsibility and accountability to strike out, but once you do, you’ll be so thankful you’ve honoured yourself and your needs to experience greater joy. Whether you consider yourself left wing or right wing, pro-this or anti-that, rewilding or domesticated, a nihilist, vitalist, pessimist, rationalist, post-rationalist, Daoist, Buddhist, an engineer, degrowther, artist, holotropic breathwork practitioner, welder, Renaissance revivalist or any other form of specialist… no matter where you live or the size of your space or your bioindividual path, at home or in a community garden—you can grow something, be it a simple herb garden, veggie garden, microgreens, or even a single fruit tree, you can reconnect with your food. Don’t be afraid to break out of your self-imposed boxes! Nothing compares to witnessing the absolute magic that is seed turning into food through sunlight, nourished by soil. To me, this is a visceral calling from the soil towards my soul. Growing food has sparked a primal understanding beyond the logical mind, a calling from the land to my cells.

Today’s monotonous and unattractive suburbs (and any residential area, really) truly have a lush, decentralised agrarian future ahead of them, instead of the manicured weeded lawns and sterile picket fences of a bygone era. Returning to outdoor patterns under sunlight with abundant wild gardens and food forests, backyard chickens, fishing, hunting, learning how to cook from scratch, preserving, fermenting and canning food, and supporting your local farmers, neighbours, food growers and co-ops are just a few of the many things you can do to get your power and epigenetics back into your hands. Teach your children the important, practical skills. Make sure you only grow what you like, and grow outside the door of your heart. You hold the key to making the real connections and reciprocity (aka medicine). You hold the power to start shaping demand and creation, shaping the conscious practices and sourcing, asking the questions, and refusing to support or give unnecessary energy to the industries that are decimating soil, water, and air health and abusing our microbes, fungi, plants, and animals, while understanding the role your choices play in expansively creating the world you live in—and the consequences.

It may take a bit of time, research and some phone calls, emails or even farm visits, but do not hesitate to ask your farmer questions and speak up, as supply will undoubtedly meet demand. Any social anxiety will melt away if you’re passionate enough, and once you have the answers, you’re pretty much set for life in that respect. Connection, purpose, relaxation, and play is medicine and priceless for the soul, collective healing and liberation must include you too. Help yourself and help your neighbour! Be the alchemist and actual change you wish to see in this world. Reconnect with your food, your farmers, and the land. Together we can heal ourselves and the soil. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes, begin and everything will fall into place in divine timing, there is no better time than now.

Is any of this possible in a colder climate?

H*ll yes. Using regenerative practices actually helps the resilience of the ecosystem in colder, harsher months where everything becomes dormant and ready to rebirth in the spring. As someone very familiar with the surrounding boreal climate throughout my life, (sub-)urban or rural permaculture homesteading on whatever scale in a cold climate is 100% possible!

“Tend to the part of the garden you can touch.”

— Jack Kornfield

Conclusion

It is clear that the ways we have lived with the old social conditioning no longer serve us. Want to change the world? In my opinion, dive inward, really take a good look, and change yourself, change the demand, and make change through your actions and purpose. Ask yourself what choices and small steps you can make in the now to support both your health and sustainable farming practices from a place of giving back to the earth. Whether it’s health you’re seeking, food sovereignty, regenerative agricultural practices, or alternative ancestral lifeways, whether you’re a farmer working directly with the land, parent, gardener, student, someone who cooks, or somewhere in between, it’s going to be on a spectrum, and there’s always room to break old patterns and be better, do better.

When you consciously choose locally grown, organic, and regeneratively raised/wild caught foods with the highest ethical practices, you bring the land into your microbiome, creating biodiversity and profound metabolic and mitochondrial health in a world where the majority of us consume mono-cropped, pesticide sprayed fake foods while disempowered and disconnected, many at war with ourselves. It is the reconnection with the land, rewilding of our souls, and reimagining connection with the divine that leads to a path of healing without borders or human ideologies; food connects us all.

With the purification of our food and water sources comes a reflection of purification of self on social and cultural levels and a new vision, a revitalised life regardless of your niche. Our growing pains are proof of our healing and such an opportunity to crack open into further wholeness. The only way to heal society is to heal ourselves, one person at a time.

With adequate nutritional surplus, radical accountability and living closer to nature’s rhythms, you create:

improved health and daily experience
self-love and self-respect
reprogram your gene expression
relearn a language and connection with the land and community
support your mental health, emotions and mood
reduce inflammation on a cellular level
transcend stagnation through constant movement, become free
invigorate your every cell
attain massive levels of clarity, peace, freshness, and energy
promote neurogenesis
healing of trauma and old transgenerational patterns
and co-create a tangible, positive, abundant, radical, fresh new paradigm of thriving, beginning with YOU.

There is no inherently right or wrong blanket strategy and approach here, there is only flow and evolution.

We’re fortunate to be here in these special times. May we come together, may we share our knowledge generously, live with creativity, ease and intention, and regenerate the soil and our health. May this information be utilised with at least a core group of individuals keeping these skills alive, and continue to elaborate on them, just as humans always have. May this resource continue the process of dissemination, to become more common knowledge in the culture, helping us thrive as one. May we utilise our time on earth to really manifest a better world together through support and collaboration.

You’re never too young or too old (physically or at heart), the possibilities are endless, you’re timeless. Break out of your limitations! Reconnect with your food, your farmers, the land; our very lives depend on it… or at least support them financially. Growing food creates connections, so do what you can with what you have. Every passing day is another chance to turn your life around and experience joy and inner peace. Everything you do matters, you are not alone, anything is possible. May we begin.

PS. If you’re currently in southern Ontario seeking regeneratively raised, clean, pro-metabolic, primal foods, you can use code ROOTTOSKY for $10 off your first order at wildmeadowsfarm.ca.

Other organic/biodynamic/regenerative food growers and distributors around southern Ontario supporting ethical, regenerative practices include Mama Earth Organics, Sharon Creek Farm, Secret Lands Farm, River’s Edge Goat Dairy, Matchbox Garden & Seed Co., Urban Harvest, Village Market at Waldorf, Nature’s Emporium, Evergreen Brick Works farmer’s market, and many more. Localharvest.org is also very useful to find local farms near you (there are SO many), and Local Line Inc. helps local Ontario farms with their e-commerce. Feel free to send me a message if you have suggestions of your own!