By Neenah Payne
Dr. Zach Bush points out that we are in the Sixth Great Extinction now and human survival depends on the urgent restoration of our soils to provide the nutritious foods we need. However, although Hippocrates said, “Let food be your medicine and medicine your food” 2,000 years ago, most allopathic doctors don’t recognize the connection between food and health. Fortunately, almost all naturopathic and functional medicine MDs understand that connection. Functional Medicine: 21st Century Healthcare shows that many physicians converted to Functional Medicine when allopathic medicine failed to heal them. However, even Functional Medicine ignores the critical connection between soils and food.
In the videos below, Dr. Bush connects not only America’s health, but our financial and political survival to the health of our soil. He shows that Russia has committed to being fully organic by 2025. Meanwhile, our reliance on GMO foods is causing our healthcare budget to bankrupt us. He explains that converting to organic farming is not sufficient because most organic farmers in the US are forced to till the soil — which is just as destructive as GMO pesticides!
So, our survival depends now on a quick conversion to Regenerative Agriculture. Dr. Bush is working with farmers throughout the Midwest to facilitate that shift. When farmers switch to Regenerative Agriculture, their yields rise from $40 to $500-$900 per acre and they see improvements the first year! Dr. Bush partners with The Soil Health Academy which educates farmers on how to convert to Regenerative Agriculture. Already a million acres in the US have been regenerated. The goal now is to convert five million more acres. Farmer’s Footprint helps support farmers in the transition process.
Dr. Zach Bush: The Health of Our Soil Determines Our Health
What makes Dr. Zach Bush unique is that he not only recognizes the connection between nutritious food and heath, but also understands the connection between the health of the soil, the level of nutrition in our foods, and human health. However, Dr. Bush goes beyond that to work with farmers to show them easy ways to switch from growing GMO crops to using regenerative agriculture. So, Dr. Bush is a doctor of the soil, of Mother Earth. He is providing an alternative to Big Pharma by educating and protecting small farmers — the ones who really feed the world as shown by What Big Ag Doesn’t Want You To Know: Small Farms Can Feed The World.
Dr. Bush recognizes what the planet requires to provide us with the food we need and he’s working to heal Gaia. As far as I am aware, he’s the only doctor working with farmers to heal the Earth. The fact that Dr. Bush lives par time in Hawaii and still works with farmers in the mainland US shows how deep his commitment is to turning this situation around quickly now.
The world needs topsoil to grow 95% of its food – but it’s rapidly disappearing warns: “Without efforts to rebuild soil health, we could lose our ability to grow enough nutritious food to feed the planet’s population.” Only 60 Years of Farming Left If Soil Degradation Continues says: “if current rates of degradation continue, all of the world’s top soil could be gone within 60 years.” Can American soil be brought back to life? says: “A new idea: If we revive the tiny creatures that make dirt healthy, we can bring back the great American topsoil. But farming culture — and government — aren’t making it easy.”
On Mother Earth Day, Del Bigtree, host of The Highwire show, interviewed Dr. Bush in Hawaii. Dr. Bush explained that the problem is not too much carbon which is fundamental for life. It is that the Earth can no longer absorb the carbon because our soils are depleted. They discuss how to restore our soils so the Earth can breathe. Is that what the “I can’t breathe” mantra that went global last year was really all about? Was it the Earth speaking to us and calling for our help now? The interview starts at 16.30 minutes in Planting A Seed.
Urgent Soil Restoration Is Key To Our Survival
In The Fascinating History of Supplements, Dr. Daniel Nuzum discusses the connection between the depletion of our soils and the nutrient deficiencies in our foods now:
- Soil Depletion: Around 100 years ago, the US had 3-4 feet of topsoil. Now, the US has just 4-8 inches of top soil! Since plants extract nutrition from the topsoil, even organic plants cannot provide the nutrition we need because the nutrients aren’t concentrated enough in the soil.
- Nutrient Deficiencies: The Standard American Diet (SAD) now supplies only trace amounts of only 17 of the 73-90 essential nutrients the body needs every day. Dr. Nuzum says, for that reason, 20% of American children now suffer from an autoimmune disorder.
Saving Humanity and the Planet
“If we lose our planet, the human race doesn’t survive. As a species, we are in the midst of a major extinction event, as our systems of food, housing, and medicine have decimated our earth, its natural resources, and its biodiversity. In fact, in the worst-case scenario, we could see the end of humanity within just 70-120 years. I don’t know about you, but as a father, that’s about as concerning as it gets for me.
However, all is not lost. My guest today, Dr. Zach Bush, is as an MD who specializes in internal medicine and endocrinology, who is also an internationally recognized thought leader on the importance of microbiomes when it comes to health, disease, and nutrition. He’s doing remarkable work to save our planet, and he believes that we still have an opportunity to reverse the damage done and create the most verdant, biodiverse planet to have ever existed.
Today, Zach joins the podcast for a deep dive into how we can cultivate extraordinary relationships with ourselves, each other, and the Earth.”
Dr. Bush’s site links to his non-profit program Farmers Footprint which teaches farmers how to transition from chemical agriculture to regenerative agriculture.
Why Soil Is Disappearing From Farms Worldwide
Why Soil Is Disappearing From Farms says:
“When European-American settlers first began ploughing in Iowa, they found…one of the most fertile soils on the planet and enabled it to become one of the largest producers of corn, soybeans and oats in the United States over the last 160 or so years. But beneath the feet of Iowa’s farmers, a crisis is unfolding. The average topsoil depth in Iowa decreased from around 14-18 inches at the start of the 20th Century to 6-8 inches by its end. Relentless tilling and disturbance from farm vehicles have allowed wind and water to whisk away this priceless resource.
The same picture is seen on farms worldwide…As the layer of fertile topsoil thins, it gets increasingly difficult to grow crops for food. Without altering agricultural practices and urgently finding ways to preserve soil, the global food supply starts to look precarious….something urgently needs to be done.”
Film: Regenerative Agriculture — A Paradigm Shift
Dr. Bush says on his site:
“My work is dedicated to the health of humanity and the planet we call home. It is critical that our pursuit of optimal health and longevity begin with an effort toward a collective rise in consciousness such that we would begin to thrive within nature, instead of fighting that nature that is life itself. My experience as a physician specializing in internal medicine, endocrinology and hospice care with a focus on the microbiome as it relates to health, disease, and food systems led me to found *Seraphic Group and the non-profit Farmer’s Footprint to develop root-cause solutions for human and ecological health.
My passion for education reaches across many disciplines, including topics such as the role of soil and water ecosystems in human genomics, immunity, and gut/brain health. My education has highlighted the need for a radical departure from chemical farming and pharmacy, and ongoing efforts to create a path for consumers, farmers, and mega-industries to work together for a healthy future for people and planet.”
Dr. Bush says about the free film below Farmer’s Footprint: A Path To Soil Health and Food Independence:
“This film features the trials, learnings and victories of the four generation Breitkreutz family from Stoney Creek Farm transitioning from conventional farming to regenerative agriculture in Redwood Falls, Minnesota. Using conventional methods they saw their soils degrade and their input costs rise every year. Transitioning to regenerative practices has helped their row cropping operation and significantly reduced the input cost for their cattle. This film tells the story of how they did it.”
“Dr. Bush discusses his background with traditional allopathic medical training in internal medicine, and the drive to combat what he viewed as acute exacerbations of chronic illness and disease. As he transitioned into natural and integrative medicine, Dr. Bush found new passions regarding the power of food to transform health, and was propelled to launch changes that impact the entire field of healthcare. Dr. Bush further discusses his efforts to disrupt the current paradigms of energy, ecology, and human health in an effort to form a better and healthier future.”
Dr. Bush explains at 20:59 why his 4 Minute Workout is so effective when done three times a day.
Soil Health: Foundation of National Security
Food Independence & Planetary Evolution
“A triple board certified physician, master healer & consciousness, Zach Bush, MD is the founder and director of M Clinic, an integrative medicine center in Charlottesville, Virginia and simply put, one of the most compelling medical minds currently working to improve our understanding of human and environmental health.”
Dr. Bush warns that because of various threats to our health, Americans are losing the ability to procreate: 1 in 3 men are sterile and 1 in 4 women are infertile. He’s working with farmers throughout the Midwest to facilitate a switch to Regenerative Agriculture. When farmers make the switch, their yield rises from $40 to $500-$900 per acre and they see improvements the first year!
Dr. Bush partners with The Soil Health Academy which educates American farmers on how to switch to Regenerative Agriculture. Already a million acres have been converted. The next goal is to convert 5 million more now. Farmer’s Footprint helps support farmers in the transition. Dr. Bush connects food security to our financial and national security. He points out that Russia is committed to being 100% organic by 2025.
Dr. Bush explains that the last Great Extinction with the dinosaurs was caused by the destruction of the top soil when ash covered the Earth after the planet was hit by an asteroid. We have lost 40% of the Earth’s biodiversity in the last 50 years. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization says bees which along with other insects pollinate almost 75% of our foods are on the brink now. That’s largely because of GMO pesticides. Dr. Bush points out that Einstein is quoted as saying humans will survive no more than four years after the bees are gone.
Dr. Bush ends on a very positive note by showing that this crisis is an opportunity for humanity to become enlightened about our connection to Nature and transform ourselves and our civilization through humility, gratitude, and love. He says we are possibly going through a rebirth process now.
Many Westerners are going to the Amazon now to drink ayahuasca with shamans. Perhaps we should seek guidance from the 500 Native Nations that have lived in harmony with Mother Earth for over 10,000 years.
How To Bring Soil Back To Life
In Can American soil be brought back to life?, Jonathan Cobb says he learned a new philosophy of farming at a demonstration by the Agriculture Department’s Natural Resource Conservation Service. He had planned to leave his family farm, but he said: “By the end of that day I knew that I was supposed to stay on the farm and be part of that paradigm shift. It was that quick.”
The article points out:
“The shift he’s talking about is a new trend in agriculture, one with implications from farm productivity to the environment to human health. For generations, soil has been treated almost as a backdrop — not much more than a medium for holding plants while fertilizer and herbicides help them grow. The result, over the years, has been poorer and drier topsoil that doesn’t hold on to nutrients or water. The impact of this degradation isn’t just on farmers, but extends to Americans’ health….
In fact, the United Nations considers soil degradation one of the central threats to human health in the coming decades for those very reasons. Now, some farmers and soil scientists are realizing that for the health of both people and farms, the most important thing you can do is look at soil differently—seeing topsoil as a living thing itself, which can be tended and even improved. Good soil is alive with a host of delicate organisms, many of them microscopic, producing structure and nutrients. As long as they’re thriving, soil can better absorb and retain water and feed plants and control pests…
SOIL HEALTH HAS become the agriculture topic du jour around the world.
The U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization declared 2015 the International Year of Soils… It’s also a water-conservation issue, because healthy soils don’t just produce their own fertilizer, they’re better at absorbing water. The U.N. FAO estimates as much as 40 percent of rainwater runs off uncovered dry land soil. But organic matter can hold up to 90 percent of its weight in water and releases that moisture slowly over time, particularly helpful in areas prone to drought.”
We Can All Grow Food and Help Restore The Land
You don’t have to be a farmer to grow abundant food easily or to help restore the land.
See Create Food Security In Your Backyard for how to create food independence.
Film — Visionary Transformed 5,500 Barren Acres With Grass explains that the film SELAH: Water From Stone, says J. David Bamberger restored 5,500 barren acres in Texas starting in the 1960s by planting native grass. Soon abundant water returned to the area along with fish, birds, deer, and other animals. In fact, his land produces enough water to channel some to the city of Austin via a tributary of the Pedernales River. Bamberger stresses that the introduction of native grass was the primary factor in restoring the land. The roots of the grass help the soil retain rain water that then flows into the aquifers which produce 11 streams and a lake that attracts a wide variety of wildlife.
Inspiring Video
Dr. Zach Bush MD Will CHANGE YOUR LIFE & End Your Fear of Death
Dr. Bush is not just a healer of the soil. He is also a healer of the soul! He models ecstasy as the ultimate healer and purpose of life.
