Regenerating Soil, Regenerating Ourselves

with Paul Grieve

Farmer Paul Grieve, of Primal Pastures in Southern California peels back the curtain on how life on the farm affects our own lives. We all want to be healthy and eat real, nutrient-dense food. This becomes a reality when we begin cooperating with nature and regenerating the soil. When we help the land heal, we heal ourselves.

On today’s episode, Paul describes what regenerative agriculture looks like and why it’s important. It’s healthy farming at its best–restoring the soil, the air quality, ground water, and wildlife, while at the same time providing nutrient-dense food for people.

He also talks about how challenging it is to come by. He describes how labels like “organic,” “cage-free,””antibiotic-free,” etc. don’t tell the whole story. He explains why organic food costs producers and consumers more. In sum, he describes the how and why behind sustainable, regenerative agriculture and how it is worth the effort–since it benefits us, our children, and grandchildren.

Notes:

Highlights from the conversation include:

how Paul’s health issues as a young man led to “accidentally” starting a farm
how labels like “pasture-raised” and “antibiotic-free” didn’t meet those promises when push came to shove
how Joel Salatin was an inspiration for Paul and his brother-in-law when starting the farm
how factory farming is actually a byproduct of the industrialization of food and treating these farms as manufacturing facilities
how this started our current food crisis
how being a vegan still impacts the environment, animal health and nutrient-density
what regenerative farming looks like
how this not only does the least amount of harm, but does the most amount of good
how it restores the soil, air quality, ground water and wildlife, while also providing nutrient dense food
how labels are not what they seem and there are many loopholes for them
how “antibiotic-free,” for example, only measures antibiotic residue in the meat
how we need to step away from labels and get in a relationship with our farmer to really know how they practice
why quality meat and poultry is more expensive
how the interest on pasture-raised, quality meat and poultry is growing quickly and how this increasing demand will eventually lower prices