[P2P-F] Article

[Michel Bauwens]

Dear Bryan, thanks for sharing Tatsanee's article, which is below for
sharing with the p2p-f mailing list and especially for our friend Sepp, who
has a wholistic health blog. I understand this article is not for
publication right now. Have you considered online publications such as the
Asia Times?

I have no doubt that deficiency  of nutrients are a very important part of
the mix of illth, though can it be really proven that it is the most
important factor? In any case, restoring a nutrient dense soil is crucial
.. I know use Nutrient Dense as the paradigmatic example of p2p-based
cooperation in all my lectures and seminars,

Michel

On Thu, Dec 15, 2011 at 6:46 PM, Bryan Hugill <bryan.hugill at gmail.com>wrote:

> Dear Michel,
>
> I finally have the green light to send this to you. It's been written by a
> friend of ours (cc:'ed on this email) who's doing some interesting
> work/thinking about how to blend organic principles (including
> permaculture, biointensive cultivation, etc. etc.), food nutritional
> density and energy (i.e., the metaphysical aspect) into a more holistic way
> of farming and thinking about farming.
>
> Perhaps it'll be of interest to the P2P Foundation members / mailing list
> :)
>
> All the best,
> Bryan
> _________________
> *Bryan Hugill*
> *Co-founder and Environmental Manager*
> *RAITONG ORGANICS FARM*
> Tel: +66 (0)85 915 0961
> E-mail: info at raitongorganics.com
> Skype: bryan_hugill
> www.raitongorganics.com
> www.khaosrikram.com
> www.facebook.com/pages/Raitong-Organics-Farm/189558454456760<http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=wall&gid=140808370801>
>
> *LET'S GO ORGANIC FOR A HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT AND GOOD HEALTH!*
>
>
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: Tat Set <tatset at gmail.com>
> Date: 29 October 2011 14:13
> Subject: Article
>
  *Real **Health Starts in Real Soil*

By Tatsanee Setboonsarng - Board Member & Executive Director, NawaChiOne
Foundation

*Tatsanees at gmail.com**, **NawaChiOne at gmail.com** *

*© October 2011*




 “*Let food be your medicine..**.”* -- Hippocrates

Hippocrates, the father of medicine, said “Let food be your medicine…” But
have you ever wondered why foods in the markets these days seem to be
poisons rather than medicines?

   1.

   Let’s try answering this question: What is the fundamental cause of
   disease? Pollution in the environment.
   2.

   Too much fatty and sugary junk foods.
   3.

   Toxic residues in canned food, plastic containers and food ingredients.
   4.

   An unhealthy lifestyle and stressful work life.
   5.

   GMO foods and toxic residues associated with agricultural chemicals in
   foods.
   6.

   Diminished nutrients in agricultural soils.



 Most likely not many readers would have picked the last choice as the
correct answer. But it is actually the correct answer. The rest of the
choices are valid, but mineral malnourishment is now a major health
problem. Nutrient-related issues are certainly important and toxic residues
associated with chemicals are also a secondary cause of health problems, to
which we should pay more attention. However, the key issue begins with
diminished nutrients and minerals in the soil.

It is crucial to know, really know, that the existence of healthy and
fertile agricultural soil is the essential factor of good health in human
beings.

*H**ealth crisis and nutritional decline *

We are dying prematurely of chronic and/or degenerative diseases, such as
cancer, coronary artery diseases, arthritis, diabetes, hormone disruption,
and asthma. In Thailand, a recent study by Chiangmai Public Health
Office1<#sdfootnote1sym>revealed that 89% of a consumer sample group
had accumulated toxic chemical
residues in their blood to “at risk” and “unsafe” levels that could result
in chronic degenerative diseases. Interestingly, this number is 14% higher
than the 75% found in the farmer group who had direct contact with toxic
agricultural chemicals. Ironically, it’s becoming common knowledge among
Thais that Thai farmers do not eat vegetables they grow for sale, but have
a separate chemical-free garden for their own consumption. A formal senior
officer of the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) disclosed that the number
of cancer patients in Thailand has increased 100-fold over the past 60
years.2 <#sdfootnote2sym> Cancer has been the #1 cause of death in Thailand
throughout the last decade and is still so today. MoPH’s 2010 statistics
indicate that an average of 6.4 people die of cancer every hour (56,058
people per year) and 274 more are diagnosed with cancer every
day.3<#sdfootnote3sym>Similar statistics can be found in many
countries around the world.
Interestingly, food quality and diet are six (6) of the ten (10) leading
causes of death in the past decade.4 <#sdfootnote4sym> It is said that good
quality foods and good surrounding environmental conditions can reduce up
to 40% of cancer, and 80% of coronary heart disease and diabetes.

We are often reminded to eat more fruits and vegetables and to reduce our
consumption of meat, sugar and fatty food for a better heath. However, the
quality of fruits and vegetables we are consuming these days, and the
environment in which they are grown, is changing.

The level of quality and nutrients in the produce we consume depends on
various factors, including the conditions of the soil, water, temperature,
storage and time from harvest to shelves until they reach the hands of
consumers. Studies show that the quality of nutrients in foods we consume
around the world these days is declining by a level of 15-75% compared to
50 years ago.5 <#sdfootnote5sym> This does not include hydroponic products
which have even fewer and limited mineral contents, especially those trace
elements that are essential to proper functioning of all the cells in our
body. Why?

The answer is simple. It is all about business. Business bottom-line
targets have moved crop production toward mass production, high-yield, and
shortened growing time by increased use of high nitrogen compound
fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides under many unnatural controlled
conditions. An increased rate of growth for crops leaves lesser time for
crops to naturally accumulate nutrients. Furthermore, pesticides and
herbicides destroy crops' nutritional value and are harmful to the body.

An increasing level of CO2 in the atmosphere also has a (small) effect on
the faster growth of plants.6 <#sdfootnote6sym>

Farmers today are increasingly dependent on agricultural chemicals and have
turned their backs on traditional biological-based farming practices. Large
amounts of refined synthetic fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides as well
as hybrid and genetically modified (GM) seeds are widely used to increase
yields and bottom-line profits.

By using this method, soil is ruined and there is a lack of microbial
activities. Soil becomes compacted and consequently good nutrients are
stripped out. More importantly, synthetic fertilizers provide only certain
nutrients and lack several essential ones such as copper, selenium, lithium
and vanadium. Meanwhile, crops are unhealthy and prone to disease. The
immediate solution is to use pesticides and herbicides introduced by the
same company that sells chemical fertilizers. In some cases, bugs become
resistant to pesticides and farmers then use heavier doses, sometimes far
beyond safety levels, leaving harmful residues for consumers.

Thanks to powerful chemical giant companies that go around the world to
promote “modern farming methods,” during the past 50 years or so we have
managed to reverse millions of years of soil formation. The majority of
farmland around the world is degrading, lacks soil biological activities
and is deficient in key minerals and nutrients. Compacted soil also lacks
capacity to hold water and store carbon, which is another contributor to
global warming. Today, runaway agriculture chemicals can be found
everywhere on earth, even in the middle of the Antarctic!

Organic farmers have long claimed that plants grown with organic methods
can improve the nutrient conditions, and we believe the claim has certain
validity. However, currently no standard exists to help consumers verify
the density nutrients, or lack thereof, in fruits and vegetables.
“Certified organic” is about the farming process, not the quality of
produce. Moreover, organic certified products are being restricted from
using any nutritional claim for marketing purpose. However, not all is
lost. The good news is that there is now an easy method to monitor plant
health and nutrient density--by measuring the sugar level in the plant sap
or “*Brix* – a system developed by* *a German scientist, *Adolf
Brix.*There is a growing new movement, particularly in North America,
whereby
future smart consumers will be able to find out the nutritional quality of
a given item by carrying a small simple hand-held device into the super
market and check out the sugar level of produce.

*Nutritional Naivety** and Health *

It is important to note that every living cell has “energy” or “life force”
called “chi” in Chinese. It is energy that determines the degree of health
or disease. In plants, if the soil is chemically drenched and lacks
micro-organisms to digest and feed the plants, the plants will lack
necessary nutrients. Plants, animals and people need over 100 different
minerals or at least 60-80 nutrients for maximum efficiency, not the
conventional 17 minerals believed to be required or the three minerals
N-P-K usually advertises in chemical fertilizer blends. Traditional Chinese
medicine doctors will tell that it is “chi” that determines your health.
After we consume produce with no nutrients, plus toxic pesticide residuals,
we get sick and are prone to many kinds of diseases.

Many soil scientists and modern medical doctors would advocate that at the
molecular level all mineral colloids, no matter if they are organic or
synthesized, are simply chemicals. But food nutrition for human beings may
not be the focus of agricultural scientists and the modern medical
community.

The simple fact is that plant-derived minerals have up to 98%
bioavailability,7 <#sdfootnote7sym> whereas metallic minerals have a
bioavailability ranging only from 8 to 12%. This high mineral
bioavailability of soil-cultivated plants is the main secret to health and
longevity, rather than pharmaceutical drugs, expensive vitamin minerals and
nutritional supplements. This is why n*atural grown foods which *contain
the mineral diversity found only in healthy soil* are the best medicine. W*e
just simply cannot bypass the soil.

“Growing the soil so the soil will grow the plants,” is an old saying among
the older generation Thai farmers that has almost been forgotten. When we
harvest crops off a field, we are basically “mining” minerals from the
soil. If we do not replenish all of the minerals that have been removed, in
some form, at least to a level where everything that we want in our bodies
is in our crops, we are certainly destroying not only our own future, but
the future of humankind as well as all lives on earth and eventually the
planet Earth itself!!!

*Soil**, Health, Food Quality to Food Security and Future of the Planet
Earth!*

Earth is the only planet in the solar system, if not the universe, that has
a breathing skin: soil. But soil has become a forgotten resource. It seems
that we have forgotten that soil is alive. There are over 6 billion
micro-organisms in a teaspoon of soil (the entire human population is
currently estimated at 6.9 billion). There certainly exist crucial
interconnections of soil fertility, food quality, human health and health
of the planet Earth.

Humans have survived on only 15 cm. of fertile topsoil, the source of
oxygen and food for all life on earth. But we have already lost one-third
of that topsoil in the last 100 years (nature takes an average of 300 years
to make 1 cm of topsoil!). Today, we are losing our topsoil even more
rapidly as a result of water and wind erosion, an outcome of modern
agricultural practices. Unfortunately, the current hasty depletion of
valuable topsoil by conventional mechanized farming practices has forced
farmers around the world to increase usage of chemical fertilizers and
stronger toxic pesticides in order to maintain their yields. It is a
vicious cycle indeed.

Scientists have warned us that if we continue to grow our foods with
conventional mechanized agricultural methods, we might only have enough
topsoil left to grow food to feed the world for another 40 years or
so.8<#sdfootnote8sym>

Moreover, each day we are adding around 213,000 more people to the world
population.9 <#sdfootnote9sym> As such, over the next two decades the
world’s population is expected to grow by an average of more than 100
million people a year. This will surely add even more pressure to the
already intensely utilized land and fresh water.

The growth population may be less important than the extravagant
consumption behaviour and life style of the increasing middle-class
population on Earth.

A long-term perspective is essential to meet these future challenges of
depleting cultivated areas, depleted soil and freshwater, as well as an
increasing population and consumption behavior. The conventional industrial
agricultural models and ways of thinking of the twentieth century will not
serve us well in addressing our twenty-first century challenges.

Despite impressive economic growth rates, are we paying enough attention to
the quality of the food being produced and that we eat? Is it time for us
to take seriously the deficiency of essential nutrients in most of the
remaining arable land? Should we accept and understand the indisputable
fact that soil health is a major factor in human health, as well as the
health of our planet?

*Bio-Energetic Agriculture** – A New Green Revolution*

On the supply side, to ensure food security for present and future
generations, while protecting the fundamental natural resource base, we
urgently need to rethink about the future of farming and the way we grow
our foods. We need more effective and sustainable farming methods that can
provide consumers with higher nutrition foods, and better tasting crops
that are free of chemical toxins to keep us healthy. At the same time, such
methods should also able to provide farmers with higher yields, lower
production costs, and better quality of life, while nurturing the
environment.

Sounds impossible, doesn’t it? But there is just the technology that can
meet these challenges—the all-in-one 21st century farming technology
solution called *Bio-Energetic Agriculture*!

*Bio-Energetic Agriculture* is a holistic and creative approach “*beyond
organic” *and sustainable --economically, environmentally, and socially --
farming and gardening system synthesized by NawaChiOne Foundation,
Thailand. It is a modern, scientifically proven, farming method that
focuses vastly on minimizing the pollution of air, soil and water, and
optimizing the health of soil, plants, animals, people and the environment.
The key to this method emphasizes reinforcing nature’s biologically and
physically dynamic energies in the farming process, creating optimum
conditions to best support nature’s processes in healing and nurturing the
soil. This method is enhanced by an emerging evolution in utilizing
non-visible beneficial energies or “chi” in nature to promote the life
force that energizes the health of soil and growth of plants.

Under a comprehensive farm management system, Bio-Energetic Agriculture
aims to provide an accommodating soil ecosystem to maintain a balanced,
stable, and functional soil food-web; beneficial micro-organisms and
communities of lives in the soil can therefore flourish to manage and
maintain soil fertility to best feed the plants. It combines supporting
effective natural energies -- such as the gravity force of the Earth, the
Moon, and the Sun; and the life energizing force of positive
electromagnetic frequencies including colours (light), sound, high gauss
magnet and vortex water -- to stimulate life force of soil organisms and
plants. Healthy fertile soils not only have a higher water storage
capacity, but also release fewer greenhouse gases and capture more carbon
from the atmosphere, as well as provide healthier plants. Hence, the system
can give us carbon-negative foods. This method is a giant step toward the
foundation for a sustainable food system of the future.

*Bio-Energetic Agriculture* is not totally new. It is an integration of
several biologically-intensive traditional farming systems rooted in the
history of humankind, traceable back to thousands of years ago in Ethiopia,
China, Japan Korea, Greece, France, and the Amazon, enhanced by the
rediscovery of scientific principles underlining each of these effective
practices. It is also a combination of best practices of several Eastern
and Western natural and organic farming methods, including permaculture,
bio-intensive, bio-dynamic, regenerative organic farming, Japanese, Korean
and French natural farming, Nutrient-Dense biological agriculture, and
indigenous technologies -- such as the use of vermiculture, bio-char and
wood vinegar -- and HM. King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s “new theory” on
agriculture system, as well as successful innovative farming systems and
techniques by a handful of local Thai farmer-sages, i.e., wanakaset
(agro-forestry), kaset-praneet (dexterous agriculture), and integrative
farming. By synergizing the scientific proven healing and revitalizing
non-visible energies in nature, this method can give intensified profound
results.

There are a number of scientific-based research studies proving the success
and effectiveness of each individual method mentioned above. In 1978,
Stanford University revealed a six-year research study using the
bio-intensive method10 <#sdfootnote10sym> alone showed the feasibility of
an economic mini-farm of a 126 square wah (1/8 acre) area, with one person
working it, and able to earn between Bt150,000 to Bt600,000 or
$5,000-$20,000 U.S. market price then. Without the aid of vermiculture and
biochar, the method can already provide a complete vegetarian diet for one
person for one year on as little as 80 square wah, or 1/6 – 1/13 of the
area needed in chemical-based agriculture.11 <#sdfootnote11sym> Studies in
Argentina and Africa also show that with this similar method under closed
farming systems, an individual working only 35 hours a week on a 200 square
wah area of land can meet 6080% of the needs of a vegetarian diet for a
family of four, plus a reasonable income.12 <#sdfootnote12sym> These
numbers have been confirmed by actual implementation in many countries
around the world.13 <#sdfootnote13sym> There are also many studies and
documentaries on the success of biological-based farming processes being
practiced by hundreds of local farmer-sages and alternative agricultural
research centers around Thailand, which can be easily found on the Internet
and YouTube (but most are in Thai, though). There are also many recent
scientific studies supporting the positive effects of natural energies in
accelerating seed germination, fostering plant growth, and improving health
of living organisms, if utilized appropriately and
correctly.14<#sdfootnote14sym>

When combining these proven best practices and enhanced by the methodical
farm management system of Bio-Energetic Agriculture, this farming practice
can produce mineral-rich nutritious food crops that are better tasting and
toxin-free, in a closed system, and generate a sufficient level of income
with low-input and high-yield, using a small area and less water, producing
a great diversity of crops to ensure food security and biodiversity which
enriches a natural pest control system and open pollination, suitable to
small farmers and adaptable to all environmental conditions. With the
fertile nutrient-rich soil and biological farming system, pests and weeds
are greatly reduced without the use of any pesticides and herbicides.
Because this farming process requires a more rigorous discipline than
organic farming, and we can also easily verify the nutritional quality of
the produce and track food from farm to market to assure quality, we can
now go “beyond organic.”

Mahatma Ghandi once said, *“To forget to dig the soil is to forget oneself**
.*” The most promising aspect of Bio-Energetic Agriculture is that anyone
can easily apply this farming principle to grow their own food in their own
small backyard garden, even on the balcony or roof top of their city home!!
In addition, we would also help reduce greenhouse gases and increase oxygen
to the surrounding environment.

*Smarter consumers*

The growing middle-class population will account for 60% of the world's
population in 2020. With more information and better understanding of
nutrition and the value of good food, the demand for better quality foods
will become more prominent. The supply chain system of higher quality food
will be shorter. More consumers will be willing to pay more for better
quality. Consumption behaviour will change such that consumers will become
more conscientious and less wasteful. People will eat more conscientiously
-- eating higher quality (nutrient-rich) food which is also grown
sustainably – thus becoming healthy and green.

*The Future **is in Our Hands*

Sustainability is something we all have a stake in. We are part of a large
interconnected system that is already experiencing the negative effects of
our unsustainable behaviours in all sorts of ways. Our shared environment
is something that can be dramatically improved when we work together
towards sustainability. It is encouraging to see an increasing awareness
among consumers and farmers that things are not as they should be. However,
the majority of the population does not realize the link between human
health, soil health, and environmental health. We need to advocate for
these interconnections for the survival of all life on Planet Earth.

Growers need to learn the biological methods and materials of 21st century
agriculture, and understand the community of the soil food-web. Consumers
need to be educated about the link between real food, real nutrition, and
real health. Good, fresh food, grown locally by committed growers, is the
very best to be found. “Organic certification” is generally only necessary
when food is grown by strangers in faraway places, rather than by
neighbours you know or even by yourself. Demand for quality high-nutrient
food by consumers will help change growers’ farming practices from
chemicals to a biological and ecological paradigm. Consumers need to be
provided with more accurate and up-to-date information about their foods,
and not only labelling. They are a part of this process. Let's eat wisely.

Freedom and responsibility are two sides of the same coin. We have been
given the freedom to live on this amazing planet. But comes with it is the
responsibility not to act mindlessly. Our human species is failing this
responsibility. Now, as individuals, it is our duty to change our behaviour
and that of our nation as best we can.





 *____________________________________*

*References*

Alex Jack Editor, *2011 Nutrient Guide, *Planetary Health/Amberwaves, MA,
USA.

Arden Andersen, D.O., Ph.D., *Let Food Be Your Medicine: Why Full Nutrition
Is Better than Drugs - Interview, * ACRES USA.

_______________, *The Root of Good Nutrition**: Restore Real Nutrition to
Our Food*, Organic Connections, July-August 2008.

Brian Halweil, *Still No Free Lunch: Nutrient levels in U.S. food supply
eroded by pursuit of high yields, *The Organic Center, September 2007.

Charles Benbrook, Xin Zhao, Jaime Yáñez, Neal Davies and Preston Andrews, *New
Evidence Confirms the Nutritional Superiority of Plant-Based Organic Foods*,
The Organic Center, March 2008.

David Yarrow, *Nutrient-Dense, Carbon-Negative: the future of eating is a
secret of soil, *Part I and II, October 2009, Carbon-Negative Network
Northeast, USA.

Wikipedia, *Energy Medicine, **http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_medicine*
.

Grain, “Earth Matters: Tracking Climate Crisis from the Group Up,” *Seeding*,
October 2009.

John Jeavons, *How to Grow More Vegetables*, Ecology Action, USA., 2002.

Maynard Murray, Ph.D., *Trace Elements in Nature’s Balance,* ACRES USA,
Vol.33, No.1, January 2003.

Nutrient-Dense Manifesto, Real Food Campaign, MA, USA.

Tim J. LaSalle and Paul Hepperly, *Regenerative Organic Farming: A Solution
to Global Warming*, Rodale Institute, 2008.

United Nation, *Sustainable Development Innovation Brief*, May 2009.

1 <#sdfootnote1anc> A research done under Chiangmai Food Safety Plan,
Chiangmai Public Health Office, 2008.

2 <#sdfootnote2anc> A public lecture by Prof. Dr. Somsak Vorakamin, formal
Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Public Health.

3 <#sdfootnote3anc> Office of Policy and Strategy, Ministry of Public
Health, 2011.

4 <#sdfootnote4anc> *Nutrient-Dense Manifesto*, Real Food Campaign, MA, USA.

5 <#sdfootnote5anc> *The** 2011 Nutrient Guide *by Planetary
Health/Amberwaves provides a comprehensive list of nutritional composition
of foods from around the world, based on data of the U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Japan Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and
Technology, the National Food Institute of Denmark, Food Composition Tables
for Foods in the Middle East, and other national and international sources,
including data from trade associations and producers.

6 <#sdfootnote6anc> Science and Development Network:

*
http://www.scidev.net/en/news/rising-carbon-dioxide-could-make-crops-less-nutrit.html#.Tnwv9ewvMNo.facebook
*, March 2005.

7 <#sdfootnote7anc> Bioavailability is the extent to
which<http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/which>
a nutrient or medication can be used by the body.

8 <#sdfootnote8anc> Grain, “Earth Matter: Tracking Climate Crisis from the
Ground Up,” *Seeding*, October 2009.

9 <#sdfootnote9anc> UN-FAO, 2009.

10 <#sdfootnote10anc> Bio-intensive farming method is an integration of
biodynamic and French natural farming principles.

11 <#sdfootnote11anc> John Jeavons, *How to Grow More Vegetables*, Ecology
Action, USA., 2002.

12 <#sdfootnote12anc> Based on Ecology Action’s study in Africa and a
confirmation testing by Biospere II in Arizona, USA.

13 <#sdfootnote13anc> Perspectives from Ecology Action, “Biointensive
Agriculture: A Greener Revolution”, 2010.

14 <#sdfootnote14anc> Examples: *Life Energy Encyclopedia: Qi, Prana,
Spirit, and Other Life Forces around the World* by Stefan Stenudd, *Chi:
Discovering Your Life Energy *by Waysun Liao, and *Alchemy of Life: Working
with the Primal Energies of Life* by Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee, and many books
by Dr.Masaru Emoto including *Message from Water* and *The Miracle of Water*,
etc.
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