First, it's not dirt - that's a derogatory term, equivalent to a racial slur. Dirt is soil, a living entity which in it's healthy state is home to millions of microscopic bacteria, organisms and tiny creatures per square inch. Healthy soil imparts it's magical life-giving properties to our food.

Unfortunately our soil is generally not healthy, which means our food isn't very nourishing, and we aren't all that healthy. Apparently even strokes, cancer, heart disease and the like are related to depleted soils.

The next thing is that we shouldn't dig the dirt - excuse me, soil. Digging and tilling and plowing disrupt the soil building process, compact the soil, and cause it to lose organic mattert, expose it to the air and sun so it'll dry out and blow or wash away. Nature doesn't build soil by plowing, and neither can we.

I recently read an article in The Iowa Source, featuring soil expert Dean Goodall - The Dirt on Soil, by Steve Cooperman. Dean is also an an organic grower from my hometown, Fairfield IA.

Steve Cooperman points out that highly processed chemical fertilizers and pesticides are largely to blame for the poor base soil quality in the U.S. today. And many well-intentioned organic farmers might be surprised at how nutritionally deficient their produce is as a result.

Dean Goodall says, "You can look at some of the best organic growers, and the nutritional content of their crops will be back in the range of — or sometimes better than — those 1930s readings. Again, you could check some organic farmers and you will see low numbers. It really depends on the quality of the soil it’s grown in."

So What Can We Do?

There are many ways to get involved and force the agricultural system to change. Once of the best ways is to grow our own food, organically of course, building our soil through composting, green manuring and no-till cultivation. If you can't do that, vote with your fork - buy local and organic.

Will that really make a difference? Organic food is a tiny niche market, after all. Yes, but how many other markets are growing at 20% per year? How many other companies have been as consistently successful as Whole Foods? Why do you think the multinationals are buying up organic food companies? Because they think that's the future of food.

Dean Goodall recommends, "Know where your food comes from, know who your farmer is. Does your farmer understand the basic principles of soil fertility? Be politically active. Understand that farming has a larger impact on the environment than anything else, because it covers most of the country."

Dean advocates lobbying for more funds for organic farming. He also recommends farmers take measures to improve soil fertility, which can end up producing 'yields comparable to the yields of chemically intensive crops' but with 'nutrient yields that are far, far superior.'

And last, but certainly not least: "When we see farming practices that degrade the soil, we need to take it personally," says Dean. "We stand arrogantly poised at the top of the biotic pyramid, the foundation of which lies in the microbiology of the soil. We neglect and abuse that foundation to our own peril."

Read The Dirt on Soil for more of Dean Goodall's soil expertise. And remember, in the long history of agriculture (10,000 years is the most conservative archeological estimate I've seen), our current system of industrial agriculture is just a speck of dirt in our eye.

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