Overfed But Starving
A quote by Daniel Vitalis came up that read “our people are overfed, but they are also starving to death.” It fits we into our topic of nutrition in relation to agriculture this week.
It’s hard to imagine, but we went well over a week without any precipitation here at We Grow and found ourselves watering in the field. Watering is one of the few opportunities we have to add more nutrients to our soil and plants mid-season. Oftentimes we are looking at a blend of organic fertilizer with the big three, nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium and some have added magnesium, calcium, sulfur and boron micronutrients to really give plants a boost. But what about the remaining nutrients? Why don’t we talk about all the other elements of the periodic table? Because we don’t yet know their function within the plant, nor do we fully understand the importance of these trace minerals in the human body.
People are growing increasingly concerned about wearing out our agricultural land and depleting the nutrients. The science is contradictory on this subject, but we see an overwhelming amount of research showing that growing with the most biologically balanced soil – or making sure all the major and micro nutrients are present – results in optimal growth. The good news for our customers is that the side effect of biological based production (growing organically) is nutrient dense vegetables and protein (livestock fed with organic feed). Tissue samples show that you get more nutrition, flavinoids and in each bite. Thanks to Tom T., we have started utilizing Sea Crop with 90 different trace minerals to boost soil and plant health in 2017.
And at a time when most Americans don’t eat the recommended servings of fruits and vegetables, perhaps the most important step is to simply add them to your diet. But there are potential health benefits as well, at least when it comes to maximizing the nutrients you get from foods.
