How to Bring Minerals Back Into the Soil and Food Supply
Story at-a-glance
If you eat processed foods, you’re being exposed to
toxic herbicides, which mounting evidence shows are
instrumental in promoting chronic disease
The continual depletion of minerals in food matches the
progressive implementation of agricultural practices
like mechanization, nitrogen-heavy fertilizers, and
pesticide use—all of which damage soils
In order to receive the same amount of iron you used to
get from one apple in 1950, by 1998 you had to eat 26
apples
Ionic mineral extractions from ocean water can be used
in sustainable agriculture to remineralize damaged
soils, and increase the nutrition of foods grown in it
By Dr. Mercola
There are now many studies clearly documenting that if you eat
processed foods, you're being exposed to toxic herbicides. These
toxic chemicals have been found in everything from breast milk to
umbilical cords and placentas.
This of course means that children are now born with a chemical
burden unknown to previous generations. What are some of the
relatively unknown consequences of this exposure?
In this interview, Dr. August Dunning, chief science officer and
co-owner of Eco Organics, helps answer this important question. His
company specializes in mineral products for hydroponics and home
gardens. More specifically, Dr. Dunning's expertise is in ionic
mineral extraction from ocean water for use in sustainable
agriculture.
While contraindicated for citrus, these mineral extracts can do
"miracles" for most flowering plants, fruits, and vegetables.
Dunning recounts one of his earliest experiences with his partner
Pam McKenzie, which led to the formation of Eco Organics:
"We tried some of these ocean minerals on some roses in
the backyard of her house in Bakersfield, California. At
105-degree heat, these almost-dead roses came back in full bloom
in 21 days. We saw the power of mineralization in foods and
decided to put a little company together."
Eventually, his interest in organic gardening led him to evaluate
glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto's broad spectrum
herbicide Roundup. He recently completed a five-year study on how
the decrease in food-borne minerals match up with the agricultural
processes used.
Glyphosate Use Has Rapidly Increased Disease Rates
Earlier in February this year, he gave a presentation at the
Global Forum for Innovations in Agriculture (GFIA) in Abu Dhabi, in
which he discussed the importance of minerals in food, and how the
continual depletion of minerals in food matches the progressive
implementation of agricultural practices like mechanization,
nitrogen-heavy fertilizers, and pesticide use. As each new strategy
was implemented, soil mineralization deteriorated.
"But then something really weird happened," he says.
"We see this exponential increase in disease since 1988 or early
'90s, which was when genetically modified (GM) food was
introduced.
GM food is a patented food because it can be used with
their patented herbicide, glyphosate and Roundup... That seems
to have a very detrimental effect on what exists on the
ground...
In commercially grown food, the mineral depletion has
caused a vulnerability to the biological systems in human
beings. When you start introducing these very strong chelators
and endocrine disruptors, which are what glyphosate and
polyethoxylated tallow amine (POEA) are, you see this huge burst
in illnesses and disease rates.
I mean, it's exponentially off the chart. It's not just
the mineral problems so much; it's this introduction of... in my
opinion, toxic endocrine element into the food supply."
How Chemical Farming Destroys Food Quality
The following chart shows the rapidly decreasing amounts of
minerals in food, initially coinciding with the introduction of
mechanized farming in 1925. This began depleting minerals faster
than the microorganisms in the soil could replenish the ionic
minerals needed for the following year's growth, in order to
maintain stable levels in the food.
In 1946, the introduction of ammonium nitrate fertilizer
stimulated greater yields, but also changed the sub surface
chemistry of the soil structure to lock up calcium, burn out the
Humus, and cause acidic conditions to occur. This altered the
subsurface decomposition chemistry to where gasses like formaldehyde
and alcohol started attracting pests.
Unfortunately, instead of replenishing the mineral content to fix
the pH and re-establish microorganism/mineral balance (which is the
natural way to combat pests), toxic chemistry was introduced in the
1950s. These pesticides effectively killed the pests and fungi. But
they also killed microorganisms, along with nature's ability to
provide ionic elements needed for proper plant growth and nutrition.
As explained by Dr. Dunning, by the mid-1990s, when genetically
engineered (GE) seeds and glyphosate were introduced, any minerals
left were hyper-chelated and made unavailable to plants except the
patented GE plants. The United States alone applies 200 million
pounds of glyphosate to croplands each year. Worldwide, more than
one billion pounds of glyphosate are used each year.
So, how bad is the situation, really? The sad reality is, it's
quite bad. For example, Dr. Dunning's work shows that in
order to receive the same amount of iron you used to get from one
apple in 1950, by 1998 you had to eat 26 apples! The reason food
doesn't taste as good as it used to is also related to the
deterioration of mineral content. The minerals actually form the
compounds that give the fruit or vegetable its flavor.
Fewer Minerals = Greater Disease Rates
As demineralization increases, disease rates rise, as indicated
in the following chart. Dr. Dunning also scoured the archives of the
CDC, NIH, American Heart Association, and other agencies, tracking
the incidence of disease over the same periods, and came up with the
second chart below. As you can see, a very clear pattern emerges
when all this information is combined.
"An interesting thing just came out on the news recently
about this new swine virus, where this virus is wiping out all
these pigs, but not the pigs that were fed organic food, non-GMO
corn," Dr. Dunning says.
"If that's the case, then it would seem logical to try
and investigate the idea that the GM food, which is damaging the
endocrine system that protects the animals from toxins and virus
attack, is actually destroying that ability. The swine aren't
dying from just the virus; they're dying from the lack of
protection against viral attacks due to this GM-contaminated
food."
Roundup Is Even Worse Than You Thought
Polyethoxylated tallow amine (POEA) is an adjuvant surfactant in
Roundup. It's derived from animal fat, and according to the US
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and US Department of
Agriculture (USDA), it's an inert ingredient that is safe for use.
However, inert does not automatically mean harmless,
and this is a critical distinction to make.
"What they really aren't telling you is that it's inert
in that it doesn't kill bugs, but that doesn't mean that it's
not toxicologically harmful. It's inert as a bug killer, but
might not be inert as a human killer," Dr. Dunning says.
POEA has actually been shown to be cytotoxic (toxic to cells) at
doses far lower than glyphosate itself. It also amplifies the
toxic effects of glyphosate. Dr. Dunning also notes POEA causes
hemolysis—a condition where the membrane of your red blood cells
burst. This removes the hemoglobin, which decreases oxygen transport
in your body. If your blood isn't transporting oxygen to your brain
for example, it may contribute to a wide variety of neurological
problems.
"Glyphosate has several different formulations, but most
of it has this additive—POEA—which is a surfactant. In other
words, glyphosate tends to be hydrophilic. It doesn't want to go
through the leaf surface, so they have surfactants that get
dried into the leaf," Dr. Dunning explains. "Because it
dries into the leaf, it doesn't wash off. It gets into the
system of the plant...
POEA [also] has extremely strong detrimental effects
itself. It destroys the cytochrome P450 enzyme in the liver,
which is designed to detoxify toxins. When that enzyme system is
damaged, these toxins are way more effective. It also destroys
the ability of glutathione to be used.
Moreover, there's an interesting phenylalanine issue.
Phenylalanine is needed for tyrosine, which also gets your
epinephrine and norepinephrine made. If you decrease your
phenylalanine [production], you don't get that cascade of
chemicals. It also destroys tryptophan. Tryptophan is needed for
serotonin and melatonin, so you can sleep at night. We're seeing
a lot of sleep disorders in the population. Well, if you're
destroying your tryptophan and your serotonin and melatonin
cascade, you're going to see sleep disorders.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has studies that show
that these chemicals mimic adrenaline, which is also a big part
of that because norepinephrine makes your adrenaline. We're
seeing these illnesses occur in humans that are very similar to
endocrine-disrupting systems. We're seeing the introduction of
chemicals in food that do exactly that, and no one wants to
really address this issue."
How to Improve Soil Health, Naturally
Dr.
Dunning has come up with a really novel biological way to address
deteriorating soil health. And he's compared the results between his
methods and conventional chemical-based agriculture.
In terms of food quality, his method, which involves adding
naturally-occurring ocean minerals back into the soil in which the
sodium has been removed, results in food with higher mineral
content. This typically results in a 10-15 percent jump in the
food's mineral content, compared to foods grown in untreated soils.
"We also found that when you grow organically, you get
better mineral content even if you don't mineralize, because you
don't have these constricting chemicals in the soil," he
notes.
"What's
nice about our stuff is you can mix it with water and just pour
it in because it's only ionic minerals; there are no plant
hormones, additives, or anything. The plant will use what it
needs, because it's ionic. It only takes little, teeny,
microliter sizes of the minerals to produce millions of
available ions... Within a week or two, you'll see this huge
greening and this growth effect."
As for application, you can use it as a soil treatment to get the
roots going. The plant will develop a very large root mass, very
early, which will make the plant grow very strong, very quickly.
When you want to really infuse your plant with minerals, you can use
it as a foliar spray.
Do You Have Earthworms?
Other important ingredients for a successful garden are carbon
and earthworms. I've previously discussed the many benefits of
biochar, so I won't expound on that here, other than to note its
importance. Earthworms are also intrinsic allies.
"They're top tiller of the soil, you know," Dr.
Dunning says. "By the time it gets out of the rear end of
the worm, those minerals are ionic. The reason worm castings
work is they're ionic minerals. In the carbon sink, it is great.
The biochar is fantastic... You need carbon because cellulose is
sugar. Plants are cellulosic materials. You need the carbon to
make the sugars. You need the carbon sink and all those
materials to lock the minerals, because these are anions and
cations.
They're positive and negatively charged ions. When they
go in the soil, they're going to grab onto something of its
opposite force and dwell there... Microorganisms are producing
the electrolytes, which then chelate out these ionic elements to
make it available for the roots in the soil. It's a beautiful,
beautiful system going on in the soil, [and] the worms are the
key here. If you've got good worms, generally speaking you've
got good soil."
Compost tea is another phenomenal way to increase the soil's
worth. But compost tea without the right soil structure will not
work all that well, because there's not enough to support the life.
If the microbes don't have a "home" where they can thrive and
multiply, they will soon die. Biochar, as it turns out, is an ideal
home base for microorganisms, which helps explain some of its
benefits to plant growth.
More Information
The conclusion I've reached after being trained as a physician
and then transitioning into focusing primarily on natural health, is
that once you really apply the disciplines of health and seek to
take it to the highest levels, the inevitable conclusion is that
you've got to get back to having a direct connection to the soil.
It's essential to understand the relationship between the soil in
which your food is grown, and your health.
In the end, you cannot optimize your health without good food.
It's just impossible. And this is why learning what we need to do to
reverse the massive destruction of our global crop soils is
absolutely imperative—both on a personal and global scale. To learn
more about Dr. Dunning's ionic mineral products—which include two
lines: EcoVie and My Grow Minerals—please see
www.EcoOrganics.com. Acres
USA is another great resource where you can find a lot of
information about the minerals needed for optimal soil health.
Vote with Your Pocketbook, Every Day
Remember, the food companies on the left of this graphic spent
tens of millions of dollars in the last two labeling campaigns—in
California and Washington State—to prevent you from knowing
what's in your food. You can even the score by switching to the
brands on the right; all of whom stood behind the I-522 Right to
Know campaign. Voting with your pocketbook, at every meal, matters.
It makes a huge difference.
As always, I encourage you to continue educating yourself about
genetically engineered foods, and to share what you've learned with
family and friends. Remember, unless a food is certified organic,
you can assume it contains GMO ingredients if it contains sugar from
sugar beet, soy, or corn, or any of their derivatives.
If you buy processed food, opt for products bearing the USDA 100%
Organic label, as organics do not permit GMOs. You can also print
out and use the
Non-GMO Shopping Guide, created by the Institute for Responsible
Technology. Share it with your friends and family, and post it to
your social networks. Alternatively, download their free iPhone
application, available in the iTunes store. You can find it by
searching for ShopNoGMO in the applications. For more in-depth
information, I highly recommend reading the following two books,
authored by Jeffrey Smith, the executive director of the
Institute for
Responsible Technology:
Genetic Roulette: The Documented Health Risks
of Genetically Engineered Foods.
For timely updates,
join the Non-GMO
Project on Facebook, or
follow them on Twitter.
Please, do your homework. Together, we have the power to stop the
chemical technology industry from destroying our food supply, the
future of our children, and the earth as a whole. All we need is
about five percent of American shoppers to simply stop buying
genetically engineered foods, and the food industry would have to
reconsider their source of ingredients—regardless of whether the
products bear an actual GMO label or not.
Copyright 1997- 2014 Dr. Joseph Mercola. All Rights Reserved.