There are ways to protect soil from eroding by using meth-
ods like cover crops and mulch. Less erosion means more
carbon sequestered in the ground rather than released into the
atmosphere. Carbon-capture methods are sorely needed if we
as a planet have any chance at curbing total carbon emissions
in time to avoid the worst effects of climate change. Adding
compost and manure as a fertilizer instead of using synthetic
fertilizers also builds soil organic matter, which means more
nutrients that feed plants. This means more nutritious plants,
healthier plants that require fewer pesticides, and even more
flavorful plants.
Crop rotation is also key to both organic and regenerative
practices, and it involves farmers planting a sequence of differ-
ent crops on the same field each season. This too helps prevent
soil erosion and builds that good organic matter to keep the
soil healthy. It also disrupts insect infestation and plant dis-
eases, increases biodiversity on the farm, and fixes nitrogen
into the soil. This is in contrast to conventional monoculture
practices—planting the same thing in abundance, most often
corn and wheat and soy, year after year. A suite of damaging
tactics, including annual tilling, are part of monoculture’s
package deal, releasing carbon that crops help store in the soil,
which in turn has the aforementioned wrinkle of contributing
to global warming.
What hurts the soil most often hurts the people who
grow food on that soil. Years of intensive use of chemicals in
California’s San Joaquin Valley, for example, which produces
much of the country’s nuts and produce, have left cancerous
contaminants in rural residents’ drinking wells. These com-
munities already suffer high rates of asthma and a devastating
disease called valley fever, which comes from a toxic fungus
in the soil. Accounting for the well-being of farmers may be
regenerative agriculture’s most novel feature. It recognizes
72 how to be a Conscious Eater