In-depth interview with authors David R. Montgomery & Anne Bikle on the link between healing the soil to reclaim our own health
Did you know that your body can tell the difference - and get more benefit - from food that comes with it's natural fiber vs food stripped of its fiber but replaced with a supplement?
How about the fact that ultra-processed foods -- like fake meat and cheese -- can't compete with their real counterparts when it comes to providing nutrients your body knows what to do with??
These are just a few take-aways from our new favorite book, What Your Food Ate by David Montgomery and Anne Bikle.
This week, in our podcast, Tasting Terroir, we feature an in-depth interview with the authors shedding light on everything from how farming practices affect the health of the soil microbiome -- to the ultimate affect soil health has on the flavor and health of your food.
About the Authors
David R. Montgomery studied geology at Stanford University before earning his Ph.D. in geomorphology at UC Berkeley. He teaches at the University of Washington where he studies the evolution of topography and how geological processes shape landscapes and influence ecological systems. He loved maps as a kid and now writes about the relationship of people to their environment, regenerative agriculture, and other things that interest him. In 2008 he was named a MacArthur Fellow. He lives with his wife Anne Biklé in Seattle, Washington.
Anne Biklé is trained in biology and natural history and has worked in the fields of environmental stewardship and planning as well as public health. Through writing and public speaking she explores humanity’s tangled relationship with nature through the lens of agriculture, medicine, and microbiomes. She is particularly enthralled with the botanical world and its influence on humanity throughout history. With the help of mulches and microbes, she has developed gardening practices that build and safeguard soil health and led to coaxing many an edible or ornamental plant into rambunctious growth or nursing them back from the edge of death.
Her writing has appeared in various print and digital media and on radio and her gardening practices have been featured in independent and documentary films.
Her latest book, What Your Food Ate: How to Heal the Land and Reclaim our Health, explores connections between soil health and human health and builds on themes from her first book, The Hidden Half of Nature: The Microbial Roots of Life and Health.