Episode 107 David Montgomery on regenerative agriculture, soil, food and nutrition

What is soil health, and how do we measure it? What is regenerative agriculture, and why is the label organic confusing and not particularly useful?

In this episode of the podcast Lars talks to David Montgomery, a professor of geology at University of Washington, who has in the last fifteen years written a number of books and articles about soil health, food production and agriculture. As he tells it himself, his journey through the world of regenerative agriculture and soil health has turned him from being a pessimist into a staunch optimist, and we’re pretty sure that this comes through in the episode. 

David also has a new book coming out this summer, written with his wife Anne Biklé: What your food ate: How to heal our land and reclaim our health, which we talk about in this episode. The book is already available for preorder. (https://wwnorton.co.uk/books/9781324004530-what-your-food-ate) 

Books and articles: 

• David Montgomery (2007) Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations, University of California Press
• David Montgomery (2007), «Soil erosion and agricultural sustainability», PNAS, August 14, 2007, vol. 104  no. 33, ss.13268 –13272, https://www.pnas.org/content/104/33/13268
• David Montgomery & Anne Biklé (2016), The Hidden Half of Nature: The Microbial Roots of Life and Health, W.W. Norton
• David Montgomery (2017), Growing a Revolution: Bringing Our Soil Back to Life, W.W. Norton
• David Montgomery & Anne Biklé, (2021) «Soil Health and Nutrient Density: Beyond Organic vs. Conventional Farming», Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 04 November 2021, https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2021.699147/full
• David R. Montgomery, Anne Biklé, Ray Archuleta, Paul Brown, Jazmin Jordan (2022), «Soil health and nutrient density: preliminary comparison of regenerative and conventional farming», PeerJ, 27.jan 2022

David’s recommendations:

• Charles Darwin (1881), The Formation of Vegetable Mould Through the Action of Worms, with Observations on their Habits, John Murray
• Gabe Brown (2018), Dirt to Soil: One Family’s Journey into Regenerative Agriculture, Chelsea Green Publishing

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