56. How The Corn, Soy & Wheat Industries Are Destroying The Environment… And A Possible Alternative

Welcome back to Hunger Hunt Feast! If you consider yourself "green" or take interest in protecting the environment, you are going to love this episode. Today Zane shares the truth about how the "plant-based" lifestyle is damaging our planet and the environmental impact of grains. QUICK NOTES FROM ZANE: The current agricultural system of large scale mono-crops of grains is not environmentally friendly It is depleting topsoil, polluting rivers, and destroying ecosystems like wetlands, prairies, and forests It's a corporate-owned, government-subsidized industry that has run traditional farmers out of business Traditional farming skips harvest seasons to allow for cover crops and grazing, foraging animals to replenish nutrients in the soil 50 gallons of oil per acre of corn- fertilizer, pesticides, machinery High water usage from rivers Comparison of water usage of 1lb of wheat to 1lb of grass-fed beef Factory farming of beef, pork and chicken wouldn't exist except for the cheap corn from the mono-cropping system Not a sustainable industry- grains are sold for less than it takes to produce them Grains are used to make processed food which makes up 70% of the avg. US diet Exporting grains to developing nations puts farmers out of work in those countries and causes them to be dependent on corporate food giants Once fertile Mesopotamia is now the Iraqi desert. Irrigation and fertilizers cause salinization of soil Dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico at the mouth of the Mississippi caused by fertilizers that is 6-7000 sq. miles Alternative approach: regenerative farming using a perennial polyculture as described in the documentary Sacred Cow by Diana Rogers, episode #36 podcast guest Polyface Farm run by Joel Salatin - has sequestered 2 tons of carbon per acre, per year for over 50 years White Oak Pastures in Georgia is a carbon-negative farm using regenerative techniques Is regenerative farming replicable? Lierre Keith, former 20 yr vegetarian, wrote in "The Vegetarian Myth", "We need to stop asking what feeds the most people and start asking what feeds people sustainably. What methods produce topsoil while only using sun and rain because nothing else is sustainable."   LINKS: 50 Gallons of oil per acre of corn Dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico Degraded topsoil in the US Midwest https://www.politico.com/agenda/story/2017/09/13/soil-health-agriculture-trend-usda-000513/ https://e360.yale.edu/features/how-the-loss-of-soil-is-sacrificing-americas-natural-heritage China restricting farming near large rivers Polyface Farms sequesters 2 tons of carbon per acre, per year White Oak Pastures sequesters more carbon than it releases Sacred Cow Documentary by Diana Rogers on Amazon The Vegetarian Myth" by Lierre Keith   Questions? You can email your questions to [email protected]. Connect with me at zanegriggs.com or on Instagram @zanegriggsfitness   QUICK EPISODE SUMMARY: The sustainability of our agricultural state  How corporate ran grain supplies have affected the investment  How much oil it takes to create corn and the role of fossil fuels What happens when you destroy wetlands How to get most of your days micro-nutrients  How grain is used to fatten livestock up before slaughter The ROI of our current agriculture system  A few examples of how soy is dangerous for humans long term One of the first historical documentation of brewing beer Regenerative farming is possible Support local farmers: It takes all of us to create change Recourses around this topic if you want to learn more