21 results for tag: nutrition


Restoring Soils in Kilimanjaro – Engineers Without Borders Seeks Funding to Fight Food Insecurity in Tanzania

This project contributes to Sustainable Development Goals Introduction David Paul Blessing examines volcanic rocks that will be used to produce a locally sourced, nature-based fertilizer for small-scale farmers in the Kilimanjaro region, Tanzania. David Paul Blessing, President of Engineers Without Borders (EWB) in Tanzania, has a science-backed plan to bring better outcomes to small-scale farmers, their families and communities in the Kilimanjaro region in northeastern Tanzania. Across Tanzania, agriculture employs 75% of the working population. Soils vary dramatically from region to region in their mineral and nutrient ...

Dennis Amoroso has a plan to end the world’s fertilizer crisis

When Dennis Amoroso made it his job to turn the world's mining byproducts into carbon-sinking fertilizer, he envisioned a future when his grandchildren could eat well beyond the safety of his organic orchards. A future full of flavorful, nutrient-dense fruit plucked straight off the tree — grown without toxic, carbon-emitting chemicals used in conventional farming. Dennis Amoroso of Plant Nutrition Technologies, Inc. As the world contends with record high food prices and looming threats from climate change, a fertilizer crisis propelled by the Russian invasion of Ukraine is putting the world's crops on hold. While the United Nations rushes to ...

Survey Says: Nutrient Levels Vary Greatly In Bionutrient’s First Annual Report

The Bionutrient Food Association (BFA) has recently found that the same crops grown under different conditions offer wide variations in nutrient levels, which should be of major interest to consumers. In fact, antioxidant, polyphenol and mineral levels in carrots and spinach appear to vary significantly from sources such as farms, farmers markets and stores, researchers concluded in BFA’s first annual report on food supply nutrient variation, released earlier this year. “We discovered a range of variation in mineral nutrient levels between 400 to 1,800 per cent, depending on the mineral assayed,” says the association on its website ...

Unveiling the First Generation Bionutrient Meter

We previously reported on the exciting prospects of the Bionutrient Meter, a hand-held device that measures the nutrient content of foods. Now, the Bionutrient Meter is a reality and is available for purchase. The Bionutrient Food Association are right now building the first 300 for early adopters, and they will make about 50 available at the upcoming Soil & Nutrition Conference November 30 - December 2, 2018 in Southbridge, MA. The device will be unveiled at the pre-conference on November 30, where it will likely sell out. Early adopters of the Bionutrient Meter are invited to take part in their citizen science project, providing data to help ...

Upcoming Conference “Regenerating Vitality: Realizing Nature’s Potential”

The 8th Annual Soil and Nutrition Conference will come to to Southbridge, MA this December 1 - 2, with a pre-conference event on November 30. The title for this year’s conference is “Regenerating Vitality: Realizing Nature’s Potential.” This event will bring together many leading members of the growing movement around quality. The event will have 29 featured speakers -- including successful farmers, cutting-edge researchers, enlightened health practitioners, and pioneers of food quality -- sharing their collective knowledge of the broader food and environmental movements. The organizers describe the conference as “the nexus of ...

Launching the Real Food Campaign

Dan Kittredge, founder and executive directotr of the Bionutrient Food Association.   On November 28, 2017, the Bionutrient Food Association launched the Real Food Campaign to “Increase Quality in the Food Supply”. The campaign bridges the food, health, environmental, and climate movements to build tools for transparency in the food supply. By defining and measuring food quality, a new metric can be established to promote healthy farming practices. This, in turn, will provide accountability for farmers and consumers to produce and purchase high-quality food. The objectives of the campaign were introduced at the Seventh Annual Soil and ...

Jon Frank and the Quest for Nutrient Dense Food

International AG Labs Farm in Fairmont, MN Recently, RTE’s Emily Schaefer conducted an interview with Jon Frank. He was excited to share his knowledge and experience with us. The following article is based on that interview.   As a four-year old, Jon Frank spent his days tending to his own garden. As a teen, he was an ardent student of soil-tending techniques and an avid reader of Acres U.S.A. magazine. Jon has always described himself as a man of the soil. Today, he is a co-owner of International AG Labs and the founder of Grow Your Own Nutrition, a project that helps gardeners mineralize their soil to grow nutrient dense foods. ...

Craving Minerals, Eating Rocks: Why do animals and humans eat rock dust?

Last October the Los Angeles Times released an article about research on tool-use among the wild bearded capuchin monkeys of Brazil. The article showcased two short videos of the monkeys smashing rocks against larger boulders – which was interpreted as intentional tool-making behavior. With a closer look, another strange behavior emerged. The monkeys occasionally licked the rocks in their paws. Several hypotheses were proposed to explain this behavior: the monkeys were licking off the minerals in the rock dust collected on the surface of the rocks; they were consuming lichen with antimicrobial properties; or, they were simply consuming ...

Growing Movement of Remineralization and Agroecology in Brazil

Edinei Almeida is an agroecologist and PhD student currently working to bring awareness and understanding of agroecology to small family farms in rural Brazil. As part of the Brazilian NGO, AS-PTA (Assessoria e Serviços a Projetos em Agricultura Alternativa), whose mission is to promote ecological methods of agriculture that question conventional industrial practices, Edinei works with 500 family farms in Southern Brazil to show the benefits of adding rock dust to soil. Suzi Huff Theodoro, PhD, one of the main organizers of the 2nd Brazilian “Rochagem” Conference, described Edinei as one of the foremost agroecologists in Brazil and Joanna Campe ...

Action for Australian Soils

Under our feet, is a resource that can change the world, halt climate change, reduce sickness and ensure food security for future generations. There is an urgent need to rejuvenate the soil by turning back the clock and looking at natural sources of food that will nourish the soil rather than degrade it. While people don’t think much about soil, it quietly and continuously services life on earth. (more…)