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livingontheland - Re: [Livingontheland] Minerally deficient soils cause toxicity of processed foods

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  • From: Michael Nevin <mikepnevin@yahoo.ca>
  • To: Healthy soil and sustainable growing <livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] Minerally deficient soils cause toxicity of processed foods
  • Date: Tue, 14 Nov 2006 22:37:33 -0500 (EST)

Hi - If I remember an Elaine Ingham lecture correctly, the best time to add minerals would be in the composting phase. In other words, the best use of a small quantity of minerals would be in composting rather than broadcast over one's acreage.
Another impression I carried away from my one opportunity to hear Elaine was that without adequate soil biology, any minerals added will just drip away or be leached away. The specisic mineral I remember in her example was calcium but the need for soil biology to hold the minerals in place might be true of all minerals. (And here, I am speculating and not quoting Dr Ingham).
I have often pondered if we might not have a chicken and egg problem.
 Which comes first: soil minerals or soil biology?
After all, without minerals in the soil, how can one have the biology? Right?
But I come down on the side of biology. Taking a leaf from the permaculturalist
picture of mineral economy in a rainforest, I would argue - Get the biology right and the minerals availability will follow.
Anyway, if one composts food scraps, the mass of composting food will roughly halve. In other words, assuming no mineral loss due to leaching, one's salt concentration or percentage  in composting will appx double.
Cheers Mike in Toronto


TradingPostPaul <tradingpost@riseup.net> wrote:

Very good, news to me. But that Adams who said it's another strong reason
for buying organic needs to back up one step, I think. When soil is already
mineral depleted, simply meeting organic standards without restoring
minerals doesn't make the food any more nutritious or safe. Unfortunately
many, many organic growers who compost and mulch and manure don't bother
with remineralization or don't know anything about it. I've researched the
minerals question in the past but so many things still seem iffy. Too many
unanswered questions. And I seriously doubt that many people will pay for
expensive tests to determine levels of trace minerals and learn how to
guarantee optimum levels of all needed minerals. Because basically that
can't be done, period. And we still don't know enough about how the soil
biology makes all the needed minerals available to plant roots.

What basic mineral sources are folks adding to their soil, and by what
methods? Is the best time for adding minerals while organic matter is
decomposing with humic acids forming?

paul tradingpost@lobo.net

*********** REPLY SEPARATOR ***********

On 11/13/2006 at 6:10 PM three feathers wrote:

>Soil depletion is leading to foods with alarmingly high levels of
>carcinogens. In
>today's feature article, you'll learn how sulfur deficiency in the soil
>causes grains
>(and their carbohydrates) to form massive quantities of cancer-causing
>acrylamides when cooked. Read on at: http://www.newstarget.com/021053.html
> Mineral depletion of soils results in higher acrylamide content of
>foods A team from Reading University and Rothamsted Research in the U.K.
>has discovered that wheat grown from sulfur-deprived soils creates flour
>with high acrylamide production levels.
>
> Acrylamides are found in foods such as potato chips, cookies and crusty
>bread, and is created when specific amino acids -- such as asparagines --
>and sugars reach high temperatures while being cooked -- a process known
>as the Maillard reaction.
>
> The carcinogen first began to gain notoriety in 2002 when Swedish Food
>Administration scientists reported unexpectedly high levels of it in foods
>with high levels of carbohydrates. This latest research, published in the
>Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, is part of a food industry
>initiative to reduce acrylamides in foods by analyzing the source
>ingredients.
>
> Experts say the soil mineral content problem has stemmed from the
>decreased use of sulphate-enriched fertilizers and increase in crop
>yields. According to the U.K.'s Home Grown Cereals Authority, sulfur about
>23 percent of the land used for cereal crops.
>
> The Reading and Rothamsted researchers discovered the soil
>mineral/acrylamide link when they grew three varieties of winter wheat and
>found that sulfur-deprived grain had up to 30 times more amino acids. When
>flour made from that wheat was heated to 320 degrees Fahrenheit for 20
>minutes, the acrylamide content reached a level between 92 ounces per
>pound to 183 ounces per pound. Levels between 21 ounces to 31 ounces pound
>are considered normal.
>
> "This is the first research we've seen that shows how mineral depletion
>of our soils causes increased toxicity in our foods," said Mike Adams, a
>consumer health advocate and author of the Honest Food Guide. "Mineral
>depletion not only reduces the nutritional content of the foods we eat, it
>actually alters the chemical reactions of foods during processing,
>resulting in the runaway creation of toxic chemicals that promote cancer.
>
> "This research provides yet another strong reason for buying organic,"
>he added.
>
> More than 200 research projects on acrylamides are currently underway
>worldwide, and the findings are being coordinated by national governments,
>the European Union and the United Nations. The E.U.'s Confederation of
>Food and Drink Industry released guidelines on acrylamide reduction for
>manufacturers in October. The confederation plans to update the guidelines
>as new processes are discovered.
>
>
>
>
>Donadaghovi AiSv Nv wa do hi ya do
>(Til next we meet, Walk in Peace)


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