Blog 20

What implications do new research on the soil-health connection for the food system? How would attention to soil life affect farming and distribution?

 While reading the MyPlate webpage and brochure, keep in mind “The Politics of Dietary Guidance” article. Is the political influence that Nestle writes about evident in the MyPlate guidelines? Why or why not?  Do you think that these guidelines are specific and informative enough to affect people’s diets?

New research suggests that there is a strong connection between our soil and human health. For example, soil may protect us against the development of human sensitivity to certain allergens. Food that is grown in well-treated, nutrient-rich soil has the possibility to offer a variety of health-related advantages all while helping to build a healthy immune system. The difficulty lies in identifying which type of soil each individual's food is grown in. For instance, many organic farms have well-treated soil, but larger farms use pesticides that damage soil.

Instead of using words such as 'eliminate' and 'avoid' that would suggest that certain foods do not need to be consumed at all and are not an integral part of a healthy diet, the MyPlate dietary guidelines for consumers uses words such as 'reduce' and 'cut back'. I personally do not think that this wording is drastic enough. While these guidelines may still provide useful information, I don't think they do enough to communicate and suggest the need for real change in people's diets. If they were to use more radical wording and more action words I think more people would take the guidelines seriously and refer to them when making everyday dietary choices.