The food you eat makes you ill. Let food be thy medicine, and medicine thy food said Hippocrates, the father of Medicine Certainly he did not have the current food production system in mind, most important the agricultural produce today.
Greek agriculture and diet was based on cereals, mostly barley (see wikipedia). This have been augmented with vegetables (cabbage, onion, garlic, lentils, chick pea, beans) and herb gardens (sage, mint, thyme, savoy, oregano). Orchards included those of fig, almond, apple, pear trees and olive trees. Animal husbandry was not well developed. The only soil addictive used to improve the poor greek soil was organic matter from weeds and residues from the harvest. The soil was only superficially disturbed using muscle power and mostly the ard, real plows have not been developed.
Compare this to the current agricultural practice, using fungicides, insecticides and other pesticides as well as artificial fertilisers. Agricultural machinery of more than 20 tons causes soil structure degradation, not only topsoil but as well subsoil compaction. More important, the soil is disturbed regularly due to tilling, destroying the structure and fungal networks (mykorrhizza) in the topsoil and losing carbon in the soil. Large unprotected fields leaving fallow in between crops do the rest for soil erosion and soil degeneration.
While soil degeneration is a worldwide known problem, we barely see the consequences. Take chemical plant protection and artificial fertilisers out of the equation of current agricultural production and you would not have much of a produce in many areas of the world.
Soil is the very fundament of our nutrition and our health. Poor, malnourished, degenerated soil leads to a poor health and a troublesome life. Rich fertile undisturbed soil on the other hand can produce a rich harvest full of minerals, vitamins and secondary phytochemicals that lead to a healthy and happy life.
Here you’ll find articles how to do exactly that, building, nursing and protecting a soil that supports you, your friends and family, building the fundament of a healthy life.