What is the difference between soil and dirt? Dirt does not contain the biology needed to grow healthy, high nutritional quality plants. The plants will grow in dirt but not as bountifully as the a plant grown in soil. Food that is grown in soil works in cooperation or symbiotically with the soil biology that allows for the plant to uptake the nutrients that not only make it more resilient but better for you.
There have been studies published that indicate that the micronutrient and mineral values of different food products have diminished over time. A publication entitled Changes in USDA Food Composition Data for 43 Garden Crops, 1950 to 1999, really upset the proverbial apple cart when it suggested that there had been a major decline in nutrient values for 43 crops. The interpretation of this from an author in Scientific American entitled, Dirt Poor: Have Fruits and Vegetables Become Less Nutritious?, cited examples that the American consumer would have to consume 8 oranges to meet the vitamin A needs of oranges today. Oranges are a great source of vitamin C but not necessarily known for their vitamin A content.
While nutrient values have certainly dropped on some level because of our farming practices, we must be cautious with the interpretation because the science behind determining nutrient values has changed in the 49 years between studies. This means that we may be comparing apples to oranges on some level. The initial publication even indicates that some of the differences could be due to the difference in varieties of what was tested as well. We produce significantly less varieties or diversity of every food now versus 50 years ago. This is in part because our industrialized food system favors crops with more weather tolerant traits and higher yield monocrops. This is not the true issue however. Our industrialized system has destroyed the biology in the soil which makes what is there, unavailable to plants.
The soil, not dirt, has its own microbiome which is to say that it has its own complex little ecosystem down under the surface that supports a synergistic relationship between the bacteria, fungi and yeast, minerals, other micronutrients and the plants that reside there much like the microbiomes in our own gastrointestinal tracts. Without healthy soil, our plants and animals can not be as healthy as they would be otherwise because the nutrient quality of the soil has diminished as the microbiome is no longer present. This mainly has to do with inorganic soil amendments and what I call the "icides" sprayed on crops; fungicides, herbicides, pesticides, and insecticides.
Without a healthy microbiome of the soil, the plants do not have a plant available form of nutrition in the soil to access. So on some level the previous studies are accurate in the sense that the plants do not contain the same nutrition because they can not access it. Where the land has been treated with conventional agricultural practices biology would have to be purposefully replaced in order for the plants to be full of the nutrients and minerals again that they were previously able to pull from the soil.
There have been many studies on the nutrient compositions and in particular phytochemical concentration of organic vs regenerative vs conventional agriculture. Depending on the crop, studies have shown statistically significant higher flavonoid, polyphenol, anthocyanin, ascorbic acid, citric acid, and alpha tocopherol concentrations for those raised regenerative or organically. It is not really a question that ultimately the end product is better for us, the question is in what way and to what degree?
Phytochemicals can be found in all foods of plant origin. Different phytochemicals are usually identified in association with the different colors of the plants. Anthocyanins like in cabbage tend to be purple, certain types of polyphenols tend to vary between light green, yellow and red in color or to black like in black tea or cocoa powder, circumin in turmeric tends to be bright orange and so on. There are literally hundreds of these compounds associated with food.
The important thing to remember is that these compounds tend to have high antioxidant capacity, help our bodies manage inflammation which helps our bodies to fight cancer as well as cardiac or other diseases. So eating our colors from the garden should be in order. It is also interesting to note that sometimes, this also means a better tasting end product. Have you ever tried an organic carrot grown in soil vs one conventionally grown in dirt? They are so much more sweet and delicious! You will never go back!
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