SRC - The Return — Food
Folder: 06 - SOURCE MATERIAL Supporting: The Return — Food
Regenerative Agriculture & Soil Health
Frontiers in Nutrition — September 2025 “From soil to health: advancing regenerative agriculture for improved food quality and nutrition security” https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/nutrition/articles/10.3389/fnut.2025.1638507/full Soil quality influences crop mineral content and phytochemical concentrations confirmed. Regenerative agriculture improves soil microbiome diversity and nutrient cycling confirmed. Soil microbiome → crop quality → human gut microbiome chain confirmed. Industrial agriculture negatively impacts soil microbiome diversity confirmed. Only nine plants account for 66% of all global crop production confirmed.
Frontiers in Agronomy — April 2023 “Regenerative agriculture augments bacterial community structure for a healthier soil and agriculture” https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/agronomy/articles/10.3389/fagro.2023.1134514/full Regenerative plots showed significantly higher bacterial richness and diversity vs conventional plots confirmed. Improved soil organic carbon levels under regenerative practices confirmed. Long-term regenerative agriculture supports good nutrient composition confirmed.
PMC — Regenerative Organic Agriculture and Human Health (2025) https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12108233/ Increases in vitamin C, zinc, and polyphenols in crops grown under regenerative systems confirmed. Reductions in nitrates and pesticide residues in regenerative crops confirmed. Plants grown in mycorrhizal-enriched soils show increased essential minerals and antioxidants confirmed.
University of Illinois — Microbiome Connecting Thread https://sustainability.illinois.edu/the-microbiome-connection-from-farm-to-food-to-human-health/ Farm-to-gut microbiome chain research confirmed. Poor diets disrupt microbiome, causing obesity, metabolic disorders, chronic intestinal conditions confirmed. Maintaining healthy diet is simplest way to maintain healthy microbiome confirmed.
Seed Sovereignty & Open Source Seeds
Open Source Seed Initiative (OSSI) https://osseeds.org/control-of-seed-and-seed-sovereignty/ OSSI pledge — seeds free to save, share, trade, breed confirmed. Hundreds of open source varieties released confirmed. Modelled on open source software movement confirmed.
Wikipedia — Open Source Seed Initiative https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Source_Seed_Initiative 36 plant breeders and 46 seed company partners confirmed (as of 2017). OSSI differs from patent system — pledge allows anything except restriction confirmed. Kloppenburg Journal of Peasant Studies 2014 — foundational academic source confirmed.
BC Farms & Food — March 2023 https://bcfarmsandfood.com/open-source-seeds/ Four OSSI freedoms confirmed: save/grow, share/trade/sell, trial/study, select/adapt/breed. OSSI varieties include tomatoes, garlic, beans, carrots, lettuce, celery, kale, squash, peppers, barley, spelt, quinoa confirmed. 19th century public domain seed tradition documented.
UN FAO — Seed Diversity Loss Referenced in multiple sources above. 75% of cultivated plant genetic diversity lost in past 100 years confirmed. 93% of world’s unique seed varieties disappeared in last century confirmed.
Wikipedia — Seed Saving https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seed_saving Seed sovereignty definition confirmed. WTO TRIPS agreement seed patent implications confirmed. Plant Variety Protection Act 1970 as beginning of seed control confirmed. Farmer’s privilege erosion through court decisions confirmed.
Whole Food Diet — Health Evidence
Nature — npj Science of Food December 2024 “Utilization of plant-based foods for effective prevention of chronic diseases” https://www.nature.com/articles/s41538-024-00362-y Systematic review of 28 meta-analyses — higher intake of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, whole grains reduces CVD risk confirmed. UK Biobank cohort 126,394 participants — plant-based diets associated with reduced mortality and chronic disease risk confirmed. Whole grains protective against hypertension and stroke confirmed.
PMC — Plant-Based Diets for Reversing Disease (2019) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6855967/ Evidence strong, consistent, and compelling that whole plant food diets can promote health, treat, and reverse disease confirmed. Poor diet leading contributor to chronic disease, premature death confirmed. Farm Bill subsidies favouring agribusiness over population health documented.
PMC — Impact of WFPB on Chronic Disease (2022) https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9189580/ WFPB dietary pattern shown to prevent and reverse multiple chronic medical conditions confirmed. Weight loss, decreased HbA1c, decreased cholesterol, decreased cardiovascular event risk, decreased insulin resistance confirmed.
PMC — Optimal Dietary Patterns for Chronic Disease Prevention (2023) https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10294543/ Chronic diseases account for 90%+ of yearly healthcare spending in the US confirmed. Dietary patterns emphasising high-quality whole plant foods reduce CVD, type 2 diabetes, cancer, and all-cause mortality confirmed.
Seed Libraries — Practical Resources
Seed Savers Exchange https://www.seedsavers.org 20,000+ heirloom and open-pollinated varieties maintained and available. Largest heritage seed collection in North America.
OSSI Pledged Variety Database https://osseeds.org/seeds/ Searchable database of open source varieties available from partner seed companies.
Still To Source
- Specific Frontiers in Nutrition 2025 — full DOI confirm investigate
- Gut microbiome diversity and neurological outcomes — primary neuroscience citation needed investigate
- Seed library directory — global/national resource for readers to find local seed libraries investigate
- Regenerative agriculture nutrient density vs conventional — peer reviewed comparison study with specific percentage differences investigate
- Cost comparison whole food vs ultra-processed — documented evidence that whole food is accessible at low income levels investigate