El Podcast

E32: How Cows Save the Planet: Soil, Nutrition & the Hidden Cost of Modern Farming

Episode Summary

Journalist Judith Schwartz explains how restoring soil health through regenerative agriculture and properly managed livestock can reverse ecosystem damage, improve food nutrition, and draw down atmospheric carbon. She critiques industrial farming, GMO dependence, and climate orthodoxy, urging local resilience and deeper inquiry into ecological solutions.

Episode Notes

Author and environmental journalist Judith Schwartz explains how regenerating soil health—with the help of grazing animals—can restore ecosystems, improve food nutrition, and even mitigate climate change.

Guest Bio: Judith D. Schwartz is a journalist and author who writes about nature-based solutions to global environmental and economic challenges. Her work has appeared in Scientific American, Yale Environment 360, and The New York Times. She is the author of Cows Save the Planet, Water in Plain Sight, and The Reindeer Chronicles.

Topics Discussed:

• The decline in soil health and crop nutrient levels
• Regenerative agriculture vs. industrial organic farming
• Role of grazing animals in ecosystem restoration
• Carbon sequestration through soil
• The dangers of consensus-driven climate narratives
• Local vs. global food and economic systems
• GMOs, seed monopolies, and chemical agriculture dependency
• The need for bioregional resilience in a post-globalization era

Top 3 Quotes:

• “Many people think that zero animal impact is ideal… but we need certain types of disturbance for healthy landscapes—that’s how our ecosystems work.”
• “Our knowledge can only be as good as the questions that we ask.”
• “Just because something is labeled organic doesn’t mean it’s nutrient-dense; we don’t know we’re getting the good stuff—we just know we’re avoiding the bad stuff.

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