An apple a day keeps Armageddon away

By Nathan Piette

Staff Writer

Across the world, floods, droughts, and rising food prices are reminding us that the way we grow food is tied to the health of the planet.

Regenerative agriculture, the farming that rebuilds soil instead of wearing it out, offers a hopeful path forward at a moment when communities are searching for practical climate action. While many climate debates feel abstract, farmers are already testing real solutions in their fields. 

Regenerative agriculture should become an international and local priority because it restores damaged soil, protects farmers’ health, and helps fight climate change at the same time. The life’s work of North Dakota farmer Gabe Brown shows that growing food in partnership with nature is both possible and profitable.

Healthy soil is the foundation of every meal, yet decades of heavy plowing and chemical use have left too much farmland depleted and lifeless. Regenerative farmers reverse this damage by planting cover crops, refusing to till up the ground, and rotating livestock systematically so that the ground is never bare.

On Brown’s ranch in North Dakota, he has shown how powerful these practices can be. He said in his documentary “Common Ground,” that regenerative agriculture is “bringing the ecosystem back into function so it can function in a way where it truly can sustain healthy life in the form of plants, animals, and then eventually people.” 

Within a few seasons, his fields held more water, produced stronger crops, and needed far less fertilizer, inspiring others around the world. Since he switched away from conventional farming that tills and releases carbon into the atmosphere, he has found a second career as an international advocate for regenerative agriculture as the solution to climate change.

International programs echo what Brown discovered on his own land. The global “4 per 1000” initiative is supported by 833 partner organizations across 108 different countries. Their efforts emphasize that increasing soil carbon can help cool the planet and improve food security by scaling up regenerative practices.

Regenerative agriculture is also a public-health issue. Conventional farming often depends on large amounts of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers that can drift into water and air. Many rural families worry about what long-term exposure means for their bodies.

Brown’s personal journey away from chemical-intensive farming was driven in part by the health consequences he witnessed. He has said that transitioning to soil-focused methods improved conditions on his own land and has encouraged others to reduce reliance on synthetic inputs. In his documentary, Brown said he and his doctor attribute his ALS diagnosis to his use of these synthetic inputs. By cutting chemical use, regenerative farms reduce these everyday risks. 

The benefits reach beyond individual farmers. Healthier soils filter water naturally, lowering the cost of cleaning drinking supplies. Diverse fields also support bees, birds, and other wildlife that rural economies depend on.

Farming methods that protect the people who grow our food should be seen as common sense, not a radical experiment.

Unlike many high-tech climate fixes, regenerative agriculture can begin tomorrow with tools farmers already own. Soil rich in organic matter acts like a giant sponge that pulls carbon out of the air and stores it underground while also holding more moisture during droughts.

Global initiatives are building momentum. The “100 Million Farmers Initiative” and the “Food Action Alliance” are channeling investment to help producers adopt carbon-sequestering practices. 

Organizations like “Regeneration International” promote regenerative food, farming, and land-use as a way to draw down excess atmospheric carbon dioxide and improve soils worldwide.

These efforts show that the idea is not limited to small organic gardens. It is becoming a worldwide movement that links climate policy, food security, and rural jobs.

Regenerative agriculture offers a rare triple win. It lowers emissions, makes safer food systems, and strengthens farm economies.

Critics argue that regenerative methods cannot feed a growing population or that yields may drop during the transition years. Those concerns deserve attention. Changing practices does require training and sometimes short-term risk, and not every farm will look the same. 

Yet studies from universities and from Brown’s ranch show that once soil health improves, yields often match or exceed conventional systems while costs fall. The real risk is staying with a model that is already degrading land and worsening climate disasters.

When Brown began experimenting on his worn-out North Dakota fields, he was simply trying to save his family farm. Today, his work points toward a larger lesson - the climate crisis will not be solved only in laboratories or conference halls, but in the living soil beneath our feet.