What Your Food Is and Isn't with Anne Bikle and David Montgomery

n this episode of Modern Farming, What your Food Is and Isn't with Anne Bikle and David Montgomery, we dig into what’s really beneath our food—starting with the soil. Joined by husband-and-wife team David R. Montgomery and Anne Biklé, we explore how both natural processes and human practices like conventional agriculture have contributed to widespread soil depletion, and what that means for the future of farming and our health.

David, a MacArthur Fellow and professor of geomorphology at the University of Washington, is a broad-minded geologist who studies how earth processes shape ecosystems and societies. Anne, a free-range biologist, science writer, and regenerative gardener with a serious case of “plant lust,” brings deep insight into how soil health connects to human health and nutrition. Together, they’ve authored several acclaimed books, including What Your Food Ate, which builds on their trilogy about soil, microbiomes, and sustainable farming.

We talk about why it’s difficult to get farmers to change practices that seem to be working—especially when peer-to-peer knowledge often carries more weight than supplier advice. But as David and Anne explain, regenerative methods that feed the soil not only work in practice—they can also improve profitability while reducing agriculture’s environmental footprint. The challenge lies in overcoming inertia, rethinking incentive structures, and showing the evidence that healthy soil produces more nutrient-dense food.

Topics Covered:

• How soil depletion affects crop quality and human health

• Feeding the soil vs. feeding the plant: why it matters

• Barriers to change: behavioral, informational, and economic

• How farming practices influence nutrient density in food

• Key nutritional factors tied to soil health: micronutrients, phytochemicals, fat balance, and microbial metabolites

• Microbiomes and their essential role in host biology—why a healthy microbiome matters for plant, animal, and human function

• Managing inflammation and health outcomes through better food system choices

• The ripple effect: healthy soil → healthy plants → healthy people

Key Takeaway:

How our food is farmed doesn’t just impact the environment—it shapes the nutrition on our plates and the health of future generations. With the right knowledge, practices, and incentives, we can shift toward a system where healthy soil means healthy people.

🎧 Tune in and rethink what your food is… and isn’t

Learn more at https://www.dig2grow.com/

Books Links:

Dirt: The Erosion of Civilization

https://www.indiebound.org/search/book?keys=dirt+erosion+of+civilizations

The Hidden Half of Nature

https://www.indiebound.org/search/book?keys=the+hidden+half+of+nature

Growing a Revolution: Bringing Our Soil Back to Life

https://www.indiebound.org/search/book?keys=Growing+a+Revolution

What Your Food Ate

https://www.indiebound.org/search/book?keys=what+your+food+ate