Headline news today of the discovery of antibiotics labelled a 'game-changer' for medicine has caught our attention because, from a different, agricultural perspective, we passionately believe that healthy soil leads to healthy humans.
According the the BBC news report, researchers, at the Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts ‘turned to the source of nearly all antibiotics - soil’ which is ‘teeming with microbes’.
There is no doubt that healthy soil is a valuable resource that’s been overlooked and untapped in the past, when most farmers farmed above ground. But we’re entering a new era of biological farming in which the focus is on cultivating healthy soil to grow healthy food. If the quality of the soil is maintained it leads to better quality meat, milk, grains and vegetables and ultimately therefore, to healthier people.
The antibiotic discovery is cited as ‘the tip of the iceberg’ and so it is. The soil is like the ocean, teeming with riches.