How Bacteria Regulate Health of Entire Food System Start to Finish
Introduction
Bacteria play a critical role in food production. As a matter of fact, without bacteria (and a few other microorganisms) food would not be able to grow. A good general rule of thumb is the healthier the soil- meaning more diversity of the flora- the more nutritious the food. As a society, we like to look at how big or pretty or colorful the fruit or vegetable is, but really our metric should be nutrient per dollar. In soils that have been treated with pesticides, herbicides, chemical fertilizers and ect. the food that is produced is simply of inferior quality. This all starts with the bacteria. When the bacterial diversity goes down (especially probiotic bacteria) the quality of the food simply is not there, and this goes all the way upstream to chronic disease in humans.
How Bacteria Regulate Health of Entire Food System Start to Finish
How Bacteria Regulate Health of Entire Food System Start to Finish
Nutrient cycling
Growth of plants is run by bacteria. Bacteria decompose organic matter and recycle nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus, making them bioavailable for plants.
Short chain fatty acid production in pastured animals occurs
In ruminants, gut bacteria ferment plant fibers to produce SCFAs, which are a key energy source. They also help in production of fat-soluble vitamins (e.g., Vitamins A, D, E, and K), which are crucial for animal health.
Carnivores eat herbivores
Bacteria control digestion of carnivores. The nutrients in herbivores' tissues, partially processed by bacteria in their own guts, are passed on to carnivores which use their own bacteria to help digest animal-based proteins and fats, ensuring proper nutrient extraction and absorption.
Health of omnivores
Bacteria are essential for nutrient production (synthesizing B vitamins), digestion (breaking down chyme into most basic molecules), absorption (Enhancing the bioavailability of nutrients), immune system modulation (Maintaining gut barrier integrity and regulating immune responses), and gene expression in omnivores
Conclussion:
If you look at food in terms of nutrition instead of calories, it is way more important to grow higher quality more nutrient food than focusing on growing corn and soy which have 0 nutrition and are only detrimental to human health- and honestly should not be fed to ruminant animals either. Instead of killing the bacteria in the soil, we should be focused on increasing their diversity.
Prashar, P., Shah, S. (2016). Impact of Fertilizers and Pesticides on Soil Microflora in Agriculture. In: Lichtfouse, E. (eds) Sustainable Agriculture Reviews. Sustainable Agriculture Reviews, vol 19. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-26777-7_8