How To Be Less Green and More Brown: Earth Day Revelations
Earth Day is here again: that one special day of the year where we consider how we can better take care of our planet and be more green, but I have to ask, “What if instead of being more green this year, we focus on being more brown?”
Ewww. Brown isn’t as pretty as green. It makes me think of decay and dirty things.” – Anonymous
Exactly so. But what if the secret to becoming more Green really lies in the Brown, the stuff that makes up the earth, made of decay and dirty things, but also holding within it the beginning and continuation of all life: The Soil.
Death-Life-Death-Life… this cycle is the secret of the soil. Diets and nutrition are completely meaningless without it. But there is a light side and a dark side to this story, an epic battle in which only one side will win. But which cycle are you supporting: The Circle of Life… or the Wheel of Death?
The Human-Humus-Soil Connection in Science and Religion
I find it pretty amazing how one of the things that so many religions agree on is that humans were created from the soil. In Greek mythology, gods threw rocks over their shoulders, which became man and woman. In Christianity and Abrahamic religions, God created Adam from dust, and the name Adam comes from the Hebrew word adamah meaning “soil, earth.”
Now I’m not going to get into how man was created from dirt and woman was created from man (or Adam’s rib to be exact according to the Book of Genesis). However, I have heard accounts of modern day Eve’s who count their husband’s ribs at night while he’s sleeping to make sure there’s not another woman.
The science connection between humans and soil is equally as interesting. The common word of note here is hum-, shared by both the soil (humus) and humans. In science, the word Humus refers to any organic matter within the soil that is critical to the soil retaining moisture and nutrients.
I find it curious that the word Human shares this same root hum- for we too depend on moisture (hydration) and nutrients for survival. Combine human with being (having sentience, reality, and existence), and now you essentially have “Thinking Dirt.” Yeah, that’s pretty sexy, isn’t it?
So seeing how we are all just walking sacks of sexy thinking dirt, how can we better embrace our inner-Browness?
Becoming Less Green
All life and nutrition on the planet begins in the soil. The soil is literally the Root Cause of health for every organism. Plants absorb their nutrition from the soil. Animals absorb their nutrition from the plants. And we absorb our nutrients from both. We are only as healthy as the soil, as the Earth.
But poor farming practices have stripped and depleted the soil. And as a result, the over-reliance of pesticides, herbicides, and now Genetically Modified crops have become the norm.
And so now, as shown here in Paul Chek’s Wheel of Death, we have sick plants eaten by sick animals, and humans eat both, and we wonder why our world-wide healthcare system is in shambles. How much longer can we medicate the planet? When will we realize that these synthetic, unnatural band-aids aren’t working any more? After all, at this rate we may have to start modeling China’s efforts to be more green by painting the hillsides instead.
Becoming More Brown
Organic farmers have seen the writing on the wall for decades now and are on the front line trying to stop the Wheel of Death cycle and bring the Earth back to its natural Circle of Life.
Organic farming’s #1 tenet is “Take care of the soil.” Keep the soil healthy, and everything else will follow. And then the plants will be healthy without synthetic sprays or genetic altering (a.k.a. Playing God, which is finally happening to humans too).
Happy B’Earth Day!
So for this Earth Day, I ask you to remember why we are celebrating it. It’s not just for the tree-huggers and hippies. It’s about remembering our roots, where we’ve come from, and where we want to go from here.
Do we continue the Wheel of Death downward cycle by trying to play God 
and force nature’s hand?
Or can we break the cycle by joining and supporting our organic farmers and become sexier walking sacks of dirt?
How can you join them, you ask? Vote with your wallet. Demand food from higher quality sources that support a healthier Earth. And yes, it is possible to support everyone eating organically-raised food on this planet. Here’s one impossibly impossible way to do it.
Do you think it’s possible?
Posted by Brent Martin on |
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