Food Webs and Healthy Microbiomes

  What does a healthy microbiome look like? In the last decade, the potential for the human microbiome to improve human health has leaped from obscure scientific abstracts onto the public radar.  School teachers, health coaches, and dental hygienists and nutrition experts are preaching the need for a healthy microbiome.  But what does a healthy … Read more

Food Webs and Free Trade

Image shows people buying food at a market.

Like Economies, Food Webs Function to Exchange Resources Did you ever wonder how a food web resembles an economy? Both are always changing.  Both are living systems.  Both function best when diversity is present… Some argue that food webs are nature’s economy, or even the first economy.  This is because food webs are defined by … Read more

Food Webs on Farms and Gardens

Image shows cattle and chickens foraging in a mixed species pasture. Orchard saplings grow in the same cover crop mix nearby. A closeup image of the cover crop is also shown.

Farms and gardens that maintain active food webs produce healthier food.  When soil contains sufficiently diverse and abundant live microorganisms, food webs develop.  These food webs release nutrients from deep within the soil profile, and deliver them to plants in eco-friendly, bioavailable forms.  The result includes well-nourished plants that are better able to protect themselves … Read more