The Rodale Institute: Regenerative Healthcare
ACCORDING TO THE UNITED NATIONS, our planet’s remaining topsoil will be depleted in less than 60 years if we follow current farming practices. In addition, insect populations are declining by 25% each decade. This environmental degradation, paired with the industrialization of food production, has led to epidemic levels of lifestyle-related diseases. Enter regenerative healthcare, a prevention-based approach to human and environmental health introduced by the Rodale Institute through a landmark white paper in 2020.
This fall, the Rodale Institute plans to expand this groundbreaking concept with the first Regenerative Healthcare Conference scheduled for October 16-19. The conference will be hosted at the Institute’s 386- acre regenerative experimental farm in Kutztown, Pennsylvania. Here, healthcare providers and farmers will connect the benefits between soil health and human health through interactive demonstrations, live panels, and interviews. The impressive list of speakers includes Christa Barfield, founder of FarmerJawn Philly; Dr. Mark Hyman, host of The Doctor’s Farmacy podcast; and Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin, president of the Regenerative Agriculture Alliance; among others. This conference is a key to the Institute’s sentiment: We are only as healthy as our soil.
