A riveting exploration of how microbes are transforming the way we see nature and ourselves―and could revolutionize agriculture and medicine.
Prepare to set aside what you think you know about yourself and microbes. Good health―for people and for plants―depends on Earth’s smallest creatures. The Hidden Half of Nature tells the story of our tangled relationship with microbes and their potential to revolutionize agriculture and medicine, from garden to gut.
When David R. Montgomery and Anne Biklé decide to restore life into their barren yard by creating a garden, dead dirt threatens their dream. As a cure, they feed their soil a steady diet of organic matter. The results impress them. In short order, the much-maligned microbes transform their bleak yard into a flourishing Eden. Beneath their feet, beneficial microbes and plant roots continuously exchange a vast array of essential compounds. The authors soon learn that this miniaturized commerce is central to botanical life’s master strategy for defense and health.
They are abruptly plunged further into investigating microbes when Biklé is diagnosed with cancer. Here, they discover an unsettling truth. An armada of bacteria (our microbiome) sails the seas of our gut, enabling our immune system to sort microbial friends from foes. But when our gut microbiome goes awry, our health can go with it. The authors also discover startling insights into the similarities between plant roots and the human gut. We are not what we eat. We are all―for better or worse―the product of what our microbes eat.
This leads to a radical reconceptualization of our relationship to the natural world: by cultivating beneficial microbes, we can rebuild soil fertility and help turn back the modern plague of chronic diseases. The Hidden Half of Nature reveals how to transform agriculture and medicine―by merging the mind of an ecologist with the care of a gardener and the skill of a doctor. 20 illustrations

The Hidden Half of Nature: The Microbial Roots of Life and Health

Health, Fitness & Dieting

Montgomery, David R.

Biklé, Anne

Diseases & Physical Ailments

W.W.Norton&Company

"Sure to become a game-changing guide to the future of good food and healthy landscapes." ―Dan Barber, chef and author of The Third Plate
Prepare to set aside what you think you know about yourself and microbes. The Hidden Half of Nature reveals why good health―for people and for plants―depends on Earth’s smallest creatures. Restoring life to their barren yard and recovering from a health crisis, David R. Montgomery and Anne Biklé discover astounding parallels between the botanical world and our own bodies. From garden to gut, they show why cultivating beneficial microbiomes holds the key to transforming agriculture and medicine. 20 illustrations

Review\n"Sure to become a classic―a biological Rosetta Stone that intimately and elegantly shows how the health of soil, plants, animals, and human beings are inseparable.… An exquisitely crafted narrative of ecological literacy that upends more than a century of conventional thinking." 
― Paul Hawken, author of Regeneration\n"Authoritative, informative, and entertaining. What Your Food Ate is both eye-opening and a call to action for consumers, farmers, and food companies alike." 
― Emeran Mayer, MD, author of The Mind-Gut Connection\n"David R. Montgomery and Anne Biklé are fast becoming rock stars in the emergent fields of regenerative farming and natural health. What Your Food Ate is a brilliant tour de force and a must-read." 
― Carolyn Steel, author of Hungry City\n"What Your Food Ate is stunningly good. It turns out that the organic pioneers had it right. Eat whole foods grown in healthy soil. In the most accessible way, this book gives a riveting exposé on why that is true." 
― Dave Chapman, cofounder of the Real Organic Project\n"A must read for farmers, ranchers, eaters, and scientists. What Your Food Ate illuminates connections critical to each of us―and our planet." 
― Gabe Brown, author of Dirt to Soil\n"Here, finally, is a book that debunks the growing consensus that in order to protect the planet, your dinner will have to be grown in a test tube. David and Anne examine each strata with scientific precision to remind us once and for all that soil health and human health are―and have always been―one subject." 
― Dan Barber, Blue Hill and Row 7 Seed Company\n"Experts in food science and soil biology, [Biklé and Montgomery] examine ways in which both conventional and innovative farming practices help determine nutritional qualities. . . the granularity of information provided will especially engage those versed in or curious about food science." 
― Booklist\nAre you really what you eat? 
David R. Montgomery and Anne Biklé take us far beyond the well-worn adage to deliver a new truth: the roots of good health start on farms. What Your Food Ate marshals evidence from recent and forgotten science to illustrate how the health of the soil ripples through to that of crops, livestock, and ultimately us. 
The long-running partnerships through which crops and soil life nourish one another suffuse plant and animal foods in the human diet with an array of compounds and nutrients our bodies need to protect us from pathogens and chronic ailments. Unfortunately, conventional agricultural practices unravel these vital partnerships and thereby undercut our well-being. Can farmers and ranchers produce enough nutrient-dense food to feed us all? Can we have quality and quantity? 
With their trademark thoroughness and knack for integrating information across numerous scientific fields, Montgomery and Biklé chart the way forward. Navigating discoveries and epiphanies about the world beneath our feet, they reveal why regenerative farming practices hold the key to healing sick soil and untapped potential for improving human health. 
Humanity’s hallmark endeavors of agriculture and medicine emerged from our understanding of the natural world―and still depend on it. Montgomery and Biklé eloquently update this fundamental reality and show us why what’s good for the land is good for us, too. What Your Food Ate is a must-read for farmers, eaters, chefs, doctors, and anyone concerned with reversing the modern epidemic of chronic diseases and mitigating climate change.

What Your Food Ate: How to Heal Our Land and Reclaim Our Health

Science & Math

Earth Sciences

David R. Montgomery and Anne Biklé take us far beyond the well-worn adage to deliver a new truth: the roots of good health start on farms. What Your Food Ate marshals evidence from recent and forgotten science to illustrate how the health of the soil ripples through to that of crops, livestock, and ultimately us. The long-running partnerships through which crops and soil life nourish one another suffuse plant and animal foods in the human diet with an array of compounds and nutrients our bodies need to protect us from pathogens and chronic ailments. Unfortunately, conventional agricultural practices unravel these vital partnerships and thereby undercut our well-being. Can farmers and ranchers produce enough nutrient-dense food to feed us all? Can we have quality and quantity? With their trademark thoroughness and knack for integrating information across numerous scientific fields, Montgomery and Biklé chart the way forward. Navigating discoveries and epiphanies about the world beneath our feet, they reveal why regenerative farming practices hold the key to healing sick soil and untapped potential for improving human health. Humanity's hallmark endeavors of agriculture and medicine emerged from our understanding of the natural world--and still depend on it. Montgomery and Biklé eloquently update this fundamental reality and show us why what's good for the land is good for us, too. What Your Food Ate is a must-read for farmers, eaters, chefs, doctors, and anyone concerned with reversing the modern epidemic of chronic diseases and mitigating climate change.

What Your Food Ate: How to Restore Our Land and Reclaim Our Health

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Biklé, Anne. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Biklé, Anne

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Biklé, Anne. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Hidden Half of Nature: The Microbial Roots of Life and Health

The Hidden Half of Nature: The Microbial Roots of Life and Health

What Your Food Ate: How to Heal Our Land and Reclaim Our Health

What Your Food Ate: How to Restore Our Land and Reclaim Our Health