David LeZaks, Mandy Ellerton

September 2021

As part of the broader regenerative agriculture movement, there is increasing energy around the assertion that agriculture practices and soil health have a connection to human health. But what does the evidence tell us about the connection between agricultural practices and human health? The reality is that the connection between agricultural practices and human health is infinitely complex and dynamic.

This paper explores the evidence connecting agriculture practices to human health outcomes. In reviewing this evidence from field to body, we are left with a number of summary reflections, namely that growing more nutritious food does influence human health, but that we have a lot of work to do to transform systems and maximize the potential that more nutritious food has to offer in the realm of human health. We hope that this paper deepens the discussion about the connections between agriculture, food, human health and environmental health and positions the burgeoning movement to take strategic action.