This Earth Day, Eat Like The Earth Depends On It–Because It Does

How your everyday food choices can restore your health, regenerate the planet, and turn every meal into a powerful act of protest.

Photo by James Baltz on Upsplash

Every single day, each of us makes decisions about how we feed ourselves—decisions that are either adaptive or maladaptive for both our personal health and the health of the planet. Humans and the Earth exist in a symbiotic relationship. Ultimately, what is healthiest for us is also healthiest for the planet.

So, in honor of Earth Day, I want to invite you to zoom out and consider what true wellness means—not just in your body, but in your community, your home, and on the planet itself.

As a wellness coach, I believe in a holistic approach to health. That means looking beyond exercise and food and considering all six dimensions of what Precision Nutrition calls Deep Health—the interconnected aspects of life that shape how we feel, think, move, and live. I use these six dimensions as the foundation for how I support my clients:

• Physical Health – Feeling vibrant, energized, and thriving. Performing and functioning well.

• Emotional Health – Experiencing a full range of emotions and expressing them appropriately.

• Mental Health – Being alert, focused, competent, and thoughtful. Learning, remembering, and solving problems effectively.

• Environmental Health – Knowing your everyday surroundings support your health and well-being.

• Relational Health – Being connected and authentic with others. Feeling supported and like you belong.

• Existential Health – Feeling a sense of meaning and purpose in life.

(Precision Nutrition, n.d.)

While each dimension is essential and deeply interwoven, environmental health offers one of the most foundational layers. If you don’t have access to safe, nourishing, or sustainable environments—whether that's clean air and water, green spaces, or responsibly grown food—it becomes exponentially harder to pursue deeper aspects of wellness like nutritious eating, emotional regulation, physical fitness, or personal growth.

Environmental wellness includes both your immediate surroundings (your shelter, places you live and work) and the natural ecosystems you’re a part of. It’s the quality of your light, air, water, food, and land. It’s the state of the planet you’re living on—and how it either supports or erodes your well-being.

A Framework for Sustainable Food Choices

Here’s a step-by-step framework to become a more conscious food consumer and contribute to a healthier food ecosystem:

1. Educate yourself about agricultural processes in America.

2. Support local farmers and regenerative agriculture through CSAs and markets.

3. Prioritize food grown in healthy soil.

The Crisis Beneath Our Feet

Topsoil—the uppermost layer of soil—is rich in nutrients, microbes, and organic matter necessary to grow crops. Without healthy topsoil, agriculture collapses. And right now, we’re rapidly losing it.

In the U.S., we’re shedding nearly 3 tons of topsoil per acre every year (USDA NRCS, 2007). Since it takes 500 to 1,000 years to regenerate a single inch of topsoil (Montgomery, 2007), this rate of loss is unsustainable and threatens long-term food security.

A major contributor to this problem is monocropping—the practice of growing the same crop on the same land year after year. Monocropping, often incentivized by government subsidies, depletes soil nutrients, accelerates erosion, and fosters dependence on synthetic fertilizers and pesticides.

In contrast, regenerative farming practices restore soil health through methods like conservation tillage, cover cropping, crop rotation, and agroforestry. These techniques not only replenish the soil but also improve biodiversity and long-term agricultural resilience.

You can support regenerative agriculture by using tools like  LocalHarvest.org,  EatWild.com, or your local cooperative extension to find farms near you. Consider joining a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, which gives you access to fresh, local produce while providing farmers with the resources they need to continue their regenerative work.

Ethical Animal Agriculture

Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) contribute significantly to environmental degradation. Globally, livestock operations account for 18% of greenhouse gas emissions, with over 7% attributed to the U.S. alone (FAO, 2006).

CAFOs produce large quantities of methane, ammonia, and other pollutants, which harm both environmental and human health. Residents near CAFOs experience increased rates of respiratory illnesses (EPA, 2023). Nutrient runoff from these facilities can lead to water contamination and algal blooms (USGS, 2022).

Beyond environmental damage, meat from these operations has been linked to inflammation, antibiotic resistance, and increased risk of chronic disease (Harvard School of Public Health, 2020).

In contrast, regenerative animal agriculture uses techniques like rotational grazing to naturally fertilize the land, promote biodiversity, and return nutrients to the soil. Prioritize pasture-raised and grass-finished animal products, and look for labels like “100% grass-fed,” “pasture-raised,” or “regeneratively farmed.” Be cautious of unregulated claims like “natural.”

Eat Out with Intention

When dining out, seek out restaurants with farm-to-table menus that transparently share their sourcing practices. It takes effort, but even in cities, suburbs, and small towns across the East Coast, I’ve found options that support local and regenerative food systems.

Vote with Your Fork—and Your Ballot

It's also worth acknowledging how recent political decisions may impact the environment we’re all trying to protect. Under the current U.S. political administration, several key federal programs that supported soil health and regenerative agriculture have been cut or rolled back:

• In April 2025, the current administration canceled the $3 billion Partnership for Climate-Smart Commodities program, which funded 135 projects to improve soil health and reduce emissions in agriculture (Reuters, 2025).

• A $59 million grant program intended to help small and mid-sized farmers in the Mid-Atlantic region adopt regenerative practices like cover cropping and agroforestry was also terminated (WHYY, 2025).

• The EPA is rolling back 31 environmental regulations, including those related to water quality and emissions standards critical to sustainable farming (Earthjustice, 2025).

• The current administration has moved to reduce wetland protections following the Supreme Court’s Sackett v. EPA decision, putting vulnerable ecosystems—and by extension, soil health—at greater risk (AP News, 2025).

It’s crucial to familiarize yourself with your politicians’ environmental priorities, so that when you're voting, you can align your choices with your well-being.

These shifts reflect a troubling trend away from environmental stewardship. That's why where you spend your food dollars—and how you feed yourself—can be a radical act of protest. Every purchase is a vote for the kind of world you want to live in. When more of us begin to shop, eat, and live in alignment with nature, we restore not just our bodies, but the planet we depend on.

Happy Earth Day.

xoxo, KDR

References

CDP. (2017). The Carbon Majors Database. https://www.activesustainability.com/climate-change/100-companies-responsible-71-ghg-emissions/

Earthjustice. (2025). Trump’s EPA begins regulatory rollbacks. https://earthjustice.org/feature/trump-environment-100-day

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). (2023). Environmental impacts of CAFOs. https://www.epa.gov/cafo

FAO. (2006). Livestock’s long shadow: Environmental issues and options. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Harvard School of Public Health. (2020). The meat you eat: What’s safe? https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/meat/

Montgomery, D. R. (2007). Dirt: The erosion of civilizations. University of California Press.

Precision Nutrition. (n.d.). What is Deep Health? https://www.precisionnutrition.com/deep-health

Reuters. (2025). Trump administration cancels $3 billion climate-friendly farming program. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-administration-cancels-3-billion-climate-friendly-farming-program-2025-04-14/

United States Geological Survey (USGS). (2022). Nutrient pollution and harmful algal blooms. https://www.usgs.gov

USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. (2007). 2007 National Resources Inventory