Jeff Tkach: Connecting functional medicine and regenerative agriculture for our collective health
Jeff Tkach (LinkedIn: Jeff Tkach) is the Chief Impact Officer at Rodale Institute (Instagram: @RodaleInstitute; Twitter: @RodaleInstitute; Facebook: Rodale Institute), which is a nonprofit that has been dedicated to pioneering organic farming through research and outreach for over 70 years.
As Rodale Institute's Chief Impact Officer, Jeff is responsible for expanding their global influence by leading the development and execution of their core strategies and overseeing opportunities for partnership and co-investment that drive positive outcomes for the institute's programs and philanthropic initiatives.
In this podcast episode, Jeff sheds light on the relationship between functional medicine and regenerative agriculture; how regenerative farming may impact our public health and social justice; and more.
To start, get a glimpse below into the conversation between Jeff and Green Dreamer Podcast's host, Kamea Chayne.
Musical feature: Trust The Sun by Fight for You by Raye Zaragoza
“Our job as farmers is not to produce food; our job as farmers is to produce healthy people. But our agricultural production systems have become so divorced from this idea that we, as farmers, are on the frontlines of human health.”
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This is a conversation on Green Dreamer with Kamea Chayne, a podcast and multimedia journal illuminating our paths towards ecological regeneration, intersectional sustainability, and true abundance and wellness for all. This preview has been edited for clarity. Subscribe to Green Dreamer Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any podcast app, and support Green Dreamer on Patreon so we can keep the show going and accessible to a wider audience!
On the parallels between functional medicine and regenerative agriculture:
"I like to say that functional medicine is analogous to regenerative agriculture. In conventional medicine, you're treating symptoms—doctors look for symptoms, and they prescribe medicines to treat the symptom. In functional medicine, the doctor sees the person as a system, and they're looking at a systems-based approach to health and getting the patient better.
In conventional agriculture, often, chemicals are sprayed to treat a symptom—whether it's a pest, weed, or soil imbalance.
In regenerative agriculture, we're looking at systems—we're looking at the soil as a system, and we're looking at entire ecosystems and how we can use biology instead of chemistry to ultimately grow healthy food."
On the vital role farmers play for our public health:
"Our job as farmers is not to produce food; our job as farmers is to produce healthy people. But our agricultural production systems have become so divorced from this idea that we as farmers are on the frontlines of human health."
Final words of wisdom:
"Everyone has the power to change the future of humanity simply by what you put on your plate. I would encourage all of us to vote with our dollar every moment of every day for a regenerative future for all."
