I take a deep breath. My nostrils are filled with treasured, story-soaked memories. Another breath and a soothing, gratifying, familiar aroma reaches my inner being and caresses my soul.

Smoke from your braai sinks deep into my roots as a human being and confirms the strong link between you, me, us, who we are as a people and what we eat. Our humanity gets reaffirmed by the simple complexity of a scent enriched by dripping fat, sizzling meat and combusting wood. Nou gaan ons braai! (Now we’re going to braai!)

Idiomatic of friendship, the braai connects us with not just those around the fire, but with where we are from, what we have done and where we are going. The braai is so much more than just the meat; it is about the meeting, the mates, the music, the mosaic of life itself. The braai is rich in food, rich in tradition, couched in timelessness.

It is this connection between culture and food that is remembered each year on 18 June with the celebration of Sustainable Gastronomy Day. This day is set aside by the United Nations to remember and celebrate the art and science of healthy eating that unites the chef, the farmer, the professional, the pauper, our traditions and our health. It reminds us of the fact that food connects us with our past, it connects us with our present welfare, and it connects us with our children and our future. The braai reminds us that food is a connector that transcends all mental, emotional and biophysical boundaries. All of us must eat, and eating is about coming and being together.

However, food not only connects us emotionally and mentally with ourselves and others, but also with our health. We can be no healthier than the food we eat. The quality of the food we eat becomes the boundary or limiting factor to our health. 

For example, if we eat food with a low pH (3-5), such as the range of most soft drinks, fast foods and pre-prepared meals, our bodies will become acidic – a condition known as acidosis. Acidosis is linked to both respiratory and metabolic problems such as shortness of breath, an increased heart rate, nausea, muscular seizures and/or weaknesses, headaches, sleepiness, confusion and loss of consciousness.

On the other hand, when we eat fresh food packed with nutrients, our bodies will respond by healing the oxygen-rich red blood cells. The more oxygen, the healthier the muscles and the body, the better we feel and function. The truth of the matter is, food, quite literally, is in our blood.

The journey of healthy food, eating and healthy people starts long before the meal. The journey of food starts in the soil.

Soil is so much more than just dirt. It is dirt enriched with billions of bacteria, fungi and microorganisms that operate below the radar, invisibly, but in such an incredibly powerful way. The healthier the soil, the more and healthier the living communities of organisms therein. This leads to an increase in the fertility and water-holding capability of the soil. 

The multitudes of organisms in this sub-surface wonder world transfer the nutrients embedded in the soil to the plant. The more organisms, the more the nutrients are transferred to the plant. The higher the nutrient uptake by the plant, the healthier the plant and the more nutrients are deposited in either the crop, the fruit, the grass, or whatever is being produced for human or animal consumption. 

While the land and its people are being healed through regenerative processes, so is the resilience and robustness of the social-ecological ecosystem strengthened. The social-ecological ecosystem is this interaction between people and nature, and among people and nature-based organisms that make life possible. 

The journey is not over yet; it becomes even more exciting. It moves from the bacteria and organisms in the soil that nurture the plant, to the bacteria and organisms in the human gut that, as the first line of defence in our immune systems, nurture our health. Not only does eating healthy food lead to a healthy digestive system, but a healthy digestive system, in return, enables the body to absorb the nutrients embedded in the food. And thus, the journey of our health also starts in the soil.

From soil health to food health, to eating and drinking, to human health, but how to start this process? It starts with people caring for others, caring for nature, caring for the soil, and applying management practises that regenerate life. It is quite simple really: when the farm is managed in a way that revitalises soil life, then that life will be transmitted to the plant and to the food, and to us.

Such management practises include permaculture, silvopasture and conservation agriculture. Farming practises such as no-tillage, cover crops, crop rotation, intercropping, composting, livestock integration, mobile animal shelters and pasture cropping, among others. It is a system-wide approach whereby the external inputs, such as pesticides, fertilisers and fossil fuel use are minimised, while reducing and recycling waste and integrating biodiversity into the farm production system.

Farming practises that regenerate life in such a whole-system approach save money and effort. It goes without saying, though, that the more processed the food becomes, the further we are removed from the soil, irrespective of the health of the soil, yet the less the food is processed, the closer we are to the soil and its life-giving properties and processes. 

Heal the land, heal the people. This is more than a catchy phrase. It is our life. It is our future. There is much food for thought about how we produce, distribute, process, prepare and enjoy our food. The closer we are to the source of the food, the closer we are to the farm and the more regenerative the farming practice is, the healthier we are.

While the land and its people are being healed through regenerative processes, so is the resilience and robustness of the social-ecological ecosystem strengthened. The social-ecological ecosystem is this interaction between people and nature, and among people and nature-based organisms that make life possible. 

Simply put: The more the diversity in the soil, the more the diversity is in the human digestive system, the better our collective capability to withstand diseases and environmental catastrophes. Ecological, social and financial risks, be that a virus of any kind, malnutrition or climate change, are therefore tempered.

Alas, a large number of our economic and financial journeys also start in the soil. It is thus necessary to also put our money where our mouth is and invest in the restoration of the soil of our beautiful country.

The smoke from the braai reminds me that the journey of the meat, the pap, the drink and the side dishes as well as that of my health, and who I am, together with our collective exposure to risk, are all connected. Connected like the smoke and the aroma are connected to the air. Inseparable.

To care for the soil is to care for our future. DM