Soil Holds the Key to a Healthier Future–For Our Bodies and the Planet
Crystal Manuel never expected cabbage to transform her life, but when she began experiencing rapid weight loss, decreased energy, an increased heart rate, and hair loss, cabbage became an unlikely hero. While starting to make appointments with
specialists, she noticed “Prescription for Nutritional Healing,” a book her Aunt had shared with her many years before, and thumbed through the pages. She found almost identical symptoms to her own on page 211.
The book indicated that the symptoms she was experiencing were the expression of Graves’ Disease and provided a list of foods to support thyroid health, including cabbage, which she discovered she had intense cravings for. By the time she saw a doctor, she had eaten a dozen cabbages, unknowingly taking her first steps toward healing through food.
After an initial misdiagnosis and multiple second opinions, Crystal was ultimately diagnosed with Graves’ Disease, an autoimmune disease and chronic illness, and given two options: irradiate her thyroid gland or remove it surgically. Crystal, however, felt there was a third option: using food as her medicine. After more research, she found a doctor in Great Falls whom she believed would listen to her. Walking into his office, she insisted, “I think I can use food as medicine. I don’t want to be on medication for life. I want to know what is making me sick.” Together, they created a plan to use food and minimal pharmaceuticals to navigate the process of regulating her heart and thyroid.
This health crisis shook Crystal’s life. It took two years for her to gently wean off pharmaceuticals and several more years to circumnavigate her health issues. More research led Crystal to believe her autoimmune disease was caused by decades of exposure to farm chemicals, such as glyphosate, as well as a lack of nutrient-dense, organic foods in her diet.
As she researched how to regain her health with her husband, Jody, they realized the connections between soil health, organic farming practices, and nutritious food. As the owners of Prairie Grass Ranch, this knowledge transformed their farm and ranch operations. They initially converted to organic practices and subsequently adopted regenerative farming methods to ensure the food they produced was of the highest possible nutritional value. Certified organic practices ensure that no synthetic chemical inputs, such as fertilizers, pesticides, or herbicides, are part of the farming process. Certified or not, organic farming practices often also focus on building soil health and biodiversity to support life in the soil and plants, as well as to enhance the overall health of the farm’s ecosystem. These practices are often referred to today as “regenerative” practices.
“The soil is only going to be as healthy as the growing practices that it’s subject to,” says Crystal. “And the food is only ever going to be as healthy as the soil in which it’s grown.” As Crystal’s knowledge grew and her whole family’s health improved, she started teaching others in her community how to cook and eat healthily. In 2023, the Manuels launched Gruff Ancient Grain Grits to share the nutrient-dense food grown on their farm with the world.
The Manuels’ farm transition to organic and regenerative is not unique. In 2021, there were over 17,000 certified organic farms in the United States, many of which were transitioning for health and economic reasons. And, like Crystal, an increasing number of Americans today struggle with chronic illnesses. According to the CDC, 6 in 10 Americans suffer from at least one chronic illness, 78% of which can be prevented or reversed with lifestyle changes including diet. While that’s a stark number, as more stories like Crystal’s surface, more and more attention is turning towards not only what we eat but how it’s grown. “There is a deficit of education around food in the US,” Crystal urges. “We need to have the conversation about what food to eat and how to source food because it’s not all created equal.”
Teaching the next generation of farmers to heal the earth by growing food as medicine.
Like Crystal, Bob Quinn converted his 2,400 acres to organic farming methods after learning the economic and health benefits of growing chemical-free food. Previously, his family’s wheat farm employed conventional methods that relied on chemical fertilizers and herbicides to achieve high crop yields and manage weeds and pests. Like farmers around the country, Bob and his father had been taught these were best practices for successful farming. However, over time, these practices have resulted in an increase in chemical use and a decline in the nutritional quality of crops across the United States, making our food and farmland less healthy than it was just 50 years ago. While crop yields have never been higher, we and the land are getting sicker.
Originally inspired to consider organic methods in 1989 due to the demand for organic wheat in California, Bob, who holds a Ph.D. in plant biochemistry, was also beginning to learn about the health impacts of chemical farming. He was conflicted. He wanted high crop yields, but not at the expense of his family and community’s health. So, when he decided to try organic methods, he and his father converted 15% of their acreage to organic. Within two years of experimentation, the yields of the organic fields equaled or exceeded those in their conventional fields, without the tens of thousands of dollars spent on chemical inputs.
Bob and his father never used chemicals in any of their fields again. These cost savings enabled them to eliminate their operating loan within three years, a feat unheard of in conventional farming. When asked why this conversion process didn’t spread like wildfire among farmers in his region, he responded, “It’s because of the way farmers have been taught. They have been taught that a weed in your field is equal to being a poor farmer. You are proud of two things as a chemical farmer: how clean your fields are with no weeds and how much your yield is.”
Bob now spends his days helping farmers and ranchers implement the lessons he learned 40 years ago. In 2023, Bob founded the Quinn Institute (QI), a collaborative effort with local, national, and international experts from the business, agriculture, healthcare, and science industries to build health and prosperity through regenerative organic agriculture and heal the earth by growing food as medicine.
Programs and initiatives around the state using food as medicine.
Just as Crystal and Bob are taking action from their farms to educate others on how food can be our medicine, a host of businesses, public agencies, and nonprofit organizations around Montana have developed community initiatives
with “food as medicine” at their core. These initiatives also focus on sourcing healthy, whole foods locally whenever possible, since produce can lose up to half its nutrients within a week of harvest. Sourcing locally also means consumers can know the farmers and farm practices being used to grow their food. As these initiatives gain traction around the state, they are helping to address the “food education deficit” Crystal referenced. They are also building demand for Montana-grown food, supporting Montana growers, increasing affordable access to local produce and nutrition education, and helping Montanans improve their health.
Montana Farm to School
This program strengthens community connections to fresh, local food through three core strategies: serving local products in school meals, offering food, agriculture, and nutrition education, and supporting hands-on learning through gardening. A program of Montana Team Nutrition at MSU, it collaborates with the Office of Public Instruction and other partners to promote healthy eating and hands-on learning throughout the state.
The Montana Produce PrescriptionCollaborative (MTPRx)
Launched by Farm Connect Montana in 2021, MTPRx is a network of regional programs that partner with healthcare providers to address food insecurity and chronic health issues by prescribing free fruits and vegetables from local farmers’ markets, farm stands, and grocery stores. In 2024, MTPRx issued $97,350 in produce prescriptions to 372 households, with $80,000 redeemed, primarily through local food sources. The program aims to boost fresh food consumption, support local farmers, and improve food access in rural and tribal communities. Partners include MT Partnership to End Childhood Hunger (MT-PECH), which funds community programs and school food initiatives, Fort Peck Community College Wellness Center, and Confederated Salish Kootenai Tribes (CKST) Health.
The MTPRx Collaborative’s participating programs include:
- FAST Blackfeet Food Pharmacy Program, Browning
- Land to Hand Montana’s Food Rx Program, Flathead Valley
- Missoula Fruit and Vegetable Prescription Produce Program, hosted by St. Patrick’s Providence Hospital
- St. Peter’s Hospital Food Pharmacy, hosted by St. Pete’s in Helena
- Missoula Public Health Produce Prescription Program
- Partnership Health Center’s Refugee Health Food Farmacy Program, Missoula
- Food Rx Dillon, hosted by Bar 1 Wellness
- Bozeman Health Foundation Food Pharmacy Program
- Northwest Community Health Center and SNAP-ed Produce Prescription Program, Libby
At its core, health begins with the land. When we nourish our soils through chemical-free, regenerative practices, we cultivate nutrient-dense food that supports human health. That health, in turn, ripples outward, strengthening families, communities, and our local economy. As more Montanans recognize the interconnection of our soil, food, and well-being, they are reclaiming their role in growing a resilient food system—one that is less dependent on external inputs, more self-reliant, and better equipped to withstand supply chain disruptions, like those caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Through programs like the Montana Produce Prescription Collaborative and Farm to School, we see the power of local food in action, not just as sustenance but as nourishment and medicine. Farmers like Crystal Manuel and Bob Quinn demonstrate that the way we grow food has a profound impact on everything from personal health to economic prosperity. The shift toward regenerative, organic, and locally sourced food is more than an agricultural movement; it is a movement for our long- term health and resilience as humans.
By investing in our soil, supporting local farmers, and increasing access to nutritious foods, we are laying the foundation for a healthier Montana—one where individuals thrive, communities flourish, and the food system endures for generations to come.
FIND MORE STORIES LIKE THIS ONE IN OUR LOCAL FOOD GUIDE!
Written by:
ESTHER SMITH & SAMMIE MCGOWAN