Latest Trustworthy News from Dr. Mercola - delivered straight to your inbox!
early memorial day sale early memorial day sale

Sweet Bribes for Ants Are Key to Crops Bearing Fruit, Study Shows

  • June 26, 2017

If you think ants have no useful purpose in life, think again. As reported by Science Daily, ants play an important role in some flowering crops’ reproductive cycles. “Ant-plants” such as beans, cotton and passionfruit, actually produce a special nectar to recruit ants to use as bait for insects that will spread pollen as they seek out the ants. At the same time, the ants also deter herbivores that would eat the plants’ fruit and leaves.

This is an example of regenerative farming in the most natural state possible. It just shows that if you let nature do her work, everything works together, even the lowly ant and a sweet, nectar-producing plant. It also highlights how our current food system, heavily treated with crop chemicals, is linked to myriad health problems including food allergies, gluten intolerance, gut and neurological dysfunction, immunodeficiency disorders and more.

This is why it’s vitally important for our health, and the Earth’s, to adopt regenerative land management that incorporates livestock. This system actually increases organic matter in the soil back to healthy levels within a couple of decades, thus restoring the natural cycle of real food growth. To adopt this kind of system you do need to understand how the various cycles work, such as the energy, carbon and water cycles. Otherwise you might fail to manage the process properly.

These are complex cycles, and there are cycles within cycles that work in a symbiotic fashion. But once you get it right, you can rebuild soil quality at a very efficient rate. If you’re looking to contribute to regenerative agriculture yourself, consider growing your own food and using natural, organic methods for it. If that’s not possible, then connect with a local farmer who raises crops and animals according to organic standards. In addition to organic produce, remember to choose organic, grass fed/pasture-raised beef, poultry and dairy to avoid harmful contaminants like pesticides.