We’re constantly told to “eat more vegetables” and “choose lean protein,” as if nutrition is just a numbers game. The food industry and government guidelines treat all beef, carrots, and spinach as if they’re identical, no matter where or how they were grown. But the reality is, a food’s nutrient profile is only as good as the soil it came from.

Charles Walters’ book Minerals for the Genetic Code makes this clear. Based on the research of Dr. Richard Olree, it explains how minerals—specifically, those present or missing in the soil—directly impact human health. The food we eat today isn’t the same as it was generations ago, because industrial farming has stripped the land, and in turn, our food, of its essential nutrients.

The Same Food, Different Nutrition

At Tyner Pond, we’ve always believed that how food is raised matters. Even two steaks, both labeled “grass-fed,” can have vastly different nutritional profiles depending on the soil, forage, and minerals available to the animal. The same goes for vegetables—two carrots may look identical, but one could be loaded with minerals while the other is nutritionally hollow.

The book drives this home with specific examples:

• Magnesium & DNA Stability – Magnesium is critical for DNA replication and energy production. Yet industrial agriculture depletes magnesium from the soil, meaning conventionally grown vegetables—and the animals that eat them—are lacking this essential mineral.
• Selenium & Immune Function – Dr. Olree’s research links selenium to immune strength and disease resistance. But modern monocropping has stripped selenium from many regions. A carrot grown in depleted soil today has a fraction of the selenium it would have contained decades ago. If cattle are grazing on selenium-deficient land, they pass less of this mineral on to consumers as well.
• Zinc & Reproductive Health – Zinc plays a role in everything from immune function to fertility. The book explains how industrialized grains and vegetables lack bioavailable zinc, affecting not just human health but also the fertility of livestock. This is why pastured pork and beef—raised on diverse, mineral-rich forage—have more bioavailable zinc than conventionally raised meats.

Not All Grass-Fed Beef (or Vegetables) Are Equal

People assume that as long as beef is labeled “grass-fed,” it must be, by definition, nutritionally superior. But grass-fed doesn’t necessarily mean nutrient-dense.

Many grass-fed cattle are raised on monoculture pastures—just one or two types of grass, often grown with synthetic fertilizers that disrupt soil biology. If the soil is depleted, the grass is depleted. And if the grass is depleted, so is the beef.

The same is true for produce. Industrially grown vegetables are often cultivated in lifeless soil dependent on synthetic fertilizers. These fertilizers may make crops grow, but they don’t replenish the trace minerals plants would naturally pull from the earth. Without microbial life to cycle nutrients, conventionally grown vegetables are often lacking key elements like magnesium, boron, and iodine—yet we’re still told to eat more of them, as if quantity alone makes up for quality.

And just like with beef, pesticides and chemical inputs disrupt nutrient absorption in plants. Fruits and vegetables grown in these conditions may look fresh and vibrant, but they are often nutritionally inferior to produce grown in biologically active, mineral-rich soil.

Farming for a Complete Mineral Cycle

At Tyner Pond, we don’t just think about feeding animals; we think about feeding the soil first. When the soil is mineral-rich, the grasses are nutrient-dense, and the animals get the full range of minerals they need—without synthetic supplementation. The same principle applies to vegetables.

Industrial agriculture treats food as a product, something that can be grown quickly, harvested, and sold. Regenerative farming sees food as part of a nutrient cycle—where soil life, plant diversity, and proper animal management create an ecosystem that naturally restores minerals to the food supply.

Walters’ book reinforces why holistic farming matters. Minerals aren’t just an afterthought—they determine the health of our land, animals, and families. If you’ve ever wondered why nutrient levels in food have declined or why soil health is the foundation of human health, Minerals for the Genetic Co

de is worth reading.

Final Thought

It’s not enough to just eat more vegetables or choose grass-fed beef. We have to ask: Was this food grown in a way that restores the nutrients we need?

A tomato grown in lifeless, fertilized dirt is not the same as one grown in mineral-rich soil. A cow grazing on depleted, chemically treated grass isn’t producing the same beef as one grazing on a diverse, regenerative pasture.

Labels don’t tell us the whole story. The true measure of food quality isn’t found on a nutrition panel—it’s found in the soil it came from.