Recapping a very hopeful convening of leaders in the field of human and soil health
Last month, my brother and I flew into Washington, D.C., for what felt like a defining moment. Hosted by his organization, American Regeneration, in partnership with the Heritage Foundation, the event firmly placed soil health at the heart of a national policy conversation.
I’ve long argued that both political wings have blind spots: Republicans often overlook environmental stewardship, and Democrats too frequently lean on technological fixes—moving away from nature, away from God. But this day was different. Seeing the Heritage Foundation stand up and say soil health is inseparable from human health felt revolutionary.
At 9:30 a.m., the energy in the air was electric. Zoom-only acquaintances finally embraced. Long-lost friends reunited. As someone helping to coordinate the event, I was filled with gratitude—grateful that the Heritage Foundation had truly opened its doors to soil health. Pride washed over me, as my brother, Ryland Engelhart, took the stage. From his early days as a “hippie kid” launching a nonprofit from his garage, to now co-hosting events at the highest levels—with C-SPAN cameras rolling, introducing respected voices in regenerative agriculture—it was surreal.
The room itself was a mosaic of America: men with long hair, cowboy hats, and business-attired professionals, alongside farmers in the same well-worn clothes they wear into the fields. Other notable people in the audience included AJ Richards, Director of the online platform From the Farm; Steve Jarvis, farmer and agrarian advocate; Erin Martin, champion of the Food is Medicine Act; Jan Jekielek, host of American Thought Leaders at The Epoch Times; Meryl Nass, Farmers for Freedom; Aria McLauchlan and Harley Cross from Landcore; Steve Rhines from the Noble Research Institute; Leigh Merinoff from the MAHA Action PAC; Dan Kittredge from the Bionutrient Institute; Bethany Hall, former governor of Delaware; Mark Ratcliffe from Transition Organics; Charles Eisenstein; Bob Jones from The Chef’s Garden; Kelly Ryerson, also known as “Glyphosate Girl”; Holistic Hilda, host of the Weston A. Price podcast; and representatives from NRCS, SBA, and certifying agencies. It was a coalition in physical form, representing every corner of the movement.
The morning opened with Roger Severino, Vice President of Domestic Policy and Anderlik Fellow at the Heritage Foundation, who introduced RAW—the Foundation’s new arm, Restoring American Wellness—giving the soil-health movement a long-term institutional home. Calley Means, White House Senior Advisor on MAHA, delivered a compelling, data-driven wake-up call on childhood and adult health issues—fatty liver, diabetes, pre-diabetes, and obesity—calling for a broad, bipartisan coalition. Then Ryland Engelhart, founder of Kiss the Ground and now American Regeneration, reflected on his journey from vegan climate activist to high-level policy convenor. He introduced a short clip from Common Ground: Make Farming Profitable Again, which showcased how regenerative agriculture can be both scalable and commercially viable.
The first panel, “Is Regenerative Agriculture Sustainable at Scale?” featured Rick Clark, regenerative fifth-generation farmer; Joel Salatin, owner/operator of Polyface Farm (and foreword author for my book); and David Stelzer, founder and CEO of Azure Standard, moderated by Jennifer Galardi, Heritage Foundation senior policy analyst. Rick Clark made the case that large-scale farming without synthetic inputs is not only possible but is thriving. David Stelzer thoughtfully explained how selling direct to consumers had become the foundation of his business model. And Joel Salatin—with his signature mix of bluster and joy—laid out his vision for emancipation from what he called the “agricultural slave system,” urging government to get out of the way and let farmers thrive.
The second panel, “Innovations in Agriculture: Unlocking Opportunity Through Technology,” included Colleen Kavanagh, founder of Collaborative Integrated Value Chain and ZEGO Foods; John Kempf, founder and chief vision officer of Advancing Eco Agriculture; and Carter Williams, CEO of iSelect Fund, moderated by Jay Richards, PhD, director of the DeVos Center for Human Flourishing. The first panel centered on soil, scalability, and profitability. The second ensured no one could dismiss regenerative agriculture as some nostalgic return to the “dark ages” of plowing with horses. The message was clear: we can work with nature and God’s design to bring forth the abundance that is our birthright—without sacrificing innovation.
Following the public panels, we moved into a private roundtable—closed to attendees and cameras—so participants could speak frankly, disagree openly, and work toward common ground. Of course, people had ideas for economics, technology, policy—and all of these ideas are valid. But I believe we are in a spiritual battle. Maintaining control of our own food, and supporting small and medium-sized food systems in our own states and communities, is imperative. The Bible says the meek will “inherit the earth,” but inheritance is never passive—it’s a charge. God entrusts His creation to us so we can care for it, cultivate it, and pass it on in health to the next generation. In a very real sense, it is our children who inherit the earth from us, so how we tend it in the meantime matters deeply. The land is not ours to exploit or neglect—it is God’s, and we are its stewards.
Many days, I do not feel hopeful. But on this day, I did. I have four children at home I have never left before, and I left them because I believe this cause is worth fighting for. I believe the ripple effect of this day will help my children have a better future. Because when the earth is sterile, human health will soon follow.
Soil health is human health, and from this perspective, it only makes sense for soil health to be at the center of the conservative commitment—not as a partisan fad, but as a moral and generational responsibility.
