Dr. William Albert Albrecht
Dr. William Albert Albrecht (1888 – 1974) was not only a distinguished scientist and brilliant scholar; he was also a true visionary and committed humanitarian. He believed that animals, including humans, provide biochemical photographs of the soils in which their foods are grown. He was the foremost authority on the relation of soil fertility to human health and earned four degrees he saw a direct link between soil quality, food quality and human health. He drew direct connections between poor quality forage crops, and ill health in livestock and from this developed a formula for ideal ratios of cations in the soil, the Base Cation Saturation Ratio. While he did not discover cation exchange in the soil as is sometimes supposed, he may have been the first to associate it with colloidal clay particles. Twenty years before the phrase ‘environmental concern’ crept into the national consciousness, he was lecturing from coast to coast on the broad topic of agricultural ecology.
William Albrecht was born of German ancestry on a farm on the prairie of north central Illinois in the Mid-West United States. While Albrecht was a highly respected soil scientist, he discounted soil pH, stating that “plants are not sensitive to, or limited by, a particular pH value of the soil.” Instead, he believed that the benefits of liming soil stem from the additional calcium available to the plant, not the increase in pH. This belief has continued to be held by followers to this day, despite opinions to the contrary.
Albrecht risked his academic reputation by warning of the public health risks posed by this so-called modern, industrial agriculture.
“The soil is the ‘creative material’ of most of the basic needs of life. Creation starts with a handful of dust.”
Location: Missouri, USA
Books: Albrecht was a prolific author of reports, books and articles that span several decades, starting with his reports on nitrogen fixation and soil inoculation. A few to be named: Animals Recognize Good Soil Treatment, Better Crops With Plant Food Magazine, Good Horses Require Good Soils, Horse and Mule Association of America, Soil Management By Nature or By Man?, We Are What We Eat, Food Quality from the Soil, Climate, Soil, and Health. I. Climatic Soil Pattern and Food Composition, Managing Nitrogen to Increase Protein in Grains, Only Balanced Diets for Plants, Via Soil, Can Grow Balanced Proteins
Website: 1) https://www.ecofarmingdaily.com/interview-dr-william-albrecht/
2) https://web.missouri.edu/ikerdj/papers/Albrecht…
Video 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bz6BjFAuvTg
Video 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcrI-uJ9Wvc
