Cultivating Health: Meet the Doctor Combining Medicine and Farming

At his 342-acre farm in New Jersey, Ron Weiss, M.D., combines his talents as a botanist, farmer, and physician to empower his patients to use food as medicine. We chatted with the innovative doctor about his decision to go plant-based, the growth of the food-as-medicine movement, his best tips for growing veggies at home, and more. Read on for the full conversation, and if you’re in the New Jersey area, be sure to check out Weiss’ Farm Days Festival, happening Sept. 14–15. The annual festival features musical performances, plant-based food, farm tours, and speakers including Chef AJ and Alan Goldhamer, D.C.

Ron Weiss: When I was a little kid, I started planting flower seeds and was smitten with the beautiful colors. I became very passionate about growing things from that point on and got a botany degree at Rutgers. I wanted to be a farmer, but my parents impressed upon me the importance of being a physician. After I graduated medical school my father was diagnosed with end-stage metastatic pancreatic cancer. By happenstance, I discovered a diet of whole plant foods and placed him on it. He had an astonishing reversal of his cancer … and extended his life by about fourfold [of what doctors predicted]. From then on, I became invested in using plant-based foods to help people with their medical problems.

RW: Ethos Farm to Health is our nonprofit that grows food, helps the community, and is involved in research projects that aim to construct sustainable food systems. We began with a CSA-box [program] for the local community, which has since transformed into a public farmers market. Anyone can come to our market, where food is medicine, and they can get our organic produce. Apart from the market, we host an annual Farm Day event to educate the public on how this food is connected to the health of everyone and everything in our ecosystem.

RW: We employ regenerative farming techniques, where you restore the land that’s giving you food. Our property is a historic farm that was abused for many years by conventional industrial agriculture, and we now practice what’s called “human-scale agriculture.”

Everything is done by hand so the farmers can pay close attention to everything they’re doing. We could grow more food using machines and petroleum, causing increased carbon emissions, but we believe the way forward is for human beings to lovingly grow their food in a regenerative way that supports the Earth.

RW: Our Next Generation Physicians program brings in medical students for a monthlong rotation where they learn how to prevent and reverse chronic diseases with plants. They go out into the fields with the farmers to learn about regenerative food systems and appreciate how food should be grown at the highest [standards] so it can be medicinal. Our goal is to raise a new generation of physicians who are literate in lifestyle medicine, which is why their rotation includes everything from coaching patients to preparing meals, to farming, to talking with the community at our Ethos market.

RW: A common question that cancer patients ask their oncologist is, “Is it important that I change my diet?” And almost predictably, in the 40 years I’ve been practicing medicine, the answer has always been that it just doesn’t matter. Now, there seems to be some change, because I’ve been receiving more patients who’ve been told to eat plant-based … and we get more and more calls every day from people wanting to use their diet to go off medication or avoid surgeries. We take them into our practice, and as long as they’re dedicated, they achieve their dreams here.

Looking to grow your own nutrient-dense food at home? Weiss shares his top tips for the best experience and results.

“Living soils with a robust microbiome create the most nutrient-dense whole plant foods, improve flavor, increase yields, and help ward off garden pests and disease. You can build your own beautiful soil by using compost, mulches, and cover crops, and by avoiding pesticides.”

“Conventional seed companies often treat seeds with fungicides, which interfere with the development of critical relationships between plant roots and healthy soil fungi. At Ethos Farm we order from organic seed companies such as Johnny’s, Fedco, and High Mowing.”

“An excellent gardening book is essential. One of my favorites is the latest edition of The Garden Primer by Barbara Damrosch. In my experience, both novice and master gardeners love this book.”

“Not sure what to grow? Start with sweet potatoes, which are highly delicious and nutritious and can easily be grown from slips sprouted on your windowsill from store-bought tubers.”