Food as Medicine: Understanding Agricultural Practices in the United States and the Impact on our Health

Miho Urisaka, PT, DPT, OCS, CSC I, is the founder of Orthopedic Movement Physical Therapy (OMPTNY) in New York City an outpatient physical therapy clinic focusing on empowering patients through proprioceptive training to prevent pain and injuries. OMPTNY serves as a community center offering yoga, Pilates, mindfulness, and nutrition classes with a Japanese cultural approach to self-care. She co-founded Cucumber Hill Farm with her husband to address patients’ nutritional needs as an integral part of their physical well-being.

As one of fewer than 50 certified Fascial Counterstrain practitioners worldwide, Dr. Urisaka serves as a teaching assistant at the Jones Institute for Fascial Counterstrain, Counterstrain Academy, and Barral Institute for Visceral Manipulation. She has written on various topics including fertility care, heart rate variability, importance of food quality, postural awareness, and core strength. With expertise in fascia, she has successfully resolved symptoms for patients with gut dysfunction, long-COVID, post-concussive disorder, anxiety, and chronic orthopedic conditions.

Dr. Urisaka is an active member of the Bridgeback Project, providing over 500 hours of treatment to veterans and first responders with PTSD. She is also a member of the American Physical Therapy Association’s Orthopedic Section and Performing Arts Special Interest Group, and has provided backstage triage care and injury prevention for broadway and modern dance companies such as Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Avenue Q, Broadway Bares, and Baryshnikov Arts Center.

Dr. Urisaka earned her Doctorate in Physical Therapy from the University of Southern California, conducting research in the biomechanics lab on single leg hopping in pre-professional dancers and presenting her abstract at the APTA conference. She received her bachelor’s degree in biology and psychology from SUNY Binghamton

Justin Baker is a founding partner of Cucumber Hill Farm in Putnam Valley, New York, along with his life partner (Miho) and chicken partner (Adam). Inspired by the works of modern philosophers such as Michael Pollan, Wendell Berry, Dan Barber, and Joel Salatin, to name a few, Cucumber Hill is the realization of his studies in land stewardship through ethical animal agricultural practices. His goals include making farming accessible to everyone and exercising transparency in food sourcing.

Justin studied psychology and cognitive science at Rutgers University and ran a technology company. He currently specializes and works in the information security field.

Adam Starowicz is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America with a Bachelors in Restaurant Management. He went directly from school to New York City where he worked in some of the top restaurants including Momofuku Ko, Mas(farmhouse), Hearth, and Little Beet Table. After meeting his wife and having three children, he redirected his focus to farming in upstate New York. Adam understands that a chef’s food is only as good as the ingredients. Even more importantly, the nutrition in the food can only come from high quality farming practices. He started Oak Forest Farm, a 7 acre homestead in Westchester New York, and is a founding partner at Cucumber Hill, a farm in Putnam New York. Both of these operations use a chicken based farming model to regeneratively farm the land producing eggs, meat, vegetables, fruit, and compost.