5 Reasons I am obsessed with Dirt - Why Soil is so Important

 

So I announced last Saturday, which was also world soil day, on my Instagram that I was starting a new project on my blog.  This would be a small 'series' of posts dedicated to soil and regenerative agriculture. It may seem boring, but it is a highly important topic to discuss right now for a number of reasons. This year has seen a shift in focus towards increasing control. Without going into the reasons too deeply now, big tech, big pharma and big Ag have been making their moves to squash the market competition and become monopolies and if you don't already know all three of the above are owned by the same people.

Soil is the solution and here is why it is important.

1. Soil Erosion is a Big Problem 

In the last 50 years there has been a massive decline in Soil Organic Matter (the top layers of soil). This is partly due to certain farming practices along with changing weather patterns and bad land use strategies. 

2. Soil is Plant Food.

Most of our food is either grown in soil or from animals that feed on the grass that grows in soil. At the rate we are loosing our soil organic matter some say many large agricultural areas may have only 60 harvests left. This will also impact other areas of our lives, like the clothes we buy. All our natural fiber clothes again depend on the plant/soil relationship. 

3. Soil Stores Carbon 

The best way I can describe this is Soil Organic Matter  (top layers) contains high amounts of Carbon which is what feeds plants. Using regenerative agriculture and planting up arid areas of the world will take the carbon out the air and put it into the soil again. In this way we could actually take the world back to pre-industrialized levels of CO2 if we planted up arid areas. 

4. Soil Filters Our Water

When rainwater falls to the ground it if filtered through the soil before entering the groundwater.  It cleans in three ways, Chemically, Physically and Biologically. Problems arise when water cant be adsorbed into the soil and slowly filter down and instead just runs off the surfaces (like in towns and cities) and pours, unfiltered at speed into larger waterways. When this doesn't happen a number of problems arise; firstly you have dirty polluted water and secondly you have flooding.

5. Better Soil Means Better Food and Healthier People

Low quality food is not just a issues of snobbery - it actually contains less vitamins and minerals. When you have fruit or veg grown in a poor quality soil, it will not contain much nutrient for our bodies and is one of the reasons that many people rely on supplements to get their vitamins. 

Choosing organic is one way which you can insure your food will have more vitamins and minerals in it to keep you healthy and functioning. 

I hope you all enjoyed this #soilsaturday post and there will be many more to come! I want to make this topic more accessible and hope that it will spark some interesting conversations and more awareness around the power of soil!

If you are interested in reading more check out my other blog post here!