|
|
|
Friend --
One
of
the most overlooked ingredients
in farming exists right
beneath farmers’ feet—healthy, fertile
soils.
Unfortunately, this vital ingredient is
being degraded and eroded at
unprecedented rates across the world.
According to the U.N. Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO), 25 percent
of the planet’s land is
highly degraded and only 10 percent is
improving.
All
continents are experiencing land
degradation, and the loss of soil
quality is not only an issue for farmers,
but for all of us.
Deforestation, for example, is causing
China's Loess Plateau to
erode rapidly. Overgrazing of grassland in
the Western United States
is reducing soil depth and creating
desertification. In India,
overcutting trees and crops is reducing
soil fertility and threatening
wild medicinal plants. And farmland
ploughed for commercial
agriculture around the world exposes
topsoil and increases erosion. In
fact, Brazil loses 55 million tons of
topsoil every year because of
soybean production.
But agriculture doesn’t have to degrade
soils—it is possible for food
production to enrich the Earth,
restore nutrients, conserve water, and
prevent further
erosion.
This week, Food
Tank
is recognizing 14 exciting projects
and individuals who are
facilitating important dialogue about
the importance of soil and
actively addressing the threats of
soil degradation and erosion around
the world. To share this
list, please click HERE.
1. The documentary film Dirt!
The
Movie creates a
conversation about the
under-appreciated source of life and
material beneath our feet. The
film brings together geographically
diverse stories of soil
restoration and connects the
environmental, economic, social, and
political importance of soil.
2. Founded in Sarajevo, the
Center for Forestry
and
Environmental Action works to
rebuild and replenish areas in
Bosnia and Herzegovina and the surrounding
region. The organization
provides practical and professional
support to farmers and businesses,
by promoting sustainable planting and
agricultural practices.
3. Perennial
grain
crops may also help prevent soil
degradation, particularly
in sub-Saharan Africa. Michigan State
University is examining the
ability of perennial grains to reduce soil
erosion in five African
countries including Ghana, Mali, Malawi,
Tanzania, and Ethiopia.
4. The Green
Asia
Network actively works to combat
desertification across the
expanses of northern Asia. In Mongolia,
China, Russia, and other
central Asian countries, this organization
fundraises to reforest
barren landscapes, educate local citizens
and farmers on the
detriments of soil degradation, and hosts
festivals and cultural
exchanges highlighting successful efforts
being made to improve soil
quality and farming practices.
5. The
Land
Institute, based in Salina, Kansas,
works to support
sustainable farming and combat destructive
agricultural practices
while promoting polyculture systems. The
Institute views the
degradation of soil as a contributing
factor to a host of other
environmental problems, including
declining crop yields, increasing
greenhouse gas emissions, and dead and
contaminated zones resulting
from toxic runoff.
6. The International
Erosion
Control Association (IECA)
highlights solutions to slow
soil degradation and erosion in Central
and South America. Through
education, public events, and on-site
consultations, IECA promotes
sustainable efforts to improve soil
quality in the region.
7. Matt
Liebman, the Henry A. Wallace Chair
for Sustainable Agriculture at
Iowa State University, envisions a future
for Iowa where farming
practices protect soil and water quality.
His research includes
livestock reintegration and organic soil
management. Liebman found
more diverse and longer crop rotations can
greatly reduce fertilizer,
herbicide, and fossil fuel inputs while
increasing crop yields.
8. Agronomist Roland Bunch presents
sustainable solutions to
soil degradation through the use of cover
crops and green manures in
his book Restoring the Soil.
Cover crops and green manures
can improve soil fertility and control
weeds by increasing organic
matter in the soils without the use of
expensive inputs.
9. Sustainable
Organic
Integrated Livelihoods (SOIL) is a
non-profit organization
“dedicated to protecting soil resources,
empowering communities and
transforming waste into resources in
Haiti.” Co-founded in 2006 by Dr.
Sasha Kramer and Baudeler Magloire, SOIL
utilizes EcoSan or ecological
sanitation, a “low cost approach where
human wastes are collected,
composted, and recycled for use in
agriculture and reforestation.”
10. The
Savory
Institute supports sustainable
grasslands through holistic
management practices. Through research
regarding productive methods of
care, informing and shaping political
policy, identifying and
establishing market incentives, and
increasing public awareness, the
organization strives to remove global
barriers to successful land
management in order to support soil.
11. In the United
Kingdom, the Soil
Association campaigns for humane,
healthy, and sustainable food,
farming, and land use. Founded in 1946 by
a coalition of scientists,
nutritionists and farmers, the Soil
Association supports and promotes
best practices by farmers and brings food
systems closer to organic
principles. The Association inspects and
certifies organic farms and
businesses.
12. Scientists have compiled the
first
soil atlas of Africa to help the
general public,
policymakers, land users, and scientists
understand and manage the
continent’s key resource. The 176-page
atlas aims to inform
stakeholders of the continent’s varying
patterns of soil, and the need
to conserve and manage it sustainably.
13. Rodale
Institute is committed to research
in organic agriculture,
improving soil, and advocating for
practices that support farmers. The
Institute started the Farming Systems
Trial (FST) in 1980: the United
States’ longest running side by side
comparison of chemical and
organic agriculture. Results for more than
30 years have shown organic
yields match or are greater than
conventional yields.
14.
The International Fund for Agricultural
Development (IFAD) implemented
the Soil
and
Water Conservation and Agroforestry
Program (SWaCAP) in the
Kingdom of Lesotho, where most of the soil
is derived from sandstone
or shale. The objectives of SWaCAP are to
promote soil and water
conservation as part of farmer’s normal
agricultural activities and in
a way that increase yields and incomes.
These projects show
that the ground beneath our feet may be
the most important ingredient
in alleviating hunger and poverty across
the world. What are other
projects in your community protecting soil
for future generations?
Please share this article online by
clicking HERE
and email me at danielle@foodtank.com.
All the best,

Danielle Nierenberg
President, Food Tank
foodtank.com
Join
Food
Tank
Please connect with us on Facebook,
Twitter,
and Pinterest

For conscientious consumers, knowing the
differences between fresh and
frozen seafood can lead to healthier, more
sustainable
choices. Read
more...

“In the fight against hunger, we need less
Sara Lee and more
cerebellum," said Robert Egger, Founder of
DC Central Kitchen and L.A.
Kitchen. Read
more...

Vegetable Literacy is a cookbook that
looks to nature for innovations
in the kitchen. Read
more...

In France, gardeners are making another
revolution—they’re planting
food to share in their communities. Read
more...

Activist Sahr Yillia is using smallholder
organic farming in Liberia
and Sierra Leone to feed and educate
disadvantaged youth. Read
more...
Join
Food
Tank
Please connect with us on Facebook, Twitter,
and Pinterest
|
|
|
|
Created with NationBuilder, the essential
toolkit for
leaders.
This email was sent to tradingpost@lobo.net.
To stop receiving
emails, click
here.
|