Why care about soils?
A single teaspoon of soil can contain more than a billion living organisms (I bet you didn't know that). Soil is absolutely fundamental to all life on earth, yet is one of the most overlooked (and understudied) ecosystems. For a lot of people, soil isn't that sexy, but when you consider all the functions that it provides, perhaps you'll think differently about it.
Tackling climate change
As well as allowing us to grow food, soils also store more carbon than all the world's forests. In the fight against climate change, that's absolutely key. Soils also play a key role in regulating the water cycle, acting like a sponge when it rains. Healthy soils can store more water when it rains heavily, reducing the risk of flooding downstream. Again, as extreme weather gets more frequent, this is becoming much more of a consideration.
If farmers manage their soils carefully, it can allow more carbon to be taken out of the atmosphere and locked up in organic matter within agricultural soils. More organic matter (and generally healthier soils) also means greater water holding capacity, so less flood risk.
Better crops
From a farming point of view, healthier soils are more resilient to extreme weather, meaning that farmers can also cope better with the effects of climate change (such as drought or very heavy rain). In the east of England (where Oliver's Muesli HQ is) this year, the drought during spring and summer had a massive impact on crops and water is fast becoming the limiting factor in crop growth. Anecdotally, the farmers I know who have been prioritising soil health, seemed to fare slightly better, as their soils could hold onto more moisture.
Just as importantly, healthy soils reduce (or even eliminate) the need to use any chemicals to control pests and diseases (let nature do the work for you). Where soil health is in good order, there's the opportunity to reduce carbon-heavy fertiliser inputs, as crops are better able to access and make use of the nutrients in the soil.
How to fix this
I could go on about this at length, but hopefully you get the picture. Soils are not just dirt. They're of vital importance. About 60% of the UK's agricultural soils are degraded (for more statistics on this, have a look at this Environment Agency report). There are lots of reasons why this has happened (blog to come). Fortunately there are lots of things that can be done to fix this (another blog to come). The farmers who produce my muesli ingredients are leading the charge on this.
Keep eating that muesli.
O x