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Dirt is dead, but soil is alive. Dirt is made up of sand, silt, and clay. It has none of the minerals, nutrients, or living organisms found in soil. The bad news, more of the world's soil is becoming dirt.
Our modern industrial agriculture has degraded the quality and quantity of our soil.
According to a recent study, during the last 40 years, nearly one-third of the world's arable land has been lost by erosion. We are losing soil at a rate that is 17x faster than it is formed. Obviously, that isn't sustainable. There is another study that estimates we may only have 60 harvests left. While that number has been disputed, it does highlight how quickly we are destroying the life form that provides us with food.
Soil degradation is caused by agricultural, manufacturing, and commercial reasons. For today's topic, we will focus on agriculture because out of the three categories a change to the agricultural model will have the biggest impact on soil health. First, here is some historical context for soil in the U.S.
The US has been blessed with terrific soil. The Great Lake states such as Ohio and Indiana have had such healthy soil they have been dubbed America's breadbasket. Minerals deposited by glaciers and subsequent prairie growth for thousands of years have given this region some of the world’s most fertile topsoil. However, a new study estimates the Midwest has lost a third of its topsoil. And west of the Mississippi in the Great Plains region soil degradation has also been an issue.
When settlers arrived in the Great Plains, the soil was already rich. Thanks in part to millions of Bison pooping and urinating on the plains for thousands of years. The manure served as great fertilizer for the soil. When severe drought struck the Great Plains region in the 1930s, it resulted in erosion and loss of topsoil because of their intensive farming practices. The drought dried the topsoil and over time it was reduced to a powdery consistency. We know this as the "dust bowl" and it caused havoc on the environment, economy, and human lives.
This isn't solely an American issue either. Below is a map that shows soil degradation across the globe. Red is the worst and green indicates low degradation.
Industrial agriculture isn't sustainable for a few reasons:
Lack of diversity with mono-crop farming. Mono-crops make it easy to plow large fields at a time but aren't helpful for the soil. The lack of diversity means that a crop like corn is consistently pulling the same nutrients from the soil. Over time, that depletes the soil of the necessary nutrients it needs.
Crowded animals. Animals need to move, but an industrial farm crowds animals together for more efficient feeding and slaughtering. These animals are pooping and urinating next to themselves when they could be used as helpful nutrients for the soil.
Tilled farming. Related to mono-cropping, tilling the field destroys the roots and biodiversity of a field. As my Dad says "if you are a worm, you don't stand much of a chance against a whirring blade". Worms and other organic matter are essential to support plants.
As a result, industrial agriculture is eating away at our precious topsoil. One of the solutions to industrial agriculture is regenerative agriculture. Regenerative agriculture is an ecosystem of plants, trees, and animals that restore nutrients to the soil.
Melilot farms in the UK is run by Dan Cox, a 39-year old chef turned farmer. His farm is fairly representative of regenerative farms that prioritize diversity. The farm has more than 70 different fruit trees, and vegetables and 260 sheep roaming around on 80 acres. For reference, 80 acres is about a 10th of the size of Central Park in New York. Obviously, not a large farm, but it packs in plant diversity. Cows are notorious for being bad for the environment, however, grazing animals are not inherently bad for the environment.
The key in regenerative farming is moving the animals around enough to allow for the soil to grow back. Here is a graphic that shows how cows may move from one area to another.
Regenerative farming adds soil to the ground, while modern agriculture is rapidly degrading the soil. You may wonder, how do you plant seeds without tilling? Instead of plowing the whole field, you make micro divets in the ground for each seed. This leaves the rest of the field intact to keep in CO2 and maintain moisture.
Regenerative agriculture is one of the many solutions to restore dirt back to soil. The question is, will it scale to meet the global demand for food?
My SF list of places to go and things to do.
I've lived in SF for 5+years and these are my recommendations and favorite experiences in the city.
If you have any city guides you have created for your own hometown, please share!
The power of purpose
Pic of the Week
Jenny and I celebrated my birthday and our engagement in Golden Gate Park this past weekend. Our friend Moussa snapped this gem of Chloe.