Modern life is fast-paced. People are busy; time slips away like vapor. Ten-thousand distractions keep us from noticing the common things that sustain life. Air, water and soil are taken for granted and yet we cannot live without them. Each is part of the equation from which life springs.
Good soil gave rise to civilizations all around the world. Wars are fought and alliances formed to gain control of regions with soil rich enough to grow the crops that feed the world. But on a personal level how does soil interact with a person’s life?
Brenda Hoppe is an environmental epidemiologist and climate researcher in the University of Minnesota-Department of Soil, Water and Climate. She grew up on a dairy farm in Wisconsin. Her training is in public health, not soil science; as an epidemiologist she has a different perspective on soil and human health.
“In my 20 years as a public-health scientist, I never thought too much about soil,” she said. “I’ve done a lot of work with water and air quality, climate change and climate impacts on health. Soil never got onto my radar until recently. In the past year, working at the University of Minnesota, I’ve been exposed to great research being done by faculty. Much of that research tracks back to soil. As a result I’ve become passionate about soil.”
She’s become aware of the links that tie soil health to human health. She has also become aware of the need to protect soil to preserve human health to the point that she says she’s joined the “Cult of Soil.” Farmers and others are part of that “cult.”
“Farmers are essential for soil health and soil security,” she said. “I would argue that there are many people in other professions who are in the cult of soil. But looking around, I am wondering where are all the public-health professionals (in the Cult of Soil)? Where are the epidemiologists? Why aren’t more professionals in soil science collaborating with professionals in public health?”
There is a nexus of public health, soil health and soil security.
“Our planet is suffering from a massive soil crisis,” Hoppe said. “But this knowledge has not penetrated deeply into the public mindset. Poor land management, erosion, compaction, nutrient imbalance, pollution, acidification, water logging and salinity are converging with the pressures of climate change that cause extreme-weather events to degrade the biodiversity of our soil. (The biodiversity) provides most of the benefits and ecosystem services we derive from soil.”
Humans depend on soil to survive as a species. The health of soil has both direct and indirect impacts on human health and community vitality. Some impacts are obvious.
“We get over 95 percent of the food we eat from soil,” she said. “We are struggling to feed everyone on the planet. In less than 30 years the human global population is projected to leap from 7.8 billion to 9 billion people.”
She advocates using more resources to fund research that will inform changes in choices we make that affect soil.
“As you know, soil varies with wide-ranging physical and chemical properties,” she said. “Different soil produces different crops with different nutritional content, either naturally or due to soil management. Fourteen essential elements make up 99.9 percent of the atoms in our bodies. All except for carbon, hydrogen and oxygen have soil as their major source. It is possible to grow an adequate amount (of food) on a plot of soil that has sufficient calories, but is deficient in essential nutrients like iodine, zinc and selenium. The body needs (these nutrients) to function and thrive.”
Food that lacks essential nutrients has caused a problem called “hidden hunger” that may cause poor health in as many as 2 billion people worldwide. Hidden hunger is an example of where soil science meets public health.
Source: agupdate.com
Photo Credit: GettyImages-Sasiistock
Categories: Wisconsin, Crops