Fertile Soil Depletion: How to Ensure a Food Secure Future?

We usually tend to believe that soil depletion should concern only farmers and those involved in the industry. But what if you knew that the equivalent of one soccer pitch of soil erodes every five seconds, decreasing crop yields by up to 50 percent? 

This means that the depletion of nutrients in the soil also affects the quantity and quality of food production, resulting in inadequate human nutrition and poor health. Since we all need to eat to survive, this problem has become a great concern to everyone on this planet. 

While climate change and environmental conditions regularly contribute to soil erosion, unsustainable human activities harm fertile soil quality and food security even more. So, what can we do to ensure a secure food future for ourselves and the generations to come?

Let’s take a closer look at the importance of soil in food production and what solutions we can apply to prevent soil erosion. 

Why Is Soil So Important in Food Production?

“Soil is the main medium where our plants grow, so it is very important to maintain its health. It should also be noted that soil is a non-renewable resource since it takes thousands of years for big chunks of rocks to break apart and become part of the soil.

The leading cause of soil depletion is erosion. However, as this is mainly natural, there are only a few things we can do to mitigate this. Another source of soil depletion is the unknowing usage of the soil nutrients without putting anything back into the soil. This is a common mistake for first-time gardeners.”

Robert Johnson, Founder of Sawinery

Impact of Soil Erosion on Food Production

Although we have already mentioned that the loss of topsoil is a pressing global issue, we asked Jonas Skutka, Environmental Communications Specialist, to remind us one more time what exactly soil erosion is: 

“Soil erosion means that we lose the valuable topsoil. Soil formation is a very slow process, and it takes centuries until a new layer of soil has formed. Losing fertile soil through erosion takes away their basis for food production. The soil quality deteriorates, and it becomes increasingly difficult to grow food in a sustainable way. In the beginning, the effects of soil erosion can maybe be compensated by adding more fertilizer. However, this is not a long-term solution.”

Here’re a few effects of soil degradation on our food security:

Inability to Grow Food With Enough Nutrients

Consider this: U.S. farmland in the Midwest has lost over one-third of the soil necessary to sustain crop production. (NPR)

The thing is, soil erosion not only lowers crop yields but also reduces the number of nutrients available to plants and provides less space for their roots. This all leads to low-quality and nutrient-deficient crops. Of course, it’s not great for farmers trying to sell their harvest. But it’s also bad for people, who will consequently consume those products with fewer nutrients. 

“Soil depletion is creating a severe nutrient deficiency in our food, causing people to have to eat more of the same food to get the same nutrition that these foods had years ago.

According to Dr. Hyman, the author of Food Fix, The U.N. projects that in 60 years, we may completely “mine” all our topsoil, making it almost impossible to grow food. Soil gone. No food. No people. That’s 60 more harvests.”

Heather Hanks, Nutritionist at Instapot Life

Lower Quality of Drinking Water

Soil has an excellent ability to store, filter, and retain water. However, soil erosion prevents water from moving freely through soil and being appropriately filtered. As a result, lowlands might get drinking water of lower quality. Plus, floods can become much more frequent and powerful without enough soil to absorb rainfall. 

Weaker Urban Infrastructure 

The soil requires plant roots to hold together and provide structural integrity. The soil becomes more susceptible to water and wind damage when plant roots can’t grow deep enough. It leads to more devastating windstorms, floods, and landslides. As a result, it negatively impacts farms and the urban infrastructure, including the food supply chain we all rely on.

Increase in Poverty

Climate change and natural disasters have already made millions of people move, leaving their everyday lives behind. Loose and eroding soil only worsens the whole situation, making it less possible for the ecosystems to get used to new weather changes and rainfall. This significantly affects people’s livelihoods and forces them to move somewhere else.  

Ruined Ecosystems

Without its most fertile layer, topsoil, the soil needs to store the nutrients elsewhere. Unfortunately, this ultimately leads to ecosystem degradation. Sometimes, these sediment depositories can cut off rivers and streams, leaving people without the resources and energy they should provide. 

How to Prevent Soil Depletion?

“To prevent soil depletion, it is important to prevent soil erosion. This can be done by:

• Avoiding tillage and making sure that the soil is covered all year round. For instance, by covering crops during seasons when the soil usually would be bare. 

• Making sure that the soil is covered also increases water infiltration, which will not only reduce soil erosion through water runoff but also benefit crop production. 

• Growing a diversity of crops as opposed to monocultures. It’s important for balance. 
• Try growing legumes. They have the ability to fixate nitrogen from the air. If they are left on the field or used for compost, they can improve soil quality by adding nitrogen.

Overall, regenerative agriculture is a great way to counteract soil depletion. Regenerative agriculture uses crops, trees, and animals in order to have a balanced system with closed nutrient cycles.” 

Jonas Skutka, Environmental Communications Specialist & Co-Founder of the Alerce Environmental Communication Agency

It’s critical to remember that soil depletion in America is just as big of an issue as in other parts of the world. According to NRDC, up to 40% of all food is lost or wasted in the U.S. Not only is it expensive to waste food, but it also costs nature a lot of resources to produce, keep, and transport food. Plus, add all the food put into the landfills that contribute to global warming every single moment. 

However, the good news is that we can still fight soil erosion and preserve our topsoil. Once farmers, policymakers, scientists, and consumers combine their powers to create environmentally-friendly farming practices and food management systems, we’ll be one step closer to preventing complete soil depletion and ensuring a secure food future.