Focus Areas

The Soil Revolution – Restoring healthy, living soil for all

We live at a defining point in history; at a time when financial, educational, political and agricultural structures and institutions are struggling to meet the needs of those they were established to serve; in a society where increasing complexity, inequality and fragmentation highlight the urgent need for collaboration and wise action; on a planet where the systematic degradation of our ecological systems has overreached the natural planetary boundaries and threatened its ability to support life as we know it.

One of the most critical challenges of this time affects us all, yet it is still largely unknown. The issue of soil degradation is of a magnitude and complexity such that it is beyond the power of any single organisation, industry or country to address alone. A broad-scale, cross-sectoral, collaborative approach is needed. And it is needed now.

More than 90% of our food comes from our soils, yet current unsustainable production practices have degraded 25% of the Earth’s soils to the point where they can no longer support agricultural production. This degradation continues today at the rate of around 10 million ha per year; that is 30 soccer fields per minute.

This is a wakeup call. It is a call to engage and unite in practical partnerships and to tap into existing frameworks and approaches that have the power to reverse the current trend of soil degradation. It is a call to secure living soils for our future. In response to this call, the Summer of Soil hosts the Living Soil Forum, 22-26 July, 2013.

The Living Soil Forum invites stakeholders along the entire food chain, from producer to consumer. We seek to connect people and ideas, to create common understanding, to integrate existing initiatives, and to promote genuine, cross-sector collaboration around solutions that work to secure and restore healthy, living soils. The Forum is a gathering of passionate stakeholders willing to take responsibility and commit to working together to restore and maintain living soils. The Forum is not a trade fair, not a conference, not an exposition for observers and not a stage for promoting one approach over another. We are interested in all approaches which improve soil.

WHY SHOULD YOU COME?

If you are concerned about the state of the world’s soils and wish to be part of the solution, then we need your input. We are looking for farmers, retailers/wholesalers, consumers (particularly youth), policy-makers, educators, scientists, academics, representatives from public & private sector organisations, media, government and NGOs. To address the soil challenge, we need people with passion and a sense of responsibility. We need diversity of ideas and workable approaches.

Your participation will allow you to contribute to this critical movement; experience collaboration in its truest sense; tap into the resources and intelligence of a diverse group of stakeholders; and establish meaningful relationships with an extensive, international network of colleagues active in this field.

Please join us, and spread the word! — The Summer of Soil Team

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