What if we told you that 99 percent of the world’s calorie intake comes from a single source? It’s true and that source is our earth’s soil. Every living organism in our ecosystem depends on soil to survive. Plants need soil to grow, animals (including humans) need plants to survive and thrive. 

That’s why what we’re about to tell you is so alarming. If our soil becomes in trouble, we’re all in trouble. 

Right now, our soil is experiencing nutrient depletion at an aggressive rate. The culprit is modern farming and agricultural practices. One-third of the world’s soil is moderately degraded and more than fifty percent of our agricultural lands are degraded to some degree.

Mineral deficiency in our soil isn’t news to scientists and other experts. We knew in the early 1900s that American soils were lacking in minerals and that 99 percent of Americans were considered mineral deficient. Around 1936, Dr. Charles Northen conducted a study in which he restored the mineral balance to one crop while leaving an accompanying crop alone. Each test revealed that the minerally balanced crop was consistently healthier and free of pests and fungus.

So why, if mineral balance provides healthier, cleaner crops, are so many farmers ignoring this fact and continuing their harmful farming practices? The main reason is that mismanagement in farming has become so intense and widespread, much of our agricultural industry is unaware or, sadly, doesn’t care that their current practices are actually endangering our entire ecosystem, themselves included. Popular modern farming practices are designed to speed up productivity and focus on quantity, not quality. The irony is, if they did work to restore mineral balance, they would yield more crops. 

Why Minerals Matter

You’ve heard it your entire life. Daily intake of vitamins and minerals are essential for good health. Yet, minerals have always taken a backseat in the health and fitness spotlight to vitamins and other important nutrients. However, as Dr. Northen concluded in his study, “Healthy plants mean healthy people. We can’t raise a strong race on a weak soil.” The minerals our bodies must have to survive and thrive in our health also need us to protect the soil in which minerals originate.

It  was studies like Dr. Northen’s that eventually led to recommendations from the FDA and health experts to begin taking vitamin and mineral supplements. The goal was to help Americans restore our bodies’ mineral deficiencies and become healthier. It worked in many ways. Americans quickly jumped on board the supplement train and the vitamin and supplement industry exploded. Over the last half century, we have become more interested in and focused on health and fitness than ever. 

While supplemental vitamins and minerals are addressing the health concerns of mineral deficient people, this is only one step in resolving the world’s mineral deficiency problem. The larger issue and source of our mineral deficiencies, has yet to be addressed on a large scale. Although there are many farmers across the world who are educated about the impact farming has on the environment and take proper steps to farm sustainably and protect the environment, there are many more farmers who continue to follow poor farming practices.