Iain M Young & John W Crawford Webcast : Read the Summary

Soils & Civilisations

There is a saying that civilisation started on a downward spiral when the first plough broke the soil. Whilst the truth of this statement is questionable, what is not is the connection between Mans ability to survive and the soils ability to produce sufficient food. Despite soil supplying 99% of the World's food, containing most of the Earth's biodiversity, and supplying $23 Trillion worth of ecosystem services each year, we are in danger of irreversibly losing this resource through misuse. The increase in Globalisation of food production has led to a situation where we have lost the connection between soil and ourselves. Previously, where populations relied on local food production, the health of soil was monitored. As populations grew, and trade became less local, we stopped caring about soil. Today much of the food consumed in one country is produced in another, often poorer, country. Yet the erosion of soil reaches across the planet, impacting on all of us. Our new model accounts for how the smallest organisms in earth help to maintain a healthy soil and help Man survive on Earth. This Micro-Gaia theory provides a new way of thinking about and managing soil, from microbe to civilisations.