2.6.2 Where we want to be, but where are we?

Healthy soil has lots of potential. And they do exist, but mainly in places untouched by humans. And there are fewer and fewer of those places left on the planet.

Value of food

The value of food is a recurrent theme. We live in an economic system that prioritises monetary value before other forms of value, such as quality of life, ethics, health and natural resources. Fortunately, there are plenty of initiatives around the world prioritising soil health, but unfortunately this is yet to become mainstream. One important aspect of this is the issue of how much of food production is funded currently with subsidies still focusing on yields rather than sustainability or other qualities.

Yields tend to be measured by weight rather than nutrient content and so you can still grow nutrition-poor but heavy (lots of water) plants and turn a greater profit than the grower focusing on soil health and nutrient dense crops. There are also issues regarding criteria for size of farms and crop choices, with most current subsidy systems favouring large-scale farms and discouraging mixed cropping or agroforestry (mixes tree crops with other crops or pasture). Subsidies contribute to the hidden price of food. And if the more industrially produced and likely less nutritious food is the most subsidised it is also likely to be the cheapest to the end-consumer. What does this do to equity? If we are to tackle inequity in society and health inequity, our food systems need to drastically change, including their financing. The healthiest foods need to be the cheapest to the end-consumer, and that requires a re-evaluation of how food is financed behind the scenes and what we truly value in food.

The next module looks to history to give us an idea of what’s gone wrong, and how our actions collectively impact on the major systems of our planet.