November is in sight and with it preparations for the holidays are in top gear. Increasingly, more and more people are concerned about the quality and safety of the food they consume, especially in the light of the increasing cases of non-communicable diseases; Cancer and diabetes, among others. Is there a connection between soil health and human diseases?

• The answer to that question is YES. Not only is there a connection between soil health and human well being or lack of it, but also a direct connection with the cooling of the planet or the heating of the same. Agriculture and related activities contribute up to 30% or more of the Green House Gas(GHG) emissions: https://www.nature.com/news/one-third-of-our-greenhouse-gas-emissions-come-from-agriculture-1.11708
• Increased use of inorganic fertilizers and synthetic agrochemicals, like glyphosate aka Roundup Weed Killer, are the main culprits as they destroy the soil microorganisms and bind essential minerals and hence make them inaccessible to plant root systems: file:///D:/User%20Documents/Downloads/sustainability-10-00950.pdf leading to a mineral deficiency which affects the health and nutrient content of plant roots and leaves. https://phys.org/news/2018-07-fertilizer-microbiome-ability-disease.html
• What does soil health and climate cooling got to do with photosynthesis you may ask: the answer is best presented in a simple graphical manner: Photosynthesis is a plant leaves process that converts atmospheric carbon to biochemical energy using light energy, from the sun and releases oxygen as a by-product.

This natural biological process has informed the 4 per 1000 Initiative

• Do we have any evidence that soils are increasingly getting damaged and are deficient of key minerals that are essential for human health and key metabolic activities, including mitigating non-communicable diseases like cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases? The evidence: Magnesium intake and pancreatic cancer: https://www.nature.com/articles/bjc2015382 and evidence of decreasing magnesium intake in plants: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/289992021_Magnesium_deficiency_in_plants_An_urgent_realistic_problem and Low serum magnesium associated with cardiovascular diseases: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26472514
• What is the way forward? There is increasing need to promote safer regenerative farming and food production systems which recognize photosynthesis and soil micro-organisms as key players in soil health and soil regeneration: Is this possible and scientifically proven? Yes indeed, Dr. Elain Ingham explains here: