top of page

Soil Toxicity - A Better Way Forward?



Soil is the skin of the Earth, a complex layer that has been shaped over thousands of years by both natural processes and human activities. Like skin, it can bear the marks of past wounds and scars, as well as more recent injuries caused by modern industrial and agricultural practices. A once pure element of our planet has now become toxic, carrying the burdens of pollution and with it a vast array of implications that affect life as we know it.

Soil pollution is caused by a myriad of factors from erosion and loss of organic carbon to increased salt content and chemical pollution. Among the most common causes of soil contamination caused by human activity are industry, mining, military activities, waste, urban and transport infrastructures.

Once pollution has entered the soil, this toxicity becomes a global threat that endangers health, particularly through food. Stock breeding and intensive farming practices, that use chemicals, pesticides, and fertilisers, pollute the land, alongside heavy metals, and other man-made chemical substances.

As such, it is imperative for human activities to change in order to remove toxicity from the soil and work towards a vision of sustainability that benefits not just humankind’s health but the planet itself. 

Already there is some amazing work going on to work towards removing toxicity from the soil and moving towards a more sustainable future in our treatment of the soil. One such organisation is Kiss the Ground, who have set out on a mission of regeneration when it comes to the earth.

Kiss the Ground, as seen in the current Netflix documentary, are champions of a movement in regenerative agriculture. They promote a kind of farming practice that is designed to not only prevent the damage to our ecosystem but actually seek to improve it, whilst still providing all the resources, from food to fuel, that we still require of the soil. As they say themselves, ‘these are not “new” practices’, but rather ‘indigenous cultures have been interacting with nature in a restorative, reciprocal manner for thousands of years’. Kiss the Ground, therefore, wants to recover these practices for the benefit of the planet and encourage interaction with the earth in a more wholesome and healthy way.

Part of Kiss the Ground’s philosophy is an aim to counter the toxicity found in soil by increasing soil’s organic matter (meaning anything that was or is alive), which is a powerful source of nutrients and a key to healthy soil. By increasing soil’s organic matter, it can stop soil erosion and improve numerous qualities, such as water retention, leading to better crop health and yields. This means that food production is aided, thus helping farmers and feeding into the economy through the food market. Not only this, but healthy crops are better for our health when consumed. The impacts are widespread and positive, and it all starts with the soil.

This is one of the reasons why, at WWG, we believe in a holistic approach to sustainability. As our CEO, Manjula, said in a recent talk, ‘don’t create a solution looking for a problem. Go to the cause, fix that root cause. If we do that together, we will have a plan for the next generation’. As we can see with Kiss the Ground, by starting at the source, soil, it has widespread implications of positively impacting the planet in the move towards sustainability.

If you want to learn how you can be involved in the movement, you can donate to the projects that Kiss the Ground run, or even take a course as to how you can help in the mission to regenerate our earth. No action is too small, and anyone can join in, from individuals to large groups. But real change does happen when we work together.

If we can heal our planet, we heal ourselves and ensure a healthier future for generations to come. 

bottom of page