Save Soil Campaign
Sadhguru (real name Jagadish Vasudev) says the planet’s future looks grim because growing food will become problematic without healthy soil. He has warned that this issue could lead to mass starvation and even civil war. But now, he says humanity has a chance for redemption if people worldwide call on their governments to protect the soil.
The world appears to be listening. In February 2023, the United Nations’ World Food Program agreed to collaborate with Sadhguru’s Isha Foundation, the umbrella organization for the Save Soil movement. The program agrees on issues such as “conversations, awareness, and outreach” around soil and food security in India. Also, Sadhguru has spoken to world leaders at the UN Convention to Combat Desertification in Ivory Coast.
Although it is good that Sadhguru's campaign has gained worldwide attention, it is not all that it seems to be. Critics point out his vague methodology and singular focus on the physical characteristics of the soil. They say he excludes broader issues, such as intensive agriculture.
Questions
Indeed, Indian activists highlight the Isha Foundation’s clashes with Indigenous people. And scientists have challenged the Save Soil movement’s policy prescriptions for reversing soil degradation, bringing the campaign’s effectiveness into question.
Other critics say nothing is happening except everyone saying, ‘save soil.’ Questions such as “Whose soil?” And “Why is the soil depleted?” are not being asked.”
Activists and politicians have accused Sadhguru of starting environmental campaigns to arouse strong public feelings and donations despite having little experience with environmental work. For example, In 2019, Sadhguru led a campaign to plant trees along the Cauvery River in southern India. But, then, activists accused him of promoting an overly simplistic solution that could actually damage the environment.
To add to his problems, Sadhguru was accused of grabbing land from Adivasis, India’s Indigenous communities, in order to build the Isha Foundation headquarters in Coimbatore. On top of that, the compound was built illegally in a protected elephant habitat, although the Isha Foundation has vehemently denied all these allegations.
All is not well
So all is not perfect for the save soil campaign, even though the United Nations says that over half the earth’s agricultural land is moderately or severely degraded. Unfortunately, the UN uses off-the-shelf vague, catchall terms that really mean soil erosion, less fertility, or even chemical contamination. The UN is also accused of spreading fear porn in its recent report stating that an area the size of South America will become degraded by 2050, even as more food will be needed to support a population that could reach 9.8 billion in that year.
Soil is eroding, that is for sure and is not being replaced, according to biologist Jo Handelsman, author of the book A World Without Soil. And the remaining soil has lost most of its nutrients and organic matter, making it less productive for growing crops vulnerable to floods and drought. So with every harvest, minerals are taken from the soil, with three only put back with NPK fertilizer.
What about the other 70+ minerals? Most foods in shops contain only 12 to 16, perhaps up to 20 minerals in food grown in small organic farms. And little research has been done to discover the roles of the missing trace elements. So, what’s really important is how we can REMINERALIZE farm soils and get the lost minerals back into them.
Not all soils are mineral depleted
Not all soils are mineral deficient. For example, bottomland soils that get flooded when rivers burst their banks have more minerals brought down with the water from upland regions. Another example is soils rich in volcanic ash and glacial deposits. These topics are covered in posts elsewhere on this website.
An excellent example of how well plants grow in mineral-rich soils can be seen in the former UK MP Michael Portillo’s DVD of his Railway Journeys while he was in Alaska. Alaska has plenty of glacial soil, and Michael visited cabbage growers competing for the annual award of the biggest cabbage grown. Below are photographs taken off the TV screen while the the DVD was playing. Sorry about the TV lines:
Compare the size of this 67.85 lb cabbage with the watering can and Wellington boots!
You can see the enormous size of the cabbages. The big one weighed 67.85 pounds but only won third prize! It hammers home the urgent need for the remineralization of farmland soils. If only farms could grow vegetables as big as that? See also this post on volcanic remineralization of soils.
Soil Remineralization
The subject of remineralization is what campaigners for saving the soil are missing. They are correct about increasing the soil biome, which will help stabilize soil from erosion. But no activity will make plants more nutritious without replacing the long-lost major and trace minerals.
We can ONLY do that by adding the right glacial and volcanic products to depleted farmlands. Instead, humans waste money and effort killing each other for profit, while all the time, they are becoming sicker and sicker through a lack of minerals in their food. If politicians and corporations would only swap their silly wars with an effort to bring mineral-rich soils to their spent farmlands, the planet would be a far better place.
And people the world over will become healthier and less sick.
But do the elite ruling classes and the military, pharmaceutical, chemical, and industrial complex money men want that? That's a huge problem.
You can read more about the criticism of Sadhguru here.
Sadhguru is doing a good thing
Don’t get this website wrong; criticism is good, as it always highlights issues that have been missed, ignored, or even unthought of. So, yes, this website is entirely behind the ‘save soil’ campaign. Sadhguru is doing the right thing in getting the soil problem message out worldwide. But we should all be aware of the more critical issue of soil mineral depletion.
In the meantime, via this website, which is affiliated with the UK Simply Naturals company, you can get your 75+ missing minerals and trace minerals in a delicious and refreshing effervescent drink in Sizzling Minerals. You can also find ads scattered around the pages of this site. Don’t suddenly jump at it, but learn about the health benefits of having ALL the minerals your god intended you to have but which have been stripped from our food by poor and intensive farming activities and erosion. Watch, listen to, and read the testimonials of those who use Sizzling Minerals to supplement their diets. These minerals are not just for you but also for your dear pets because they lack them as well.
Also, don't forget your pets! They, too, need 75+ minerals. The lack of minerals contributes enormously to pet illnesses like arthritis, loose teeth, and lack of energy. Give them our PetLife all-in-one-supplement to make them better. See more about this on our PetLife page.
Hopefully, one day, after farmlands get remineralized, mineral supplements will not be needed because a good chunk of them will be in our food, crops, and animal meat. If the minerals are in the soil, they’ll be in the grass farm animals eat.
However, vets won’t be too happy because their business will decrease as farm animals become healthier.
