The world’s soil is rapidly shrinking

It is also pointed out that the possibility of a food crisis caused by a population explosion is decreasing as the population growth has slowed recently. On the other hand, the rapid shortage of farmland due to excessive agricultural production and natural disasters is a new problem.

A team of researchers from Syracuse University in the US points out that 45% of Americans are magnesium deficient, even though magnesium plays an important role in human metabolism. It is analyzed that the cause is a decrease in magnesium contained in crops such as vegetables and fruits in the United States.

If you look at the calcium, magnesium, and iron content in cabbage, lettuce, tomato, and spinach after 1914, it is said that the amount of minerals in American vegetables has decreased by as much as 80-90% over the past 100 years. In addition, not only soil quality but also soil quantity itself is on the decline. According to a study by a Cornell University research team, 1.7 billion tons of soil is lost annually in the United States due to agricultural land abuse and weather events. In the United States, soil loss is more than ten times faster than natural recovery and is estimated to cost $37.6 billion per year when replaced in economic losses.

Moreover, soil loss is occurring not only in the United States, but also worldwide. For example, soil loss in China and India is 30 to 40 times greater than that of natural recovery, significantly exceeding that of the United States. As a result of this soil loss, 30% of the world’s agricultural land has been turned into unproductive land over the past 40 years, and it is estimated that the economic loss is equivalent to $400 billion per year.

Therefore, FAO officials warn that if soil is damaged at the current rate, there will be no suitable land for farming in 60 years. Considering that it takes 20 years to recover even 1 mm of soil naturally and 1,000 years if it is 3 cm, you can see what to do with the soil that is disappearing around the world.

Soil is not just a lump of soil, but a kind of environment in which minerals and organic matter are combined, and it is the home of animals and plants. It is said that if humanity neglects the soil, it will follow the same path as the ancient Roman Empire, which was believed to have perished due to deterioration of agricultural land. It is pointed out that soil protection through the expansion of organic agriculture and environmental protection is an urgent priority. Related information can be found here.