The Foundation of Food: The Science and Politics of Our Changing Soils

March 17: The Foundation of Food: The Science and Politics of Our Changing Soils, with Dr. Asmeret Asefaw Berhe (Director of the Sierra Nevada Research Institute and Climate Institute; University of California, Merced)

Climate change & food security are connected in many ways, and both are underlain by soil. Close to 1 billion people globally lack food and nutritional security, and the soil resource needed to produce food is being degraded by human action.

In the context of food security, climate change is a threat multiplier, meaning human-caused climate change is exacerbating the existing threat of food and nutritional insecurity globally. Increased temperatures, higher frequency of droughts and other weather phenomena related to climate change are causing land degradation and reduction in yields of major crops, increased food prices, and a decrease in the income of food growers.

Climate-smart soil management practices that focus on improving soil health can also contribute to reversing the increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. I will discuss different land management practices that are critical for ensuring food and nutritional security for the growing human population while ensuring the sustainability of soil.

https://sites.lsa.umich.edu/sustainablefoodsystems/foodliteracyforall/