Marking the passing of World Soil Day on December 5, Products of Change explores the connection between healthy soils, healthy people, and the potential growth for regenerative agriculture.
Fresh evidence linking soil health and gut health – and by extension – human wellness has got scientists excited over just what the findings could mean for regenerative farming practices across the global food production networks.
Soil health has been highlighted by researchers as a key component in the carbon capture system as well as the global food network which has been suffering a fragility from over-production, disappearing biodiversity, and degenerating soils in recent years.
The ability to connect – through scientific research – the positive impact healthy soils have on human microbiome through the food system has given hope to the rapid commercialisation of regenerative farming processes to capitalise on a booming health trend and wholefoods market.
Soil health and soil carbon scientist, Glyn Mitchell – a friend to Products of Change and speaker at its 2022 Sustainability in Licensing Conference – has expressed the great excitement reverberating across the soil research sector over findings that finally link “healthy soil with the health of people.”
“The potential alignment with corporate sustainability goals, especially those pursuing net zero emissions and a more resilient supply chain, is what I believe will help fund the transformation to provide edible products that show great potential in transforming people’s and the planet’s wellbeing,” says Glyn.
What is regenerative agriculture?
Regenerative agriculture is a holistic farming and grazing practice that aims to rebuild and regenerate soil health, improve biodiversity, and enhance ecosystem services. Among the benefits of the practice is the increase in carbon sequestration potential of healthy soil as well as the improved water retention.
“This can all lead to better crop yields, improved animal health and welfare, and a reduction in the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides,” says Glyn.
Graduate research from the Harvard scientist, Rachel Carmody laid the groundwork uncovering that “changing the contents of one’s diet – by eating more fibre for instance, which is digested by the microbiome (the millions of microorganisms in the human body) rather than the host – was a more effective way of altering the microbiome than eating microbe-rich foods like yoghurt.”
Her research continues into just what a ‘healthy microbiome’ can do for the human body, but already studies tie it to major wellness benefits, including reducing the likelihood of Alzheimer’s in humans. Such discoveries could now lead to a boom in the already surging health and wholefoods markets. And that’s an exciting proposition for the licensing space.
Licensing in the wholefoods space
Recent data tracked by New Hope Network, which covers the natural consumer products goods industry, suggests that one of the Food & Beverage licensing sector’s fastest-growing trends is the organic market. In 2022, the natural and organic sector was estimated at $288.36 billion, while industry data suggests consumers are increasingly adopting dietary and lifestyle changes that are bringing them closer to the whole foods market.
To read the full article, check out the Autumn 2023 edition of the Products of Change magazine here.
