GROUNDS FOR CHANGE Top quality soil is vital for the UK’s food future, says Unite expert

 

GROUNDS FOR CHANGE

Top quality soil is vital for the UK’s food future, says Unite expert

UniteLANDWORKER WINTER 2024

As someone who sees himself as a shop steward for the land, Charlie Clutterbuck, Unite’s own soil scientist, would like Britain to mirror recent EU developments by introducing a sustainable soil directive.

Healthy soils form the base for 95% of our food, host a quarter of the world’s biodiversity and are the planet’s largest carbon pool. So, with soil being a limited resource that is often in poor condition then securing its long-term health is vital for all our futures.

When the EU 2007 Soil Framework Directive collapsed under pressure from the NFU and a Labour Government in hoc to major building companies not willing to rectify contaminated land, Britain having lots of it from our industrialised past, then it cut hopes of a soil policy that carried some weight.

Opposition continued. When the Lords passed a proposal by former Labour Environment Minister Lord Whitty for an amendment to the Tories’ Environment Bill to add ‘soil targets’ to water and air targets, the Johnson government subsequently rejected this by promising a Soil Health Action Plan instead.

“That has been quietly dropped down the drain along with around 2 million tons annually of our best grade 1 and 2 arable land in the East, “ explains Charlie, “and as we can’t grow it back then it means we will increasingly rely on imports going forward.”

Much of the EU faces similar problems and has now sought to defend its soils by introducing a soil monitoring law that aims to bring about a comprehensive monitoring framework for an assessment of soil health whilst developing sustainable soil management practices. The general approach is to be centred on tackling soil sealing and soil destruction whilst member states will be required to identify all potentially contaminated sites, before mapping them in a public register.

Charlie believes “we should proceed down a similar path. It won’t be easy because whilst there is a bit of Single Farming Initiative money to individual UK farmers to encourage healthier soil the application is complex and the results difficult to determine.”

Under the EU proposed directive plans the ultimate aspirational objective is to have all soils in a healthy condition by 2050, in line with the EU Zero Pollution ambition.

“We should study the EU plans and seek to follow them,” contends Charlie who is concerned that the UK has no similar targets or plan and no overall research direction or body responsible.

“The soil is our very thin skin of the earth which could be doing so much more to grow crops here in ways that can reduce climate change impacts through carbon storage, reduced surface temperatures and water holding.”