Does regeneratively managed soil produce more nutrient dense food? 

Life on earth is entirely dependent on healthy functioning soils. We rely on them to produce our food, cycle our nutrients and manage waterflows, sequester carbon and be the bedrock of the planet’s biodiversity. And, they have a crucial role to play in climate mitigation and resilience and determine our future food security.  However, our current conventional system of agriculture is destroying this valuable asset.  Currently it is estimated that 60 to 70% of all soils in the EU alone are in an unhealthy state.  

Regenerative agriculture is a way of farming with nature, rather than against it.  We know already that through farming with nature we can regenerate our soil health, slow climate change and reverse trends in declining biodiversity.  But what if, by farming for soil health, we can also increase the nutrient value of our food? 

Over 3 years the Soil Heroes Foundation will be carrying out scientific trials on a commercial farm to compare the nutritional value of crops grown on regenerative versus conventionally managed soils.  With 33 test plots, we will be applying conventional and regenerative farming practices and then testing the soils, the plants and the final crops for minerals, vitamins and amino acids, as well as phytochemicals – important chemicals used by our bodies to fight against illness.   

If we can show that farming regeneratively produces food that has a higher nutrient value, it has the potential to significantly shift consumer demand, and thus produce important market signals to drive large scale systemic change in farming which could have an enormous positive impact on our health, our environment and our climate.