30,000km journey to save the world’s soil begins - Next Stop: Europe

30,000km journey to save the world’s soil begins - Next Stop: Europe

World renowned guru and spiritual leader, Sadhguru, begins journey to save our soil and inspire worldwide change

• LIVESTREAM FROM PARLIAMENT SQUARE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTGoBIPkhR0 

• Sadhguru embarks on 30,000 km motorcycle journey across Europe, Middle East and India, in epic effort to drive change and raise global awareness 

• Along the way, Sadhguru will educate the public, businesses, politicians, celebrities and charities on how to restore soil and push for urgent change in their policies to protect and restore soil health

• Sadhguru’s ‘Save Soil’ movement aims to galvanise 3.5 billion people (over 60% of the world’s voting population) to make ecological issues an election priority across the globe

• 52% of the world’s soil is already degraded; change is needed desperately  

• Half of the topsoil on the planet has been lost in the last 150 years

22nd March, London, Parliament Square, UK – A 100-day journey to save the world’s soil, undertaken by Sadhguru, a yogi and visionary, was flagged off yesterday at the iconic Parliament Square in London. In an urgent bid to reverse and halt soil degradation across the world, Sadhguru has unveiled the ‘Save Soil’ movement.

To build momentum ahead of the journey, Sadhguru held two major public events to launch the movement in the UK in the past week. The first was at Birmingham University (in conversation with Lord Billimoria of Chelsea) and the second was at the ExCeL Centre, London, which featured a key note speech from the High Commissioner of India.

The incredible expedition will see Sadhguru travel extensively through Europe, the Middle East and India. Starting yesterday in London, Sadhguru’s epic journey marks the official launch of an unprecedented global movement to save the world’s soil from catastrophic degradation that threatens food systems for all of humanity and countless species. 

8 members of UK parliament were present at the flag off, including; 

• High Commissioner of India

• Lord Billimoria

• Lord Popat

• Lord Rami Ranger

• Lord Jitesh Gadhia

• Baroness Verma

• Bob Blackman, MP

• Gagan Mohindra, MP
  
  

The ‘Save Soil’ movement, spearheaded by Sadhguru, will educate the public, businesses, politicians, charities and celebrities about the vital role that soil plays in the planet’s sustainable future. The movement will also push for meaningful and unprecedented policy change across the world with the backing of the United Nations and World Food Programme.

At present, 52% of the earth’s agricultural soil is already degraded. At the current rate, which is worsening every day, 90% of the world’s soil will be degraded by 2050. 

To sustain humanity’s agriculture, the organic content within soil needs to be at least 3%; if the organic soil content percentage falls to anything less than this, it starts to become incapable of producing food that gives us necessary nourishment. The UK is 30 to 40 years away from “the fundamental eradication of soil fertility” in parts of the country' (UK's Environment Secretary in 2017), with intensive agriculture having caused arable soils to lose 40 to 60% of their organic content. In India, for 62% of Indian agricultural land, the level is less than 0.5%.

Every second, we lose an acre of soil. As this problem worsens across the world, it will have an impact on a range of areas including:

• Agricultural farming; food production could fall by more than 40% in 20 years if systems don’t change urgently 

• Degraded soil is less able to hold onto water, making flooding risks much higher

• It will build a larger gap between the rich and poor

Tangible results
In historic events this week, the heads of Government and Ministers for Health, Agriculture, and Environment from five Caribbean nations and Guyana endorsed the Save Soil initiative by signing a memorandum of understanding with Conscious Planet. The President of Guyana, H.E. President Dr. Irfaan Ali did the same.

Commenting on the launch of the Save Soil movement and his imminent journey, Sadhguru said: “Every responsible scientist in the world and UN agencies are clearly saying we have 80-100 harvests left, that means approximately 45-50 years of agricultural soil left on the planet. By 2045, we will be producing 40% less food than what we are producing right now, and our population will be 9.3 billion people.

“The food shortages that could manifest in the next 25 years - the consequences of this are unimaginable. Civil wars will unfold across the world once there is food shortage. This is not the world we want to leave behind for our children.

“That's not a world you would want to live in nor a world to leave behind for the next generation, but that is exactly what we are doing.

“In democracies, governments craft policies based on what the majority population wants. Currently, 5.26 billion people in the world live in democratic countries, i.e., they have the right to vote and elect their governments. If a majority of the population in each of these nations demands policies to revitalize soil, governments cannot ignore the issue. It will lead to policy changes around the world, in turn, setting the stage for a comprehensive solution to revitalize soil. 

“The Save Soil movement aims to engage at least 3.5 billion people globally (60% of the world’s electorate of 5.26 billion) on the issue of soil health, so they, in turn, support their leaders in instituting policies and taking action to ensure a minimum of 3–6 % organic content in cultivable soils globally. This one thing should be taken up as an express mission by every citizen, by every government of the many nations on this planet. All of us should stand up for the Conscious Planet movement. This is not about me, this is not about you. This is a generational responsibility that we must fulfill."

• ENDS     -

About the SAVE SOIL campaign 

The Conscious Planet Movement to Save Soil is a global civil movement to inspire a conscious approach to saving our soil and planet. This is, first and foremost, a people’s movement. Its aim is to activate the support of over 3.5 billion people (over 60% of the world’s voting population) to make ecological issues an election priority for governments across the globe. The movement aims to urge and support governments in formulating policies that will address soil health in their country and make farming activity more soil friendly to halt and reverse further soil degradation globally. The primary recommendation of the Save Soil Movement is for governments across the world to legislate policies that will mandate a minimum of 3-6% organic content in all agricultural soil in their country. World leaders, influencers, artists, subject matter experts, farmers, spiritual leaders, NGOs are among those who have pledged their support to rekindle humanity’s relationship with soil.

This Save Soil campaign is backed by: 

• World Food Programme 

• United Nations 

• World Economic Forum  

• Political and cultural leaders, including the Dalai Lama 

Sadhguru has a huge following globally; supporters include:

• Jane Goodall

• Deepak Chopra

• Will.I.Am

• Tom Brady

• Demi Lovato

• Matthew McConaughey

• Will Smith