Soil protection and sustainable development
5 December is World Soil Day, promoted1 by the FAO (United Nations food agency) to raise public awareness of the protection of ecosystems that are essential for the health of the planet: in practice, to support that model of sustainable development typical of farms like ours.
For us, choosing the sustainability of organic agriculture with conviction means respecting that complex ecosystem rich in biodiversity that is under our feet.
There are more organisms in a spoonful of healthy soil than there are humans on planet earth.
But it takes time to form every single spoonful of fertile land, and conscious choices are needed.
Our choice is, for example, not to use certain substances such as synthetic pesticides, which are also used intensively in conventional agriculture despite the European sustainable agriculture objective of their significant reduction 2.
We believe that this choice of ours helps to keep agricultural soils healthy and fertile, and to preserve the fundamental functions they perform, such as the water and carbon cycles, uncontaminated.
Our choice is to defend the presence of trees and shrubs in our agricultural land, in addition to the herbs that grow wild among organic crops. So as to preserve the habitats of animal populations, such as bees 3, even in production, with all that it means in terms of biodiversity.
We believe that environmental sustainability choices like these also involve a great intangible wealth: that of living every day in a unique and uncontaminated landscape like that of our hills between Umbria, Tuscany and the Marches, where we grow our products.
These choices, as well as the safety of eating healthy and tasty foods, determine the quality of present and future life.
And you, what choices do you make in everyday life and in your daily shopping?
1: World Soil Day on the FAO website
2: EU recommendations on pesticide reduction on the Re Soil Foundation website
3: “Save bees and farmers” initiative on the Slow Food website