Helping Protect Nature’s Unsung Hero: Soil
NUTRO™ and Kiss the Ground™ launch a new program to make you fall in love with soil … and the people who protect it
By Mindy Barry, Mars Petcare, and Evan Harrison, Kiss the Ground™
There are few things we’re more passionate about than our pets. They bring us joy, companionship and unconditional love.
As pet parents, we want to return that love as much as possible. We want to give the best to our four-legged friends, and that includes the food that fills their bowls. Before it’s packaged neatly and sent to store shelves, quality food must start with nutritious ingredients.
We often take for granted one of the most important factors in growing natural ingredients: healthy soil.
IT ALL STARTS WITH SOIL
Soil is a thriving ecosystem. It’s more than just the dirt beneath our feet — and our paws. In fact, every teaspoon of soil holds more living organisms than there are people in the world. We often perceive soil as an infinite resource; after all, it’s on farms, in our gardens and sometimes even tracked into our homes by our beloved pets. But healthy soil is diminishing fast. In fact, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, we’re losing a soccer field worth of soil every five seconds due to erosion. That’s a staggering amount.
Current estimates warn that by 2050, 90% of the world’s soil could be degraded. That sounded our alarms … because healthy soil is key to sustaining our food system. According to the FAO, soils are the basis for producing 95% of our food. If we don’t collectively address the soil health crisis, the ability for anyone, anywhere to grow natural ingredients will become even more at risk.
Because of its ability to grow healthy food, we believe soil is worth fighting for — and making a firm commitment to stand up and help protect it.
POWERFUL PARTNERSHIPS FOR A MORE REGENERATIVE FUTURE
NUTRO™ and Kiss the Ground™ are bringing together our collective strengths with the aim to drive change for the health of soil everywhere by amplifying, educating and building support for healthy soil action. At nearly 100 years old, NUTRO™ believes in the power of nature and has kept a promise to pet parents to provide pet food made from quality ingredients. As a large company with a long history, NUTRO™ can tap into an expansive network of expertise from across the supply chain while also leveraging its size and reach to add momentum to the movement. Kiss the Ground™ is a leading voice in bringing awareness to regeneration. As a successful documentary film producer, the organization has helped cultivate the healthy soil movement through its enduring relationships and deep knowledge of soil preservation.
Arm-in-arm, our aim is to inspire others to join the movement.
NUTRO™ recently conducted research with Morning Consult to better understand how people think about their food. Unsurprisingly, around two thirds of US consumers consider where their food comes from at least somewhat often. While the majority of consumers claim to be somewhat familiar with the process of food’s journey from farm to table, around two in five people are not very familiar or not familiar at all with soil’s role in farming.
This is a clear gap we need to bridge. That’s why, together, we will launch a series of mini documentaries that highlight stories of regeneration across the country. We’re excited to share these stories in the months ahead. Stay tuned for more details this fall. Until then, we strongly encourage you to watch the award-winning 2020 documentary from Kiss the Ground™ on Netflix.
Soil health is a complex issue; no one brand, company, or organization will have all the solutions. While NUTRO™ is only at the beginning of its journey to help protect healthy soil, with partners like Kiss the Ground™, we’ll be able to strengthen our impact. Now is the moment to mainstream the movement. Everyone has a role to play, from companies to suppliers, growers to NGOs, and even individuals. Soil impacts all of us, so the movement needs to reflect that — at its core it needs to be inclusive. When we work together, we can help ensure a healthy future for our planet and our pets.