One Health Begins Below Ground: Why Soil Health is Fundamental to a Healthier Planet

APNI Contributor: Sara Lamsili, Junior Project Communications Manager

Often when we think about improving human health, our minds drift toward the latest medical advice and advances, or ready access to nutritious foods and clean water. But what if one of the most foundational health interventions does not begin with a visit to the doctor or supermarket, but from the soil beneath our feet?

The One Health approach offers an inclusive and interconnected way of understanding the health of our people, animals and environment. It is a strategy that brings together doctors, veterinarians, agronomists, and ecologists under a single mission: to build healthier systems by tackling shared risks at their root. It can be argued that at the center of this web lies soil health …a powerful yet often overlooked pillar of public and planetary well-being.

The Soil–Plant–Animal–Human Continuum

According to National Institutes of Health (NIH, 2022), approximately 78% of the average per capita calorie intake worldwide comes from crops grown directly on soil, and another 20% comes from terrestrial food systems that indirectly rely on soil. That’s nearly 100% of what we eat, pointing to the fundamental role soil plays in human survival.

When soils are depleted, lacking in nutrients and organic matter, this leads to nutrient-deficient crops and poor quality harvests. That translates into foods that may fill stomachs and stave off hunger but still leave bodies malnourished. Globally, 2 billion (B) people suffer from micronutrient deficiencies. Nearly 144 million (M) children are affected by stunting, while 47 M suffer from wasting conditions directly tied to poor maternal diets and food systems lacking in essential nutrients like iron, zinc, and vitamin A (Global Network Against Food Crises, 2021).

Africa’s Growing Challenge: Population, Pressure and Production Gaps

In 2024, Africa’s population stands at 1.5 B which represents 18% of the world’s population. By 2100, it’s projected to more than double, reaching 4.3 B, translating to 41% of the global population. With this rapid growth comes unprecedented pressure on food systems (Ritchie, 2019).

Yet much of Africa’s land is already struggling. Over 46 M hectares, more than 60% of arable land, are degraded (African Group of Negotiators Expert Support, 2020). These soils are low in organic matter and key nutrients, which drastically reduces productivity and resilience. Climate disruptions are making things worse, introducing erratic rainfall and inducing stress from unfavorable temperatures, pests and diseases.

And the consequences are extensive: nearly 300 M people in Africa are undernourished today. That’s nearly 1 in 5 people (Caritas Australia, 2023). The yield gap across key African crops (i.e., maize, rice, wheat, sorghum) remains wide, meaning that current farming systems are producing far below their potential. But with healthier, well-nourished soils, that gap could close.

The Paradox of Progress: More Calories, Less Nutrition

Modern agriculture has succeeded in tripling cereal production per unit of land since 1961. In theory, the world produces enough food. And yet, 1 in 9 people globally still doesn’t have enough to eat while billions more suffer from poor-quality diets (Ritchie, 2023).

Why? Because calories are not the same as nutrition. Sometimes despite best efforts farming prioritizes quantity over nutrient content, leading to a food system that feeds but does not nourish.

In fact, the hidden costs of modern agri-food systems were estimated at $12.7 trillion in 2020. A massive 73% of that cost, over $9 trillion, comes from health-related impacts, such as obesity, non-communicable diseases, and lost productivity due to poor diets (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2023).

The way we manage soil health has a big influence on how we can grow and interact with our food in a sustainable manner.

The Risk Beneath Our Feet: Soil and Antimicrobial Resistance

One Health also confronts less obvious threats like antimicrobial resistance. If livestock are treated with antibiotics and their manure is spread on fields, residues can foster resistant bacteria in the soil. These bacteria can then travel through water, air or food systems and eventually reach humans, making infections harder to treat (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2025). Healthy soils with strong microbial biodiversity can naturally suppress disease, reduce the need for chemical inputs, and slow the spread of resistance. This makes soil stewardship a legitimate tool in the global fight against superbugs.

Water, Air and Climate: The Environmental Dividends of Healthy Soils

Soil is much more than a growth medium for crops. It filters water, stores carbon, traps dust, and regulates greenhouse gases. When we damage soil, we lose these vital ecosystem services. Our living soils act as nature’s safety net. They prevent water pollution, improve air quality, and increase resilience to floods and droughts. They also hold carbon, helping mitigate climate change and its associated public health risks.

What’s Missing: Soil in One Health Policy and Planning

Despite all these links, soil health is still largely absent from international One Health planning. The One Health Joint Plan of Action (2022–2026) by FAO, WHO, WOAH, and UNEP mentions “soil” just six times, primarily in the context of pollution.

This absence in our policies is costly. Without integrating soil into One Health frameworks, we miss the opportunity to intervene early, sustainably and systemically. As APNI argues, we urgently need transdisciplinary research that tracks nutrient flow through the soil–plant–animal–human continuum, and policies that reflect this interdependence.

Final Thoughts: Putting Soil at the Heart of the Health Equation

Soil is not a side character. It’s a protagonist in the story of global health. It shapes the food we eat, the water we drink, and the air we breathe. It affects how diseases spread and how ecosystems bounce back from shocks. Most importantly, it offers us a starting point for sustainable transformation.

If we want to make One Health a holistic concept, then soil must be at the center. This means better soil monitoring, stronger links between agriculture and health sectors, and community-driven soil stewardship. There is no health without soil health.

References

African Group of Negotiators Expert Support (AGNES). 2020. Policy Brief No. 2: Land degradation and climate change in Africa. https://production-new-commonwealth-files.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/documents/Policy-brief-2_Land-Degradation_Final_09032020.pdf

Caritas Australia. 2023. New food security report shows alarming rise in hunger across Africa. https://www.caritas.org.au/news/blog/new-food-security-report-shows-alarming-rise-in-hunger-across-africa/

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (n.d.). Antimicrobial resistance in the environment and the food supply. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Retrieved May 22, 2025, from https://www.cdc.gov/antimicrobial-resistance/causes/environmental-food.html

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 2023. The State of Food and Agriculture 2023 – Revealing the true cost of food to transform agrifood systems. https://doi.org/10.4060/cc7724en

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 2021. Global Report on Food Crises. https://openknowledge.fao.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/534cbdcc-a3a8-4ee0-8446-fb80768417ea/content

Münzel, T. Hahad, O., Daiber, A., Landrigan, P.J. 2023. Soil and water pollution and human health: what should cardiologists worry about? Cardiovasc Res. 31: 119(2):440-449. https://doi.org/10.1093/cvr/cvac082 PMID: 35772469; PMCID: PMC10064841.

Ritchie, H. 2023. Global cereal production has grown much faster than population in the last half-century. Our World in Data. https://ourworldindata.org/data-insights/global-cereal-production-has-grown-much-faster-than-population-in-the-last-half-century

Ritchie, H. 2019. More than 8 out of 10 people in the world will live in Asia or Africa by 2100. Our World in Data. https://ourworldindata.org/region-population-2100