Royalty, conservationists and spiritual leaders unite for Soils Our Soils congress

The UN-backed Save Our Soils campaign, aimed at highlighting the awareness of the threat of soil loss to food supplies, stages a major event to feature royalty, activists and entrepreneurs. The world’s largest private land conservationist, two winners of the Alternative Nobel Prize, royal guests and a Sioux chief will be among the attendees of a high-profile event in June aimed at publicising the need to save soils to safeguard food supplies. 

The Celebrating Soil! Celebrating Life! congress, which is being organised by organic fruit specialist Nature & More, takes place as part of the UN-backed 2015 International Year of Soils and the global Save Our Soils campaign. The event, to be staged at Amsterdam’s Royal Tropical Institute (KIT) from 26-27 June, will feature speakers including Maria Helena Semedo, deputy director general of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and Doug Tompkins, founder of retail chains Esprit and North Face, and now the world’s largest private land conservationist.

Other speakers include German celebrity chef Sarah Wiener, Alternative Nobel Prixe winner Vandana Shiva and Chief Arvol Looking Horse, spiritual leader of the Sioux, while royal guests, entrepreneurs and prominent activists are also expected to attend. However, one theme connects them all: soil. With 10 million hectares of fertile soil, amounting to 30 football fields per minute, lost each year due to erosion and degradation the congress will emphasise why saving our soils is vital to future food supplies.

The Year of Soils 

The Celebrating Soil! Celebrating Life! congress, which is being held as part of the 2015 International Year of Soils and the international Save Our Soils campaign, will seek to make consumers aware of the importance of fertile soils and the threat to soil worldwide. Since more than 95% of world food supplies originates from the soil, the huge loss of fertile soil each year poses a major threat to the sustainability of future food supplies, which have to meet the needs of a global population that now exceeds 7 billion.

Inspiration and action

The purpose of the congress is to generate attention for the issue of soil loss and make consumers aware of their unique power. Any choice for sustainable and organic agriculture makes a contribution towards saving soils. In the run-up to the congress, a Soil Declaration & Action Plan is being written with help of participants, which will be presented near the end of the congress. On www.saveoursoils.com everyone can contribute to this soil 

manifesto, through the ‘Call for Contributions’. For the complete congress program, see: www.celebratingsoil.com. For more information and registration, please send an e-mail to monique.mooij@saveoursoils.com. Please subscribe soon as most seats have already been reserved.

Invitation to journalists:

Journalists are most welcome at the conference and will have preference when seats fill up. A press conference and photo opportunity will be arranged. To register, please contact Monique Mooij: monique.mooij@saveoursoils.com, +31 180 63550