Soil Degradation Effects on Human Malnutrition and Under-Nutrition
Main Article Content
Abstract
Fertile and productive soil is a finite, fragile and precious resource. Soil health and its productive capacity are dependent on land use and management. Among primary causes of soil degradation are physical (decline of soil structure, crusting, compaction, hard-setting, erosion by water and wind, drought), chemical (salinization, acidification, elemental imbalance, nutrient depletion), biological (decline in soil organic matter content, decline in activity and species diversity of soil biodiversity, buildup of pests and pathogens) and ecological [(decoupling and disruption of coupled cycling of water and essential elements such as N, P, S, Ca, Mg, K, Fe, Zn, Se, I, Mo) and imbalance of energy and water]. Soil degradation is also affected by civil strife and political instability. Indeed, soil health is a victim of any war. Modern war based on explosives and heavy equipment leads to compaction, cratering, pollution and contamination with adverse effects on quality and quantity of food and its nutritional composition. Contamination of soil by heavy metals (Hg, Pb, As) is a serious health hazard for human and wildlife. Restoration of contaminated and polluted soil may occur at decadal and centennial scale. There is strong need for change in curricula from kindergarten to primary and secondary school regarding the importance of soil and environment on human health and wellbeing. Soil Health Act must be enacted and implemented to protect and sustainably manage the precious soil resource. Public awareness must be enhanced about the importance of healthy diet as medicine.
Keywords:
Soil degradation, contamination, pollution, soil health, plant nutrition, human nutrition, One Health Concept, Rights-of-Soil, Soil Health Act, Ecosystem services
Article Details
How to Cite
LAL, Rattan.
Soil Degradation Effects on Human Malnutrition and Under-Nutrition.
Medical Research Archives, [S.l.], v. 12, n. 10, oct. 2024.
ISSN 2375-1924.
Available at: <https://esmed.org/MRA/mra/article/view/5753>. Date accessed: 31 dec. 2024.
doi: https://doi.org/10.18103/mra.v12i10.5753.
Section
Research Articles
The Medical Research Archives grants authors the right to publish and reproduce the unrevised contribution in whole or in part at any time and in any form for any scholarly non-commercial purpose with the condition that all publications of the contribution include a full citation to the journal as published by the Medical Research Archives.
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33. Ahmed T, Hossain M, Sanin K. Global Burden of Maternal and Child Undernutrition and Micronutrient Deficiencies. Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism. 2012;61:8-17. doi:10.1159/000345165
34. Fergusson J. The Heavy Elements. In: Chemistry, Environmental Impact and Health Effects. Pergamon Press; 1990:211-212.
35. Steffan JJ, Brevik EC, Burgess LC, Cerdà A. The effect of soil on human health: an overview. European Journal of Soil Science. 2018;69(1):159-171. doi:10.1111/ejss.12451
36. Dickinson N, Macpherson G, Hursthouse A, Atkinson J. Micronutrient deficiencies in maternity and child health: a review of environmental and social context and implications for Malawi. Environmental Geochemistry and Health. 2009;31(2):253-272. doi:10.1007/s10653-008-9207-4
37. Bhan M, Sommerfelt H, Strand T. Micronutrient deficiency in children. British Journal of Nutrition. 2001;85:S199-S203. doi:10.1079/BJN2001315
2. FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP, WHO. The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2024: Financing to end hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition in all its forms. Published online 2024. https://www.fao.org/publications/home/fao-flagship-publications/the-state-of-food-security-and-nutrition-in-the-world/en
3. Pimentel D, Whitecraft M, Scott Z, et al. Will Limited Land, Water, and Energy Control Human Population Numbers in the Future? Human Ecology. 2010;38(5):599-611. doi:10.1007/s10745-010-9346-y
4. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Climate Change and Land: IPCC Special Report on Climate Change, Desertification, Land Degradation, Sustainable Land Management, Food Security, and Greenhouse Gas Fluxes in Terrestrial Ecosystems. Cambridge University Press; 2022. doi:10.1017/9781009157988
5. FAO. Desertification and Drought Day 2024: United for Land, Our Legacy, Our Future. Published online 2024. https://www.fao.org/neareast/news/details/desertification-and-drought-day-2024--united-for-land--our-legacy--our-future/en
6. Blackmore I, Iannotti L, Rivera C, Waters W, Lesorogol C. Land degradation and the link to increased livelihood vulnerabilities among indigenous populations in the Andes of Ecuador. Land Use Policy. 2021;107. doi:10.1016/j.landusepol.2021.105522
7. Kelly McCann. Soil Nutrient Depletion: Harming Your Health? April 28, 2023. https://drkellymccann.com/soil-nutrient-depletion-how-is-industrial-agriculture-harming-your-health/
8. Pozza LE, Field DJ. The science of Soil Security and Food Security. Soil Security. 2020;1:100002. doi:10.1016/j.soisec.2020.100002
9. Silver W, Perez T, Mayer A, Jones A. The role of soil in the contribution of food and feed. Philosophical Transactions Of The Royal Society B-Biological Sciences. 2021;376(1834). doi:10.1098/rstb.2020.0181
10. Wezel A, Herren B, Kerr R, Barrios E, Gonçalves A, Sinclair F. Agroecological principles and elements and their implications for transitioning to sustainable food systems. A review. Agronomy For Sustainable Development. 2020;40(6). doi:10.1007/s13593-020-00646-z
11. Rickson RJ, Deeks LK, Graves A, Harris JAH, Kibblewhite MG, Sakrabani R. Input constraints to food production: the impact of soil degradation. Food Security. 2015;7(2):351-364. doi:10.1007/s12571-015-0437-x
12. Vinisa Saynes Santillán. Status and Challenges of Soils for Nutrition. Presented at: Global Symposium on Soils for Nutrition; July 26, 2022. https://www.fao.org/fileadmin/user_upload/GSP/GSOIL4N/Presentations/26Jul/016_vinisa_GSOIL4N_Status_and_Challenges_S4N.pdf
13. UNEP. Record-breaking World Environment Dat Spotlights Land Restoration, Desertification and Drought Resilience.https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/press-release/record-breaking-world-environment-day-spotlights-land-restoration#:~:text=Riyadh%2C%2005%20June%202024%20%E2%80%93%20With. June 5, 2024.
14. Lal R. Soil degradation as a reason for inadequate human nutrition. Food Security. 2009;1(1):45-57. doi:10.1007/s12571-009-0009-z
15. Brevik EC, Burgess LC. The Influence of Soils on Human Health. Nature Education Knowledge. 2014;5(12):1-1.
16. Brevik EC, Pereg L, Steffan JJ, Burgess LC. Soil ecosystem services and human health. Current opinion in environmental science & health. 2018;5:87-92. doi:10.1016/j.coesh.2018.07.003
17. Braga B, Chartres C, Cosgrove W, et al. Water and the Future of Humanity: Revisiting Water Security.; 2014. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-01457-9
18. Burton i. Our common future - the world-commission-on-environment-and-development. Environment. 1987;29(5):25-29. doi:10.1080/00139157.1987.9928891
19. Hryhorczuk D, Levy B, Prodanchuk M, et al. The environmental health impacts of Russia’s war on Ukraine. Journal of Occupational Medicine And Toxicology. 2024;19(1). doi:10.1186/s12995-023-00398-y
20. Megerle H, Niragira S. The Challenge of Food Security and the Water-Energy-Food Nexus: Burundi Case Study. In: Biesalski H, ed. Hidden Hunger And The Transformation of Food Systems: How To Combat The Double Burden of Malnutrition. Vol 121. ; 2020:183-192. doi:10.1159/000507488
21. Paudel P, Devkota B, Kubota T. Land Degradation in Nepal: A Review on its Status and Consequences. Journal Of The Faculty of Agriculture Kyushu University. 2009;54(2):477-479.
22. González-Esquivel C, Camacho-Moreno E, Larrondo-Posadas L, et al. Sustainability of agroecological interventions in small scale farming systems in the Western Highlands of Guatemala. International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability. 2020;18(4):285-299. doi:10.1080/14735903.2020.1770152
23. Sidle R, Khan A, Caiserman A, Qadamov A, Khojazoda Z. Food security in high mountains of Central Asia: A broader perspective. Bioscience. 2023;73(5):347-363. doi:10.1093/biosci/biad025
24. Rossati A. Global Warming and Its Health Impact. International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. 2017;8(1):7-20. doi:10.15171/ijoem.2017.963
25. Gomes H, Menezes J, da Costa J, Coutinho H, Teixeira R, Nascimento R. A socio-environmental perspective on pesticide use and food production. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety. 2020;197. doi:10.1016/j.ecoenv.2020.110627
26. Maybank J, Bonsal B, Jones K, et al. Drought as a natural disaster. Atmosphere-Ocean. 1995;33(2):195-222. doi:10.1080/07055900.1995.9649532
27. Muralikrishnan L, Padaria R, Choudhary A, et al. Climate Change-Induced Drought Impacts, Adaptation and Mitigation Measures in Semi-Arid Pastoral and Agricultural Watersheds. Sustainability. 2022;14(1). doi:10.3390/su14010006
28. Mancuso G, Violi F, Nocella C. Food contamination and cardiovascular disease: a narrative review. Internal and Emergency Medicine. Published online May 14, 2024. doi:10.1007/s11739-024-03610-x
29. Dreshaj A, Millaku B, Abazi A, Gashi A. Soil Pollution Factors Affecting the Quality of Crops (Solanum Tuberosum L.). Journal oF Ecological Engineering. 2022;23(3):109-115. doi:10.12911/22998993/145469
30. Maqbool M, Beshir A. Zinc biofortification of maize (Zea mays L.): Status and challenges. Plant Breeding. 2019;138(1):1-28. doi:10.1111/pbr.12658
31. Cusworth S, Davies W, McAinsh M, Stevens C. Sustainable production of healthy, affordable food in the UK: The pros and cons of plasticulture. Food and Energy Security. 2022;11(4). doi:10.1002/fes3.404
32. Dainelli M, Pignattelli S, Bazihizina N, et al. Can microplastics threaten plant productivity and fruit quality? Insights from Micro-Tom and Micro-PET/PVC. Science of the Total Environment. 2023;895. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165119
33. Ahmed T, Hossain M, Sanin K. Global Burden of Maternal and Child Undernutrition and Micronutrient Deficiencies. Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism. 2012;61:8-17. doi:10.1159/000345165
34. Fergusson J. The Heavy Elements. In: Chemistry, Environmental Impact and Health Effects. Pergamon Press; 1990:211-212.
35. Steffan JJ, Brevik EC, Burgess LC, Cerdà A. The effect of soil on human health: an overview. European Journal of Soil Science. 2018;69(1):159-171. doi:10.1111/ejss.12451
36. Dickinson N, Macpherson G, Hursthouse A, Atkinson J. Micronutrient deficiencies in maternity and child health: a review of environmental and social context and implications for Malawi. Environmental Geochemistry and Health. 2009;31(2):253-272. doi:10.1007/s10653-008-9207-4
37. Bhan M, Sommerfelt H, Strand T. Micronutrient deficiency in children. British Journal of Nutrition. 2001;85:S199-S203. doi:10.1079/BJN2001315