Page 19 - Winter 24-25

agricultural production and our resilience to climate change. UK soils currently store about 10 billion tonnes of carbon. This is roughly equal to 80 years of annual UK greenhouse gas emissions.
Although there are plans afoot to improve British soil health by 2030 it is not considered a political priority. According to the Sustainable Soils Alliance there are numerous reasons for this including the perceived complexity of soil, and a reluctance by governments to ‘interfere’ with what is a farmer’s private property. Soil also rarely features in public awareness campaigns so there is less political pressure to act.
Not surprisingly, The Soil Association has much of interest to say on the subject. It believes that the problem is cultural:
‘Farmers have come to see agro-chemicals as the main source of fertility and pest/disease control. This has led farmers not only to overlook the unintended consequences of agro chemicals damaging soils, it has also diverted attention from soil health which should be at the heart of farm decision-making. The agrochemical industry has helped perpetuate this culture. It has also arguably diverted research from more innovative farming practices. In particular, there is an increasing realisation that soil life may be the key to crop productivity, but little research is being invested in this area and huge knowledge gaps remain.’
Cultural or commercial? The cost of food has been driven down and down by the agri-food industry (and it is an industry), while the government pushes for higher and higher yields (in the name of food security) with the result that almost all farmers are forced to think short term. The result is damaging rotations and
high value but soil damaging crop systems with quick returns.
How can soil quality be improved? The answer is by returning to a more sustainable way of farming, increasing the amount of plant and animal matter going back onto fields, encouraging soil organisms (both those that build up soil and those that release nutrients), covering up bare soil with continuous plant cover, growing more trees on farmland, rotating crops in such a way as to improve soil health, and reducing soil compaction from machinery and livestock. These are all things that organic farmers do as a matter of course. However, the organically farmed land area in the UK has fallen by a staggering 30% since 2010.
Why are British organic farmers giving up? Because they get no help from the government and because consumers are unwilling to pay the extra cost for British organic produce in part due to the prevalence of cheaper organic produce from overseas (where compliance may be easier and labour and land less expensive).
What has all of this got to do with dog food? More than you might imagine. Food contains has a higher nutritional value if it is grown or produced on higher quality soil. This is why at Honey’s we are totally committed to using:
• Certified organic meat and vegetables.
• Pasture fed, free range and wild meat.
• Chemical free vegetables washed in plain water
without chlorine.
And why we will have no truck with meat that is intensively reared (which is hugely damaging to soil health) or vegetables that are grown with the aid of chemical fertilisers, weed killers, insecticides etc. (also hugely damaging to soil health). In other words, what is best for your dog – high quality food with a high nutritional value – also happens to be best for the environment.
You’ll find this and other interesting articles in our magazine: ‘The Alternative Dog’. https://alternativedog.honeysrealdogfood.com/
www.honeysrealdogfood.com Telephone 01672 620 260 Email: info@honeysrealdogfood.com
17