Save Soil Movement: Sadhguru`s global race against time to save soil from extinction

As Sadhguru rides on for 30,000 km to bring the world`s focus on soil health, here`s a recap of his journey from Europe and why talking about soil extinction is the dire need of the time.

New Delhi: Bringing to light the race against time to stop the desertification of the earth, Sadhguru, founder of Isha Foundation in France’s Paris, said, “Talking, preaching, campaigning time is over. We have come to a place where if there is no significant policy change in all the nations, we cannot really make it happen.” He was referring to the very real threat that is looming large on the planet as fertile soil is rapidly turning into sand globally due to over farming of agricultural lands.

Last month, Sadhguru launched the global movement to Save Soil from extinction. The Movement seeks to activate and demonstrate citizen support across nations and empower governments to initiate policy-driven action to revitalize soil and halt further degradation. The effort includes documents on soil-friendly guidelines for 192 countries. 

Separate documents have been prepared taking each country’s latitude, climatic conditions, soil type, agricultural tradition and economic parameters into consideration.

“It is risky. Why am I doing this? Because I want all of you young people to understand if we don’t do this now, we will regret seriously,” Sadhguru said in a recent interview when asked why he was risking his life for soil. 

Starting his 100-day, 30,000-km lone motorcycle journey from London on March 21, Sadhguru has travelled through a significant section of Europe- the Netherlands, Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Slovakia, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, France, Belgium, Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary- to press governments for urgent policy formulation to protect the agricultural lands of the world.

The primary objective of the Movement is to urge governments to ensure that agricultural lands contain a minimum of 3-6% organic content; without this, all agricultural soil will rapidly degenerate and turn to sand in which no food crops can grow, threatening global food and water security. The Save Soil Movement has received “a spectacular response” on ground, Sadhguru says.

“The second line of political leadership have been meeting us - agriculture ministers, environment ministers, bureaucrats, members of parliaments.” He has not been able to meet with heads of state as initially planned due to the war in Ukraine, he said.

In Bratislava, the capital city of Slovakia, Romana Tabak, a Member of the National Council of the Slovak Republic, invited Sadhguru to be her guest at the Parliament. Sadhguru met Martin Kovac, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture alongside Romana Tabak and presented them with the Soil Revitalization Handbook. In Paris, Sadhguru’s public event was attended by Ambassador of India to France, Jawed Ashraf, in support. In Rome, Manoj Juneja, Assistant Executive Director and CFO of the United Nations World Food Programme, extended his full support to the Movement.

In Prague, the Czech capital, Sadhguru presented the Global Policy Draft and Solutions Handbook to the Deputy Minister of Environment and the Deputy the Minister of Agriculture of the Czech Republic. In Ljubljana, capital of Slovenia, Ambassador of India to Slovenia Namrata S Kumar expressed her heartfelt gratitude to Sadhguru for launching the Movement, calling him “India’s ambassador to the entire world”.

It’s not just political leaders who have been unequivocal in their support. The Movement has drawn support from scientists, environmentalists, the media, celebrities, sport stars and even little children.

In a public conversation with Patrizia Heidegger, Director for Global Policies and Sustainability at European Environmental Bureau in Brussels, Belgium, Sadhguru told the audience that “a handful of people” are “spending their lives” working to address this challenge. “If everybody stands up, it will happen. In a democracy, governments are elected to fulfill people’s mandate. Get 60% of the world’s electorate to say something about soil the next 100 days. We will see how to get the policy done,” he declared. 

In Bonn, Germany, the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), Ibrahim Thiaw, endorsed the objectives of the Save Soil Movement, extending full support. UNCCD is the premier global body established three decades ago to address soil degradation across the world.

Sadhguru reached the gateway of Europe to the Middle East, Turkey, on day 36th of the journey. His itinerary in the Middle East includes Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Oman, Dubai and Abu Dhabi.