An article published by The Ecologist on 8 October 2026, titled ‘We poison our soils for efficiency’, highlights a fundamental problem with modern agriculture: in the pursuit of efficiency and productivity, we are damaging the very soil on which our food supply depends.
Written by Katie Ward, the article explores the importance of soil microorganisms, explaining how the complex communities of bacteria and fungi beneath our feet help plants access nutrients, maintain soil structure and retain water. When these living systems are damaged, the consequences extend far beyond the field, affecting food production, water quality and our ability to cope with droughts and floods.
One of the article’s key messages is that healthy soil is about much more than nutrients. It is a living ecosystem. Diverse soil microorganisms work in partnership with plants, helping them obtain essential minerals and supporting the natural processes that keep soil fertile. Yet intensive farming practices, including long-term monocultures and reliance on chemical inputs, can undermine this biological foundation.
The article highlights the use of glyphosate, the loss of soil organic carbon and the widespread problem of soil compaction. It also explains how healthy soil acts like a sponge, absorbing and storing water rather than allowing it to run off into rivers or leaving crops vulnerable during dry periods.
For the Vegan Organic Network, these issues reinforce the importance of veganic farming and growing: producing food without livestock or animal-derived fertilisers, while working with nature to build healthy, fertile soils. Rather than relying on manure, blood, fishmeal or bone meal, veganic growers use plant-based composts, green manures, mulches, crop rotations and diverse planting to nourish the soil and support its living organisms.
This approach recognises that soil fertility should be built through ecological processes, not simply maintained by adding more external inputs. By keeping the soil covered, returning plant materials to the earth, encouraging biodiversity and reducing unnecessary disturbance, growers can help create resilient growing systems that work with nature rather than against it.
There is also a wider ethical and environmental question. Our food system needs to move away from treating soil as an inert medium for producing maximum yields and towards recognising it as a precious, living resource. The way we grow our food affects wildlife, water, climate and the long-term security of our food supply.
While the article makes a valuable case for protecting soil biology, a veganic perspective takes the discussion further by asking how we can build fertility without relying on farmed animals or their by-products. It points towards a food system in which plant-based fertility, biodiversity and ecological balance are central to agricultural practice.
At the Vegan Organic Network, we believe healthy food begins with healthy soil. By growing food veganically, we can help protect soil life, reduce reliance on harmful chemical inputs and support a more compassionate, resilient and sustainable food system.
The lesson is clear: genuine agricultural efficiency should not be measured simply by how much food we produce today, but by whether we leave the soil healthy enough to sustain life for generations to come.