Connecting people to soil: Learnings from the application of the Food-Landscape Networks framework

Abstract

There is a disconnect between people and soil, which is being exacerbated as our populations become increasingly urban-based. This presents a ‘wicked’ challenge for soil and food security that soil science alone is unable to address. A transdisciplinary research methodology was applied to develop a recently proposed framework, Food-Landscape Networks (FLN), that applies a holistic approach to understanding the reciprocal connections between soil, food, and people in contemporary local food production systems. This framework weaves mātauraka Māori and soil science to look beyond the boundaries of soil science to guide the reconnection of people and soil. The framework consists of six interrelated factors, situating soil health at its centre, that are used to assess the reciprocal connections between soil, food, and people. Our research applies the FLN framework to three food-landscapes in the Waitaha Canterbury region: conventional, organic, and community gardens producing potatoes and/or spinach. Applying the FLN framework reveals clear disconnects between soil, food, and people in these landscapes. It also underscores the urgent need for interdisciplinary collaborations to prevent these disconnects from worsening and to facilitate the reconnection of people and soil through food production. Key findings from applying the FLN framework include identifying that a disconnect between soil, food, and people occurs in all three food-landscapes assessed, with community gardens exhibiting the strongest connection between soil and people. For the disconnect between people and soil to be addressed, the connections between soil and food, and food and people need to be considered in the context of the reciprocal relationships encompassing factors included in the FLN framework, requiring interdisciplinary collaboration before the consumer reconnection can be achieved.