Feeding the world and returning half of the agricultural land back to nature

Abstract

The right to a "safe, nutritious, and adequate amount of food" for human wellbeing must be objectively and critically reconciled with the need to restore soil functionality and improve the environment. In this context, the excessive and indiscriminate use of fertilizers, pesticides, tillage, and irrigation can never be justified. The prudent and discriminate use of these inputs is critical. The conceptual basis of the adage of Paracelsus (1493 to 1541), "the dose differentiates a poison from a remedy" (Grandjean 2016), is more relevant to transforming modern agriculture now than ever before. In addition to improving soil health through adoption of nature-positive agriculture (Lal 2020a), improved varieties have and will play a significant role in enhancing and sustaining productivity (Lotz et al. 2020).