A world without soil

Abstract

Jo Handelsman’s text A world without soil: The past, present, and precarious future of the earth beneath our feet outlines the threats to global soil health from a scientific perspective and provides an empirical foundation for many in the social sciences or humanities who advocate for more just and sustainable food systems. While soil is often cited as important in these circles, why that is, and how exactly it functions is not as widely understood. Handelsman’s effort to provide an accessible book to non-soil science specialists is admirable, although not without weaknesses worth addressing.