Most of us have no real reason to think much about our soil given our modern, Uber-able lives, but lurking beneath all this convenience lies a big problem: our soil just ain’t what it used to be.

What was once (approximately 70 years ago) nutrient-rich soil – filled with nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sulfur, trace minerals and valuable, money-can’t-buy organic matter – is now nutritionally depleted, making it increasingly difficult for the average person to receive adequate nutrition through food alone.

In fact, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) attributes95% of our food supply to our eroding soil, claiming an estimated 2 billion people (or a quarter of the population) now suffer from a lack of nutrients globally.

To put all this in perspective, it is said that the humble carrot, for example, has lost 75% of its essential nutrients, meaning you would have to eat four to get the same magnesium you did back in 1940. Broccoli is said to have lost 75% of its calcium and spinach has dropped a whopping 53% of potassium. And sadly, our fruit is showing similar levels of depletion. Indeed, supplementing your essential nutrients has never been more essential to wellness.

Soil Sustains Life.

Our soil is a living ecosystem that sustains us. It is the heart of our food system and health, responsible for everything from helping us build cells and tissues and supporting growth to providing energy and regulating metabolism. We need good quality soil to thrive!

As British botanist,Albert Howard once said, "The wellbeing of the soil, plant, animal and man is one indivisible whole."

Or asDr Zach Bush,amedical doctor and founder of the non-profit Farmer's Footprint, puts it:

“Without healthy soil, our produce not only will lack nutrients, but it will invite chemicals into our own biology and ecosystem. These chemicals will continue to break down the cornerstone of our health – our immune system – if we let them.”

Our Soil is Suffering.

If all of this is to go by, it appears our current system is not sustainable. According to David R. Montgomery inDirt: The Erosion of Civilizations,we've lost a massive 75% of our topsoil since 1900 due to questionable farming practices. These have greatly damaged our soil health, caused nutrient deficiencies in our crops and led to devastating nutritional deficiencies in our food. And in turn, in us.

Some of these practices include:

• Synthetic fertilizers and pesticides
• Genetically modified crops (GMOs)
• Monoculture (growing all one kind of crop over an entire field)
• Tillage -- The practice of turning over topsoil with deep ploughing, damaging the beneficial organisms living in the soil.

Saving our Soil.

Organizations like Farmer's Footprint Australia are working to improve soil health through regenerative farming, a holistic approach that aims to enhance and improve the health and productivity of soil, while also prioritizing environmental sustainability and social responsibility.

“Initiatives likeFarmer’s Footprint in Australia are cultivating the microbiome to build nutrient-rich soil essential for healthy food,” says our founder Elle Macpherson, who is passionate about solving this problem from the ground up.

 “It’s become clear that regenerative farming is at the heart of our human and environmental future. Prioritising such principles and practices in our lives and businesses ensures that we can thrive, from soil to soul, for generations to come.”

The New Nutrients.

It’s hard to believe the ingestible beauty category is only a decade old because it has singlehandedly changed the way we can now approach this problem. Once you can wrap your head around the current state of our soil, supplementing the nutrients no longer found in our fruits and vegetables makes sense. A clever cohort of consumers have been increasingly tapping into the convenience of nutrient-dense greens powders like, The Super Elixir™ for this very reason.

The Super Elixir™ offers a one and done daily solution to this seemingly enormous problem. With more than 40 botanical herbs, antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and probiotics in just two daily teaspoons, you can ensure all 11 systems of the body can thrive. Naturally.