From Soil to Society: Rethinking Health as a Shared Ecosystem

10th September 2025

When we think of health, we often picture our own bodies; what we eat, how we move, how we feel. But our personal wellbeing is inseparable from the health of the world around us. Soil, the most overlooked of ecosystems, is not only the foundation of our food system but also of our collective health system.

The Goodwood Health Summit 2025, presented by Randox Health, takes this wider perspective. This year’s theme places soil health at the centre of the conversation, connecting it to food systems, public health and even the resilience of society itself. The message is clear: if we want healthier people, we must also create healthier environments.

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GOODWOOD ESTATE PROJECT..STARTED IN 2019, COMMISSIONED BY DR

The Soil–Human Connection

Healthy soils host an extraordinary diversity of microbial life. These microbes sustain crops, cycle nutrients and capture carbon. But as Health Summit speaker Patrick Holden CBE, founder of the Sustainable Food Trust and a leading voice in regenerative farming, reminds us, their role extends far beyond the field “The soil is the stomach of the plant. Just as we rely on our gut microbiome, plants rely on the soil microbiome. Everything is connected; nothing is separate.”

95% of our food comes from the soil. Yet over the past 100 years, more than 90% of crop varieties have disappeared, leaving our diets increasingly reliant on just a handful of species. Today nine plant species account for 66% of global crop production, despite at least 30,000 edible plants being known.

Decades of intensive farming and chemical reliance have eroded ecosystems. The result is not only diminished fertility in the land but also diminished nutrition in the food supply. Studies show declines in key minerals such as iron, magnesium and zinc in staple crops compared to 50–70 years ago. These minerals are critical for immunity, cognitive function and metabolic health. Depleted soils mean depleted diets and a higher risk of chronic disease.

 

Beyond the Individual: A Public Health Issue

The soil crisis is not just an environmental issue; it is a health systems issue. Poor diets are already the leading cause of preventable disease worldwide. If degraded soils continue to undermine food quality, healthcare systems will be left addressing the consequences, from rising rates of diabetes and heart disease to malnutrition.

Health Summit speaker, Mr James Kinross, reader in surgery and head of colorectal surgery at Imperial College London and microbiome researcher, sees soil as central to this wider challenge:

“We are completely co-dependent on the health of soil. The soil microbiome shapes the food we eat, which shapes our health every single day. Protecting it is protecting ourselves.”

The gut microbiome, which influences immunity, metabolism and even mental health, is shaped by the diversity of the soil and food systems we depend on. This reframes soil as part of our health infrastructure, as important as hospitals or clinics.

 

Culture, Policy and Collective Action

Shifting the system requires more than scientific evidence; it requires cultural change and political will. For Health Summit speaker Dr Federica Amati, a public health nutritionist and Head Nutritionist at ZOE, this is where forums like the Summit play a critical role:

“The Goodwood Health Summit brings together experts from different disciplines with a shared passion for evidence-based approaches. It is about building a community rooted in science and clinical evidence, while also engaging the wider culture that shapes our choices.”

The UN warns that 90% of the Earth’s topsoil could be degraded by 2050, reducing global yields by up to 10%, the equivalent of losing millions of acres of farmland. Food culture, from what we value in our diets to what policies we support, directly influences whether healthier and more sustainable systems can take root.

 

Towards a New Paradigm

As Health Summit speaker Dan Kittredge, founder of the Bionutrient Food Association and a leading advocate for nutrient-dense regenerative agriculture, points out, the conversation extends far beyond farming:

“It’s labour, it’s nutrition. It’s soil health. It’s human health. It’s ecological, cultural, spiritual, emotional, psychological health. All these things are deeply interrelated.”

This integrated perspective reflects what global health leaders increasingly call the One Health approach: recognising that human health, environmental health and animal health are not separate strands but part of a single ecosystem.

 

Convening Change at Goodwood

Goodwood is uniquely placed to host this conversation. With one of the largest organic lowland farms in Europe, and a history of pioneering sustainable practices, the Estate lives the principles it promotes. The Health Summit extends this legacy, not just showcasing what Goodwood does, but creating a platform where leading voices can align on solutions for the future.

As Mr Kinross reflects:

“The Goodwood Health Summit is unique. It is a space where radical ideas about the future of human health can be considered in a positive and inclusive way.”

The goal is not simply to share knowledge but to inspire change, in farming, in food culture, in policy and in personal choices.

 

From Soil to Society

The truth is simple yet profound: soil health is public health. From the resilience of crops to the resilience of communities, the ground beneath our feet shapes the future we share.

The Goodwood Health Summit 2025 is part of a wider movement to reconnect the dots between soil, food, health and society, and to begin rebuilding our most fundamental health system from the ground up.

You can join the online audience to be part of these important conversations Thursday 2 October 2025.

 

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