Grow more with less: A soil-first strategy for the future of food

The global food system is under growing pressure. Extreme weather events, declining soil fertility, volatile input prices, and rising health concerns are converging into one clear signal: we need to rethink how we grow and consume food.

But the way forward doesn’t lie in radical disruption. It lies in rebalancing—focusing on health, reducing waste, and restoring the productivity of our most valuable asset: soil.

Three levers stand out as both urgent and achievable.

Rethink what’s on the plate: Diversity for health and resilience

Today, just four crops—wheat, maize, rice and soy—account for over 60% of global calorie intake (FAO, 2023). This lack of diversity not only increases ecological risk but is directly linked to rising rates of malnutrition, obesity, and diabetes worldwide.

Dietary transition is essential:

• 75% of global agricultural land is used for livestock (grazing or feed production), yet meat and dairy contribute only 18% of global calories and 37% of protein (UNEP, 2022).
• Shifting toward plant-rich diets and pasture-based livestock systems can reduce agricultural land use by up to 75%, and cut food-related GHG emissions by 49%, according to The Lancet Planetary Health.
• Diets rich in whole grains, pulses, vegetables, nuts, and healthy fats have been shown to reduce the risk of chronic disease by up to 80% (Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health).

Encouraging dietary diversity is not just about nutrition—it’s about improving land efficiency, crop resilience, and reducing pressure on supply chains.

Cut waste — starting before the supermarket

Globally, an estimated 2.5 billion tonnes of food are wasted each year, or roughly one-third of all food produced (UNEP Food Waste Index, 2023). In Europe, up to 20% of fruit and vegetables are rejected before reaching stores due to appearance alone.

This waste includes:

• Cosmetic losses at harvest: Uneven shapes, small sizes, or surface blemishes lead to field-level rejections.
• Supply chain losses: Especially in perishable goods like dairy, meat, and produce due to poor cold chain infrastructure.
• Consumer-level waste: In high-income countries, over 50% of food waste occurs in households (WRAP, 2023).

Solutions are both technical and cultural:

• Supermarkets in France, the UK, and Germany are now required or incentivized to sell “ugly produce”.
• Food literacy programs show that households can reduce waste by 30% when equipped with basic cooking skills (ADEME, 2022).
• Apps like Too Good To Go and Phenix are already recovering millions of meals per year, proving that logistics can match demand to surplus.

Reducing food waste would cut global agricultural emissions by at least 8–10% while improving affordability and access.

Restore the soil: More resilience, fewer inputs, higher yields

Soil degradation is a silent risk. The UN estimates that 33% of the world’s soils are degraded (FAO, 2021), and over 90% could be at risk by 2050. Yet most of our food depends on topsoil only a few centimeters deep.

Modern farming systems often rely heavily on synthetic inputs and monocultures that exhaust soil health, increase costs for farmers, and leave crops vulnerable to extreme weather.

Regenerative agriculture reverses this trend through:

• Cover cropping and no-till techniques, which protect and rebuild soil structure,
• Compost and organic inputs, which increase microbial activity and carbon storage,
• Agroforestry, integrating trees for microclimate control and erosion protection,
• Holistic grazing and animal reintegration, which close nutrient cycles and eliminate synthetic fertilizers over time.

The benefits are measurable:

• Resilience to drought: healthy soils retain up to 20x more water than degraded soils (FAO, 2023),
• Reduced pesticide and fertilizer use: regenerative farms cut synthetic inputs by 30–70%, lowering both environmental impact and production costs (Rodale Institute, 2023),
• Improved public health: fewer residues, less nitrate runoff, and reduced exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals,
• Higher productivity in the medium term: after a 2–5 year transition, regenerative systems match or outperform conventional yields, especially under stress conditions.

Additionally, reintegration of livestock into mixed farming systems improves nutrient recycling, allows better pasture management, and restores natural fertility without synthetic additives.

From an economic perspective, this means lower input dependency, greater climate resilience, and increasing access to ready-to-deploy, low-tech and nature-based solutions.

Redirect capital toward what works — and make it count

The financial momentum behind regenerative agriculture is real—and growing fast.

Major food companies like Nestlé, Danone, Unilever, and General Mills have committed to sourcing from regenerative farms. Institutional investors, including Tikehau Capital, Mirova, and others, are now actively deploying capital into regenerative agriculture and nature-based solutions.

This progress is not symbolic—it’s structural.

However, capital alone won’t shift the system. What’s still missing is alignment:

• Between financial maturity and on-the-ground readiness,
• Between market demand for regeneratively grown food and the available supply,
• And between policy frameworks and the real cost of transition for farmers.

Scaling regenerative agriculture also means accelerating access to concrete, proven tools:

• Biostimulants and biocontrols to reduce dependency on chemical inputs,
• Micro-irrigation systems to optimize water use,
• No-till and low-disturbance equipment to protect soil structure,
• Digital technologies to monitor soil health, optimize rotations, and measure outcomes.

Today’s pioneers still face fragmented infrastructure and high upfront costs. Farmers need more than finance—they need market access, training, and consistent regulation.

The next phase must connect all actors—finance, industry, and public policy—around a shared strategy.

The tools exist. The intent is here. What we need now is synchronized action.

A new compass for food systems

Feeding 10 billion people by 2050 doesn’t require more land, more inputs, or more standardization. It requires doing more with less—and doing it differently.

That means:

• Embracing diverse, nutrient-rich diets adapted to local ecosystems,
• Valuing imperfect produce as a resource, not waste,
• Rebuilding soil health as a shared global asset.

This isn’t just a food agenda. It’s a public health plan, a climate strategy, and an economic opportunity.

The tools are available. The economics are improving. The direction is clear.

It’s time to grow more—with less.

The views expressed are personal

illuminem Voices is a democratic space presenting the thoughts and opinions of leading Sustainability & Energy writers, their opinions do not necessarily represent those of illuminem.