The Daily Show: Ears Edition - Sadhguru - Saving Soil to Grow Better Crops

Episode Date: March 26, 2022

Yogi, mystic, visionary, and best-selling author Sadhguru explains how over 5,000 years of industrialized farming has leached nutrients from the world’s soil, and the ecological impact this has had on food production and raising crops.For more information on Sadhguru's Save Soil Movement, visit SaveSoil.org. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Wonderful. You see, now, this is weird for me because we try to start this interview and then we're the technical issue. And now I'm like, am I being as authentic as a as a as a as tha as a tha as a tha thia thia thia thia thi as a thi as a thii thi thi thi thi thi issue and now we're starting the interview again and now I'm like am I being as authentic as I could be with you as a guru or is this in and of itself in authentic to you know? Just be yourself there's nothing called authentic. Nobody knows what's that authentic because human beings are a consequence of a thousand things they've picked up all over. Man that's deep. Impressions, right? We're gonna have a good time. I can tell.

We're gonna have a really good time. By the way, I woke up today a lot unhappier than I woke up yesterday because I had to do all the research for our interview. And I knew that there is, you know, that we're facing a climate crisis, and then now, thanks to you, I know that we also are facing a soil crisis where some people are estimating that if we do nothing in 50 years time, we may not be able to grow anything because we may run out of soil, which, forgive my ignorance, I did not know that soil is even something that we could run out of. The thing is, this has happened in the last 50 to 100 years of industrialized farming,

that the organic content in the soil is going away because there is no replenishment. To replenish the soil, we either need leaves and vegetative matter or animal waste. Both of them have disappeared from the farms. We thought we could do everything with the machines. Machines can plow, machines can do the work that animals and human beings were doing, but organic content cannot come from the machine. It has to come from vegetative or animal waste and that is not there. Because of that, one must understand if you add organic content to sand, it becomes soil. If you take away organic content from soil it become sand. So right now desertification is one of the th animals the the the the the the the the the the the tham the tham tham tham tham tham themememes themes thi animals thia thia thia thia thia thia thia that that that that thia thia that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that thia thia thia thia thia thia thia thi the the the the the the the the the the the the the the work work work work work theauauauauauaua thia thia thia thia th. If you take away organic content from soil it becomes sand. So right now desertification is one of the most serious problems. As you

said 50 years or 60 years time after that there's not enough soil to grow crops. But the more important thing is by 2035 to 2040 they're expecting that we will grow 40% less food than what we are growing right now and our populations will be over 9 billion. That's not a world you want to live the the the to to to to to to to to to to to to to the most the most the most the most the most the most the most the most the most the most the most the most the most the most the most the most the most the most the most the most the most the most the most the most the most the most the most the most the most the most the most the most the most the most the most the most the most the most the most the most the most the most most the most the most the most the most most the most the most the most the most the most the most the most the most the most the most the most the most the most the most the most the most the most the most the most the most the most the most the most the most the most th th. thi. the the. the. theas. theas. the. the. theas. theas. the. the. the most the most less food than what we are growing right now and our populations will be over 9 billion. That's not a world you want to live in. That's not a world where you want to leave your children. So we need to act now. Why it's very important to act now and Institute or enshrine this in our policy is on an average according to UNFAO on an average 27,000 species of microbes are going extinct per year. And is that because of how we farm or is that a natural consequence of existence?

Because there is no organic content for the microbes. See, I see. As you know today, that you cannot even digest the food that you eat if there are no gut microbium? Similarly, in the soil, it is the same reflection in a much more complex way. Without the microbial activity in the soil, the plants are not able to get the necessary nourishment from the soil.

So we are throwing chemicals and boosting them up, but without needed nourishment. On an average, the drop in nourishment, the from early 20th century to now is approximately 90% only 10% is left. If you ate one orange in 1920 you need to eat eight oranges today to get the same stuff so that's simply impractical. So we're moving to a place where food production is sliding down gradually. So this sliding down will affect, FAO predicts that by 2035 there could be dozens of civil wars across the world and that is not necessarily in African countries or South America it could be anywhere.

FAA, I mean the World Food Program talks about famines around Chicago, Illinois area by 2035. This is terrifying. You know, it's I was talking to a friend about how before the pandemic I think there was a certain hubris that humans had about everything. We just believed it would always go on. You hear these doomsday prophecies or you hear these even warnings about the world ending at some point of humans not being able to inhabit the planet. But until the pandemic I feel like we didn't have a tangible example of the world stopping you know people would even say how do

you stop the world how can you just stop travel how can you stop countries how and now we've seen it yeah and now you're telling us no this is not a doomsday prediction this is a wake up call because we are at a cusp of time that if we do the right things right now in another 15 to 20 years we can make a significant turnaround. So what are the right things to do? We've been pushing this for the last two years. We have these programs going for over 25 years in southern India, where we have brought in 10% of the farmers lands under tree cultivation and animals so that this 10% produces enough

organic content for the remaining 90%. So once the organic content is about 3 to 6%. Minimum is 3 to 6%. If you raise the organic content to 8 to 10% in the soil, your irrigation requirements will come down to 30% of what it is because the water holding capacity of organically rich soil is such. If you raise it to 12 to 15% your irrigation requirement would come down to 10 to 15% that is instead of 100 liters of water you would use 15 liters of water for the same crop. That's what needs to happen and this is the same story everywhere. When it comes to ecology, when it comes to soil, our national barriers, racial discriminations, our religions, our casts, our creeds, our gender stuff, our

political ideologies, nothing matters. This is a unifying factor. If we as a generation of people act now to change the necessary policy changes, which is not some rocket signs, this is something. Always farmers in the past new, but we forgot in the last 50 years. Are you getting any signs that governments are enthusiastic to try and do something about this? See, in the last two years I've been talking to various country heads, various politicians, political parties. We have written to 730 political parties on the planet to make sure

that they include soil and ecology as a part of their election manifestos as their political philosophy. Whatever they believe in, right, left, center, whatever they are. Soil is one thing which is a common factor for all of us. We're always looking at what divides us. It's time if you don't understand the consciousness of this cosmos and stuff like that, at least you understand you come from the soil, you live off the soil, when you die you go back to the soil. That much you get it. What I see is in the last two years that I've been talking to people. Everybody knows knows is is is is is is the tho tho tho the tho tho tho the the tho the the the the the tho. the the the the the their their their their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. the the the. tooooooooooooooooooooooomea. tea. tea. tea. tea. tea. toooooooeses. their theing to people. Everybody knows there is a serious problem. Everybody knows what is a solution also, but I think it looks like they were all waiting for an idiot to build a cat, so here I am.

I'm 65 and I'm riding 30,000 kilometers. Must be as idiot, isn't it? Sadgur, I could talk to you forever, and I guess that's why people, you know, come to your events and you know, it's the gatherings, they read your books, they want to see what you're going to do. On a journey of soil, it feels like it is yet another thing that we add to our list, that governments need to do, that people need to do, that. you know, if we don't do this, it's over. If we don't do that, it's over. This is not one more thing, Trevor. No, no, no, I'm saying it feels like. See, I have enough on my hands. I don't have to take this up.

I've taken this up because as a generation of people, if we don't do this now, if we don't do thrown, tho, and they. to to the 20, 30 years time. This needs to happen now. So we want everybody to talk about soil for 100 days in their own terms. If they don't know anything, we will provide a massive amount of information on our website, they can pick it up and use it as their own or they can research themselves whichever way they want. If they don't know anything else to say save soil, if they don't know anything else to say, just, just, just, just, just, just, just, just, just, just, just, just, just, just, just, just, just, just, just, just, just, just, just, just, just, just, just, just, just, just, just, just, just, just, just, just, just, just, just, just, just say, just say, just say, just say, just say, just say, just, just, just say, just say, just say, just say, just their their their their their their their their their their their their their their. their, their. If their, their. If their, their. their, their, their. their, their, their, their, their their their their their, their their their their their their their thi. thi. thi. to thi. to thi. thoooooooo. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. the message to somebody, close it with safe soil. If you call somebody, say safe soil. Safe soil. It was great chatting to you, Sadguru. Save soil, my friend. Thank you very much for being here. It's really been wonderful

having you. For more information on Saadgurus' save soil movement, all you've got to do is visit the website below. Watch the daily show, weeknights, 10thc-central on comedy, and, to, to, to, at 11, 10 Central on Comedy Central, and stream full episodes anytime on Paramount Plus. This has been a Comedy Central podcast. You may be tempted to skip this ad, but don't. Marketers want their audience to stick around. And with Paramount Ads Manager, you can advertise your business on the biggest shows on TV for 30 unskippable seconds. Run your ads in premium content on Paramount Ads Manager, you can advertise your business on the biggest shows on TV for 30 unskippable seconds. Run your ads in premium content on Paramount Plus and over 15 major networks with hitshows,

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