Circular Economy Podcast 164 Louis De Jaeger: our futures depend on healthy soils
Healthy soils provide the foundation for life on our planet, and yet most agriculture degrades soil. Nurturing soil should be at the top of all our priority lists, and Louis De Jaeger—author of the new book ‘SOS: Save Our Soils, How regenerative farming can save your health and the planet’ — helps us understand why it’s so important, and what we can do about it.
Louis says his life mission is to regenerate 550 million hectares of land, to cool down the planet, save biodiversity, end hunger, and create world peace.
For the past twelve years, Louis De Jaeger has travelled extensively through North America, all the way to Panama, through Europe, South America and Africa. Along the way, he’s visited farms and interviewed a wide range of people, from pioneering regenerative farmers to corporate lobbyists, and explored one central question: How can we feed the world without destroying it?
Louis says, “To be honest, it really took a while to find clear answers on what the best way is to shape the future of food.” He is grateful for insights he couldn’t have dreamed of, and he shares them in SOS: Save Our Soils. Louis says the book is a manifesto, a global quest, and an invitation for all of us to step into the most critical conversation of our time: the future of food.”
Healthy soils are probably the most important element in our system – they are essential for nurturing us, nurturing the living systems we depend on, for drawing down carbon, for providing clean air and water, and much more. Every one of us, and every business, depends on soil – Louis De Jaeger explains why this is an SOS, and what we can do about it.
International speaker, author and strategic advisor, Catherine Weetman helps people discover why circular, regenerative and fair solutions are better for people, planet – and prosperity.
Catherine’s award-winning book: A Circular Economy Handbook: How to Build a More Resilient, Competitive and Sustainable Business includes lots of practical examples and tips on getting started.
Stay in touch for free insights and updates…
Read on for more on our guest and links to the people, organisations and other resources we mention.
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Links we mention in the episode:
Links for our guest:
- Louis De Jaeger’s website louisdj.com
- Louis De Jaeger on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/louisdejaeger/
- SOS: Save our Soils on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FF3R1NKK
Books, people and organisations we mentioned
- Catherine’s Paul Hawken quote is from his book Regeneration: ending the climate crisis in one generation https://paulhawken.com/
Catherine’s work:
- Circular Economy Podcast on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/showcase/circular-economy-podcast/
- Circular Economy Podcast website: circulareconomypodcast.com
- Catherine Weetman on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/catherine-weetman-9419107/
- A Circular Economy Handbook: How to Build a More Resilient, Competitive and Sustainable Business – buy from any good bookseller, or direct from the publisher Kogan Page, which ships worldwide (free shipping to UK and US) https://www.koganpage.com/CircEcon2
- Interactive podcast index https://www.rethinkglobal.info/circular-economy-podcast-index/
- Rethink Global www.rethinkglobal.info
- Sign up to get the podcast player and shownotes for each new episode emailed to your inbox
Guest bio
Louis De Jaeger is an award-winning documentary filmmaker, author and international keynote speaker. His landscape architecture firm Commensalist handles regeneration projects worldwide, from simple gardens to agricultural estates to private islands.
He is a leading voice on climate change, regenerative agriculture and landscape design. What sets him apart is his refusal to judge—instead, he seeks understanding to build bridges between different worlds.
About the book – SOS: Save Our Soils
You’re in the supermarket with two crying children, an organic tomato in your left hand and a non-organic one in the right. A complex choice: which is better for you and your children, and why? Your three meals a day determine your health and shapes our planet’s health and future too.
Every cent spent is a vote for either destruction or regeneration. What kind of food production system could we create that would benefit? These are questions that Louis De Jaeger has been wrestling with since the age of eighteen. He takes you on a rollercoaster ride from New York to the south of France and from Central America to the deserts of Morocco, consulting farmers, activists, professors, top doctors and foodies, and he isn’t afraid to confront Bayer and Monsanto to find answers.
Discover the fascinating relationship between plants and soil creatures. How can agricultural methods influence the climate and weather? How should we tackle issues like organic farming, GMOs and nitrogen? How should we interpret protests by farmers? But most importantly, how can you be part of the solution?
The book’s foreword is written by Allan Savoury, one of the foremost voices on regenerative farming, and SOS: Save our Soils has received lots of praise from the sustainability, food and farming worlds.
Playlist: getting started with the circular economy…
Want to know more about the what the circular economy really is, and how it can help your business? Here’s a playlist to help you get to grips with the concept, how it creates value, and the common myths (spoiler alert – it’s much more than recycling!)
- #1 What is the circular economy: A quick intro to explain what the circular economy is and why it’s important. We explore how it helps create better products and services, and at the same time helps to make a better world. I break it down into my 5 circular economy components, helping you think about each part of your business.
- #2 The linear economy and your risk checklist: We dig a bit deeper into the way we do business now, the linear economy, and why that’s creating problems for business, society and our living planet. Also, we’ll look at the risks that emerge from those big-picture issues, and how they might affect your organisation.
- #90 Does circular mean it’s sustainable? Catherine Weetman is worried that companies are using circular economy solutions to grow their business (and their footprints).
- #101 Circular is better for people, planet and profit! How three simple strategies can help you get started with circular and regenerative solutions that are better for people, planet and profit.
- #120 Priorities are changing: people find life is better when we care for and share things – circular economy strategies make that better for business, too.
And here’s Catherine’s guide: What is the circular economy?
Want to dig deeper?
Why not buy Catherine’s award-winning book, A Circular Economy Handbook: How to Build a More Resilient, Competitive and Sustainable Business. This comprehensive guide uses a bottom-up, practical approach, and includes hundreds of real examples from around the world, to help you really ‘get’ the circular economy. Even better, you’ll be inspired with ideas to make your own business more competitive, resilient and sustainable.
Please let us know what you think of the podcast – and we’d love it if you could leave us a review on iTunes, or wherever you find your podcasts. Or send us an email…
Please let us know what you think of the podcast – and we’d love it if you could leave us a review on iTunes, or wherever you find your podcasts. Or send us an email…
Podcast music
Thanks to Belinda O’Hooley and Heidi Tidow, otherwise known as the brilliant, inventive and generous folk duo, O’Hooley & Tidow for allowing me to use the instrumentals from the live version of Summat’s Brewin’ as music for the podcast. You can find the whole track (inspired by the Copper Family song “Oh Good Ale”) on their album, also called Summat’s Brewin’. Or, follow them on Twitter.