Healthy Food Starts with Healthy Soil
Why Nestlé Purina is investing in soil health
By Diane Herndon, Senior Manager of Sustainability, Nestlé Purina
Did you know that there are more living organisms in a tablespoon of healthy soil than there are people living on the planet?
That boggles my mind. There is a whole universe of life beneath our feet, invisible except with a microscope. Those organisms are hard at work nourishing and protecting the plants that grow our food, filter our water, and store carbon. It’s easy to take soil for granted; I know I have. At times, I’ve even seen it as a nuisance when it sticks to my shoes and hands, or when my dog tracks it through the house on her paws. But I’ve learned that we couldn’t live without healthy soil.
As I’ve dug deeply (pun intended!) into how to continually improve the impact that Purina pet food has on the environment, soil has risen to the top. A life cycle assessment of Nestlé Purina U.S. showed that our biggest environmental impact happens before the ingredients even reach our production facilities. Since we don’t own the farms or fisheries where our quality ingredients are grown or raised, we partner with growers and organizations along the supply chain to address challenges together.
