164: Why we need to talk about soil

<div>The UN has described our degradation of soil being 'as important as climate change' yet soil is often overlooked when we talk about the threats to future generations. It's easy to degrade soil quickly, but not easy to repair the damage that is caused so what can be done to protect our precious resource for agriculture in the future?<br> <br> To find out we've assembled a panel of experts including Caroline Drummond, CEO, LEAF, Carl Edwards, Director of Education and Public Engagement, LEAF, and Dr Felicity Crotty, Lecturer in Soil Science, Royal Agricultural University. We'll discuss the scale of the challenge we face, what is happening now to raise awareness of the issues we're facing, and what we can do to fix our agriculture system. Join us for a fascinating and lively debate on Table Talk.<br> <br> <strong>About our panel<br> </strong><br> <strong>Caroline Drummond, CEO, LEAF <br> </strong><br> Caroline Drummond has been Chief Executive of LEAF since it started in 1991. After graduating in Agriculture she worked on farms in the UK and overseas before joining LEAF. She was awarded an MBE for services to the agricultural industry in 2009 and has a Doctor of Science honoris causa (Hon DSc) from Harper Adams University. Caroline is a CHAP Board member, a Nuffield Scholar and Honorary Fellow for the Society of the Environment.<br> <br> <strong>Carl Edwards – LEAF Education &amp; Public Engagement Director<br> </strong><br> Carl leads LEAF’s ambitious education and public engagement strategy that is enabling schools to enrich their curriculum and increase public understanding of our modern farming industry. Carl is ensuring that the agricultural industry listens to the voice of young people in shaping how we work with our future generation; being at the forefront of promoting an understanding of the Agricultural industry by teenagers, a long-overlooked audience. Previously, Carl was an Assistant Principal and completed his Master of Education degree at the University of Cambridge in 2014, which focused on impr