Ecologist calls for soil quality to feature on food labels

The soil quality of the area that food has been grown in could be added to food labels, if one ecologist's ideas are put into practice.

Dr Christine Jones spoke at the Western Mineral Fertilisers Living Soils Conference in Perth recently and claimed that people would be able to make healthier choices if they knew what type of ground their produce was grown in, reported Farm Weekly.

She detailed her views on how a Soil Integrity Index could give the public a better idea of the mineral content of food.

The news provider quotes her as saying: "Whenever I mention it, it generates a lot of interest. People come up and talk to me about it and they all think we should have one. However, it is very difficult to progress the idea."

In her view, the Victoria government has not jumped on board yet, because soil quality issues are not sexy enough.

Dr Jones won a Community Fellowship Award from Land and Water Australia in 2001 and is an internationally-renowned ecologist, according to Renewable Soil.