[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 198 (Tuesday, December 5, 2017)]
[House]
[Page H9631]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             WORLD SOIL DAY

  (Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise today on World Soil 
Day to highlight the importance of soil quality for our food security, 
healthy ecosystems, and overall well-being.
  As vice chair of the House Agriculture Committee and chairman of the 
Nutrition Subcommittee, I know firsthand the importance of good 
management practices to keep this essential resource healthy.
  This year's theme is ``caring for the planet starts from the 
ground.'' Globally, 815 million people are food insecure and 2 billion 
people are nutritionally insecure, but we can mitigate this through 
soil health.
  Mr. Speaker, 95 percent of our food comes from soil. Soil is a finite 
resource, and on a human scale, it is nonrenewable. However, despite 
the essential role that soil plays in human livelihood, there is a 
worldwide increase in the degradation of soil resources due to 
inappropriate management practices, population pressure driving 
unsustainable intensification, and inadequate governance over this 
essential resource.
  World Soil Day 2017 aims to raise awareness of the importance of 
sustaining healthy ecosystems and human well-being by addressing the 
increasing challenges in soil management. Today we encourage people 
around the world to engage in proactively improving soil health.
  Happy World Soil Day.

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