To set the scene, here’s a poem by the wonderful Matt Harvey:
Much Ado about Nothing
Don’t spoil the soil. You’ll foil the toil
of all who shuffle round this mortal coil.
Clean it from under your nails and off vegetable skin,
but keep it clean from poisons for the planet to win
Because soil, after all, is under all of us
Quiet, dark, still, full of teeming life
Where would we be without soil?
Realm of roots and mycorrhiza, dark world of interaction
Last week this worm shifted six tons of soil. No biggie. You’re welcome.
Esso, I’ll be pleased if you leave Earth’s oil under the soil
Soil let’s not spoil all that you are
Loads of living bits, all from a star
May there be no impediment
To the enrichment of your sediment
Let me lie in the soil – soft, warm, dark and sexy
Soil you taste so good
According to Tim Smit, of the Eden Project, (and I’m sorry I have not been able to find the source), we are genuine Earthlings as the microbes in the soil are the same as those in humans. All the more reason to return our bodies when we die, in our completeness, to the real creator of all living things. In the words of Satish Kumar “It is a sin to deny the earth your cauliflower stalk” (or your body… the same thing?)