The headlines are full of stories about migration, food and climate change – soil, perhaps unsurprisingly, barely gets a mention in these stories, yet it is crucial to understanding all three issues.

Shockingly, the UK estimates that there are only 100 harvests left in its soil. More than 300 civil organisations, under the umbrella of People 4 Soil, are therefore launching a European Citizens’ Initiative this autumn, calling for soil to be protected everywhere in Europe.

The link between migration, climate change and soil may not be obvious at first, but researchers have shown that while some people leave their homes because of war, others are forced to trek halfway across the world because the increasingly poor state of their soils leaves them unable to produce food.