Fundamentals for a Paradigm Shift
Fertilizers Feed Plants and
Plants Feed People
Life on earth begins with plants that use sunlight as the source of
energy to convert inorganic water, carbon dioxide (CO2) and nutrients
into organic forms such as proteins, fats, sugars and vitamins. The
plant material is the basis of food for humans and animals. Sunlight
and CO2 are abundantly available, while water and the most beneficial
nutrients are often less available to plants, which leads to stunting or
stopping growth.
Toward feeding 10 billion people.
Human intervention, therefore, is essential to convert inert nutrient
molecules into reactive molecules to fertilize plants. Human ingenuity
led to the development of the Haber-Bosch process exactly one
hundred years ago. This process allows humans to convert inert N2
into reactive N as urea and ammonium fertilizers; a process that is
still in use today. Phosphorus, K and other nutrients are obtained
from mining, and with some basic chemical processing converted
into reactive nutrients for plant uptake. Crop yields have boomed
since the 1950s with the increased use of NPK-containing fertilizers
as a major driving force, along with improved crop varieties and crop
protection. These technological breakthroughs in biology, along with
auxiliary technologies like mechanization, are the pre-conditions that
allow us to feed all seven billion people today, with prospects to feed
over 10 billion in a sustainable manner.6
Life begins with plants that convert inorganic lifeless
material into organic compounds as food.
Under natural conditions, reactive nitrogen (N) for plant metabolism
is obtained from legumes that live in symbiosis with bacteria that
convert inert atmospheric N2 into usable form, a process known as
biological nitrogen fixation. Other nutrients, including phosphorus
(P), potassium (K) and micronutrients,5 become available only through
slow soil weathering. The productivity of plants under these natural
conditions remains low, at levels known from the most advanced
ancient civilizations such as in China [