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The industrial world has converted inert soil and atmospheric nutrients into reactive fertilizer flows that endanger water quality, biodiversity and climate. Simultaneously, poor nations
starve because of the shortage of these nutrients in agricultural soils. Here we propose a redistribution of accumulated nutrients to enhance food security while counteracting the current
degradation of critical Earth system processes. Residue and sediment nutrients could be processed and transported to food-insecure regions through the opposite logistics used to ship rock
phosphate across the globe. Financing through trading accumulated rights could trigger the required innovations in processing, logistics and thinking. Such a socially just ‘one Earth
currency’ could leverage a transformation towards resilience, equity and dignity across the critical Earth system processes.
Sustainability Science, LUT University, Lappeenranta, Finland
Agricultural Soil Science, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
Leverhulme Centre for Anthropocene Biodiversity, University of York, York, UK
The Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
All authors contributed to the conceptualization and the writing of this paper.
Peer review information Nature Food thanks Will Brownlie, Zdravka Tzankova and the other, anonymous, reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work.
Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
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