The soil pulses with a fantastic diversity of tiny organisms. They enable the survival of plants, and we humans depend on them as well. Microbes had been on Earth for a few billion years before other life forms developed. They "invented" almost everything that makes life what it is. They are intricately woven into our existence, where cooperation and competition are often indistinguishable, forming a constantly changing web of relationships.

How do ancient, forty-meter-high oaks communicate in their treetops? With what scents do they warn their kind or attract birds? Are trees even sensitive to the moon?

Ants, on the other hand, are by no means mere automatons. There are brave, lazy, and anxious ones, and the functioning of an ant colony depends on their communication with each other. Cows also have a well-developed body language, which can save a lot of stress and work for both the animals and the farmers when understood.

What do these new scientific findings mean for our nutrition and agriculture? Florianne Koechlin interviewed numerous experts for her new book and consistently received the same answer: diversity, soil health, and local cycles are the recipe for tomorrow.