Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
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grew it; in fact, only about 10 percent does. The rest is profits for the input
and marketing segments of agriculture. This squeezing of farmers, paying
for seed, fertilizer, machinery, and chemical inputs, and earning so little per
bushel or per pound, while the transportation and marketing firms earn so
much, makes one wonder about the value of food in American society. “In
other words, it may be difficult for a society that does not respect its farmers
to respect its food” (Halweil 2000, 18). Taking that one step farther, it is easy
to conclude that Americans have placed very little value on rural regions.
Organic farming provides an opportunity for farmers to maintain rural life
and for consumers to care about food, and for both to consciously decide
to grow/buy organic food that will help sustain rural America.
In addition to the numerous social problems caused by the industrial
agricultural system, there are also major concerns with agrichemicals. Pes-
ticide use has complex ecological, economic, social, political, and ethical
implications (Pimentel and Lehman 1993). Adoption of organic farming
allows farmers to stop using these dangerous chemicals, which have such
devastating human health and environmental effects.
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PE
STICIDE CONCERNS
It is important to understand the magnitude of the pesticide issue. Ac-
cordingtotheEPA, there are more than 865 active ingredients registered
as pesticides that are used to create the thousands of pesticide products
currently available. About 350 pesticides are commonly used on the foods
we eat, in our homes, and on our pets (USEPA 1999).
People seem strangely trustful of modern agrichemicals. Even knowl-
edgeable folks will say, “DDT was dangerous, but it has been banned for
decades and new pesticides are much safer.” The problem is that DDT (and
numerous other chemicals) may have been banned, but it accumulates in
the fatty tissue of living creatures and degrades only slowly, so even today
most Americans still have detectable levels of DDT in their bodies. And sure,
we can assume the newer pesticides are “safer” because they don't accu-
mulate in the soil or our bodies for as long as the older (organochlorines
or chlorinated hydrocarbon) chemicals. But we are now bombarded with
hundreds of chemicals every day, and we do not know the cumulative effect
of so many artificial substances - acting individually or interacting as a
jumbled concoction within our bodies. Certainly we, as other organisms,
can adapt to environmental change over generations, but not in a few years.
Unfortunately, we don't have that much time. Just imagine little kids. Their
small bodies must fend off multiple chemical exposures each day: insect
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