INDUSTRIAL AGRICULTURE – HOW CHEMICALS AND GMOS ARE KILLING YOU AND THE ENVIRONMENT

The Homestead Act of 1862 was an attempt to incentivize the migration of people to the western parts of the United States by offering settlers 160 acres of land in exchange for them heading west and becoming farmers and ranchers. Most of these people had little experience in these vocations but nonetheless jumped at the opportunity for free land and the dream of a better life. My own family was one of those that headed west and they settled in rural Arkansas with their own plot of land. Many people of this era were deeply religious. They believed in “Manifest Destiny” which was the idea that The United States was destined by God to expand its dominion, democracy, and capitalism across the North American continent. 

What made the settlement of America so unique was the expanse of the region, nearly unlimited natural resources, fertile land, and the relative lack of large populations and cities. But despite the potential of this new land, life was very difficult for these early Americans.

Farming quickly became not only a way to feed your own family, but also a large scalable business where farmers could grow wheat, corn, and beans in what is called “row crops” to help feed others back in the east and abroad. Until 1930 this was a great idea that seemed to have no limits as large farms distributed their crops through grain elevators and a rapidly improving railroad transportation system. With the invention of the combustion engine, powerful tractors replaced horses and farmers could now plow up more land than previously possible.

Rising wheat prices in the 1910’s and 1920’s encouraged farmers to plow up millions of acres of fertile grasslands across the midwest to plant more and more row crops. But this quickly turned into a massive catastrophe as year after year more top soil was lost due to wind and water erosion. The beautiful and sustainable grasslands that covered most of the midwest quickly disappeared and were replaced by row after row of mono-crops. The deep roots of prairie grasses and the microbial life that binds soil together were quickly becoming lost and dark rich soil that was ALIVE was replaced by a rocky, sandy, and lifeless blend that was susceptible to wind and water erosion.

While the standard of living in the United States rapidly improved and life became much easier storms were brewing that would give the United States a major setback.

The 1920’s were a decade of decadence as many people became wealthy and lived a blissful life. But our economy had structural flaws which ultimately caught up with us and led to the stock market crash in 1929 and a run on banks. This was followed by falling wheat and corn prices, and simultaneously, a long-lasting drought that started in 1930. The result was not only an economic disaster but an ecological one as well.

As crops began to fail in 1931 the over-plowed cropland exposed bare top soil that no longer had the deep roots of prairie grasses to hold its soil in place. Unfortunately, we entered a period of drought and the exposed soil began to blow away in massive dust storms with an estimated 35 million acres of farmland rendered useless by 1934. Another 125 million acres of land, an area nearly as large as Texas, was on the verge of becoming useless as well as “Black Blizzards” of dust spread top soil as far away as the east coast in billowing clouds of dust that would darken the sky for days at a time. Midwestern states such as Oklahoma and Kansas lost huge parts of their population in one of the largest migrations of people in our history as these settlers lost everything and in many cases simply packed up what they could and headed either east or west.

My family lived through this time and I have heard stories from my grandparents on just how difficult it was. Finding something to eat or clean drinking water was not to be taken for granted.

Fortunes changed by the late 1930’s as more rain began to fall and much of the land had been left alone to mend itself for many years. However, mankind did not seem to learn its lessons as by the 1940’s a new invention burst on to the scene that seemed to be a miracle. Modern Industrial Agriculture was born with the “miracle” of petroleum-based fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides.

Natural fertilizers have been around for thousands of years. Egyptians, Romans, Babylonians, and early Germans all used minerals and/or manure to enhance the productivity of their farms. Crops were often burned as a field treatment to remove unwanted vegetation and produce nutrients. Fire breaks down that plant matter and releases the nutrients so they are available to the soil and can help promote future plant growth.

In the 19th century, guano and manure, which had been known and used in the Americas for at least 1,500 years, were taken in large quantities to Europe and the United States. However this was not practical or sustainable and ended abruptly as the “miracle” of synthetic petroleum-based fertilizers, pesticides, and weed killers were made readily available by large petrochemical companies. These were seen as miracle cures for our depleted and over-plowed soil and allowed farmers to grow more food than ever before. This was termed the “Green Revolution”.

These chemicals allowed farmers and gardeners to quickly grow plants in relatively poor soil conditions by enriching the depleted soil and warding off insects. Scientists simply replaced nature and came to the belief that they knew better than God. And for the past 80 years the process of plowing, planting, fertilizing, and harvesting have become the norm for larger and larger corporate farms. But such benefits haven’t come without environmental costs—namely the wholesale pollution of most of our streams, rivers, ponds, lakes, and even coastal areas, as these synthetic chemicals run off into the nearby waterways and pollute everything in their path.

Since soil in large corporate controlled farms is no longer alive, as nature intended it to be, it now must have these synthetic petroleum-based additives in order to grow plants and vegetables. The soil as it is does not have the needed ingredients and a side-by-side comparison of soil from a large corporate farm vs. that found on a small farm using natural “regenerative” methods is shocking. Soil as it is intended by nature is dark and rich and contains millions of earthworms and micro life forms. It has a pungent and compost-like smell. By contrast, the soil from a corporate farm is light-colored and sandy and looks like something from a desert. And it has very little or no smell.

Streams, ponds, rivers, and oceans are quickly clogged with excess dirt, silt, and chemicals as the soil is unable to bind together and prevent wind and water erosion. Algae blooms choke off waterways to the point the water is poisoned. When the algae die, they sink to the bottom and decompose in a process that removes oxygen from the water. Fish and other aquatic species can’t survive in these so-called “dead zones” and so they die as their natural habitat is destroyed. In addition, when those chemicals get into waterways, fish ingest them and become diseased, and should humans eat these diseased fish, which is becoming harder and harder to avoid, people can themselves become ill or develop cancer, thus completing the circle wrought by pollution. Numerous studies have found that wild salmon and other fish have dozens of synthetic chemicals in their systems.

The other downsize that is not as obvious – but perhaps is the worst downside of all – is that the fruits and vegetables produced on corporate farms using synthetic fertilizers do not have the necessary vitamins and minerals needed by our bodies to ward off inflammation, illness and disease. In my opinion, this is the number one reason for the tremendous increase in cancer rates.

So what are we to do? The solution is simple and starts with no longer using synthetic fertilizers and outlawing the main herbicide used (glyphosate), best known by its commercial name of “Round Up”. Part of the solution as well is getting people out of our big cities and back on the land where we increase the number of small natural and organic farms. Organic farmers and gardeners use composted manure and other natural materials, as well as crop rotation, to help improve soil fertility and control insects and pests. As a result, these practices protect ground water supplies, avoid runoff of chemicals, and produce healthier and more nutrient dense plants, vegetables, and fruits.

Let me be clear. I am not a fan of the “Green New Deal” our current administration is forcing on us. We are in no position to end fossil fuels as quickly as they are pushing for. However, we do need to look at how we could have a long term plan to ween us off fossil fuels and all the chemicals noted in this article. It will take time but it starts with a rational and non partisan strategy and understanding of what is truly going on. A wealth of information on growing food as nature intended can be found online by checking the many farmers such as Greg Judy, Gabe Brown, or White Oak Pastures on YouTube. Or check out a host of websites such as: