TALKING POINTS: Sustainable Agriculture

What are the effects of industrial food production?

In the U.S., approximately 40% of all chemical fertilizers applied to fields eventually changes into ammonia and is released into the atmosphere.

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

Nitrogen that runs off croplands into the Mississippi River and its tributaries has been implicated as a major cause of a "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico. This zone suffers from hypoxia--a dearth of dissolved oxygen. Excess nutrients fuel algal blooms by speeding up the algae's growth and decay cycle. This depletes oxygen in the water, killing off immobile bottom dwellers and driving off sea life such as fish and shrimp. In 1999, the Gulf's dead zone grew to 20,000 km2 (about the area of New Jersey), its largest recorded size.

Chemical fertilizers can gradually increase the acidity of the soil until it begins to impede plant growth.

It has been estimated that only 0.1% of applied pesticides reach the target pests, leaving the bulk of the pesticides (99.9%) to impact the environment.

The number of honeybee colonies on U.S. farmland dropped from 4.4 million in 1985 to less than 1.9 million in 1997, in large part due to direct and indirect effects of pesticides. Exposure to pesticides can weaken honeybees' immune systems and can also disrupt their reproduction and development.

Honeybees are involved in the pollination of at least $10 billion worth of U.S. crops providing farmers with an essential "natural service."

Pesticide exposures have compromised immune function in dolphins, seals, and whales.

Agriculture affects water resources in two ways: irrigating fields using surface waters or aquifers diverts water from other potential uses; and when farming practices pollute surface waters and aquifers, they reduce the amount of water that is suitable for other uses.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has blamed current farming practices for 70% of the pollution in the nation's rivers and streams. The agency reports that runoff of chemicals, silt, and animal waste from U.S. farmland has polluted more than 173,000 miles of waterways.

ENERGY USE

The food production system accounts for 17% of all fossil fuel use in the United States, and the average U.S. farm uses 3 kcal of fossil energy in producing 1 kcal of food energy. Meat production uses even more energy.

In the typical feedlot system--where a little more than one-half of the cattle's feed is grain--the fossil energy input is about 35 kcal/kcal of beef protein produced.

In addition, the road from the farm to the dinner plate is an energy-intensive one because transporting, processing, and packaging our food requires large amounts of fuel.

BIOENGINEERING OF FOOD

In 2002, more than 100 million acres of bioengineered crops were planted in the world.

Approximately 70% of processed foods in U.S. grocery stores contain bioengineered ingredients.

More than 75% of soybeans grown in the U.S. in 2003 were bioengineered.

Herbicide tolerant crops have created weed shifts and weed resistance, causing pesticide use to increase by 70 million pounds between 1996 and 2003.⁶ (Proponents of genetic engineering claim that this technology helps protect the environment by enabling farmers to reduce the amount of pesticides applied to crops.

A study of over 8,200 university field trials showed that farmers growing GE soybeans use 2 to 5 times more weed killer than farmers growing natural varieties.

ECONOMIC IMPACTS

According to a study performed by researchers from the Department of Economics at the University of Essex, the annual cost of environmental damage caused by industrial farming in the U.S. is $34.7 billion.

In 1996, the agriculture industry received $68.7 billion in subsidies from the U.S. government; this is the equivalent of $259 per consumer.

In 2000, $500 billion was granted to food exporters and an additional $90 billion was given to companies that advertise food products abroad.

3% of U.S. farms generate 62% of all agricultural production.

91 cents of each dollar spent at traditional food stores goes to suppliers, processors, middlemen, and marketers; only 9 cents of each dollar actually goes to the farmer.

In the U.S., a wheat farmer can expect to receive about 6 cents of each dollar spent on bread; this is approximately equal to the cost of the wrapping.

HUMAN HEALTH

According to the Centers for Disease Control, foodborne disease causes 76 million illnesses, 325,000 hospitalizations, and 5,000 deaths in the U.S. every year.

In 2000, poor diet and physical inactivity caused 400,000 deaths in the United States, second only to tobacco as the leading preventable cause of death.

Pollution from factory farms is harming the health of both workers and residents living downstream or downwind from these operations.

New strains of foodborne pathogens (e.g., Listeria and toxigenic Escherichia coli) have emerged in recent years, and long recognized pathogens have been causing more widespread harm.

The nonmedical use of antibiotics in animal agriculture may be threatening the effectiveness of antibiotics in treating human disease by creating selective pressure for the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Genetically engineered foods present risks of new allergens in the food supply and may be harmful to immune systems and vital organs.

These phenomena are due, in part, to production and processing methods that emphasize economic efficiency but do not give sufficient priority to public health or the environment.

Pesticide residues enter our bodies through air, water, and food and raise risks for certain cancers as well as reproductive and endocrine system disorders.

Concentrated, high-speed meat production leads to a greater risk from foodborne pathogens, some of them newly emerging.

Why Sustainable Agriculture? What is Sustainable Agriculture?

WHAT DOES Sustainable MEAN?

Sustainable Agriculture integrates three main goals--environmental health, economic profitability, and social and economic equity.... Sustainability rests on the principle that we must meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Sustainable agriculture is a model of social and economic organization based on an equal vision of development which recognizes the environment and natural resources as the foundation of economic activity.

Agriculture is sustainable when it is ecologically sound, economically viable, socially just, culturally appropriate, and based on a holistic scientific approach.

Sustainable agriculture does not refer to a prescribed set of practices. Instead, it challenges producers to think about the long-term implications of practices and the broad interactions and dynamics of agricultural systems. It also invites consumers to get more involved in agriculture by learning more about and becoming active participants in their food systems.

A key goal is to understand agriculture from an ecological perspective--in terms of nutrient and energy dynamics, and interactions among plants, animals, insects and other organisms in agroecosystems--then balance it with profit, community and consumer needs.

FARMERS MARKETS

Farmers markets enable farmers to keep 80 to 90 cents of each dollar spent by the consumer.

IS SUSTAINABLE HEALTHIER?

Meat from pasture-raised animals is lower in calories and "bad" omega-6 fats and contains more of the "good" omega-3 and CLA fats that help fight disease and promote good health.

Free-range chickens have 21% less total fat, 30% less saturated fat and 28% fewer calories than their factory-farmed counterparts.

Eggs from poultry raised sustainably on pasture have 10% less fat, 40% more vitamin A and 400% more omega-3's.

Recent studies indicate that certain organic crops contain higher levels of nutrients, minerals, and antioxidants including vitamin C, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, and polyphenols.

SOME SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES:

Crop rotation.

By rotating two or more crops in a field, farmers interrupt pests' reproductive cycles and reduce the need for pest control. Rotations sometimes reduce the need for added fertilizer because one crop provides nutrients for the next crop.

Cover crops.

Cover crops are planted to improve soil quality, prevent soil erosion, and minimize weed growth. Some cover crops can also generate income.

No-till and low-till farming.

These farming systems are based on the premise that minimizing disturbances to the soil will increase the retention of water, nutrients, and the topsoil itself. Between 1980 and 1993, the amount of land under conservation tillage increased from < st="on">U.S. farmland.

Soil management.

Good stewardship of the soil involves managing its chemical, biologic, and physical properties. Industrial agriculture has tended to emphasize the chemical properties of soil, to the detriment of the other two.

An acre of healthy soil can contain 4 tons of organisms, which make up the soil's ecosystem. Organic matter and compost are food for beneficial bacteria, fungi, nematodes, and protozoa.

If managed properly, these soil organisms perform vital functions that aid in plant growth. Healthy soil produces plants that are more vigorous and therefore less susceptible to pests.

Diversity.

Growing a variety of crops provides a buffer against both ecologic and economic problems.

Monocultures are more vulnerable to pests as well as to fluctuations in market price. Crop variety can also create more niches for beneficial insects.

Nutrient management.

After monitoring the soil content of nitrogen and other nutrients, farmers can prevent runoff into adjacent waters--and also save money on purchased fertilizers--by applying only what the plants and soil can absorb, with no excess.

Integrated pest management.

An integrated pest management (IPM) system prefers biologic methods and uses (least-toxic) chemical pesticides only as a last resort.

To keep destructive insects under control, an IPM emphasizes crop rotations, intercropping, and other methods of disrupting pest cycles, as well as plant varieties that have high resistance to pests. IPM also uses insect predators, as well as biopesticides such as Bt. As of 1994, coordinators of the federal IPM program were reporting that more than 40,000 farmers in 32 states have made significant reductions in their use of synthetic chemical pesticides by implementing practices associated with sustainable agriculture.

Rotational grazing.

By continually moving animals to different grazing areas, rotational grazing prevents soil erosion by maintaining sufficient vegetative cover. It also saves on feed costs, averts the manure buildup of concentrated animal feeding operations, and contributes to soil fertility.

**80% of the nearly two million farms in the US are small farms, many of which are family owned.

VISIT the websites below for more facts and information about Industrial versus Sustainable Agriculture:
Grace Factory Farm Project
John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health: Center for a Livable Future
Fatal Harvest Fact Sheet