Andrew DAversa CAS 100 Policy Speech

What you see on that screen, well, it seems to be an innocent ear of corn, but in reality, its harboring a dark secret. Behind this corn are huge wastes of precious resources and environmental harm on a grand scale. But, what is the root cause of all this trouble? It is the use, and overuse, of synthetic fertilizer by industrial farmers. And this problem, well, it isnt going away. It is a train that has derailed from the tracks of common sense and scientific fact, and , it will either crash and burn, possibly leading to starving world, or, it will get back on track, but only with a drastic change of course. Now, I admit, it isnt strikingly apparent how this problem relates to you, but remember, every bite you take, it is another step, another step towards a ruined nation, and in turn a ruined world, and this is the world that we all inhabit. And, I must also admit, Im no expert on farming, but I am a rational, intelligent human being, and thats what you need to analyze the facts and find a solution. So, how are we going to change this trains course? To put this train back on track, all we have to do is make the switch to sustainable forms of farming. But, before we talk about the solution, were going to take a look at the problem, how the use of synthetic fertilizer by industrial farmers is actually affecting us. Then, we can look at sustainable farming, what it is, what its benefits are, and how it solves industrial

agricultures worst harms. Finally, we will look at how we, as a nation, can make the switch to sustainable farming. So, what is industrial farming and what are the problems? Well, industrial farming is farming with a focus on huge output. They want as many crops as they can get out of each little patch of dirt they have. Now that, in itself, that isnt a bad idea. But, how they get there, thats where the problems lie. To get huge yields, they use huge amounts of fertilizer. Now, what exactly are the problems with this fertilizer? Well, the problems fall into two broad categories: inefficiency and environmental harm. Now, the inefficiency that is just simple math. Industrial farmers spread tons of fertilizer over their fields, and as Michael Pollan, a respected food writer, states in his 2006 book, The Omnivores Dilemma, we are putting more energy into our food than we are getting out (Pollan 46). Thats inefficient, and even though it has been 5 years since this book was published, the facts have not changed, industrial farming is still inefficient. Now, whats maybe a little harder to see is the environmental harm. Heres what happens, because there is too much fertilizer on the fields, much of it goes unused by the crops, and therefore it gets washed away. It finds its way to the Gulf of Mexico, and there, according to an April 2011 article by William Neuman of the New York Times, it creates a vast dead zone (Neuman). Carolyn Lochhead of the San Francisco Chronicle goes further in a July 2010 article, saying that this dead zone is now the size of the state of New Jersey. This dead zone steals all the oxygen from the water and leads to the death of any marine life in the area.

If the runoff doesnt find the Gulf, then it might find you, in your lakes, streams, rivers, or even in your water reservoirs, thats what Mireya Navarro said in a September 2010 article for the New York Times. You might end up finding these chemicals in the fish you eat or even the water at your bedside table. So now, the dark secret is revealed, and the state of farming in America looks pretty bleak, but there is a shining hope, sustainable agriculture. What is sustainable agriculture, though? After cutting through all the muck in the USDA definition last updated March of 2009, a sustainable farm is a farm that makes food, improves the environment, and uses renewable energy, like sunlight, and only small amounts of fossil fuels. There it is, the solution, easily and simply defined. But, how does it help us? How does it fix the problem? Well, sustainable farming is both efficient and environmentally friendly. It is the exact opposite of industrial farming. Instead of relying on fossil fuel-created fertilizer, it relies on the sun, which gives it all the energy it needs. We are gaining energy now instead of losing it. And, because this type of farm usually plants all year long, we arent losing a single calorie of energy from the sun. That, well that is efficiency. Now, sustainable farming, as a virtue of its definition, it enhances the environment. Instead of spreading synthetic fertilizer on their fields, they use waste from the farm, make compost, and fertilize with that. Basically, sustainable farmers are just helping nature run its course. And, since sustainable farmers plant all year long, they use winter crops to replenish nutrients used by summer crops. So, that troublesome synthetic

fertilizer, it never comes into the equation, so it never has the chance to ruin the environment. Some people, though, they still believe that sustainable farming is only a halfbake idea. Basically, sustainable farming cannot sustain the world. However, according to an assessment in March of this year by Mark Bittman of the New York Times, practicesperhaps best called sustainable can feed more people sooner, begin to repair the damage caused by industrial production and, in the long term, become the norm (Bittman). This assessment isnt just his half-baked idea, it is based upon the findings of a UN report on food. This UN report quite explicitly states that sustainable farming is the farming of the future and in fact, that it is necessary in order to feed our world. Now, if this doesnt satisfy you, maybe a November 2010 article by Tara ParkerPope from the New York Times will. She states that about a quarter to one-half of all food produced in the United States is wasted (Parker-Pope). Now, in America, food is not wasted because we cant properly store it, it is wasted out of choice. So, if we were just a little more frugal with our food, then we could easily make sure no one goes hungry. And there you have it, all the facts, laid honestly in front of you. Youve heard about the problem, that industrial agricultures use of synthetic fertilizer is inefficient and is destroying our world. But, all hope isnt lost, because there is a solution, sustainable agriculture. Sustainable agriculture rights all the wrongs of industrial farming. It is efficient, it is environmentally sound, and it can feed the world. And by simply buying sustainable produce, we can easily make sustainable farming the norm.

With sustainable farming, we can get this train back on the tracks, we can bring back common sense and scientific fact to our agricultural system. We can erase the scars that industrial farming has left on our land and on our water; we can heal our earth. With sustainable farming, this ear of corn, well, its just an ear of corn. There is nothing to hide, no dark secret, just a beautiful, healthy earth.

Works Cited Bittman, Mark. "Huh. Sustainable Farming Can Feed the World? - NYTimes.com." Opinion Opinionator - NYTimes.com. New York Times, 8 Mar. 2011. Web. 17 Apr. 2011. <http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/08/sustainablefarming/?ref=markbittman>. "Legal Definition of Sustainable Agriculture." National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). USDA, 18 Mar. 2009. Web. 17 Apr. 2011. <http://www.csrees.usda.gov/nea/ag_systems/in_focus/sustain_ag_if_legal.html>. Lochhead, Carolyn. "Dead Zone in Gulf Linked to Ethanol Production - SFGate." Featured Articles From The SFGate. San Francisco Chronicle, 06 July 2010. Web. 17 Apr. 2011. <http://articles.sfgate.com/2010-07-06/news/21939174_1_dead-zone-ethanol-productionoil-spill>. Navarro, Mireya. "Cleaner for the Environment, Not for the Dishes." EnvironmentNYTimes.com. New York Times, 18 Sept. 2010. Web. 17 Apr. 2011. <http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/19/science/earth/19clean.html?scp=5&sq=dish%20so ap&st=cse>. Neuman, William. "High Prices Sow Seeds of Erosion." Business Day-NYTimes.com. New York Times, 12 Apr. 2011. Web. 17 Apr. 2011. <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/13/business/13erosion.html?_r=1&scp=3&sq=gulf% 20dead%20zone&st=Search>. Parker-Pope, Tara. "From Farm to Fridge to Garbage Can - NYTimes.com." Health and Wellness - Well Blog - NYTimes.com. New York Times, 1 Nov. 2010. Web. 17 Apr. 2011. <http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/01/from-farm-to-fridge-to-garbagecan/?scp=6>. Pollan, Michael. The Omnivore's Dilemma: a Natural History of Four Meals. New York: Penguin, 2006. Print.