Federal Farm Subsidies are Threatening Healthy and Sustainable Food Production

EWG | Ken Cook | When you think of America's farmland, you probably picture waving fields of wheat and lush green stands of corn. But the reality is often quite different. A just-released EWG study called Losing Ground shows that our nation's broken farm policy is harming the productive soils that are the foundation of healthy and sustainable food production.

Losing Ground, based on innovative new research by scientists at Iowa State University -- and featured in The New York Times -- shows what industrial-scale crop production is doing to the land we depend on for our food. As part of this eye-opening report, EWG filmed Iowa farmland losing soil after recent rainstorms and created a short video (with Atlas Films) that highlights how federal farm subsidies and ethanol mandates are threatening healthy and sustainable food production.

If you are concerned about the food that you and your family eat and the water you drink, this is a video that you cannot miss.

But what does this mean for us and, more importantly, our food and water?

Sadly, across wide swaths of Iowa and other Corn Belt states, the rich, dark soil that made the region the nation's breadbasket is being swept away at rates many times higher than official estimates. This runoff carries with it a potent cargo of fertilizers, pesticides and manure that flows into local creeks and streams and eventually the water many people drink.

Misguided farm subsidies reward the largest and wealthiest growers of commodity crops -- corn, wheat, rice, cotton and soy –- and encourage all-out production with little regard for the health of our soil and water. Chronically underfunded programs that help farmers conserve soil and protect water can't stand up against the pressure to plant fencerow-to-fencerow.

The good news is that simple and traditional conservation practices work. As much as 97 percent of soil loss is preventable by simple measures like planting strips of grass or trees on the edge of crop fields, streams or along the contours of hills.

Article Source





   

You may also be interested in reading:

Food Is Power and the Powerful Are Poisoning Us
The way we eat is trashing the fragile conditions that make human life possible
It's Time to Throw Out the Throwaway Economy
How Much Weed Killer Is Safe in Your Water Glass?
Food for the Soul
Toxins in Lake Michigan fish linked to diabetes
Consumerism is 'Eating the Future'
Pesticide link to childhood leukemia
A Chemical Reaction - Trailer of Lawn Chemical Documentary
Parkinson's linked to high levels of pesticide in the body
Consumerism is 'Eating the Future'
Food Inc.
How Plants Protect Us From Disease
Advance Toward Producing Biofuels Without Stressing Global Food Supply
The Future of Food
Air "Fresheners" Actually Releasing Toxins into Your Home
How Much Weed Killer Is Safe in Your Water Glass?
Flow: For Love of Water
Advance Toward Producing Biofuels Without Stressing Global Food Supply
Toxic Soup of Plastic Debris, Twice the Size of Texas, Discovered in the Pacific Ocean

POWERED BY: WWW.THEBETTERHEALTHSTORE.COM
Information presented at theBetterHealthStore.com is for educational purposes only; statements about products and health conditions have not been evaluated by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration. The Better Health Store (thebetterhealthstore.com) is provided "as is." By using this website, you agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless thebetterhealthstore, its owners, employees, and contributors from any damages that may arise, including damages from any third party noted, linked, or represented within this website. TheBetterHealthStore makes no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, as to the operation of this website, nor the information, content, materials, or products included within this website, nor the information, content, materials, or products from any third party noted, linked, or represented within this website. TheBetterHealthStore will not be liable for any damages of any kind arising from the use of this website, nor from any third party noted, linked, or represented within this website. We reserve the right to make changes to these terms and conditions at any time.