Agribusiness
Agribusiness creates up to ¼ of global greenhouse pollution.
Pollution from mega-giant JBS, "one of the biggest beef processors,"
“comes from cows, which produce methane” & "open air manure lagoons.”
“America’s biggest source of water pollution [is] … farms
— especially [ones with] cows, pigs, and chickens.”
Farms “generate nearly 2.5 billion pounds of waste every day
— around twice as much as people.”
"Limiting the impact of climate change ... would mean major changes for agriculture —
from how we farm, to how we eat and waste food ...
[which would] require action by the more than two billion people employed in agriculture."
“Toiling under difficult ... conditions, [farm] workers ... gamble with their health.”
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By OSU Special Collections & Archives : Commons - Indian woman picking huckleberries, No restrictions, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28068835
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Current agricultural practices pollute the atmosphere, and the water.
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"In the US, agricultural pollution is the top source of contamination in rivers and streams."
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Cattle farming underlies much of the ... logging and burning of the Brazilian rainforest.
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“Pesticides ... and pollution are major ... factors in the ... decline of ... soil organisms.”
Agribusiness is big!
And they’re "always looking ... to cut costs and improve profits.”
Some of the biggest "agro-chemical” corporations are:
Syngenta (Chem-China), Corteva (Dow/DuPont), Bayer (Monsanto), and BASF, which sell poisons.
For more on agribusness ethics, see the Investments page.
Regenerative agriculture can work exceptionally well:
No till - “Minimize soil disturbance ... farmers seed directly into the soil.
Maintain soil cover: farmers leave crop residues after harvesting, or grow cover crops.
Manage crop rotation: farmers change what is grown and where.”
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Grow organic:
Chemical fertilizers use methane gas to make nitrogen, which helps provide an agricultural bounty!
However, methane and nitrous oxide pollute air and water - increasingly so every year.
By replacing "chemical fertilisers ... with high-quality organic fertilisers, half ...
of agricultural ghg emissions could be prevented while simultaneously building” healthy soil.
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Pasture grazing:
These methods “protect soil, avoid emissions ... sequester carbon,”
and help keep local watersheds clean.
One example: "Agroforestry is a land use management system in which trees or shrubs
are grown around or among crops or pastureland."
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Also see: Agrivoltaics regarding bees & broccoli and solar panels!
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Regenerative farming may not work for everyone, however:
“When fields aren’t tilled, pesticides are often used to kill weeds."
Some “farmers who planted ... cover crops in a given year, failed to do so in subsequent years.”
Factory food workers are often mistreated, and the factories create "greenhouse gases & other pollutants."
"Vote with your dollar."
Eat "fresh fruits and vegetables.”
"Buy ... local."
Go for "lentils and beans."
Farming isn't always easy, but you and I can easily change what we eat.
As meat production expands, workers struggle in slaughterhouses, meat packing plants, and in fields.
"Slaughterhouse workers experience depression ... 4 times higher than ... average."
"Slaughterhouse workers’ overall propensity-for-aggression ... scores are high."
"To ... shift ... our food choices ... goes against
... culture ... habit, and appetite."
Beef is the worst. Don't buy it. “The ultimate
driver of beef price is consumer demand.”
"'If slaughterhouses had glass walls, we’d all be vegetarians', Paul McCartney".
Maybe you want to stop the cruelty?
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“The meat industry [employs] ... impoverished and exploited workers; many [are] ... immigrants
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who ... never complain about ... working conditions or cruelty ... for fear of being deported.”
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“Undercover video ... shows workers shocking, kicking and shoving debilitated cattle with forklifts.”
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“Cattle ... can have [body] parts ... cut off without pain relief."
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"To watch a cow die in a rendering plant is ... horror ... [with] the ... approval of Congress.”
For more on food-related topics, go to Ask Marion.
Marion Nestle is thoroughly knowledgeable and makes timely blog postings regarding
“the politics of personal dietary choices ... community food issues and ... global food systems.”
"The food industry's primary job is to sell products and return profits to stockholders.”
For more on famine, see the Collapse page; on industry corruption, the Corruption page.
For more on subsidies to giant Agribusinesses, see the Political Influence page.
There's still time to change the road you're on.