THE DARK SIDE OF MODERN AGRICULTURE

Our grandparents farmed to feed families.

Today, much of modern agriculture is designed to feed industries. There is a difference.

For years, farmers saved seeds from one harvest to plant the next. Those seeds adapted to local climates, became more resilient over generations, and preserved biodiversity.

Today, many commercial farmers purchase hybrid or genetically modified seeds every season. Some modern seed varieties do not reliably produce offspring with the same desirable characteristics if replanted, making farmers dependent on buying new seed year after year.

In some countries, patents also protect certain genetically engineered seeds, limiting how they can be reused.

Then comes the chemicals. Fields are sprayed with herbicides, pesticides, fungicides and synthetic fertilizers on a scale humanity has never seen before.

One of the best known herbicides is glyphosate, widely used around the world. Its safety and long term health and environmental effects remain the subject of ongoing scientific and regulatory debate, but there is broad concern about heavy reliance on chemical intensive farming and its impact on biodiversity, soil health, and the evolution of herbicide resistant weeds.

Instead of making farming work with nature, we are making nature work around chemicals.

Some crops have been developed to tolerate specific herbicides, allowing farmers to spray fields while leaving the crop alive. Irish potatoes are a very good example here.

Meanwhile, the soil is dying. Healthy soil is supposed to be alive with earthworms, fungi, bacteria, insects and countless microorganisms working together.

Modern farming often treats soil as nothing more than a medium to hold plants upright while chemicals supply “nutrients”.

Our grandparents knew another way;

+ They rotated crops.

+ They used animal manure.

+ They allowed land to rest.

+ They planted different crops together.

+ They controlled pests naturally. Sometimes with ash.

+ They welcomed beneficial insects instead of trying to eliminate everything that moved.

The result was healthier soils, more resilient crops and greater biodiversity.

Today we replace that living system with monocultures stretching for miles. One crop, one chemical program, one harvest year after year. Then we wonder why pollinators are disappearing. It’s difficult to see a butterfly today!

We are slowly becoming a sick generation and at the same time destroying our environment.

We must wake up. Go back to the basics.