Why Monoculture Is Bad

Soleil Navarro
College Prep
Mr. Pohl
April 14, 2017

Monoculture is bad Wondering about how our food is farmed isn’t a popular thing to do. I personally had never thought of the process until I read an article on the effects of monoculture. This made me realize that to get food for today we may be destroying the world tomorrow. By this I mean that the easy process of monoculture to yield large amounts of food is actually hurting us. When people think food they never quite stop and think about how it is produced and its effects on the environment. People live in the now, and seem to not care what it takes to receive instantaneous gratification of what is, food. The meaning of monoculture is self explanatory when you break
it down. It is the tilling of the land for one single crop. This process creates detrimental effects for essentially the world’s food supply. The problem is not just growing one particular crop, it’s the system (Foley). Monoculture is greatly affecting our health, environments ecosystem and the existing agriculture in a very negative way. Few people can argue that using monoculture crops is good for all of us. Those who could argue are most likely farmers. The advantage of using excessive amounts of land for one particular crop all has to do with money. “Any economist will tell you that specialisation is a good thing as it creates economies of scale that maximise profits and minimise costs. The same principle applies to agriculture”(Greentumble). The appeal for these farmers is to yield more of a single crop at a lower cost, while putting in minimal effort. In turn yes, it makes sense in the way that it is more efficient than simultaneously planting multiple crops, but it’s not worth it. One of the most monoculture crops is corn. The reason behind this is that corn is widely versatile when it comes to creating many products out of one. We can find corn in products ranging from corn syrup and corn oil to things such as adhesives and latex paint. Our nation is built on, and based on grains. These grains, such as corn lack an important fatty acid, which is Omega-3. These crops which lack in Omega-3’s are not only fed straight to us, but to our main livestock protein sources such as cows, chickens and pigs. Our beloved steaks, cornbread and buffalo wings are all hurting us because of the monoculture crops we feed the livestock. “Grain-based foods, and grain-fed livestock products are the root cause for most, if not all of today's major chronic diseases (body failings): Cancer, depression, obesity, allergies, autoimmune diseases such as lupus and arthritis, diabetes, asthma, and the list seems endless” (Sgbadmin). We the people are not aware of these situations because too many it’s not a big deal. This is our nourishment, our way to fuel our bodies and minds. Grain-based foods and grain-fed livestock are things we should not be putting in our body. The process of monoculture is affecting the foods we eat, in turn affecting our health. The process of yielding copious amounts of product quickly in most cases comes at a price. The use of pesticides ensures that no unwanted insects, weeds and other harmful plants damage the crops. I know for a fact that I do not want any nasty chemicals touching the food I’m ingesting. The negative effects pesticides have on our health made it even more convincing to me that spraying these monoculture crops with the chemicals is not worth it. With even the smallest amount of exposure the effects are astonishing. Not only do pesticides cause noxious diseases such as multiple kinds of cancer, but they have also been linked to cause endocrine disruption. Since the endocrine system is in charge of the reproductive system, it can cause infertility and birth defects. It does not end here, in addition to its affecting unborn babies, it affects children as well. Children are more susceptible to catching certain diseases, since their immune systems aren’t fully developed (The Problem). Becoming exposed to pesticides as a child can result in a weak nervous system. To yield more crop without losing a portion of it to bugs or disease, pesticides can be used. I believe that as a large monoculture, corn and other grains will be able to increase pesticide use on the crops. This would cause disease to increase as well. Monoculture crops are nothing new and have had negative effects for years. If not damaging our health, then how about the planet on which we live on? Most people can remember getting taught at some point about the Irish potato famine.
Taking place in Ireland, the potato was a main food source for the poor, and from the 1830’s-1840’s the “Irish Lumper” potato was grown on a large scale. This particular potato, however was overcome by a disease called late blight. Eventually almost the entire potato crop had become diseased leaving behind infertile soil for new crops to grow. With no potatoes the people starved which then caused the population in Ireland to crash (Kniss). No good comes out of taking up crazy amounts of land to plant one crop over and over again. When crops are repeatedly planted in the same place, the soil becomes nutrient deficient. The way to introduce these nutrients back into the soil is through chemical fertilizers. Having to use fertilizers on the same already damaged land causes the soil to become resistant to all the chemicals used. Because of this, stronger chemical filled fertilizers must be used. The issue with this is that at times this soil is dragged by rain water into the nearest body of water. This water later harms the ecosystem by poisoning its surrounding wildlife, creating oxygen deprived “dead zones”, as well as contributing to the global warming emissions
(Wilson). In turn, the bee, a very important little insect is being affected by monoculture pesticides. If you don’t think the bee is important, then you are most likely ill-informed or perhaps are just melissophobic. The bee is quite vulnerable to the neurotoxins in pesticides and often causes a bee colony to collapse. From a young child, I was taught that bees pollinate our flowers and crops. This is correct, but they are much more important than we think. Without our tiny black and yellow friends, we would not be able to enjoy some of the most delicious agricultural crops. We wouldn’t have any blueberries, cherries, almonds, cucumbers or apples. These powerful pollinators are responsible for around four hundred different types of agricultural plants, one third of which we highly rely on. Not only would our food source be affected, but our ecosystems as well. Bees also pollinate gorgeous flowers that create an aesthetically appealing landscape and habitat (Why Bees). Bees are outstanding creatures that provide us vegetables ,fruits, delicious honey and impressive landscapes. A world without them, would be a colorless and dull. Pesticides used on monoculture crops to keep away insects such as bees are greatly affecting the health of the ecosystem. Consequently, the harmful effects of monoculture are prevalent everywhere. The process used if continued could possibly eliminate hundreds of crops. Foods that we grew up loving and constantly seeing could be gone. The need for the use of chemicals is still a mystery to me. To consciously put these harmful chemicals in our food, is something only the farmers would know. If we are not even receiving the proper nutrition from the monoculture crops then why grow them? It is a long monopoly effect if our food continues to be grown in this matter. We will see a birth defects increase, bee population decrease, and the arable and fertile land would be gone. The solution is to grow our crops naturally and organically. By eliminating the harmful aspects of these crops, our bodies will be able to become properly nourished and our landscapes will be at their most beautiful. It’s a change that I would like to see at sometime while I am on this earth.

Works Cited
"Advantages and Disadvantages of Monoculture Farming." Greentumble - Together to Support Awareness & Conservation Activities.
N.p., 14 July 2016. Web. 05 May 2017.
Foley, Jonathan. "It's Time to Rethink America's Corn System." Scientific American. N.p., 05 Mar. 2013. Web. 05 May 2017.
Kniss, Andrew. "The Problem with Monoculture." Control Freaks. N.p., 17 Aug. 2013. Web. 05 May 2017.
"The Problem with Pesticides." The Problem with Pesticides | Toxics Action Center. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 May 2017.
Sgbadmin. "Corn, It's What's Bad for You." Slanker Grass-Fed Meat. N.p., 22 Oct. 2014. Web. 05 May 2017.
Wilson, Victoria. "How the Growth of Monoculture Crops Is Destroying Our Planet and Still Leaving Us Hungry." One Green Planet. N.p., 17 Oct. 2014. Web. 05 May
2017.