by Inaara Haydari | Environment
In 1830, our planet counted 1 billion human beings for
the first time in history. A hundred years later, in 1930, the second billion
was reached. The third billion came three times faster than between the first
and second billion, which was around thirty years later, in 1960. Fifteen years
later, in 1975, our planet saw its human population go to 4 billion people, which
is two times faster than to reach the third billion. From then on, a billion
more was added each ten years, bringing us to around 7.5 billion people in
2017. It is no lie that this exponential growth has had destructive impacts. It
has affected our resources, the biodiversity of our planet, the way our
agriculture works; almost everything, for the simple reason that we live in an
ecosystem where everything is interconnected.
This explosive growth in population led to an
increasing agricultural demand, which meant an increasing exploitation of
resources that were already overexploited. We pushed our planet beyond its
capacities and we use more resources than ever, yet famine still affects 1
human on 9 right now. The Green Revolution has initiated the world to
fertilisers, pesticides, new technological techniques and mechanisms, thus
saving countries from starvation, but now, this intensive agriculture has
created a vicious circle that will make itself the first victim. The model has
become out of breath.
Global warning
To put it simply, global warming is a global warning;
an internal and external alarm bell. You might want to know that 40 % of the
emission of greenhouses gases is due to agriculture. Two main reasons explain this:
methane and transport. First of all, CH4 (methane) is 25 times more
warming than CO2. This gas is much more dangerous to climate
changing, and it is produced by ruminants. It is also emitted from the
conversion to product. We may think that it is normal and something that we
cannot necessarily change, but considering that we eat 5 times more meat than
50 years ago, and that we are expected to eat two times more meat in 50 years,
it is safe to assume that man is responsible for a very large part of methane
emission. Apart from methane, harvesters and tractors emit carbon dioxide. The
transformation and transportation of these products all emit a lot of gas.
Climate change is caused by agriculture, which is its first victim. Indeed,
there are many ways in which climate will be affected. Glaciers are expected to
almost all disappear in 50 years, and considering around half of the population
depends on glaciers to have potable water for agriculture, this means that
there will be an increasing lack of access to water, amongst many other
resources on the list.
Fallen angels
Fertilizers and pesticides were game changers in the
growth of plants and crops, but they are now responsible for infertile soils, health
issues and the malediction of entire populations.
Claude and Lydia Bourguignon, soil biologists, explain
that first, people start overusing fertilizers unnecessarily, which leads to the
plants getting sick and requires the involvement of pesticides, which slowly
deteriorate and kill the soil. Also, the
weight of the tractors on the soil makes the first meters compact, turning it
in to “rock”, as some would say. It is the same soil that took 4 billions of
years to be formed, to be fertile, that we destroyed. For some, intensive agriculture
in the past results in no agriculture in the future.
But the soil is not the only victim of fertilizers and
pesticides. Pesticides indirectly kill entire populations. During the Vietnam
War, Monsanto and other big companies were ordered by the U.S. military to
spray Agent Orange, a herbicide, on the Vietnamese population. Now, they and
all the future generations to come are confronted with malformation, growth
problem, cancers. A war crime, some accuse, and they do so rightly. Entire
generations are going to suffer for the price of a war they were not a part of.
In Guadeloupe, from 1972 to 1993, the government didn’t put any restrictions
against chlordecone, an insecticide, which led to the destruction and
infertility of soils, and led to the infestation and poisoning of an entire
population. The pesticide not only infected soils, but also reached
groundwater, infesting the people. 90 % of the population has a trace of this
pesticide in the organism level, which explains why the rate of prostate cancer
tripled in 10 years. Moïse Chérubin, an ex-agricultural worker who was exposed
to the banana plantations for 30 years, explains that all future generations
are cursed, and that it is the government’s lack of action that led to this. He
expresses his frustration and anger at how things were handled: “While we talk about fraternity, liberty and
human rights, we are destroying an entire population.” What was done to
help? What price did the government and the pesticide sellers, who were aware
of the consequences and negative effect of this pesticide, have to pay? Well,
turns out, most of those sellers, like Gilles Garampon, say that it is
misinformation, that the increasing rate of prostate cancer is propaganda. They
blame it on ethnic problems, saying that black people are more subject to
develop this type of cancer. This lack of responsibility is what enrages so
many, including workers whose family and themselves have this cursed faith. A
state has a duty to protect its citizens, but some seem to prefer to keep their
hands clean.
Charles Sultan, chief pediatrician at CHU Montpellier,
explains that pesticides are in part responsible for breast cancer, prostate
cancer, a late growth and genetic malformation. Laboratories don’t always show
results, but the contamination is progressive. It is through fractional
portions of pesticides that enter our body every day that our health decreases.
Another very controversial and debated subject are
genetically modified organisms (GMO). Again, two sides seem to appear: those
saying it could end world hunger and those saying that it represents a danger
for mankind. It is very important to put forward, before anything else, that 80
% of the GM corn production and 93 % of the GM soy production come from
Monsanto, a multinational giant that makes 7 billion $ per year.
One of Monsanto’s proclaimed goals is to end world
hunger, but yet their program requires farmers to rebuy their products every
year, which makes it unrealistic, as poor farmers simply do not have the
resources to buy such products. The main buyers are rich countries, which is
contradictory to its premise.
It is also important to note that Monsanto is the one
making tests for their products, with an experimentation time limit of 3
months. The main argument that opposes their experimentation is that the
results might be different if they would be conducted long-term, rather than
just 3 months. Indeed, how can Monsanto be both a judge and party? How can we
trust the one who sprayed a deadly chemical on Vietnamese? Monsanto Co. has
been confronted in trials many times, accused of ecocide and violation of human
rights.
But at this rate, at this point, we have come too far.
It is no longer time to find who is guilty. It is time to find a solution to
save not only the soils and populations affected by intensive agriculture, but
to save the world that is suffering from all these conflicts. Our ecosystem is
being disrupted, and if nothing is done, we will all be victims. Nature doesn’t
feel mercy or compassion. No amount of money can save us in the long run. Only
unity and a sense of love and responsibility for our planet can do that.
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