THE BLUE INK: Out of Bread

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.