Published: 10/08/18, Last updated: 12/11/24

Introduction

When consumers think about the crops grown in this country they probably think about the spinach, tomatoes, onions, carrots and apples that fill their plates. But what they may not realize is that corn and soy account for 50 percent of all of the crops grown in the United States.

Let's Boost The Demand For Sustainable Produce

Conclusion

What Sustainable Crop Production Should Do

  • Grow healthy and nutritious food
  • Maintain and improve the overall environmental quality of the farm
  • Maximize soil health
  • Increase biodiversity
  • Manage pests and weeds without toxic pesticides
  • Minimize topsoil runoff and water pollution
  • Develop crop resiliency and adaptability to climate change
  • Support small, medium and non-corporate family farms
  • Provide a healthy work environment with jobs that pay a living wage

How Crops Are Produced Determines Their Environmental Impact

How crops are grown largely determines the environmental impact of what it takes to bring food to the table. Seed choices, soil fertility and pest and weed management strategies all influence whether a farming system will positively or negatively affect the environment, worker and public health and local economies.

Conventional, Industrial Crop Production

Conventional, non-sustainable systems of food production cause the most long-lasting health and environmental damage because they employ toxic chemicals at each stage of production. They aim to wipe-out the natural ecosystems in which crops are grown, to create an artificial environment for growing produce.

These types of systems:

  • Depend upon regular doses of insecticides to kill plant-eating bugs, herbicides to kill weeds and soil fumigants and fungicides to kill soil-borne diseases.
  • Use synthetic fertilizers to boost yields.
  • Rely upon pesticide-coated seeds to fight pests, disease and fungi.
  • Incorporate the planting of genetically modified (GMO) seeds to produce plants that can withstand repeated sprays of highly toxic pesticides.

Bigger is better for this crop production method, where vast stretches of a monocrop dominate the same landscape year-after-year. Machines and chemicals substitute for farm labor, which is in high demand and short supply.

Growing Sustainable Crops

Sustainable crop production systems, which include organic and regenerative organic agriculture, aim to maintain and enhance the natural ecosystems in which crops are grown, using inputs primarily derived from nature to support plant growth. These types of systems:

  • Depend upon composted animal manure and plant material to bolster biodiversity above and below ground and the planting of cover crops to add nitrogen to soils, an essential plant nutrient.
  • Employ regular crop rotations with varied deep and shallow-rooted plants to improve soil’s water infiltration and holding capacity and to prevent topsoil erosion.
  • Rely on flowering plants sown between rows and on field edges to attract beneficial insects that fight pests and disease and to entice pollinators that fertilize crops.
  • Use densely planted cover crops to add nitrogen to soils and to shade and crowd out weeds so as to prevent their re-emergence.

Sustainable systems also facilitate biodiversity — the protection of many types of species — in all stages of agricultural production. Crops grown in this manner demonstrate superior resiliency during times of extreme drought and floods. 5 California ranks as the nation’s top, year-round producer of over 200 crops, growing more than 90 percent of U.S. artichokes, walnuts, kiwis, plums, celery and garlic. 8 The U.S. is also a net agricultural exporter of grains and soybeans, primarily used for animal feed abroad, which means that we are not only increasing our foodprint with those additional miles of shipment, but we are foisting those disastrous environmental and public health consequences on the whole world. 9

Here is a snapshot of crop production in the U.S.:
  • Forty-three percent of all of the country’s land is farmland — 915 million acres total. 11
  • Two thirds of the total fresh vegetable production, by volume, comes from just three crops: potatoes (44 billion pounds), tomatoes (22 billion pounds) and lettuce (8.5 billion pounds). 12
  • Grapes, including wine grapes, dominate fruit production, grown on 1.1 million acres and constituting 52 percent of the non-citrus fruit acreage. Oranges account for 76 percent of the nearly 900,000 acres devoted to citrus production. 13
  • Wheat is the principal cereal grain grown in almost every state, totaling 1.7 billion bushels and grown on 37.6 million acres. 18
  • Imported fresh fruit increased from 23 percent to 53 percent between 1975 and 2015. 19
  • Fresh vegetable imports grew from 5.8 percent to 31 percent during that same time period. 20

Year-round demand for fresh produce has risen along with a national taste for tropical varieties native to the countries of many of our immigrant communities. Big food distributors such as Walmart, Trader Joes and Costco cater to this demand by taking advantage of the economies of scale afforded by purchasing high volumes of low cost produce from overseas.

More and more U.S.-based food processing companies have moved some of their processing activities offshore because labor is cheaper there. They import higher-priced, value-added products, like dried fruit or jam, to the U.S. for sale at higher profit margins. 23

Soy, Corn and Factory Farms

Rising consumer demand for animal protein domestically and abroad is a main driver behind corn and soybean production. 27 The poultry industry is the top soybean consumer, followed by hogs, dairy, beef and aquaculture. 28 The U.S. is the world’s leading soybean producer. 30

  • Until April 2018, China was the largest importer of U.S. soybeans, but the country canceled its 62,690 metric tons order for the year in the face of trade disputes with the US. 34
  • Mexico is the largest importer of U.S. corn, importing 14.7 million tons in 2017. 45

    GMOs, Glyphosate and Superweeds

    Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) were introduced as seeds and crops in the mid-1990s, as the industry-acclaimed panacea for combating weed problems in agriculture and for reducing pesticide use. GMO seed and pesticide companies are one in the same. They have developed signature GMO seeds that require the use of their signature pesticides to manage pests and yields.

    Monsanto developed herbicide tolerant soybeans (1996) and corn (1998) to resist repeated applications of its glyphosate-derived RoundUp herbicide. These crops are often referred to as “RoundUp Ready” crops. Twenty years later, glyphosate-tolerant crops account for more than 80 percent of the nearly 300 million acres of GMO crops grown annually, worldwide. 49 This has stimulated a huge upsurge in glyphosate use. By 2014, farmers had sprayed enough glyphosate to spread nearly one pound of the herbicide on each acre of cultivated cropland in the U.S. — and that figure is increasing. 57

    As discussed earlier, fungicides are increasingly used to treat seeds. But fungicides are also being promoted as beneficial for general plant health and to increase yields, even when disease pressure is low. 60

  • An increase in amphibian mortality and deformity and disruption of their lifecycles. 64

    • Soil Health and Fertility

    Plants, like people, need food to survive and thrive. Scientists have identified as many as 18 essential nutrients for plant growth, reproduction and vitality. 7276 It is also very toxic to aquatic organisms and algae. 84

    • Direct contact between crops and feces after livestock have grazed in fields and the pathogens in the feces have had an insufficient time to break down.
    • Wildlife, farm animals can wander onto farm fields and their feces can contaminate a water source used for irrigation.
    • Improper management of raw livestock or chicken manure used as a crop fertilizer can allow pathogens to remain, particularly when the manure has not been composted to the required temperature of 131 degrees for at least 15 days.
    • Water runoff from animal feedlots, compost and manure piles and air blown dust, all of which can contaminate irrigation water.
    • Pathogens in sediments in ponds, creeks, lakes, canals, etc. can get stirred up and contaminate irrigation water.

    Research has shown that pathogens often do not survive in organic systems for long because the biologically active community of microorganisms present in organic soils either competes effectively with them or consumes them. 90

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    Scientists and Doctors Call for Action

    Mounting scientific evidence continues to demonstrate the extreme public health consequences of acute and chronic toxic pesticide exposures. A landmark report by the President’s Cancer Panel (PCP) in 2010, which extensively examined the peer-reviewed literature on agricultural, occupational and environmental exposures to pesticides, concluded that pesticides are associated with a full range of cancers. 92

    This sentiment was echoed in a subsequent European Parliament (EP) study on the “Human Health Implications of Organic Food and Organic Agriculture” which concluded that:

    “…while the intake of fruit and vegetables should not be decreased, existing studies support the idea of reduced dietary exposure to pesticide residues, especially among pregnant women and children.” 97

    While the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that 10,000 to 20,000 acute pesticide poisonings occur annually across the country, in reality, that figure is much higher. Substantial underreporting occurs among farmworkers due to fear of job loss or deportation of undocumented workers. 99

    EPA acknowledges that long-term chronic effects of pesticide exposure are unlikely to be recorded in poisoning databases but stresses that “associations between pesticide exposure and certain cancer and non-cancer chronic health effects are well documented in the peer-reviewed literature.” 100 Chief among the health effects that the agency cites are non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, prostate cancer, Parkinson’s disease, lung cancer, bronchitis and asthma. 101 Reproductive impairments and impeded childhood development represent other troubling consequences documented in scientific studies, as discussed in the following sections.

    Beyond chronic, lethal illnesses, farmworkers also experience day-to-day symptoms from pesticide exposure, including reoccurring skin rashes and eruptions, irritated eyes and nasal membranes, headaches, hand dermatitis, nausea, asthma and flu-like symptoms. 102

    In Utero Impact of Pesticides

    Even before children are born, they are repeatedly bombarded with a wide variety of dangerous pesticides. 112 They possess a unique susceptibility to toxic chemicals because they drink more liquids, breathe more air and consume more food per pound of body weight than adults. Research has shown that children who live in rural communities where conventional agriculture dominates suffer a host of health problems.

    Farmworker children are the most at risk. They receive a double dose of pesticides from neighboring farm fields and then again when their relatives return from work with pesticides on their clothes, shoes and in their hair and skin. 113 Because farmworkers often lack child care, parents are forced to take their children with them to the fields where they become exposed to toxic pesticides at an early age. 123

    Health Impact from Pesticide Food Residues

    Diet represents an important route of pesticide exposure. People who eat fruits and vegetables containing pesticide residues can suffer from a range of health effects, including cancer, lung damage, neurological disorders and a host of endocrine dysfunctions. 117 Dose, duration and type of pesticides contained in the food residue are key to understanding pesticide risks and effects. 118

    The studies below show that dietary exposures to pesticides, within the range typically found on conventionally grown food, can have notable adverse health consequences.

    Use on Crops
    • EU, China, Korea, Brazil and Switzerland banned
    • Corn
    • Soybeans
    • Peanuts
    • Vegetables
    • Potatoes

    Sustainable Crop Farming Techniques

    Sustainable, organic agriculture promotes the use of naturally occurring substances to combat pest problems and to promote plant health. They also eschew the use of synthetic, toxic chemicals. However, the organic standards do allow limited exceptions for some non-persistent, synthetic inputs that do not have comparable natural substitutes, but only after public and government scrutiny of their potential health and environmental impact. Exceptions, such as installing pheromone traps to confuse insect pests or the application of copper micronutrients when a documented soil deficiency exists, are a far cry from the highly toxic and persistent chemicals routinely used in industrial crop production — glyphosate, “neonics,” chloropicrin, etc.

    Organic cropping systems rely on the strategic management of natural ecosystems and pest/predator relationships to combat pests, weeds and diseases. These systems bolster soil fertility and plant vigor by enhancing interdependent soil microorganisms, plants, fungi, insects and animals. The minimization of synthetic toxic inputs in organic production also helps facilitate important ecosystem services, such as the conservation of declining species, increasing biodiversity, protecting waterways from agricultural runoff and maintaining soil fertility for future generations. 125

    Embedded Defenses of Organic Plants

    The use of chemical-coated and GMO seeds is strictly prohibited in organic agriculture. Organic seed companies have been exploring natural, biological agents, such as neem oil, to treat seeds and prevent fungus damage, but research is still in its infancy. Since organic seed development is ongoing, and not all seed varieties are available in an organic form, organic farmers can use conventional seeds but without any embedded pesticides.

    Research has shown that organic plants defend against pest attacks by producing more phenols and polyphenols. 127 A natural phenol called resveratrol, for example, found in high concentrations in certain grape varieties, can starve cancer by inhibiting the actions of a key protein that helps feed cancer cells. 130 Planting native, flowering bushes or hedgerows on the edges of fields has the added benefit of blocking and filtering pesticide drift as well as attracting pollinators. 135 Research has shown that conservation tillage helps retain soil moisture, minimize erosion and limit the release of stored carbon and nitrous oxide (a potent greenhouse gas) during planting. 137 While this method of farming is not unique to sustainable agriculture, the ecosystem-based approach that accompanies the practice substantially differs from chemical-based methods of conventional agriculture.

    Farmers Choose Organic For Life

    Conventional farmers experience first-hand the dangers associated with toxic pesticide use. Debilitating side effects of regular pesticide exposures have led many farmers to adopt organic practices. A recent study found that 86 percent of the 1,800 organic farmers surveyed switched to organic because of health concerns for themselves and their family.

    To safeguard public and environmental health now and in the future, it is imperative that the U.S. makes a dramatic shift away from chemical-intensive methods of food production, as this report demonstrates. Organic production systems and the USDA’s organic certification program have provided a solid foundation for sustainable crop management for nearly three decades. Pioneers of the organic movement have been at the forefront of agriculture innovations that have made organic by far the fastest growing agricultural sector for decades. 141

    In fact, recently USDA’s NOP has been reneging on its original commitment to facilitate continuous improvements in organic. Most notably, it has shelved critical animal welfare regulations supported by the large majority of stakeholders to appease large-scale poultry and livestock interests.

    There are many ways that you can help increase the demand and supply of sustainable and organically produced food.

    Here are a few suggestions to get you started:

    Optimize Your Organic Dollar

    Shoppers often consider the cost of their purchases above all else when buying food. But the many public health and environmental costs from growing pesticide-intensive, cheap food discussed in this report are borne by us all. Here are some ideas about how to optimize your organic dollars:

    • Download the Seasonal Food Guide App to find out what’s in season; in-season produce is often cheaper than out-of-season produce.
    • Buy locally grown produce in season from your nearest farmers’ market.
    • Buy dried nuts, beans and whole grains from the bulk bin.
    • Cook fresh vegetables and whole grains at home.
    • Freeze fresh fruits and veggies right away after purchasing, during the height of the growing season. Store in glass containers to preserve their flavor and to help prevent freezer burn.
    • Dry or dehydrate fresh fruits yourself at the peak of the growing season to maximize taste for future use.

    Eat Organically Grown Food

    Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food

    • Shop at farmers’ markets whenever possible, where you can buy the freshest, tastiest seasonal fruits and veggies at the best prices.
    • Learn more about how your food is grown by talking to the local farmers there.

    Join a CSA

    • Join a CSA (community supported agriculture) or an organic buying club where you can support local farms and receive an array of seasonal, freshly picked, locally grown, organic produce and locally produced artisanal food each week.
    • Attend open farm days and tours to learn about the diverse produce grown in your community so you can be prepared to cook the season’s bounty.

    Grow Your Own Food

    • Become a backyard or urban organic gardener. That way, you know that the food you are eating is the best that it can be. Find resources on how to grow food in any space on our website.

    Support Farmworkers

    By looking for the Food Justice Certified or Fair Trade label, you are contributing to production that mandates standards and protections for workers on a farm, including fair wages, and in some cases, other protections like health insurance. Check out our Food Labels Guide  for more information.

    Become a Pesticide-Free, Bee-Friendly County, City or Town

    • Communities are organizing to prohibit the use of pesticides on schoolyards and on public property. You can do it too. For tips and assistance with how to make it work, visit Beyond Pesticides’ website at beyondpesticides.org.

    Conclusion

    Eating sustainably grown organic and regenerative organic food is good for you and the planet. It is the healthiest food you can buy, produced in a farming system that ensures food security for future generations because it builds soil fertility and biodiversity to keep crops growing. When you see an organic label on produce or packaged foods, you can feel confident that it has been inspected by a third-party certifier in accordance with a strict, legally binding system of crop production.

    By buying organically grown food you are intentionally supporting sustainable organic systems of production. You are helping to change our country’s food system and make the world a healthier place to live. Your food dollars go towards the preservation of soils, ecosystems, farmworker and community health, and the ability of future generations to grow their food.

    Our challenge as a society is to find ways to facilitate access to sustainably grown organic food for everyone. That means paying a fair wage to those who work in the organic food supply chain so that they can enjoy the bounties of their labor by eating fresh, organic produce. It means ensuring that sustainably grown organic food reaches underserved communities that have limited access to fresh food choices. It also means ensuring that organically grown food is served as a matter of course in our school cafeterias — because all children deserve to eat healthy, fresh, organically grown food, every day.

    It is up to all of us to use our knowledge and collective power to fix our broken, toxic food system and secure a healthy, organic and regenerative food future for generations to come.

    Top photo by Jandrie Lombard/Adobe Stock.

    Researched and written by:

    Lisa J. Bunin Ph.D.

    Hide References

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    119. Chiu, Yu-Han et al. “Association Between Pesticide Residue Intake From Consumption of Fruits and Vegetables and Pregnancy Outcomes Among Women Undergoing Infertility Treatment With Assisted Reproductive Technology.” JAMA Internal Medicine, 178(1): 17-26 (2018). Retrieved July 11, 2019, from https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/article-abstract/2659557?redirect=true
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    123. Ibid.
    124. Lindelle, Catherine. “Enhancing agricultural landscapes to increase crop pest reduction by vertebrates.” Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 257: 1-11 (April 2018). Retrieved July 11, 2019, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167880918300501
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    127. Ibid.
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    129. McGlashen, Andy. “Protecting crops with predators instead of poisons.” Environmental Health News, March 15, 2018. Retrieved July 11, 2019, from https://www.ehn.org/back-to-basics-tackling-farm-pests-with-predator-birds-2546940909.html
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    131. Earnshaw, Sam. “Hedgerows and Farmscaping for California Agriculture: A Resource for Farmers. 2nd Edition.” Community Alliance with Family Farmers, Farmers Guild, 2018. Retrieved July 11, 2019, from https://www.caff.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/CAFF-Hedgerow-Manual_web032118.pdf 
    132. Bunin, Lisa. “Toxic Chemicals in Our Soil: Time to Pull the Plug on Methyl Bromide.” Center for Food Safety, October 5, 2015. Retrieved July 11, 2019, from https://organicadvocacy.org/docs/Time_to_Pull_the_Plug_on_Methyl_Bromide_Oct_2015.pdf
    133. Warner, Geraldine. “New replant disease treatment: Seed meal treatments outperform fumigation.” Good Fruit Grower, December 9, 2014. Retrieved July 11, 2019, from https://www.goodfruit.com/new-replant-disease-treatment/
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    137. Ibid.
    138. Oregon Tilth and Oregon State University’s Center for Small Farms & Community Food Systems. “Breaking New Ground: Farmer Perspectives on Organic Transition.” Oregon Tilth, 2017. Retrieved July 11, 2019, from https://tilth.org/education/resources/breakingground/
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    140. Organic Trade Association. “Maturing organic sector sees growth of 6.4 percent in 2017.” Organic Trade Association, May 18, 2018. Retrieved July 11, 2019, from https://ota.com/news/press-releases/20201
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    142. Tomaselli, Paige M. “USDA Stalls Regulations to Improve organic Poultry Living Conditions.” Oganic Advocacy, April 2014. Retrieved July 11, 2019, from https://www.organicadvocacy.org/docs/Animal_Welfare.pdf
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