the hidden costs of monoculture

"There are good reasons to think a genuinely local agriculture will tend to be a more sustainable agriculture. For one thing, it is much less likely to rely on monoculture, the original sin from which almost every other problem of our food system flows." p 258

If you think about it, the way most farms are set up, as a monoculture with one crop per field, makes absolutely no sense at all. Where in nature will you find fields and fields full of one single crop? Farmers grow whatever is in demand and different environmental conditions cater to different types of crops. A couple examples Pollan uses to explain this situation are the fields of Iowa where rainfall, soil type etc. suit the needs of corn, and the Salinas Valley where the majority of the lettuce is grown in the U.S. Crops grown in areas with the ideal conditions have high yields and are therefore sold for less. Consumers are more likely to purchase the cheapest corn, or lettuce they can find so from an economic standpoint, it makes sense to grow all the corn in Iowa and all the lettuce in the Salinas Valley since that is where it can be grown the easiest and cheapest. But what about from an environmental point of view, how well does monoculture stack up then? As Pollan points out, not that well. Our current system of agriculture, as it turns out, is not that efficient after all. Pollan suggests that there are hidden costs that go along with monoculture that consumers don't typically consider. One thing that I never considered is the costs of fuel. The fact that most of our corn is grown in Iowa means that it needs to be shipped from there to our supermarkets here in Ontario. This cost of fuel is very expensive and the toll it takes on the environment is quite substantial. In addition to fuel, a lot more pesticide and fertilizer also needs to be purchased because the crops are more susceptible to pests and insect infestations. Since there are no other species in the fields, there is a lot of competition for certain nutrients and excess of others. The nutrient recycling process becomes dependent on human involvement and the crops cannot sustain themselves.

In my opinion, the harm that monoculture does to the environment is not worth the small savings that it yields. I would much rather pay a bit more for the food I eat and know exactly where it comes from. In an ideal world I would go directly to the farms to pick out the crops I buy that way I could ensure that they are from a farm where monoculture does not exist and not as much pesticides would be used. Reading this chapter on monoculture opened my eyes to how our agriculture system works and outlined some of it's key flaws. From now on I am going to make an effort to buy fruits and vegetables from local farmers. The crops might be more expensive, but I will know that the crops are better for me and for the environment.