And in 1998, runoff from chicken factory farms found its way to Chesapeake Bay, causing an outbreak of a deadly bacteria, Pfisteria. Then there's ocean pollution caused by a sudden increase in long distance transport, intrinsic to export agriculture. The average pound of food on an American plate now travels 1,300-2,500 miles from source to dinner. But clearly the situation is untenable. Obviously it would be better to grow food locally for local use, as we once did.
Monocultures are also weak, subject to insect blights, diseases, and bad weather.
The tremendous volume of pesticides needed to keep monocultures alive also kills biological and genetic diversity in the soil. Then finally, as usable farmland disappears, new pressures are created to encroach upon wilderness areas, yet another threat to biodiversity. Some corporations say the solution lies with biotechnology. But biotechnology operates on the same monocultural principles. Where it has been tried, there have been spectacular failures, costing farmers millions of dollars.