Other hidden costs include pesticide regulation and testing, hazardous waste disposal and clean-up and environmental damage. Support a true economy-buy organic food. Promote Biodiversity Mono-cropping is the practice of planting large plots of land with the same crop year after year. While this approach tripled farm production between 1950 and 1970, the lack of natural diversity of plant life has left the soil lacking in natural minerals and nutrients. To replace the nutrients, chemical fertilizers are used, often in increasing amounts.
Single crops are also much more susceptible to pests, making farmers more reliant on pesticides.
Despite a ten-fold increase in the use of pesticides between 1947 and 1974, crop losses due to insects have doubled spartly because some insects have become genetically resistant to certain pesticides. Promote biodiversity sbuy organic food. Organic farming starts with the nourishment of the soil, which eventually leads to the nourishment of the plant and, ultimately, our palates. Taste better flavor sbuy organic food. This article was excerpted from an article by Sylvia Tawse,marketing coordinator for Alfalfa's Markets, an organic food marketplace, in Boulder and Denver Colorado.