backgrounder
The Importance of Sustainable Farmers
Where will the methods and practices of sustainable agriculture come from? Despite the decades of work in the courts, the media, and on the Hill, the environmental community has had disappointingly little impact on pesticide and fertilizer use in this country. The sad truth is that the 30 years following Rachel Carson's Silent Spring were characterized by dramatic increases -- not decreases -- in pesticide use. The reason is simple. The environmental message "Don't use pesticides" was negative and ran counter to what most farmers believed was their economic survival. Because no alternatives to pesticides appeared economically viable, most farmers believed their choice was to use chemicals or go out of business. Little wonder that despite lawsuits, a federal pesticide law, and growing public concern, pesticide and fertilizer use stubbornly increased. Now things are beginning to change. Pesticide use is slowly diminishing and it is becoming clear that new approaches to agriculture offer the possibility of huge reductions in chemical use. The importance of the environmental benefits of lower pesticide use -- clean water, thriving populations of fish and birds, fewer industrial and transportation accidents -- is hard to overstate. And these are in addition to the non-pesticide-related benefits of sustainable practices like soil conservation, soil health, and increased wildlife habitat. While many factors have contributed to this turn of events, a pivotal factor has been the emergence of a group within the agricultural community who -- rather than just decrying pesticides -- developed and proved nonchemical practices of growing crops that made economic sense to farmers. The signal feature of these practices is that they are both environmentally sound and economically viable. Their importance cannot be overestimated. If offered such alternatives, many farmers will turn away from chemicals rapidly and voluntarily. No regulation. No bureaucracy. No coercion. Without such alternatives, farmers will be pitted against environmentalists and neither group is likely to win. We need many more of these innovative, sustainable practices. Where are they going to come from? In general, from where they originated: the sustainable agriculture community. While university research, better commodity programs, and other institutional measure are vital to underpin these efforts, the key to the transformation to an environmentally conscious agriculture is environmentally conscious farmers. |
