Independent and Commercial Farms Can Call a Truce

By Sean McGovern

Mention monoculture, synthetic fertilizers, or pesticide spraying in your local grocery store, and every listener with an eco-conscience- anyone between the most uninspired shopping cart environmentalist and Captain Planet himself, would gasp- or at least prepare to defend their views on this controversial topic. It is commonly known that large, commercial farms are less eco-friendly than organic, independent farms, and for this reason, 58 percent of Americans prefer organic crops, according to a 2011 Thomson Reuters poll. This predominant reaction is justified, as commercial farms often compromise the health of our land for a profit.

Such unsustainable practices have been proven by countless studies to degrade not just the soil underneath these crops, but to harm environment far the farms. For example, fertilizers used in extreme quantities by massive commercial farms are eventually washed into streams and ponds, causing water to become choked by more nitrogen than it can naturally cycle, oxygen contents to become depleted, and fish populations to die off in horrendous quantities. And these harmful practices are supported by even the most recent farm bill, passed early in 2014, which rewards 99 percent of its agricultural subsidies to traditional farms and tosses the leftovers to organic farmers. According to Sibella Kraus, the most recent Farm Bill’s “subsidy payments are out of whack across the board, rewarding the wrong behaviors in terms of sustainability”. Kraus has been a long-time environmental activist, founding the San Francisco Ferry Plaza’s renowned farmers’ market as well as the greatly influential organization SAGE. Since its creation, SAGE has been a role model for individuals and new organizations hoping to make a difference in our environmental crisis, proving how to successfully provide agricultural education and training, protect agricultural land, and demonstrate sustainable practices to significantly reduce a community’s ecological footprint.

Due to the horrific consequences of traditional farming practices, many of those concerned with the industry’s environmental impacts understandably believe that the solution must be to replace these commercial farms with independent, local, organic farms. And while this solution would be ideal, it is at this point that environmentalism must meet economics, and simply, reality. Kraus states that "we need diversity across the board. I don’t think the answer is all small farms, or all big farms, or all medium-scale farms". The fact of the matter is, it costs more to grow organic, clean crops in today's quite imperfect society, and not everyone can afford to pay extra for their food. Commercial farms will remain an essential part of our lives until the day that a price tag is no longer the most significant difference between the two rivaling piles of broccoli in the supermarket. While this is surely not a long-term solution, it is the current solution as we wait for the agricultural industry to plow its way into the modern age.

Undoubtedly, those of us concerned with the fate of our planet can be confidently optimistic. There are indeed gradually increasing “subsidies for organic, there’s help for small farmers, and there’s an increasing amount of funding for organic research,” says Kraus. In the meantime, we can fight for our interests every time we shop. As the public continues to prove the significance of organic food, our government will be forced to recognize the need to increase its subsidies for organic farmers, and commercial farms will evolve to meet our demands. And, just as a laboring farmer perseveres under the scorching heat of the sun, our long, exhausting battle will surely harvest a worthy reward.