Online:
Visits:
Stories:
Profile image
Story Views

Now:
Last Hour:
Last 24 Hours:
Total:

Pesticides are NOT Needed to Feed the World, Says New UN Report

Wednesday, March 8, 2017 12:44
% of readers think this story is Fact. Add your two cents.

(Before It's News)

Alex Pietrowski, Staff Writer
Waking Times

The argument for the extreme overuse of agrichemicals in global industrial farming is that supposedly without the advances made by Monsanto and other chemical giants, the world would starve. We need products like glyphosate, terminator seeds and genetically modified foods to feed so many people, they say, but this is really nothing more than a popular myth, pushed on the public as part of a marketing effort to convince people who thousands of years of organic agricultural history is outdated and inadequate for the times we live in today.

The contemporary industrial model has many problems associated with it, including the poisoning of the environment, widespread disease and cancer associated with agrichemicals, the pollution of bodies of water with fertilizers, the depletion of quality topsoil, and the as of yet unknown long-term effects of tinkering with plant genetics.


According to a new report by the United Nations (UN), continuing to adhere to this model of agriculture is guaranteed to bring about catastrophic consequences, and that organic farming is in fact the best way to feed an ever-growing world.

“It is a myth. Using more pesticides is nothing to do with getting rid of hunger. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), we are able to feed 9 billion people today. Production is definitely increasing, but the problem is poverty, inequality and distribution.” ~ Hilal Elver, UN special rapporteur on the right to food

Pollution and food experts at the UN are highly critical of global corporations which manufacture pesticides while actively seeking to change the model of farming in favor of dependency on corporations for the success of crops.

Particularly telling in the UN’s condemnation of modern agribusiness, is the fact that Baskut Tuncak, the UN’s special rapporteur on toxics, and co-author of the report, issued a call for more sustainable, eco-friendly farming practices.

“While scientific research confirms the adverse effects of pesticides, proving a definitive link between exposure and human diseases or conditions or harm to the ecosystem presents a considerable challenge. This challenge has been exacerbated by a systematic denial, fueled by the pesticide and agro-industry, of the magnitude of the damage inflicted by these chemicals, and aggressive, unethical marketing tactics.” ~ Baskut Tuncak

There really is no way that the world’s fragile eco-systems can survive the never-ending inundation of harmful chemicals, and this is now becoming apparent to even some of the world’s governing bodies, offering hope that times may be changing.

Final Thoughts

Small-scale organic farming is a much more efficient and productive means of feeding local populations, while also resolving the need for food to be shipped around the world using fossil fuels.

Russia is revered by many for it’s broad implementation of the simple practices of local organic farming, and many pioneers of permaculture and modern organic farming techniques are already taking natural food production to the next level. And with technology at our side, indoor farming, rooftop farming and aquaponics are becoming much more efficient and accessible.

The truth is that we do not need the wholesale overuse of agrichemicals to feed the world, and to the contrary, the ecological damage being caused by these practices may be our actual demise, as bees and other pollinator insects are becoming extinct in our cover-polluted world.

Read more articles by Alex Pietrowski.

About the Author

Alex Pietrowski is an artist and writer concerned with preserving good health and the basic freedom to enjoy a healthy lifestyle. He is a staff writer for WakingTimes.com and Offgrid Outpost, a provider ofstorable food and emergency kits. Alex is an avid student of Yoga and life.

Like Waking Times on Facebook. Follow Waking Times on Twitter.

This article (Pesticides are NOT Needed to Feed the World, Says New UN Report) was originally created and published by Waking Times and is published here under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Alex Pietrowski and WakingTimes.com. It may be re-posted freely with proper attribution, author bio, and this copyright statement.

~~ Help Waking Times to raise the vibration by sharing this article with friends and family…

The post Pesticides are NOT Needed to Feed the World, Says New UN Report appeared first on Waking Times.



Source: http://www.wakingtimes.com/2017/03/08/pesticides-not-needed-feed-world-says-new-un-report/

Report abuse

Comments

Your Comments
Question   Razz  Sad   Evil  Exclaim  Smile  Redface  Biggrin  Surprised  Eek   Confused   Cool  LOL   Mad   Twisted  Rolleyes   Wink  Idea  Arrow  Neutral  Cry   Mr. Green

Total 1 comment
  • Yes but look at all the nice cancer and dead people it brings. Quote: Monsanto

Top Stories
Recent Stories

Register

Newsletter

Email this story
Email this story

If you really want to ban this commenter, please write down the reason:

If you really want to disable all recommended stories, click on OK button. After that, you will be redirect to your options page.