•Pesticide and fertilizer runoff from
non-organic farms pollutes local waterways and kills wildlife (including beneficial insects and
micro-organisms). 7s
•It is estimated that up to two-thirds
of fertilizers used on farmland eventually end up in our waterways.7
•Fertilizer run-off from farms in the
Midwest have contributed to an 8,000 square mile “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico that has killed
thousands of fish.
•Organic farming methods also improve
soil fertility and reduce soil erosion.8 The US
currently loses about 2 billion tons of topsoil per year, significantly reducing crop yields, forcing abandonment of
farmland, and contributing to dust storms like the Dust Bowl of the 1930s.9
7.“The Benefits of Organic Food”,
Positive Health magazine, http://www.positivehealth.com/permit/ Articles/Organic%20and%20Vegetarian/frost47.htm
•8. “New USDA Standards a Boon for Consumers”, Environmental
Defense, http://www.environmental defense.org/article.cfm?contentid=2361
•9. Lester R. Brown, “Eco-Economy: Building an Economy for
the Earth”, pp.63-65
•