Modern farming methods and human health
Monday, August 3rd, 2009Amidst all the furore over CO2 emissions and global warming, an equally serious and every bit as deadly a consequence of our modern lifestyle is escaping almost unnoticed.
As the 1999 publication from the World Resources Institute Critical Consumption Trends and Implications: Degrading Earth’s Ecosystems by Emily Matthews and Allen Hammond states, “What emerges from this analysis is that fundamental changes are taking place in global biological processes. Our attention has perhaps been focused too much at the local and regional level – on specific polluting emissions, or loss of specific habitats and species – and too little on whole ecosystems. Our understanding of how complex ecosystems function remains relatively limited, but the evidence of serious disruption is now widespread. Chronic, human-induced imbalances in major biological systems – for example, nutrient cycling, inter-species relationships and food chains – are more insidious than acute incidents of pollution or other damage. Their consequences, however, may be much harder to reverse, and more serious for the developmental and security prospects of every country.â€
