In this article, I am going to discuss what monoculture is and why it is a common farming practice. I will also look into what issues arise from this and how you can go about funding sustainable farming practices.
What is Monoculture?
Monoculture or monocropping refers to the agricultural practice of growing a single crop year by year.
Why is Monocropping advantageous?
The short answer… It’s more efficient and therefore profitable
Monoculture is practised as it allows the farmers to use the same seeds, machinery and pest control all year round. Consequently, requiring less time spent on the upkeep of land than a rotation of crops and livestock would require.
This practice also allows them to consistently crop only the most profitable of crops.
This helps farmers meet the demand for certain crops allowing them to drive consistent profit.
With this in mind, can you blame some farmers for this?
This brings us to the repercussions of this practice…
Consequences of Monoculture
Reduction in Soil fertility
When crops haven’t been rotated the biochemistry of the soil is weakened reducing its fertility.
This is because the soil isn’t being exposed to a variety of different nutrients and bacteria. Resulting in an inability to grow healthy plants, or at the very least a reduction in soil fertility.
This in turn increases the reliance on synthetic fertilisers that injects high volumes of these nutrients into the soil. However, doing so hosts a greater variety of different issues.
Use of Synthetic fertilisers
Synthetic fertilisers leach into groundwater and contribute to the presence of water pollution.
This has the potential to cause or exacerbate water pollution and can trickle down through rivers, lakes and oceans.
Negatively harming biodiversity and potentially ourselves through the process of bioaccumulation or biomagnification.
Long-term exposure to the chemicals commonly used in pesticides has a wide variety of potential health implications on us.
Such as their carcinogenic properties, and their ability to disrupt our hormones (endocrine disruptors). This has a wide variety of implications. This has been linked to a reduction in semen quality, Parkinson’s disease, diabetes and many more.
Ways to reduce your consumption of mono-cropped products
Grow your fruit and vegetables
The only way to truly gain control over your indirect consumption of mono-cultured goods would be to grow your vegetables in your backyard, or rear your animals if you’re fortunate enough to have that much land!
Your next best bet would be to shop for local organic produce.
You can always shop for organic produce on farms and in supermarkets. Wherever you choose to shop the UK guidelines for organic goods are as follows:
According to the UK government organic guidelines:
This will provide you reassurance and peace of mind when buying goods that are labelled “organic”, as the UK has legal guidelines that have to be followed when selling produce to UK consumers.
Reduce your consumption of mono-cropped goods.
Reducing your meat consumption would be a good place to start, as 33% of crop production is used for animal feed. It is unclear, what percentage of the crops are utilised using mono-cropping.
Conclusion
To make sense as to why someone would choose monocropping as a method to drive consistent profits is understandable. It’s easier, more reliable, and meets the demands of the consumer.
On the other hand, the downsides can indirectly result in harming soil health, biodiversity and people too. This by no means makes those who practise this, evil people. Demonisation is not a productive way to promote change. Evaluate your actions and adjust them to change the demand.
If you want to find out how else you can reduce your impact on the planet check out my other articles, on interesting ways you can reduce your carbon footprint.
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