Environmental Costs of Industrial Agriculture

When I am not seeing clients, doing yoga, or dancing, I am dreaming about my future garden. My dream, for most all of my life, has been to have some farm land to grow my own food and create a cottage garden I can meander through, gathering herbs as my family needs and flowers to display throughout my home. New to Lexington though, I chose an apartment so I could become more familiar with the area before purchasing. And of course, being self-employed makes purchasing property a real challenge. Alas, I plug away and dream.

If you're holistic minded, you likely have some knowledge of the environmental impact of large scale farming on our environment. Not only do we have the great impact of the toxins sprayed on the plants, their harm to not just the environment but our own body's burden. In 1975, the year I was born, less than 5% of the fresh vegetables consumed in the United States were imported. By 2021, that number increased to almost 60% for fresh fruit, and vegetables were closer to 40%. Nearly 80% of fresh flowers sold in the United States are imported from South American countries such as Ecuador and Columbia, which comes with a steep environmental cost.

Thinking a bit deeper even, because of the high perishability of fresh produce and flowers, these must be shipped quickly, which creates an even larger carbon footprint. By the estimates of the United Nations, growing and processing food accounts for one-third of all greenhouse gas emissions, and moving that produce doubles that!

It's not just the CO2 emissions in transporting plants and flowers either. In many parts of the world where our produce and flowers originate, large swaths of grassland and forests have been cleared for grazing and farming, leading to soil erosion and contamination. Our domestic agriculture isn't doing much better. Farming "here at home" is often burdened by over-tilling practices that overwork the soil which has many consequences including loss of topsoil, by as much as 5.8 tons per acre, in a single year. It takes an estimated 1,000 years to build 1-inch of topsoil!

Pesticide Residues

No surprise, a 2015 Food and Drug Administration report indicated that almost 10% of imported fruit violated regulations for pesticide residue, compared to 2.2% of that grown domestically. This gross more concerning at a global level every year - even in home gardens. Insects are struggling more than ever in recorded history. A 2019 study published in Biological Conservation found that 40% of all insect species globally are in decline, and one-third are endangered (Sanchez-Bayo & Wyckhuys, 2019). The catastrophic impact this will have on our ecosystems, on Mother Earth is beyond comprehension, and on our own health as well.

Increasingly, pesticides, fertilizers, and herbicides are sold to home growers, and sadly, as we are forced to be better producers to support our families with less time and higher financial demands, the potential revenue for manufacturers among home gardeners grows. Expensive bottled and bagged "tricks and tips" have become the usual recommendation for every problem in the garden. Yet, simultaneously, we are offered conflicting advice and information, resulting in expensive gardens and damaged soil.

Are Home Gardens Any Better for the Environment?

Pregnant with my sixth child, alone, and still managing a large midwifery practice, after twenty years of gardening, I chose to focus more on cut flowers and less on produce in my own garden. I found food at the local farmer's market, and spared myself some elbow grease working the garden since my time was so limited and my physical energy was draining. I was not willing to use utilize chemicals in my garden to make it easier to manage.

More recently I've read that urban farmers and home gardens certainly can provide important social and environmental benefits, but often their carbon footprint is higher than that of a large-scale conventional farm. This seems insane, but as I dream about my own garden and draw up plans, it becomes more obvious to me how much infrastructure I will require. A study in Nature Cities found that home gardens and agriculture can produce 57% to 75% more carbon emissions per serving of food than industrial farms simply because of the new material we gather to create raised beds and greenhouses. Ouch!

When we use new material such as steel, plastics, and commerially produced bagged soil mixes, we contribute to the carbon footprint. The production, transportation, and disposal of these materials is energy-intensive and this does release significant greenhouse gas. In contrast, growing in the ground, using upcycled or renewable materials like repurposed wood or locally sourced compost, even natural stone, reduces reliance on new sources and minimizes emissions.

One of the reasons I love Kentucky is because of the limestone, particularly the limestone walls along the edge of many properties though the countryside. They are incredibly charming. I hope any future property I am able to acquire includes some limestone fences or I can make raised beds from dry-stacked limestone. If not, fallen trees can be used to create borders for raised beds, and one of my bigger hyper-fixations right now is creating fences from willow, or live walls, within the garden.

Embracing Your Granny Heart

For whatever reason, I've always been a bit of a granny at heart. I am sure this is of no surprised after catching hundreds of babies at home and utilizing as much herbal medicine I can in my clinical practice, avoiding modern pharmaceuticals as much as appropriate.

I adore the "old ways" and love "traditional arts" and learning how to do things how they were done generations ago. I desperately hope I can find myself a little old stone cottage in the woods to nestle into but even for those who enjoy more modern living, these forgotten traditional ways of gardening are crucial. We've lost sight of seasonality and sustainable growing practices, at a steep cost to our planet, our soils, and our own sense of peace and tranquility.

My hope is that in this dream garden, I can avoid use plastic. We make a real impact with choices like these, and it helps us better connect with Mother Nature. It is clear that the planet would benefit from a change in trajectory, and that change can happen in our own backyards and balconies (where I am currently gardening).

Regenerative Gardening

I didn't realize until more recently that this approach, natural gardening and honoring Mother Earth, has a new catchy name, "Regenerative Gardening." A cut flower farmer in Colorado, who I found on YouTube introduced me to this term. It's a way of gardening that is not only more affordable, but it embraces the ecosystem and considers the repercussions of our actions on the environment around us, no matter how small our garden. This approach providers a way to garden in harmony with nature, and it not only supports but builds healthy ecosystems.

Of course, this was the only approach generations ago, and certainly of Indigenous cultures. It pains me to think of all the wisdom and knowledge lost to our generation, and with so little appreciation for how this impacts us today. Certainly as a women's health healer or clinician, I think of this daily. Would would my ancestors do in this scenario? How would they approach this predicament? I think of this too in the garden. No question, they had a trick of the trade, handed down through the generations, and they were much more efficient for it, I am sure.

I suppose as I await the perfect timing for me to acquire my own land, and build my own garden, that I want to learn about uncomplicated ways of gardening that nature intended for us and learn even more how to consider nature as my key partner in this endeavor. I think about the legacy I want to leave my daughter, how much I want her to know about sustaining herself on the land, so that she can have greater food security and cleaner air, water and soil. I want her to be able to heal her communities with plants largely grown in her own garden. I have hope, not only for a healthier generation into the future, but also a better climate and healthier planet.

Through the years, as I've gathered knowledge on herbal medicine, I've collected this information into an online program, Earth Medicine. I've more recently began adding information on growing fruits and vegetables in the garden, even cut flowers, but especially herbs. I talk about all aspects of this journey, as I am not young. I am in my fifth decade and while I've had many gardens through my life, almost my entire life, in fact, I want to hit the ground running when I can dig into my own soil. I want to create an abundant garden while I am young so Ruby can thrive in her lifetime, be dependent on no one, and enjoy living, exploring the beauty of this world, not navigating hardship. Join me if you'd like to learn and explore together. I also offer talks and host discussions on Earth Medicine and Regenerative Gardening so we can circle up and support, even inspire one another.

References

Sanchez-Bayo, F. & Wyckhuys, K. A. G. (2019). Worldwide decline of the entomofauna: a review of its drivers. Biological Conservation, 232, 8-27.