Teachers' Domain; Factory Farms and Organic Alternatives

Every day more people crowd our planet to survive they must eat. Modern farming methods have enabled us to feed the world. But along the way the land has suffered. Whether it is plants or animals that eat plants. All our food depends on a thin blanket of Earth called topsoil. Farmer sometimes try to grow too much too fast taking too many nutrients from the soil. Without roots to hold it in place. Soil can wash or blow away irrigation helps crops grow in dry areas but salts in the irrigation water build up in the soil making it less fertile. Farmers use chemicals called pesticides to kill insects and other pests that damage crops. But wildlife is also like this hog being treated for pesticide poisoning. These chemicals sometimes remain on the food we eat or washed down into the groundwater we use for drinking. To preserve the environment especially the soil. Many farmers are returning to more traditional farming methods. They are growing a wider variety of crops using natural fertilizers and finding

alternatives to pesticides. Many supermarkets now stock organic food grown without any harmful chemicals at all. We need food now but we also need healthy land for tomorrow.