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Vital Soil Organisms Being Harmed By Pesticides, Study Shows

News

“Pesticides are causing widespread damage to the tiny creatures that keep soils healthy and underpin all life on land, according to the first comprehensive review of the issue.” [Source: theguardian.com]

Comment

Earthworms and beetles are far from being the only creatures that are affected by pesticides. In some countries, such as France, pesticides have led to the loss of dozens of species of birds due to the insects they feed on having disappeared. Scientists investigating the collapse of fisheries in Japan say that pesticides are starving fish by killing aquatic insects.

Just as with synthetic chemical drugs, the main reason pesticides exist is because they can be patented. Organic farming and other pesticide-free agriculture approaches are thus seen by chemical companies as a threat to their profits. Promisingly, therefore, by 2018 there were a total of 2.8 million organic farmers across 186 countries growing organically produced food on 71.5 million hectares of land. India had the highest number of organic producers (1,149,000), followed by Uganda (210,000), and Ethiopia (204,000).

To read how scientific research is increasingly confirming the benefits of organic food, see this article on our website.