Pros And Cons Of Monocropping

Monoculture is prevalent in the United States’ industrial agriculture to sustain an efficient amount of singular crops, unfortunately, this agricultural practice degrades the soil by depleting the nutrients, increases dependency on chemical fertilizers, and lacks diversity which contributes to the spread of diseases. Monocropping should not be practiced for the sake of the environment and the potential health risk it proposes to humans. Furthermore, the short-term results do not outweigh the long-term effects. The years following World War ll, the United States endured a drastic increase in population and the industrial agriculture was put on a strain. How were all these American going to get fed? Monocropping. And this outdated answer is still relevant today. America is now in the twenty-first century where monoculture is not just a technique from the past. “At the core of industrial food production is monoculture—the practice of growing single crops intensively on a very large scale. Corn, wheat, soybeans, cotton and rice are all commonly grown this way in the United States.” (USCUSA) The Union of Concerned Scientists is a group of intelligent individuals develop solutions to pressing global problems. …show more content…
When one crop is repeatedly planted, it depletes nutrients from that area of soil and sadly, the Earth’s soil is depleting faster than it can be replaced. Therefore the soil is left weak, susceptible to erosion, and infertile for future crops without chemical aid. “In fact, the Earth’s soil is depleting at more than 13 percent the rate at which it can be replaced. which is scary because approximately 75 percent of the world’s crop varieties have been lost over the last 100 years as the result.” (One Green Planet). One Green Planet is a media platform that supports plant-healthy policies and is a place for an “eco-conscience