What is an “industrial crop”?

The term “industrial crop” generally refers to an agricultural product that is grown as a commodity and/or as the raw material for industrial goods, rather than for direct human consumption. However, many food crops are also grown in an intensive, industrial manner.  ^F FSome of the hallmarks of industrial crop production include:

• Monocropping (growing only one crop in a large area of land)
• Intensive application of commercial fertilizers
• Heavy use of pesticides
• Reliance on genetically engineered (GE) seeds
• Intensive irrigation
• Heavily mechanized farming methods

Commodity crops include corn, wheat, soybeans, cotton, and other types of grains and fiber crops.  ^FFood crops that are commonly grown in an industrial way include tomatoes, strawberries, spinach, and many others.

The Economics of Industrial Crop Production, CAFOs, and Public Health

In the United States and in other countries, there is a great deal of government support for commodity crop (including wheat, corn, and soy) production through the use of government subsidies. Government support for commodity crops has effectively made large-scale farmers ignore other, more healthy, crops; in addition, a great deal of the industrial crops grown in the US are used for animal feed in concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), a.k.a. factory farms.  ^FGovernment support for industrial crop production has led to an increase in corn- and soy-fed animals, and increased production of “junk” foods that use corn (e.g., high fructose corn syrup), wheat, and soy as their base, ultimately contributing to the prevalence of health problems such as heart disease, obesity, and type 2 diabetes.  ^F F F 

• Read more about CAFOs
• Read more about agriculture and public health
• Read more about the economics of agriculture

Monocropping

Monocropping refers to the practice of growing only one type of agricultural product in a large area of land, year after year. In industrial crop production, monocropping is used to facilitate planting and harvesting across large pieces of land (as well as the application of pesticides and fertilizers), often using specialized farm equipment.  ^FThese techniques reduce the amount of human labor required for production, which drives down industrial crop prices by eliminating labor costs.  However, monocropping ultimately imposes additional costs on society (e.g., environmental damage and human health threats).  ^FMonocropping became prevalent in industrialized countries in the 1940s and 1950s, as farming became more commodity-based and less subsistence-based, and as smaller family farms were consolidated into larger, industrial operations.  ^F F

• Read more about the loss of small family farms

Environmental Effects of Monocropping

Monocropping causes a number of negative environmental impacts. Soil degradation results from the common practice of not rotating crops in monoculture farming.  ^F FCrop rotation, the practice of changing what is planted in a particular location on a farm from year to year, improves soil health and quality, and generally increases yields; while monocropping has been implicated in declines in crop yield and loss of nutrients from the soil.  ^F

• Read more about soil health

Monocropping also contributes to biodiversity  ^G loss. At the beginning of the 20th century, the average farm grew five or more crop types (and usually with a mixture of crops and livestock production); at the beginning of the 21st century, the average farm was growing only one type of crop.  ^F FMonocropped farms also replace formerly diverse habitats and add to the loss of native varieties of crops.  ^F F F

• Read more about biodiversity

Growing only one type of crop in a large area of land causes crop vulnerability to insects, weeds, fungi, and other pests - as the pest spreads, it can continue unabated. This vulnerability to pests often requires intensive use of insecticides, fungicides, and/or herbicides.  ^F

Commercial Fertilizer Use

Commercial (inorganic) fertilizers are products synthetically created (or mined) for the purpose of adding nutrients plants need to grow to the soil.  The most common commercial fertilizers are nitrogen-, phosphorus-, and/or potassium-based. The practice of monocropping and lack of crop rotation on industrial farms often results in the greater need for soil augmentation with synthetic fertilizers.  ^FWhile commercial fertilizers can improve plant yield, there are a number of environmental impacts that lessen the overall usefulness of commercial fertilizer application.

Environmental Effects of Commercial Fertilizer Use

One of the most serious environmental effects of commercial fertilizer use is water pollution. River, stream, lake, and ocean health are all affected by inorganic fertilizer runoff from industrial farms. Excess amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus in bodies of water create algae blooms and dead zones (areas in the ocean where little or no life is found due to decreases in oxygen levels).  ^F F

• Read more about water pollution

In addition to water pollution, the application of commercial fertilizers can lead to long-term decreases in soil health, including soil acidification and increased levels of soil pollutants such as heavy metals.  ^FHeavy applications of commercial fertilizers also affect soil biodiversity (the soil "food web").  ^F

• Read more about soil health

Ultimately, the use of commercial fertilizers is not sustainable over time, as many formulations of fertilizer require high inputs of fossil fuel use, especially natural gas, for their creation, ensuring further dependence on fossil fuels for industrial crop production.  ^FOther types of commercial fertilizers, such as phosphorus, are mined; the extraction of phosphorus from the ground is energy-intensive and polluting.  ^FIn addition, phosphate reserves that are easily accessible are gradually declining.  ^F

Pesticide Use

Pesticides are products that destroy various agricultural pests, including weeds (herbicides), insects (insecticides), bacteria (microbicides), and fungi (fungicides). The practice of intensive pesticide use in industrial crop production is often necessary due to the practice of monocropping.

Results of intensive pesticide use include loss of biodiversity and elimination of key species (e.g., bees); adverse health effects for both consumers and agricultural workers; water pollution and soil contamination; and pest resistance, resulting in the need for increased application of pesticides, or the need for alternate formulations.  ^{F F F F F}

• Read more about pesticides

Genetic Engineering

Genetic engineering (GE) is the process of introducing specific traits (genes), either synthetically created or from an existing organism, into a different plant or animal. The USDA reports that, as of 2011, 88 percent of US corn, 94 percent of soybeans, and 90 percent of cotton grown in the US are genetically modified.  ^FMany of the GE traits in crops grown on industrial farms are introduced to protect against problems that arise from monocropping, such as vulnerability to weeds and insects.  ^F

The effects of GE crops include GE gene contamination of non-GE crops; negative effects on beneficial insects (butterflies, bees, etc.) and other "non-target” species;  ^F F Fand possible human health implications (many of which are yet to be understood) There are currently no laws in the United States that explicitly require products containing GE ingredients to be labeled as such, although the USDA Organic program bans GE ingredients in certified organic products.

• Read more about Genetic Engineering

Intensive Water Use

Use of intensive irrigation is common in industrial crop production. Agriculture accounts for 80% of the water used in the US.  ^FIn much of the world, water for agricultural irrigation is taken from ground water that does not replenish itself.  ^FIntensive irrigation can also lead to salinization (deposits of salt) in soil, eventually leading to declines in yield.  ^F

• Read more about water use and agriculture

Mechanization of Agriculture
Industrial crop production relies on (fossil-fuel consuming) heavy machinery for planting, fertilizer and pesticide application, and harvesting. Use of heavy machinery in agriculture can cause soil compaction and soil erosion.  ^FIt is predicted that accelerating soil loss through agriculture-induced erosion will become a critical problem for future agriculture production across the globe.  ^F

• Read more about soil

Food Insecurity

Modern methods of industrial crop production are ultimately unsustainable.  ^FReliance upon a decreasing number of highly specialized and mechanized farms make us increasingly vulnerable to the impact of rising oil prices and extreme weather events.  ^F FThis, coupled with the destabilizing global impact of below-true-cost production of commodity crops (due to subsidization and failure to account for long-term environmental problems such as pollution and loss of soil quality), can contribute to food insecurity – when individuals do not have adequate access to healthy food.  ^F

• Read more about the economics of agriculture
• Read more about food insecurity

Alternatives to Industrial Crop Production

Sustainable alternatives to industrial crop production exist. Conservation agriculture, including no-till agricultural methods; organic fertilizer; innovative pest management approaches; and water-management practices are all strategies being utilized as alternatives to industrial crop-growing methods.  ^F F

• Read more about sustainable agriculture