As most may know by now, in 2050 our world’s population is expected to reach 9 billion people. That doesn’t just mean there will be 9 billion people on our planet, but that there will be 9 billion mouths to feed!
That is a lot of food for a lot of people. So how will we grow that much food for that many people? Well it is simple, we will continue to use and improve our technology and resources available today so that we can grow more food with fewer resources including land, fertilizer, and other chemicals.
Fortunately, our farmers and ranchers have several tools available to them today to increase their production and be better stewards of the land and natural resources. However, what if we took away one of their tools, such as atrazine, which is a herbicide used to reduce the competition for natural resources around the main crop. How would this affect the production of crops?
There are mixed opinions about this because some believe it could be devastating to farmers that use no-till or minimum till methods while others believe we would either find a new chemical or go back to the old ways of tilling up the land every year. The reason why it would be devastating to no-till and minimum till farmers is because atrazine is one of the ways to keep weeds out of their fields without having to till up the soil. In other words, this chemical allows farmers to leave the soil undisturbed, which has many benefits such as reducing erosion, increasing water absorbtion and increasing soil quality.
Unfortunately, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has asked for public comment about atrazine use and to see if this chemical should be banned. Back in 2007, an issue was raised about the use of atrazine and the EPA at that time conducted studies to see if atrazine had an effect on human life or amphibian life. The results ended up showing that there was no link to atrazine affecting human life or amphibian life.
So how did this come about again, especially after the EPA declared that atrazine had no affect on amphibian life or is a cause of cancer in humans back in 2007? A group called “Save the Frogs” has claimed that atrazine affects frogs and that this chemical is harmful to the environment. Some of these affects to frogs include hermaphoditism and reverses the sex of male frogs. The group also says that atrazine is commonly found in our nation’s water supply.
So to bring this to the EPA’s attention, the group got over 10,000 signatures and sent 50,000 emails to the EPA. After the group got the EPA’s attention, the agency decided to submit a Federal Register notice which includes a public comment period allowing people to voice their concerns or thoughts on a federal ban of atrazine and atrazine products. The comment period is open until November 14, 2011.
As most of us know who are involved in production agriculture, a federal ban on atrazine could cause a major problem for U.S. farmers. Instead of making advances in being better stewards of the land by using minimum or no-till options with the use of atrazine, we would actually be taking a step back instead of a step forward.
If we are going to feed 9 billion people in the future, we are going to need all the resources available, and shouldn’t be banning resources that are beneficial to increasing food production and helping farmers be better stewards of the land. Make sure to visit the EPA’s public comment site and voice your concern about the federal ban on atrazine!
To see previous posts on atrazine, click here, but be sure to check out information on atrazine and frogs and Atrazine: What's the safety limit?
Another good website on atrazine is AGsense.
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