Monoculture Agriculture Leads to Poor Soil Health

October 5, 2021 | Soil and soil quality are declining rapidly in the U.S. and around the world, with recent data indicating that the U.S. Corn Belt has lost 35% of its topsoil. “Understanding the management practices that lead to healthier soils will allow farmers to grow the same crops while reducing costly chemical inputs […]

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Meta-Review: Pesticides Kill or Harm Soil Invertebrates Essential to Soil Health

May 7, 2021 | Soil health is one of the linchpins on which the food production that sustains human life—as well as biodiversity, pollinator health, and carbon sequestration—depends. A recent meta-review in Frontiers in Environmental Science of nearly 400 studies finds that, in 71% of the cases reviewed, pesticides kill or otherwise harm soil invertebrates […]

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Implications for Human Health: Glyphosate-Related Soil Erosion Re-Releases Toxic Pesticides from Soil

March 4, 2021 | A study in Environmental Science and Technology finds that glyphosate use stimulates soil erosion responsible for releasing the banned, toxic pesticide chlordecone (Kepone), which was used in banana production in the French West Indies (Martinique and Guadeloupe). For years, an unknown pollution source continuously contaminated water surrounding the islands. However, researchers […]

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Glyphosate and Other Weed Killers Create Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria in Agricultural Soils

February 24, 2021 | Soil sprayed with weed killers glyphosate, glufosinate, or dicamba are likely to contain higher amounts of antibiotic resistant bacteria, according to research published in Molecular Biology and Evolution. Each year in the U.S., at least two million people develop an antibiotic resistant infection and over 23,000 die. Authors of the study […]

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