Traditional Farming Pollutes the Environment

Present Farming Methods Are Not Environmentally or Economically Sustainable
We believe that recirculating farms and in particular aquaponics is the future of global food production.  We cannot continue to sustain the cost of carbon and nitrogen pollution that results from the unbridled use of commercial fertilizer and the cost of transporting food long distances.  We need to grow the food where it is being consumed.  This video on non point source pollution shows how fertilizer indiscriminately spread on farms, lawns, and gardens enters the water system and pollutes the environment.


Nonpoint Source Pollution
Public Service Announcement about nonpoint source pollution


Farm Based Pollution from nitrogen fertilizers are causing significant changes in our water and food production processes.  The Green revolution and the "better living through chemistry (and chemicals) is a classic example of applying technology without thinking through the potential consequences, as the following excerpt from an article by  The American Chemical Society clearly demonstrates.

American Chemical Society
DENVER, Aug. 28, 2011 - Billions of people owe their lives to nitrogen fertilizers - a pillar of the fabled Green Revolution in agriculture that averted global famine in the 20th century - but few are aware that nitrogen pollution from fertilizers and other sources has become a major environmental problem that threatens human health and welfare in multiple ways, a scientist said here today.


Aquaponics Needs to Become a Larger Part of our Food Production System
“It's been said that nitrogen pollution is the biggest environmental disaster that nobody has heard of,” Alan Townsend, Ph.D., observed at the 242nd National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS), being held here this week. Townsend, an authority on how human activity has changed the natural cycling of nitrogen to create a friend-turned-foe dilemma, called for greater public awareness of nitrogen pollution and concerted global action to control it. ... "

The Family Fish Farms Network's solution eliminates all commercial fertilizer, while using natural processes to both dramatically increase food production and simultaneously limit the adverse environmental effects of modern agribiz.  Aquaponics and recirculating farm methods must become a larger part of the global food production strategy.

Why We NEED Aquaponics - Desperately!!!

We are exceeding the planets natural capacity for food production

 

Traditional farming and fisher communities around the world are being forced to innovate in order to deal with global changes in environment and natural resources caused in part, by man’s population growth.  Commercial fishing is stagnant and stuck at 2002 levels of around 90 million metric tons.   This is reflective of environmental concerns not consumer demand.  Another 53 million metric tons are produced from fish farming as the demand has risen from 10 kilos per person in the 1960’s to 17kilos per person in 2008.  The demand for fish continues to grow at between 6% and 8% each year.  This combined with the rise in overall food prices is driving whole populations to the brink. Of the 41 countries on the WFO’s Famine watch 36 are in Africa.

Aquaponics is the future of food

Many countries see traditional farming as insufficient to meet the consumer demand for quality vegetables as well.   Holland and Spain have hundreds of square Kilometers of greenhouses all growing veggies as hydroponics looms as a significant contributor and alterntive to field crop farming methods.   The traditional farming food production chain is being further challenged by the scarcity of another natural resource: clean potable water.  Many parts of the world are woefully deficient in this precious resource, namely Africa and the Middle East.  In ground growing requires lage amounts of clean water.  China for example is now running short of fresh uncontaminated water.

Traditional farming is hard on the environment

Another impediment to traditional farming is the need for using nitrates and connercial fertilized.  The fertilizer is washed off by spring rains and contaminates the water table.  The need for environmentally damaging fertilizer along with millions of gallons of water creates a potent argument for an alternative to both traditional farming.  Aquaponics that produces both high quality carbohydrates (vegetables) and seafood, and excellent source of quality proteing is the obvious answer.  It is not a question of, "If," but, "When?"