PERILOUS BOUNTY

The food and agricultural correspondent for Mother Jones takes a focused look at the ecological degradation caused by industrial agriculture in the U.S.

Philpott offers a view—primarily of California’s Central Valley and the Midwest Corn Belt—of what the political and economic forces of corporate-dominated agriculture are contributing to the decline of the environmental resources of these two main production regions. The author is deeply invested in—and knowledgeable about—all the ins and outs of the virtual oligarchy that controls American agriculture, from the seeds to the market destinations. It’s hardly surprising—though depressing nonetheless—that fewer than a dozen giant companies have so concentrated agricultural production that they have stretched resources such as natural soil fertility and freshwater resources to the point of environmental calamity. As Philpott amply illustrates, via enlightening interviews with hydrologists, geologists, soil chemists, and entomologists, the demands that corn/soy/meat culture have put on the Corn Belt, as well as the water burden of the industries of the Central Valley, are not only unsustainable, but likely catastrophic for future farming on that land. In the absence of cover crops to protect the land from increasingly severe storms, the Midwest’s once-deep soil is often washed away down the Mississippi River, ending up in the Gulf of Mexico, where its fertilizer loads spawn algal blooms that transform into dead zones. Philpott is especially good in his explanations of alternative agricultural modes of production, which, for the most part, involve increasing diversity, mixing it up, and spreading it out. The author also explores the unique problems facing midsized farmers—too small for the national chains and too big for local farmers markets—and the complete overhaul of production required to break the monoculture mindset. Philpott is not optimistic about the current political landscape, with a “climate change denier” as president and crucial regulatory agencies “shot through with former oil and agribusiness industry execs and flacks.”

A solid, keenly drawn critique of American agricultural circumstances and consequences.