Page 50 - Msingi Afrika Magazine Issue 19

Food Health

leaders in the agricultural and food
sector, such as Deere & Co., CF
Industries, ADM, Tyson, Kellog’s,
Unilever, Nestle, Mondelez, Cocoa
Cola [sic], Pepsi and other.” Some or
many of these private equity funds
are also owners of Big Pharma and
Big Media (you can read more about Leading
that here), creating a ‘nice’ little loop
of control in the entire circle of players in
influence around food and medicine. the pesticides
sector 1990,
The report goes on to say that while
average global yields have more than 1996,
doubled using machinery, fertilizers, 2002, 2008
pesticides (I will add herbicides to and 2018.
this list) and hybrid/GMO varieties,
“in the last several years stagna- Source:
tion or even decline in crop yields BASIC
have been observed in areas which
have specialized in growing certain
crops. This concerns 24% to 39%
of maize, rice, wheat and soybean
growing areas worldwide. The
suspected causes are the growing
phenomenon of pesticide resistance,
the degradation of soils and of bio-
diversity due to intensive agricultural
production systems using pesticides
as well as climate change (which is
itself worsened by intensive agricul-
tural production systems.)”

They also assert that the global food to the increasing cost of natural gas
production model has been focused Pesticides are said to now be found which is used during the manufac-
on a limited number of high-yield in the environment to the extent turing process. Indeed, local farm-
plant varieties which are high in that even wild animal and plant life ers in Kenya have been feeling the
calories and are available at low cost, have been exposed. And, due to pain of the rising costs of farming
for both animals and humans. They their propensity for bioaccumula- inputs, based on reviews of com-
say that this has led to increased tion, these pesticides are eventually ments and posts in online platforms
global consumption of high fat, passed on to their consumers which as well as government initiatives
high sugar processed foods that include domesticated animals and to introduce subsidies for farmers.
have triggered obesity and malnu- human beings. They can affect These costs have affected them to
trition. Furthermore, the model of various body systems: endocrine, the point where some have even
food production adopted benefits metabolic, nervous, immune, em- talked about abandoning synthetic
the manufacturers of farm inputs bryogenic and reproductive, “ulti- inputs altogether and beginning to
and the food processors, major food mately causing the populations of use natural organic options for the
brands and distributors, skipping the the affected organisms to collapse.” growing of their crops and feeding
farmers along the way. Farmers are In line with the article I shared of their animals. What they see as
endlessly trapped between the rising earlier by Grain, Greenpeace and a desperate solution that they are
cost of inputs and the volatile or Institute for Agriculture and Trade implementing out of frustration;
declining prices in the commodity Policy, production costs for synthet- I see as an answer to prayer. They
market. ic Nitrogen fertilizers are rising due have found themselves in a position

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