harmful pesticides and other chemicals, but it also helps to sustain the land. Co-op American Quarterly states that only .03 to .25 cents per food dollar goes to the grower. It’s ironic that we choose to spend millions of dollars on wars in the middle east to protect our petroleum rights, but very little is spent on the preservation and growth of our agricultural system. (Nebel / Wright, 1998) Another important social problem that aids in soil deterioration is our land use and development. As our population continues to grow, we demand more products from our land. We cannot continue to feed the world if we are destroying our soils. Eventually, people will be forced to move from place to place until they find land that can satisfy their need for food, water and other resources. Look at a few of the less fortunate countries around the world today where this its happening. Famine and disease kill millions every year. Many civilizations have perished due to the absence of soil (ie. Mesopotamia and the Mayan civilizations). Since we know that our lands are finite, we must now accept responsibility worldwide and manage our Earth’s future. Historically, countries have gone to war over such resources. While topsoil may not carry that kind of weight today (such as petroleum), we could eventually become a world starving for food and no place to grow it. (Ehrlich, 1990) The term, ‘land use’ also pertains to the structural building we do on the land, because expansion is a reality that we must accept, we must realize that we cannot use the land to build schools, parks, houses, or other structures if it is contaminated. Although the need to build for the excelling human population is inevitable, we must establish priorities and obtain a balance right now. At some point, we have to set aside lands and protect them to sustain our future. The most powerful social issue facing t...
