Preparing for Possible US Food Shortages Due to Fertilizer Prices

[NuclearID]

"The vast majority of the wheat we consume today has been drastically altered from its original form."

Is this a joke? uh duh, literally everything we eat is. Literally everything with DNA is drastically different from thousands or even just hundreds of years ago.

It's call selective breeding in plants & animals. We been doing it since before Jesus.

Though now we can speed up selective breeding through bio engineering. Same results, just quicker. Instead of taking 200 years to grow a crop that has a better output you can just simply move a genetic marker and get it done in a year.

That's why we're able to feed more people than ever. It's because of this the fears of the world running out of food didn't come true.

We can do now what took our ancestors hundreds if not thousands of years to do in a matter of just a few short months or years in regards to selective breeding better plants that give us better/bigger harvests or plants more hardy to insects and diseases.

GMO is our friend. Don't buy the bullshit about it. Almost literally everything is GMO. without genetic modifications we would all be starving to death, literally.

Old world crops COULD NOT produce enough for 8 billion plus people and counting.

There is also zero scientific evidence that proves anything different/harmful between a GMO product and a non-GMO product. Other than one can outgrow/outproduce/out-survive/use less water to grow than the other.

Be smart and rise above the ignorant fear propaganda meant to make you buy unnecessary and overpriced things like "non-gmo" or "organic" items which are worse in the end for the planet/people.

Nature gave us grass. Human intervention gave us bread.

 

[william]

How Chemical Runoff from Pesticides Kills Fish and Wildlife​

Chemical runoff from pesticides is a major threat to aquatic ecosystems, directly harming fish, amphibians, and other wildlife through both acute and chronic exposure.

Pathways of contamination
Pesticides—especially insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides—are applied to crops, lawns, and other landscapes. Rainwater and irrigation can wash these chemicals into streams, rivers, wetlands, and groundwater, carrying them into aquatic habitats USGS.gov. This runoff can also be carried by stormwater and urban drainage, especially in areas with high agricultural or urban land use San Francisco Estuary Institute.

Impacts on fish
Once in water, pesticides can impair metabolic and physiological functions in fish, leading to:

• Reproductive abnormalities and reduced fertility www.fisheriesjournal.com
• Endocrine disruption, altering hormone systems www.fisheriesjournal.com
• Gill damage such as hemorrhage, clubbed lamellae, and necrosis, which impair oxygen uptake www.fisheriesjournal.com
• Organ damage to liver, spleen, kidneys, and brain, reducing overall health and survival www.fisheriesjournal.com
• Neurological effects like spinal deformities and impaired movement www.fisheriesjournal.com

These effects can cause population declines, reduced growth rates, and increased mortality.

Impacts on wildlife
Pesticides can poison wildlife directly through ingestion of contaminated water or food, or indirectly by killing insects and other prey species Pesticide Environmental Stewardship. Acute exposure can cause mass die-offs (e.g., fish kills from pesticide-laden runoff), while chronic exposure can weaken immune systems, reduce reproductive success, and alter behavior Pesticide Environmental Stewardship.

Case example: 6PPD-quinone in San Francisco Bay
A recent study found that a tire-derived chemical, 6PPD-quinone (6PPDQ), is highly toxic to coho salmon and steelhead trout. Even trace amounts in runoff can be lethal, and high levels occur after winter storms when steelhead return to spawn San Francisco Estuary Institute. This shows how urban and agricultural runoff can introduce potent toxins into estuaries, threatening sensitive species.

Prevention and mitigation

• Best management practices in agriculture, such as buffer strips, cover crops, and reduced pesticide use, can limit runoff USGS.gov.
• Stormwater controls in urban areas can filter out contaminants before they reach waterways.
• Regulatory measures and public awareness can reduce the use of highly toxic pesticides and promote safer alternatives San Francisco Estuary Institute.

In short, pesticide runoff is a persistent and damaging pathway for chemical contamination in aquatic ecosystems, with cascading effects on fish, wildlife, and the health of entire ecosystems.

Chemicals in your food are good for you!

 

[NuclearID]

Chemicals in your food are good for you!

Where did I say “chemicals”? Anywhere infact.

GMO is not “chemicals in your food.” GMO refers to how a crop’s genetics are altered. That can be done to make the plant more resistant to pests, disease, drought, heat, and/or other crop killing problems.

And the real funny part is a lot of genetic engineering exists specifically so farmers use less chemicals for the same or greater output.

If a crop survives insects, disease, or bad weather better, more of it gets harvested instead of rotting, dying, or being thrown away. That is not scary.

People hear “modified crop” and act like nature was handing us perfect food from heaven. It wasn’t. Nature gave us fragile plants, famine, pests, crop failure, and starvation. Human intervention/genetic modification gave us agriculture capable of feeding billions.

So no, I’m not saying “chemicals in food are good for you.” of course not, nor is GMO a chemical.

I’m saying the fear campaign around genetically modified crops is mostly marketing, ignorance, and anti science panic dressed up as fake wisdom.

 

[Publius]

"The vast majority of the wheat we consume today has been drastically altered from its original form."

Is this a joke? uh duh, literally everything we eat is. Literally everything with DNA is drastically different from thousands or even just hundreds of years ago.

It's call selective breeding in plants & animals. We been doing it since before Jesus.

Though now we can speed up selective breeding through bio engineering. Same results, just quicker. Instead of taking 200 years to grow a crop that has a better output you can just simply move a genetic marker and get it done in a year.

That's why we're able to feed more people than ever. It's because of this the fears of the world running out of food didn't come true.

We can do now what took our ancestors hundreds if not thousands of years to do in a matter of just a few short months or years in regards to selective breeding better plants that give us better/bigger harvests or plants more hardy to insects and diseases.

GMO is our friend. Don't buy the bullshit about it. Almost literally everything is GMO. without genetic modifications we would all be starving to death, literally.

Old world crops COULD NOT produce enough for 8 billion plus people and counting.

There is also zero scientific evidence that proves anything different/harmful between a GMO product and a non-GMO product. Other than one can outgrow/outproduce/out-survive/use less water to grow than the other.

Be smart and rise above the ignorant fear propaganda meant to make you buy unnecessary and overpriced things like "non-gmo" or "organic" items which are worse in the end for the planet/people.

Nature gave us grass. Human intervention gave us bread.

Well actually nature gave us a grass and human intervention gave us corn. I also believe gmo seed are and can be a good thing.

Here’s the issue though. GMO can so quickly make fundamental and unforeseeable changes. To our food supply. Both good and bad in a food crop. The consequences potentially could be catastrophic .

It’s just like anything humans do with technological manipulation of our environment. We must always choose to be cautions and show a little forbearance.

The greater damage to the food quality people eat, or don’t eat. Is what is done with it after is harvested, processed foods.
Excess salts and sugars, unhealthy oils preservatives. Thats where the greatest nutritional value damage occurs.

MRE’s are probably horrible sources of long term nutrition because of how they’re processed. But if you’re starving. Your going to bitch because it’s not organic and ethically sourced. An mre won’t kill you, but if that’s the only thing being offered or consumed. Then a lot of people are going to be suffering chronic constipation.

At the presidential Christmas dinner during one of the years of the civil war. Something like 20 of the 23 dishes served that day was some form of a meat organ or animal fat dish. All organically sourced with zero herbicides or pesticides.
But no one today would consider that a long term healthy diet.

 

[Librarylady]

And make sure it is a multigrain flower with lots of smaller seeds so the weevils are well hidden when you make a loaf . With the weevils it is also protein boosted.

My husband and sons won't eat multigrain bread -- I just buy regular flour/bread flour and freeze it overnight to kill any bugs before they hatch. Same for rice. Less protein , but less whining...

 

[willrod1989]

Almost everything we consume has been genetically engineered to one degree or another. Our cereal crops, produce, and livestock have been selectively bred for millennia. I feel that genetically modified plants can be beneficial when used in the right way, such as being modified to be more drought resistant, heat tolerant, etc.

 

[NuclearID]

Almost everything we consume has been genetically engineered to one degree or another.

Our cereal crops, produce, and livestock have been selectively bred for millennia. I feel that genetically modified plants can be beneficial

when used in the right way, such as being modified to be more drought resistant, heat tolerant, etc.

My point entirely. Besides... the small fact that the theory of the world running out of food in the 70-90's didn't come true due to the simple fact of GMO crops greater harvest outputs and higher durability. Paired with better farm equipment too or using satellites. But mostly comes down to GMO crop yeild increases. Just frustrating GMO gets a bad reputation when it "saved the world".