The Sustainable Living Podcast

Episode 106 The future of humanity may very well rest on the success of the small, sustainable farm. If that sounds like a severe exaggeration to you, consider the following: Industrial agriculture uses excessive amounts of chemical pesticides, herbicides and hormones that end up in what we eat, drink and breathe Factory farms and industrial slaughterhouses often create unsanitary conditions that cause food contamination, sickening 76 million people in the U.S. yearly. Topsoil erosion and aquifer depletion caused by industrial agriculture undermines genetic diversity, and pollutes air, water, and soil with toxic chemicals, causing $34.7 billion in environmental damage annually in the U.S. alone. Management of animal waste at factory farms often contaminates nearby  soil and water with pathogens, heavy metals, and excess nutrients that can sicken neighboring residents. Industrial agriculture contaminates ground and surface water with toxic pesticide and fertilizer runoff, hormone and antibiotics residue, heav