We all know about the big industries that control the world – oil, gas, coal, drugs (medicine) and arms – but the list also includes the agricultural giants. Since 1930, agricultural sprays and fertilisers have wreaked havoc on the world environment, both land and sea. Synthetic nitrogen pollution alone is projected to double by 2050 if nothing is done now to stop their increased use. Tens of thousands of square km of ocean have been poisoned by nitrogen, now called ‘dead zones’, as well as massive deforestation and the destruction of countless ecosystems and loss of species.

That’s just the environmental impact. Agribusiness also impacts on cultures socially and economically. In India, for example, pressure from agribusiness giants to purchase and use expensive seeds, fertilisers and sprays, as well as switch to high-tech, high-input farming methods, has forced countless farmers into debt they cannot escape from. Since 1997, over 25,000 Indian farmers have committed suicide because of debt, many of them drinking their own weedkillers.

By contrast, for millions of people in developing countries worldwide, traditional organic farming methods are literally their only means of survival. For us in Western countries, organic food is still just a lifestyle choice. Please support organic.