A new report from Friends of the Earth refutes that industrial no-till agriculture is “regenerative.” Based on a first-of-its-kind analysis of U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) data, the report finds that most no-till systems are so heavily dependent on toxic herbicides to manage weeds that a staggering one-third of the U.S.’s total annual pesticide use (a term that includes herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides) can be attributed to no- and minimum-till GMO corn and soy production alone.
Chemical-intensive agriculture predominates in the U.S. not through the fault of farmers, but because that is what public policies and markets support. Farmers have widely adopted no-till to minimize soil erosion and now must be supported to also reduce agrochemical inputs.
The report finds that the vast majority (93%) of acreage of the top two no- and minimum-till crops, corn and soy, use high levels of toxic herbicides that have devastating consequences for soil life and human health. These chemicals, being broadcast across nearly 100 million acres nationwide, predominantly in the Heartland and Great Plains, have been linked to cancer, birth defects, infertility, neurotoxicity, disruption of the gut microbiome, endocrine disruption, and more. The majority (61%) of use is chemicals that are classified as highly hazardous. Glyphosate, the cancer-linked main ingredient in the widely criticized weedkiller Roundup, is the most widely used herbicide in no-till corn and soy.
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The cost of chemical-intensive no-till goes beyond impacts on our health: It is also destroying the soil that grows our food. The pesticides widely used in industrial no-till devastate soil health, harming the soil microbiome and invertebrates like worms and beetles, as well as essential pollinators and other wildlife. Healthy, living soil improves farmers’ resilience to droughts and floods, conserves water, and draws more carbon down from the atmosphere. Soil ravaged by toxic pesticides, on the other hand, threatens resources needed for a healthy food system.
The report debunks the faulty assumption that industrial no-till is a climate solution, summarizing extensive scientific research showing there is no clear relationship between industrial no-till and soil carbon sequestration. And the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the fossil-fuel-based synthetic pesticides and fertilizers used in no- and minimum-till corn and soy are equivalent to that of 11.4 million cars on the road over an entire year — about the number of cars in the top 9 no-till states combined.
“As regenerative agriculture takes center stage in national conversations about how to make America healthy, it’s crucial that we advance truly regenerative agriculture,” said Dr. Kendra Klein, Deputy Director of Science at Friends of the Earth. “No-till, soaked in toxic pesticides that threaten our children’s health, ravage soil, and exacerbate climate change, is taking us in the wrong direction.”
The ascendance of industrial no-till is linked to the chemical industry’s attempt to deepen farmers’ dependence on their toxic products. Chemical companies such as Imperial Chemical Industries and Chevron conducted no-till experiments and helped spread the concept of industrial no-till in the 1970s, recognizing it as an opportunity to increase the market for their herbicides.
“Major food companies investing in regenerative agriculture need to avoid greenwashed industrial no-till and instead support the transition to legitimate and regenerative agriculture that will protect and improve soil health, human health — and their future bottom line,” said Sarah Starman, Senior Campaigner of Food & Agriculture with Friends of the Earth.
Truly regenerative agriculture cannot be boiled down to single practices, it works with the farming system as a whole. A central tenet of truly regenerative agriculture is dramatic reduction of harmful agrochemicals. Research shows that reducing use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers in conventional agriculture is not only possible, it can increase yields by fostering beneficial insects and healthy soil and can increase profitability by reducing farmers’ input costs.
Key findings
- At least 93% of no-till and minimum-till corn and soy acreage in the U.S. uses synthetic herbicides, representing an area the size of California (99.5 million acres).
- Herbicide use in industrial no-till corn and soy can be associated with 33% of total annual pesticide use in the U.S. — 285 million out of 851 million pounds of pesticides.
- The majority of use (61%) is herbicides classified as highly hazardous to human health and/or the environment — 173 million pounds.
- Glyphosate accounts for an estimated 40% of the total use of herbicides in no-till corn and soy.
- At least 26 million pounds of additional herbicides are used annually due to no- and minimum-till management in corn and soy.
- At least 89% of industrial no- and minimum-till corn and soy acres rely on seeds genetically engineered to be herbicide tolerant.
- Neonicotinoid seed coatings are used on up to 100% of conventional no-till corn acreage.
- Fossil-fuel-based inputs to industrial no- and minimum-till corn and soy in the form of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers can be associated with ~49.3 million metric tons of CO2-equivalent emissions.
- Industrial no-till production does not increase soil carbon and in some cases has been found to reduce it.
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