The Problem with Chemical Fertilizer

In this John Stossel video, we learn about the latest target of the environmental movement: chemical fertilizer. Right alongside things like GMOs, the environmental movement attacks chemical fertilizers. There are some problems with fertilizers. They tend to pile up in water ways and can cause downstream effects like algae blooms in the Gulf of Mexico. However, it is the advent of fertilizers, derived from oil, that has allowed our population to grow to 8 billion people on the planet. It has allowed food prices and supply to stabilize. Most people would think that is an unmitigated good. However, for the environmental movement; these fertilizers are an enemy. I’m currently working on an essay about agroecology that creates food without so much fertilizer using natural processes and indigenous principles in my new book. Fertilizer is complicated. In Sri Lanka, when they quit using them it caused a famine almost immediately because the quality of the soil was so poor. It is complicated and even more so when people are going hungry. In this video, we get some clarity on these subjects and see how the solution is neither complete elimination nor using it too much.