Epilogue: Putting All of Our Eggs in a Diversity of Baskets

Abstract

The chemical treadmill, and the future it portends, is very well understood by many in the agricultural world, but the scale and momentum of modern agriculture are enormous. Nonetheless, armed with knowledge of both the current problems and their origins, and with viable solutions, why have we made so little progress? There are many factors that prevent rapid change, but the overwhelming factor is cultural inertia—agriculture is an economic juggernaut, and the practices and technology that support our use of agricultural chemicals have become entrenched over the past few decades. To change the way we do things now will require a nearly complete philosophical reversal of our approach to growing food and fiber plants. But do we have a choice? If failure to act is worse in the long run than the short-term discomfort of adopting a new way of thinking, then we do not. However, achieving a major shift toward an ecosystembased approach to farming will require a consensus among the all important elements of the farming world—farmers, seed producers, agrochemical producers, the biotechnology industry, farm equipment manufacturers, state and federal governments, and consumers.