The potential that one acre of land holds is vast. Take a minute to imagine a plot of land, about the size of a football field, lush with different grains, fruits, and vegetables. In this image, agriculture and terrain work in symbiosis to paint a vibrant landscape in front of you. Now think of the most recent road trip you took.  

As a California native, frequent drives up and down the Interstate 5 (I-5) are the norm. This highway connects most of the West Coast, linking California, Oregon, and Washington. While the route runs parallel to the Pacific Ocean, the California portion rarely touches the coast, cutting through the middle of the state.  Along the highway, you can spot extensive fields of corn, wheat, almond trees, or tomatoes (among other crops). Looking out into the homogenous expanse, you will find yourself face to face with a historical, environmentally taxing practice; monocropping. 

Monocropping is actually an extreme sub-practice of monoculture, which is growing the same crop species, but allowing for crop rotations – where the same crop species might be grown but rotated among different fields over seasons or years.  In 2022, just ten crops dominated 63% of global farmland, supplying 83% of the world’s harvested food calories, and yet only 37% of these crops are directly used for human consumption.

The rest are used for other industrial purposes like to support the growth of the animal agriculture industry.  Around 70% of global agricultural land is used to grow food for livestock, Other crops are used to make biofuels.

This focus on a small number of crops prioritizes uniformity and efficiency over biodiversity and soil health. As a result, the ecosystems and soils where these crops are grown become exhausted and degraded because the natural balance is disrupted by this lack of variety. In other words, agriculture is dominated by a monoculture system that neglects diversity, which harms the environment and soil vitality over time.

Why Did Monocropping Take Off? 

There are reasons farms chose to monocrop. For larger farms with access to big agricultural machinery, it can make sowing and harvesting more efficient. Which is why it’s common when farming crops such as corn, soybeans, and wheat. Economically, there is more security in this type of farming too. Harvests are more consistent , and it saves money not having to purchase different kinds of fertilizers as these crops thrive with nitrogen based fertilizers.

The industrialization of farming began in the United States in the 1940s, and is known as the Green Revolution.  This movement has strong connections to the work of Norman Borlaug.

Borlaug, born in 1914, was an American agronomist and plant pathologist known as the “Father of the Green Revolution.” He developed high-yield, disease-resistant varieties of wheat starting in the 1940s, particularly in Mexico, which dramatically increased food production. His semi-dwarf wheat varieties, combined with modern farming techniques, helped Mexico, India, and Pakistan overcome food shortages during the mid-20th century. His work is credited with saving over a billion people worldwide from starvation and earned him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970. 

His central objective was to increase productivity in the agricultural sector to feed more people – it was his obsession with high-yielding varieties (HYVs) of crops (such as wheat or rice) that made this possible. These crops are highly specialized versions of the original crop, but specifically cultivated on the basis of desirable gene mutations. 

HYV strains, such as  “miracle wheat”, especially thrived in monoculture farmed land and benefited from nitrogenous fertilizer.  They were an agricultural game changer, as yield nearly tripled. Plus government agricultural policies at the time, also favored monocropping practices with subsidies. Subsidies came in the form of monetary or other kinds of federal support.

But while monocropping can seem like the betterment of agricultural endeavors, the price of temporary productivity is being paid, with interest, by the environment.

Stark Reality of Monocropping 

To begin, intensive monocropping severely impacts soil quality by accelerating soil erosion more than organic farming practices do. This nutrient depletion weakens the soil, reducing its fertility and structure, and forces farmers to rely heavily on synthetic fertilizers to replenish what the soil loses and to sustain plant growth. Over time, this cycle not only degrades soil health but also leads to further environmental issues such as reduced microbial diversity, poorer water retention, and increased vulnerability to pests and diseasesIn 2020, the USDA reported that fertilizer costs accounted for 33-44% of corn farming operating coasts and 34-45% for wheat operating coasts.  So, not only is this practice disastrous for our soil, it’s got a hefty price tag.

In organic farming, methodical crop rotation is used to introduce other plant species, like clover,  that restore the soil nutrients naturally that the prior crop exhausted. Beans are regarded as “nitrogen fixers” because they can deposit nitrogen into the soil, reducing the need for synthetic fertilizers. 

While natural ecosystems are diverse, and have symbiotic relationships that contribute to the survival of the whole, monocropping has helped lead to 75% of the world’s crop varieties being lost in the last century alone. 

Our crops are also becoming more susceptible to highly specialized diseases. An excellent example of this is the 1950s banana extinction. Gros Michel was the name of the dominant variety of bananas at the time, and in comparison to our current variety (Cavendish bananas), were less likely to bruise and sweeter. The Gros Michel species were swept into extinction by the Panama disease (a soil related fungal disease). The resilient Cavendish bananas survived this fungus, and are now produced at a volume of 50 million tonnes annually and account for about half of global production. But these bananas are at risk of facing the same fate as their sibling variety.

Due to the uniformity and single genetic lineage of these bananas, both strengths and weaknesses are shared.  Fusarium Tropical Race 4 (TR4) is a soil-borne fungus that targets banana roots. This disease could wipe out entire plantations in a single outbreak, and the lack of biodiversity within bananas accelerates this process.

The lack of diversity in monocropping means that if a disease evolves to infect one plant, it can quickly spread through entire fields with no natural barriers to stop it. The optimal solution, which applies to most monoculture problems, is to diversify plant production, and invest in cultivating different varieties of bananas.

Variety Isn’t Just the Spice of Life—It’s the Survival of It

Polyculture is the flip side of this agriculture coin, and necessitates growing a variety of plant species on the same land, for the goal of diversification. Polycultures preserve soil health, because the variety of plants balance consumption and replenishment of nutrients in the soil. The root structures of different plants help with water filtration, strengthen soil structure, prevent nutrient depletion, and reduce the need for synthetic fertilizers.

Polycultures can even increase crop yields. In certain instances, they produce 80% more food per acre than their monoculture counterparts. Increased yields like this one, can be attributed to the interconnectedness of the plants, largely represented by the term agro-symbiosis. This is a form of symbiosis that is mutualistic, as every plant involved benefits from the exchange. 

A benefit of this relationship is the deterrence of pests. An entomology study from 2019 showed that as plant species diversity increased within a plot of land, so did the ratio of natural enemies to crop pests. Natural enemies are insects that are in nature’s arsenal as defense against pets.  The implementation of polycultures can support their impact on pest management, by creating habitat niches.

Polycultures also equip plants with climate resilience. Weather has profound effects on crop yield, especially extreme conditions such as droughts, heat waves and excessive rain.  The resilience of polyculture plots to these conditions are an amalgamation of the aforementioned factors.  Rich soil health also strengthens soil structure, creating stronger foundations for the plants.  The surge in biodiversity keeps the ecosystem balanced and stable, so failure as a whole is unlikely.

Looking Across the Pond 

There are many inspiring stories of success when it comes to sustainable agriculture.  One prominent example is the work of UK trailblazer Patrick Holden.  He was the former head of the Soil Association and is the current founder and CEO of Sustainable Food Trust.  During Holden’s time at the Soil Association the charity’s staff and sales of organic produce in the UK grew significantly.  He was one of the primary contributors to paving the UKs organic produce landscape, with notable achievements.  

One such being the work he did on the Organic Livestock Standards Committee, where efforts were made to ensure organic certification credibility and organic livestock standards. His current work with the Sustainable Food Trust, is a framework style approach for farm sustainability and redesigning systems to integrate ethical practices.

Small Actions, Big Harvests

By choosing to support polyculture farming, you’re doing more than improving what ends up on your plate; you’re helping rebuild ecosystems, reduce pesticide use, and protect the planet’s natural balance. If you’re interested in learning more about regenerative agriculture, you can read more articles here. You can also take the EARTHDAY.ORG Pesticide Pledge, which helps safeguard vital pollinators.

For an even greater impact, consider advocating for transparency in pesticide use. Hidden deep in the Interior Appropriations Bill (Section 453) lies a clause that shields chemical companies from public accountability about the health risks of their products. Learning more helps push for the honesty our environment deserves.

Together, small actions can sow the seeds for lasting change and move us closer to a food system that nourishes both people and the planet.

This article is available for republishing on your website, newsletter, magazine, newspaper, or blog. The accompanying imagery is cleared for use with attribution. Please ensure that the author’s name and their affiliation with EARTHDAY.ORG are credited. Kindly inform us if you republish so we can acknowledge, tag, or repost your content. You may notify us via email at davies@earthday.org or fielder@earthday.org. Want more articles? Follow us on substack.

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Plastics are not a distant threat plaguing our oceans and landfills, but are now an ever present evil presence that has followed us all home, whether we like it or not. Microplastics are “invisible” pollutants that have an impact on human health, but also threaten the wellness of our furry loved ones. 

And there are a lot of furry friends out there! There are over one billion pets worldwide, and according to the Global Animal Health Association’s 2022 report, the US, Brazil, the European Union and China alone account for half a billion pets. In Argentina, 66% of homes own a dog, with Mexico not far behind at 64%. The Middle East, Africa and Eastern Europe have all seen pet ownership rise and in Korea it increased 50% from 2014 to 2018. 

According to research from 2024, 66% of households in the US own a pet, with 65.1 million American homes with a dog, and 46.5 million with a cat.  In fact 50% of the world’s population owns a pet in one shape or another. 

We go above and beyond for our pets, which is evident in the 259.37 billion US dollars we spent globally on pet care items in 2024. A figure predicted to rise to 427.75 billion by 2032. But unbeknownst to most pet owners, plastics are undermining our good intentions and potentially harming our beloved fur babies. Because plastics are ubiquitous in the pet industry – pet toys, pet clothes, pet bedding, pet toiletries, even pet food, they can all include plastics. 

Plastic is Haunting Us

That’s not all. Only 9% of all the plastic ever made has been recycled and all plastics over time shed microplastics.  Microplastics are small in size, no more than a grain of rice, and are easily transferable. Meaning they haunt us – turning up everywhere, in our water, soil, air, homes and in the food chain.  

Last July, EARTHDAY.ORG published Pets Vs. Plastics, a report that covered the ubiquitous nature of plastics in our world and its effect on our pets.​ The report revealed that plastics are a combination of fossil fuels, mainly oil and a cocktail of harmful chemicals, primarily bisphenol A (BPA)  and phthalates. Which can impact our health and that of our pets too. 

Microplastics  and their additive chemicals, have already been associated with a range of health issues impacting our pets, from embryo development to potential infertility, liver failure and miscarriage and more. 

Luckily, there are ways we can scare these pollutants away from endangering the health and wellbeing of our four-legged loved ones. To mark National Cat Day this spooky season, here are 7 ways to reduce the danger of microplastics on your pets this Halloween.

1. Plastic Pet Food 

When it comes to pet foods, it is also important to look beyond the label on the can and the ingredient list. Because the inner lining of pet food cans often contain plastic chemicals that can leech into the pet food itself.  For instance, a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) based coating was found in 95% of all cat food cans and a BPA-based coating was found in 81% of all dog food cans. A component chemical used to make PVC has been proven to be cancerogenic. 

We know that microplastics are in the human food chain — one study published in February 2024, reviewed a wide range of meat, fish and vegetarian meat alternatives used for human grade food and reported that 88% of them contained microplastics. 

Most pet foods are made with “feed-grade” ingredients, ranked lower than human-grade so there’s far more likelihood plastics can get into pet food. We know that feed-grade includes parts of livestock, such as sheep heads, that are often sent to be rendered and processed for pet food, with plastic ear tags still attached. These ear tags are typically used for identification and tracking reasons, but when mulched into pet food it means your pet is getting an unwanted dose of plastic.   

Home made pet food might be a solution for some pet owners. Consider making your own pet food if you can. But always take veterinary advice as changing the diet of your pet quickly can cause issues in and of itself. Dogs need protein, fat, minerals and vitamins to stay healthy. Dogs especially love cooked carrots, squash and sweet potatoes, mixed with protein. This may be a viable option for your pet if cooked in bulk and potentially frozen in batches. Note there are some foods that dogs especially cannot eat, like onions, grapes and chocolate for example. There’s a full list of ingredients to avoid HERE.

Cats have unique dietary needs of their own, that are different to the dietary needs of dogs. Plus dogs and cats have evolving nutritional needs dependent on their age. Cats too have a list of food that are poisonous to them – HERE.

There are many resources online featuring yummy pet food recipes as well as information on how to maximize the nutrients your pets need. Please always check what ingredients you can safely use before making your homemade pet food. 

Plus, instead of using plastic bowls for food or water, opt for glass or stainless steel. The next time you go grocery shopping, plan ahead and look online for pet recipes that are all about treating your pets well, and not allowing pet food to trick you into feeding them plastics. 

2. Clean up the Candy Wrappers

Everybody loves a Halloween sweet treat! Annually, the average American eats eight pounds of candy. But candy wrappers, due to their complex composition, don’t adhere to standard recycling practices. 

As a result, candy wrappers are amongst the top five commonly found items on beaches and waterways. These wrappers also shed microplastics directly in our homes and cars – all the places that are pets are. These micro and nano plastics collect in household dust and can be easily inhaled by pets, especially as they live closer to the ground. Studies have found high levels of plastic related flame retardant chemicals (PBDEs) in the blood serum of dogs and cats. 

Our pets’ plastic intake levels are also powerful benchmarks for our own plastic intake level. Dogs are considered sentinel species, which means because dogs live close to people and share the same air, water, and surroundings, if something harmful shows up in dogs first and alert us to risks for humans.

The most optimal solution is to reduce your candy consumption. Or opt for treats in recyclable materials like cardboard and paper. But the most important thing to reduce our pet’s inhalation of microplastics in household dust is regular sweeping and vacuuming! 

3. Plastic Toys are Not Nice

There are very little federal and state regulations on pet toys and most pet toys are made of plastics.  With this explosion of the pet industry over the last decade, you might assume that all pet toys on the market have been vetted by federal, state or global agencies. You would be wrong to think this.

The Consumer Products Safety Commission CPSC, which is dedicated to reducing “the unreasonable risk of injuries and deaths associated with consumer products”, has never recalled a pet toy because it was deemed to be hazardous. The Commission argues that it could only do that if a pet toy was deemed dangerous to a human as it has no authority to protect your pets.  And the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not regulate pet accessories, toys, beds, crates, grooming aids, cat litter, etc.

Plastic pet toys often contain additive chemicals, like phthalates and Bisphenol-A (BPA), and because our pets love to chew on these toys, plastic chemicals can leach directly into their gums. On top of that plastic toy fragments that break off as they chew can be ingested and reach their stomachs.  Exposure to these chemicals has similar effects on our pets as it does to humans – including impacting sperm count and potential infertility.  A study in 2019 found phthalates in every single sample of cat and dog urine tested. The levels of phthalates found were similar to the levels found in human beings.

Research from 2017 suggested BPA is linked with changes to the gut microbiome and metabolism of pets and another study, albeit from 2013, conducted by researchers at Texas Tech University found that aging and worn dog toys contained increased concentrations of both BPA and phthalates.  According to a 2022 study there is evidence BPA might trigger the progression of prostate tumorigenesis, as shown in experiments on beagles tested in laboratory conditions.

It is a sobering thought too that every year in the US alone an estimated 634 million dog toys, mainly plastic,  end up in landfills. That is the equivalent to 40,500 tons of plastic waste dumped every year so your dog can chew on something ‘cute’. So, do your pet and the planet a favor and opt for pet toys made of hemp, cotton and natural ingredients instead.  A cotton T shirt tied up in knots for example will make your dog just as happy as a plastic pumpkin chew toy.

4. Trick or Treat?

A commonly overlooked source of microplastics in our pet’s lives are plastic textile materials like polyester, nylon, and acrylics. These synthetic fibers are used to make our cats and dogs’ clothes, bedding, and costumes. The global pet clothing market alone is expected to grow to $6.3 billion by 2028 with the pet bed sector reaching $4.25 billion in 2022, with a projection to reach $8.23 billion by 2030.

Fast fashion has exacerbated the use of these cheap materials, with global synthetic fiber production increasing from 57 million metric tons to 111 million metric tons in the last 20 years alone. Halloween is fast fashion’s dream holiday –  making cheap costumes the norm as  83 percent of the materials used for these are made of oil-based plastic. Which is a nightmare for our pets’ health as we wrap them in polyester ghost gear.

Better alternatives for our pet costumes, and our own too, are linen, cotton, and wool. All of these materials are natural fibers that are durable and will make for hauntingly cool pet costumes.

5. Sucking Up the Spooky

Last but not least, end your spooky night right with a careful cleanup!  Check indoors and outdoors, for plastic candy wrappers, decorations, and even forgotten chocolate bars, as chocolate is poisonous to dogs.   

We hope these tips help you celebrate the spooky season free of plastic nightmares. If you want to support our work dumping plastics, sign the ​​Global Plastics Treaty petition and make your voice heard.

This article is available for republishing on your website, newsletter, magazine, newspaper, or blog. The accompanying imagery is cleared for use with attribution. Please ensure that the author’s name and their affiliation with EARTHDAY.ORG are credited. Kindly inform us if you republish so we can acknowledge, tag, or repost your content. You may notify us via email at davies@earthday.org or fielder@earthday.org. Want more articles? Follow us on substack.

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