Whether it is algae blooms created by fertilizer components or chemicals being dumped (accidental or not) into rivers and streams, one can safely say that water supplies in the United States are under attack. The shocking thing is who is doing the attacking; food manufacturing companies are among the top 10 polluters in the nation.
The United States has experienced population growth which along with technological advances has allowed growth in both the agricultural and livestock industries, which in turn produces and disposes of more chemicals and waste than ever before. Food manufacturing plants such as Tyson and Cargill are responsible for millions of pounds of waste being dumped into America’s waterways every year. With all of the advances that have been made to dispose of waste, it’s extremely disappointing that these large agribusiness plants must poison the very waters we need to survive just to save a buck.
What is even more shocking is that the American taxpayer is subsidizing these businesses; items such as grants, crop insurances and subsidized loans have been available to agribusiness corporations for decades. These government programs allow large corporations to have their expenses such as interest on loans, insurance, equipment, labor, and land (to name just a few) to be paid with the federal subsidies. Americans are basically paying these large corporations to stay in business and kill their waterways.
At times this can all be disheartening but thanks to some environmental watchdogs new reports are being made available which will add ammunition to the fight against pollution. After years of lawsuits and massive amounts of lobbying the Environmental Protection Agency is proposing rules to reenact past Clean Water Act initiatives. It’s a given that the large agribusinesses are against these new rules and are actively lobbying to keep polluting. It’s lucky that most people can understand the importance of clean drinking water, so hopefully the large polluters will find little sympathy.
The reports that have been recently released detailing the amounts of pollution released into the American waterways are scary; approximately one third of all the nitrates dumped into our waterways come from agribusiness plants. Nitrates are known to cause health problems for infants which can eventually lead to death. These same nitrates cause what are known as “dead zones” in the water, where no life can survive. Fish will leave the area and anything else will just die off, leaving an underwater desert. The largest of these dead zones is located in the Gulf of Mexico where every spring massive amounts of chemicals are brought to the ocean with the natural rainfall. These chemicals being introduced cause the algae to overgrow; once the algae start to decompose it depletes the water of oxygen which the ocean life needs to survive.
It is becoming more obvious over time that for Americans to be provided the clean water they deserve, they will have to stand up and fight for it. It should be an easy thing to do; after all the corporations are only fighting for more money, while the people are fighting for their lives.
