SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Corn
(Photo: Vmcreddy / Wikimedia Creative Commons)
On Warming Planet, US Corn Industry 'Unsustainable'
New report shows use of water and chemical fertilizers is serious threat to nation's signature crop
Jun 12, 2014
America's behemoth corn industry--worth an estimated $67 billion--is racing towards an unsustainable future as the planet warms, severe weather intensifies, and irrigation water dries up, according to a new report by the investment research organization Ceres.
The report, entitled Water and Climate Risks Facing Corn Production in the U.S., has potentially far-reaching implications, given the mono-crop status of U.S. corn--which is grown on nearly one third of all U.S. farmland, accounts for 40% corn crops across the world, and is found in products ranging from animal feed to corn syrup.
Corn is highly vulnerable to extreme weather events--including floods, droughts, and heat waves, which are only going to intensify as climate change worsens. The National Climate Assessment warned in May that global warming will negatively impact agricultural production in the Midwest and Great Plains--a prediction that does not bode well for corn, which is grown throughout these regions.
Furthermore, corn is remarkably water-intensive, receiving "the most irrigation water overall of any American crop," the report states. Global warming is worsening water shortages, and corn production is growing increasingly reliant on over-stressed aquifers, including the Central Valley aquifer in California and the High Plains aquifer that stretches from South Dakota to Texas. A stunning "87 percent of irrigated corn is grown in regions with high or extremely high water stress," the report reveals, with corn-growing areas in Nebraska, Kansas, California, Colorado, and Texas at especially high risk.
Corn growers, furthermore, uses "the most fertilizer of all major U.S. crops" and "every year millions of tons of nitrogen and phosphate fertilizer leach into groundwater and run off cornfields into waterways," the report states. This run-off is the single biggest contributor to the nitrogen pollution that has created a massive dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico where no marine life can survive.
"Escalating corn production for our food, livestock and energy industries has put the corn sector on an unsustainable path, especially in regard to water quality and water use impacts and the growing ripples from climate change," warned Brooke Barton, the report's author and director of Ceres' water program, in a statement.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Sarah Lazare
Sarah Lazare was a staff writer for Common Dreams from 2013-2016. She is currently web editor and reporter for In These Times.
America's behemoth corn industry--worth an estimated $67 billion--is racing towards an unsustainable future as the planet warms, severe weather intensifies, and irrigation water dries up, according to a new report by the investment research organization Ceres.
The report, entitled Water and Climate Risks Facing Corn Production in the U.S., has potentially far-reaching implications, given the mono-crop status of U.S. corn--which is grown on nearly one third of all U.S. farmland, accounts for 40% corn crops across the world, and is found in products ranging from animal feed to corn syrup.
Corn is highly vulnerable to extreme weather events--including floods, droughts, and heat waves, which are only going to intensify as climate change worsens. The National Climate Assessment warned in May that global warming will negatively impact agricultural production in the Midwest and Great Plains--a prediction that does not bode well for corn, which is grown throughout these regions.
Furthermore, corn is remarkably water-intensive, receiving "the most irrigation water overall of any American crop," the report states. Global warming is worsening water shortages, and corn production is growing increasingly reliant on over-stressed aquifers, including the Central Valley aquifer in California and the High Plains aquifer that stretches from South Dakota to Texas. A stunning "87 percent of irrigated corn is grown in regions with high or extremely high water stress," the report reveals, with corn-growing areas in Nebraska, Kansas, California, Colorado, and Texas at especially high risk.
Corn growers, furthermore, uses "the most fertilizer of all major U.S. crops" and "every year millions of tons of nitrogen and phosphate fertilizer leach into groundwater and run off cornfields into waterways," the report states. This run-off is the single biggest contributor to the nitrogen pollution that has created a massive dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico where no marine life can survive.
"Escalating corn production for our food, livestock and energy industries has put the corn sector on an unsustainable path, especially in regard to water quality and water use impacts and the growing ripples from climate change," warned Brooke Barton, the report's author and director of Ceres' water program, in a statement.
Sarah Lazare
Sarah Lazare was a staff writer for Common Dreams from 2013-2016. She is currently web editor and reporter for In These Times.
America's behemoth corn industry--worth an estimated $67 billion--is racing towards an unsustainable future as the planet warms, severe weather intensifies, and irrigation water dries up, according to a new report by the investment research organization Ceres.
The report, entitled Water and Climate Risks Facing Corn Production in the U.S., has potentially far-reaching implications, given the mono-crop status of U.S. corn--which is grown on nearly one third of all U.S. farmland, accounts for 40% corn crops across the world, and is found in products ranging from animal feed to corn syrup.
Corn is highly vulnerable to extreme weather events--including floods, droughts, and heat waves, which are only going to intensify as climate change worsens. The National Climate Assessment warned in May that global warming will negatively impact agricultural production in the Midwest and Great Plains--a prediction that does not bode well for corn, which is grown throughout these regions.
Furthermore, corn is remarkably water-intensive, receiving "the most irrigation water overall of any American crop," the report states. Global warming is worsening water shortages, and corn production is growing increasingly reliant on over-stressed aquifers, including the Central Valley aquifer in California and the High Plains aquifer that stretches from South Dakota to Texas. A stunning "87 percent of irrigated corn is grown in regions with high or extremely high water stress," the report reveals, with corn-growing areas in Nebraska, Kansas, California, Colorado, and Texas at especially high risk.
Corn growers, furthermore, uses "the most fertilizer of all major U.S. crops" and "every year millions of tons of nitrogen and phosphate fertilizer leach into groundwater and run off cornfields into waterways," the report states. This run-off is the single biggest contributor to the nitrogen pollution that has created a massive dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico where no marine life can survive.
"Escalating corn production for our food, livestock and energy industries has put the corn sector on an unsustainable path, especially in regard to water quality and water use impacts and the growing ripples from climate change," warned Brooke Barton, the report's author and director of Ceres' water program, in a statement.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.