The dead zone at the mouth of the Mississippi River in the Gulf of Mexico is now the size of the state of New Jersey, and much of the blame falls on big industrial agriculture that over-applies fertilizer and fails to control fertilizer run-off.
This wasted fertilizer washes into the Mississippi watershed, eventually to land in the Gulf, adding to the size of the dead zone in which nothing can live.
Much of the production of these agricultural lands goes into feed for the animals we consume.
Tyson Foods as the greatest producer of meat in America can make an important impact on these practices by insisting that its animal feed come from sustainable farms which apply less fertilizer and control the fertilizer run-off as the environmental organization Mighty Earth has requested.
Peter Tooker
Fayetteville
Editorial on 12/01/2017