Effects of Agriculture on Ecosystem and Human Health

For most of the 20th century the American farm has performed at Herculean production levels. From time to time these production levels have been presumed to be at their limits; however, with new discoveries those limits were pushed well beyond what contemporaries thought achievable. En route the American farmer has been characterized as extraordinarily productive and resilient, as an early adapter of technological change, and a master at integrating signals from the world marketplace with individual agricultural enterprises. Described since the inception of our nation in heroic and generous terms (Jefferson, 1785), the American farmer pursues the objective of remaining competitively productive and capable of feeding the world (Pedraza, 1996).