Resolved: That the United States should substantially change its federal agricultural policy.

Title: FARMLAND.(Brief Article)
Author: Rachel Rivera

Full Text COPYRIGHT 2000 Copyright held by Author. First published in Amicus Journal (www.nrdc.org/amicus).

A new analysis of satellite photos of the earth's land mass has found that nearly 40 percent of farmland worldwide is seriously degraded as a result of destructive agricultural practices. The International Food Policy Research Institute has produced the first complete global map of agricultural land, which shows that soil erosion, loss of organic matter, soil hardening, nutrient depletion, and excess salinity have rendered much of the world's farmland unusable.

Rachel Rivera is associate editor of Amicus. News summaries were compiled from major newspapers and online news services, including National Journal's Greenwire and Reuters's Planet Ark.

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