Agriculture & Pollution

Chemicals, in agriculture, are used in all steps of the plant growth, from the seed to the final product. A chemical, in the agricultural sector, is a product that is manufactured using industrial processes, to help growth and control crop pests (insects, weeds, worms, fungi...).

The use of chemicals or pesticides started in the last 1870s, in USA. This phenomenon and high scale agriculture came at the same time and are nowadays one of the major threats to humanity.

A pesticide is a chemical substance with the goal of destroying one or more species of living beings. The most common are herbicides (against weeds), insecticides (against insects) and fungicides (against fungi). There are, however, many other varieties of pesticides: such as against rodents, birds and more…

Annually, we shower over 2,3 billion kilo’s of pesticides across the Earth to control insects, unwanted weeds, funguses, rodents, and bacteria that may threaten our food supply. But is it worth it, knowing what we do about the associated environmental and public health risks?

The dangers of pesticides on the environment are numerous. In addition to killing the target species, they can also contaminate and kill other actors of the food chain. Birds, for example, are often affected by pesticides, when they eat contaminated insects. In addition, pesticides pollute the air we breathe, and contaminate water reserves to the point of making them not drinkable.

Combination of these new agricultural processes changed agriculture production all over the world. Since 1960, the use of mineral fertilizers and pesticides have increased tenfold, while also global pesticide sales have increase from 1 billion euros to 35 billion euros annually.

Chemicals, in this sector, are used for several reasons:

• Fertilize the soil: Fertilizers most used on the market are chemicals, because of their strong power of yields and their very competitive prices, they are for the biggest part from minerals such as potash, nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium or sulfur. Their use must be reasoned because if they don’t, the consequences can be very harmful for environment and for human health.

• Fight against insects and predators (insecticides, nematicides). This type of product can be composed by two mechanics. The first one is a process that repel animals, mostly insects and the second one is a process that attract insects to kill them when they are in contact with one of these products. Most of the time this type of product is used to kill only one species of insect, but every species, even the non-dangerous get killed.

• Weed control (herbicides). The word Herbicides encompass all the products that has, as goal, to kill “useless” plants to keep the one that we want, alone, and give her all the nutrients available in the soil. This type of product is often combined with fertilizer to help our plantation to grow because we have to compensate for the disappearance of others, required for the growth of our plantation.

• kill the fungi (fungicides). This product is used to kill fungi on the soil on trees or wherever you can find it.

An Evil Industry

Genetic Engineering (GE)

When GE seeds came onto the US agricultural scene in the late 1990s, there were thoughts that the new technology would increase production while decreasing the amount of pesticides applied. Scientists engineered seeds for plants that could withstand the spraying of the herbicide glyphosate, allowing farmers to spray over growing corn while killing weeds. Others were manufactured to produce their own insecticide known as Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), with the hopes of limiting insecticide spraying because the GE crops could now produce their own chemical defenses.

Are GMOs bad for your health? Or is this fear unfounded?

However, the opposite appears to be happening. At first, GE technology did decrease the amount of pesticide applications, but this didn’t last long. The reliance on fewer types of herbicides and the repeated applications of them has resulted in resistant weeds which are essentially immune to the chemicals. After a herbicide application fails to control certain weeds, they produce seeds that will grow into even more weeds the next season, resulting in increased herbicide applications. The same holds true for Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) crops—some insects are evolving to continue to feed on plants regardless of any GE technology that is present. While GE crops have helped boost production, it has come at the expense of pesticide resistance issues.

Giant Companies

From thousands of seed companies and public breeding institutions three decades ago, ten companies now control more than two thirds of global proprietary seed sales. From dozens of pesticide companies three decades ago, ten now control almost 90% of agrochemical sales worldwide. From almost a thousand biotech startups 15 years ago, ten companies now have three quarters of industry revenue. And, six of the leaders in seeds are also six of the leaders in pesticides and biotech. Over the past three decades, a handful of companies has gained control of that one quarter of the world’s annual biomass (crops, livestock, fisheries, etc.) that has been integrated into the world market economy.

The world's six largest agrochemical manufacturers, control nearly 75% of the global pesticide market, are also seed industry giants.

It's worth breaking this down by company.

• Bayer: the world's biggest agrochemical company is also the world's seventh biggest seed company.

• Syngenta: the world's second largest agrochemical company is also the world's third largest seed company.

• Monsanto: the world's biggest seed company is the world's fifth largest agrochemical company.

• And DuPont: the world's second biggest seed company is also the world's sixth largest agrochemical company.

Monsanto's roles in agricultural changes, biotechnology products and lobbying of government agencies and roots as a chemical company have surrounded the company in controversies. The company once manufactured controversial products such as the insecticide DDT, PCBs, Agent Orange and recombinant bovine growth hormone. Its seed patenting model was criticized as biopiracy and a threat to biodiversity.

All these companies are gene giants.

Weed killers (herbicides) account for about one-third of the global pesticide market, and around 80% of GM seeds involve herbicide-resistance.

The worldwide market for agrochemicals grew last year by nearly 10%.

The global fertilizer industry witnessed rapid growth during the last five years. The industry is expected to continue that momentum to reach $193 billion by 2017, with 5% increase over the next five years. The industry is consolidated with the top five players accounting for 33% of the global market. The top players have adopted different corporate and marketing strategies to accelerate the industry growth. The industry is segmented into three categories: nitrogen fertilizer, phosphate fertilizer, and potash fertilizer.

A concise overview of top the five global fertilizer companies:

• Agrium

• CF Industries Holdings

• Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan

• The Mosaic Company

• Yara International

Documentary, Food INC, goes into detail about the agriculture industry and the food we eat today.

Fertilizers
Fertillizers are used to supply crops with essential nutrients for growth and to help replenish the soil of key elements once a crop has extracted them during the growth process. The use of manure for nutrient application was the predominant fertilizer method for quite some time, but chemically-based fertilizers rapidly gained popularity starting in the 1940’s. Nitrogen was used extensively during World War II in the making of explosives, and after the war ended factories started producing fertilizer from the nitrogen supply. Today, fertilizers are available in many forms, and are widely used to aid plant growth and increase crop production.

Pesticides
Pesticides are chemicals which are used to control weeds and insects which pose a threat to crop production. If left unchecked, weeds can quickly outcompete the crop for essential light, water, and nutrients. Many kinds of insects feed on crops, damaging plants and limiting production. Use of chemicals for pest control dates back to the turn of the 20th century, but applications really took off in the mid-1940s after the advent of the insecticide Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, more commonly known as DDT, and weed-killer 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, or 2,4-D. Popular herbicides like Atrazine and Glyphosate came onto the market in the following decades, along with hundreds of other pesticide formulations, with chemical applications increasing threefold between 1960 and 1981

Four Corners investigates the secret tactics used by global chemical giant Monsanto to protect its billion-dollar business and its star product — the weed killer, Roundup.

1. Glyphosate; Better known as Monsanto's Roundup, it is used on their companion genetically-modified soy, corn, canola and cotton as well as in home gardens and parks. Farmers have relied upon glyphosate-based herbicides to kill unwanted vegetation for more than four decades, but its use sparked hefty debate in 2015, when the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) concluded that it was “probably carcinogenic.

The symptoms of so-called “gluten intolerance” and celiac disease are shockingly similar to the symptoms in lab animals exposed to glyphosate, argues the study. They point to a recent study on how glyphosate affects the digestive systems of fish. It decreased digestive enzymes and bacteria, disrupted mucosal folds, destroyed microvilli structure in the intestinal wall, and increased secretion of mucin.

Additionally, the number of people diagnosed with gluten intolerance and celiac disease has risen in tandem with the increased use of glyphosate in agriculture, especially with the recent practice of drenching grains in the herbicide right before harvest, which started in the 1980s and became routine in the 1990s.

German pharmaceutical giant Bayer has lost another lawsuit related to the weed-killer Roundup, produced by recently acquired Monsanto. Bayer will have to pay two billion dollars in fines and millions in punitive damages to the plaintiffs, an elderly couple from California.

In the past, the company claimed that glyphosate was biodegradable, but residues have been discovered in groundwater, streams, air and soil.

Glyphosate is the world’s most widely used weed killer. Some claim it is completely harmless, others say it is a serious health hazard for man and animals. A topical investigation into a controversial substance.

Higher levels of pesticides on GMO soy is a concern since Monsanto’s Roundup has been shown to be to have adverse effects on human placental tissue.

2. Atrazine; has been developed as a selective herbicide which works by interfering with plants' energy production processes. It is used to control weeds amongst crops and fruit trees and bushes and in forests. It has also been used to clear all plantlife from industrial sites.  Although virtually non-toxic to birds, Atrazine is very toxic to aquatic life. It accumulates only slightly in fish. Atrazine easily contaminates groundwaters and will persist in soils for up to a year. It is not considered likely that Atrazine pollution has any effects on the global environment.

EPA has found atrazine to potentially cause a variety of acute health effects, such as congestion of heart, lungs and kidneys; hypotension; antidiuresis; muscle spasms; weight loss; adrenal degeneration.

3. Chlorpyrifos; Created by the Dow Chemical Company in the 1960s, chlorpyrifos was widely used in home and garden settings and can now be found applied to cotton, almonds, oranges, apples and corn crops. Symptoms of low-dose exposure can include headaches, difficulty concentrating, fatigue, nausea, diarrhea and blurred vision. More serious conditions include respiratory paralysis, increased risk of children born with lower IQs and potential for ADHD.

4. Metolachlor; Classified as a Category C herbicide, metolachlor is recognized by the EPA as cancer causing. It is used on corn, soy and sorghum as well as lawns and trees. Other side effects include difficulty breathing, nausea, convulsions and jaundice.

5. Metam sodium; This widely used fumigant and pesticide is commonly applied to potatoes in concentrations as high as 150 to 300 pounds per acre. Side effects include nausea, difficulty breathing, vomiting, damage to thyroid, hormone disruption and birth defects.

What are the consequences of the misuse of these chemicals?
The misuse of chemicals can cause intoxication of users if they don’t wash the fruits or vegetables that they eat. This intoxication can also happen to people who work in the agricultural sector because of exposure to these products. Chemicals are still allowed even if we know they can be harmful for humans and can cause illnesses due to their overuse.

What the Science Says About GMO'S, Seeds, Soil, Pesticides and the Best Way to Grow Healthy Food with Vandana Shiva, Ph.D., Caitlin Shetterly, Jeffrey Smith, Carey Gillam

Soil Pollution
The soil is also sensitive to this type of product and can keep chemicals products for several years, contaminating everything we plant. Soil contamination is a huge problem is some places because plants won't grow anymore and provoke disappearance of species. The soil gets contaminated by farmers and companies because, at the time, it is cheaper to let all our chemical products in the nature instead of sending them in specialized centers. But in the future it will cost billions of dollars to change the soil in arable lands to plant all the food we need.

Two researchers from the scientific team of the European Diverfarming project at the University of Wageningen (Netherlands), Violette Geissen and Coen J. Ritsema, have analysed surface soil samples from 11 European countries, searching for traces of the pesticides used in agriculture, and they confirm the persistence of this type of product in the land.

After analysing 317 samples taken in 2015 from 11 European countries belonging to six different cropping systems, the study "Pesticide residues in European agricultural soils: a hidden reality unfolded" concluded that 83 percent of said samples contained pesticide residues (76 different types of compounds). Some 58 percent of that percentage were mixes of pesticides, as opposed to 25 percent which came from a single type of substance. Glyphosate, DDT (banned since the 1970s) and broad-spectrum fungicides were the main compounds detected.

From Wageningen University Violette Geissen and Esperanza Huerta, who works on the project Diverfarming, talk about perticides and their negative impacts on the soil health.

Water Pollution
More than 100 pesticides and 21 drugs were detected in the 29 waterways analysed in 10 European nations, including the UK. A quarter of the chemicals identified are banned, while half of the streams analyzed had at least one pesticide above permitted levels.

Water pollution caused by unsustainable agricultural practices is a serious threat to human health and ecosystems, a problem that is often underestimated by policy makers and farmers.

Agriculture is the sector producing the most wastewater, in terms of volumes and livestock generates a lot more excrements than humans, which is the first reason of wastewater. As land use has intensified, countries are increasingly using synthetic pesticides, fertilizers and other inputs that are dangerous for the worldwide water quality.

Chemicals are one cause of pollution of surface water and groundwater. The water gets polluted when the contaminated soil is next to a lake, a river…  A chemical product can be the source of pollution in an entire river and kill a lot of animals, even used in small quantities.

• Dead Zone - Gulf of Mexico

In a statement released June 7, 2018, NOAA said scientific models suggest that the Gulf of Mexico hypoxic zone or “dead zone” will be approximately 5,780 square miles (14,760 square km), about the size of the U.S. state of Connecticut. That’s similar to the 33-year average of 5,460 square miles (14,140 square km), and smaller than 2017’s Gulf dead zone – which at 8,776 square miles (22,730 square km) was the largest measured since mapping began in 1985. What happened?

This large dead zone size happened, primarily from agriculture and developed land runoff in the Mississippi River watershed which is continuing to affect the nation’s coastal resources and habitats in the Gulf.

Most of the nitrogen input comes from major farming states in the Mississippi River Valley, including Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana. Nitrogen and phosphorous enter the river through upstream runoff of fertilizers, soil erosion, animal wastes, and sewage. In a natural system, these nutrients aren't significant factors in algae growth because they are depleted in the soil by plants. However, with anthropogenically increased nitrogen and phosphorus input, algae growth is no longer limited. Consequently, algal blooms develop, the food chain is altered, and dissolved oxygen in the area is depleted.

This loss of oxygen can cause the loss of fish habitat or force them to move to other areas to survive, decreased reproductive capabilities in fish species and a reduction in the average size of shrimp caught.

A brief environmental video essay that looks at the Dead Zone in the Gulf Mexico and the effect of industrial agriculture, fertilizer, and manure on America's waterways. Specifically, I trace the oxygen deprivation caused by algal blooms in the Dead Zone back to overuse of fertilizers and runoff from conventional farms near the Mississippi.

Ocean expert Nancy Rabalais tracks the ominously named "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico -- where there isn't enough oxygen in the water to support life. The Gulf has the second largest dead zone in the world; on top of killing fish and crustaceans, it's also killing fisheries in these waters.

Air pollution
Food cultivation is the dominant source of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in ambient air in Europe, the central US and parts of China, according to a new study from the Earth Institute at Columbia University.

Agricultural air pollution comes mainly in the form of ammonia (NH3), which enters the air as a gas from heavily fertilized fields and livestock waste. It blows in over cities, reacts with emissions of oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and sulphur (SO2)  from traffic and industry, and leads to the formation of so-called secondary particles. The combination of intensive agriculture, traffic and industry is unfortunately quite typical for some of the most populated parts of North America, Europe and Asia, which means that these particles are formed where they can cause a lot of damage.

The researchers used a global model to study the origin of fine particulate matter in different regions of the world. They divided the emission sources into three categories: natural, anthropogenic non-agricultural and agricultural. Agricultural emissions were defined as the change that occurred if all agricultural activities were turned on and off.

In Europe, emission precursors from fertilizers and livestock were responsible for 55 per cent of the anthropogenic PM2.5. In the US, agricultural emissions represented around half of the human caused emissions. China shows the highest level of agriculture-related PM in absolute figures, and slightly less than half of the anthropogenic PM pollution. India is the only region in the study where agricultural emissions are less significant for PM2.5 levels in ambient air.

A great panel discussion on chemicals, toxins, pesticides and radiation in our food, water, air, soil and environment and how this affects you and your family’s health. Panel Participants: Gerald H. Pollack, Ph.D., Paul Connett, Ph.D., Brian Clement, Ph.D., L.N., Anna Maria Clement, Ph.D., L.N., Deborah Koons Garcia, Jeff Lowenfels

Health Problems
It is difficult to accurately define all the harmful effects of pesticides on health, but many dangers are already known. Even with low exposure, pesticides can have serious consequences on the body, such as causing male infertility, cancers and also severely affect pregnant women. Pesticides can cause spontaneous abortions or severe fetal malformations. Many cases of acute pesticide poisoning, sometimes fatal, have also been detected for people in the agricultural sector, where exposure to pesticides is highest.

Farm workers have special risks associated with inhalation and skin contact during preparation and application of pesticides to crops. However, for the majority of the population, a principal vector is through ingestion of food that is contaminated by pesticides. Degradation of water quality by pesticide runoff has two principal human health impacts. The first is the consumption of fish and shellfish that are contaminated by pesticides; this can be a particular problem for subsistence fish economies that lie downstream of major agricultural areas. The second is the direct consumption of pesticide-contaminated water. WHO (1993) has established drinking water guidelines for 33 pesticides.

Today consumers are prepared to pay high prices for top-quality tea. But tea plantation workers in Darjeeling and Assam are not benefiting from the global tea culture boom. They live in squalid conditions, with no access to clean drinking water or sanitation. Though they are exposed to highly toxic pesticides at work, they are not equipped with any kind of protective clothing. And yet some of the tea produced under such conditions is labeled as Fair Trade Certified.

What’s more, highly hazardous pesticides may have acute and/or chronic toxic effects, and pose particular risk to children. Their widespread use has caused health problems and fatalities in many parts of the world, often as a result of occupational exposure and accidental or intentional poisonings.

Available data are too limited to estimate the global health impacts of pesticides, however the global impact of self-poisoning (suicides) from preventable pesticide ingestion has however been estimated to amount to 186,000 deaths and 4,420,000 Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) in 2002.

Environmental contamination can also result in human exposure through consumption of residues of pesticides in food and, possibly, drinking water. While developed countries have systems already in place to register pesticides and control their trade and use, this is not always the case elsewhere.

The effects of smoking, pesticides, vaccine mercury, and air pollution on autistic spectrum disorder risk.

Effects on Biodiversity

Pesticides have other bad effects on the eco-system.

Over the past two decades, bee declines worldwide have drawn international attention. Managed honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies decreased by 25% over 20 years in Europe and 59% over 58 years in North America, and many bumble bee populations in Europe and North America have gone locally extinct, resulting in dramatic range contractions. It is important to note that not all bees in all places are declining. Some populations are actually growing, and there are many more for which data are insufficient or nonexistent.

Even when applied correctly, pesticides can have adverse impacts on bees by reducing their breeding success and resistance to disease. Scientists have found that exposure to pesticides can impair honeybees' ability to navigate, bumblebees' ability to reproduce and solitary bees' ability to reproduce any young at all.

Pesticides are designed to kill unwanted pests, but their toxic properties and widespread use are also harming beneficial insects such as bees.

Neonicotinoids are a particularly harmful group of bee-harming pesticides. When a bee feeds on pollen or nectar containing them, their central nervous system can be affected. This affects tasks that bees depend on to survive such as feeding, homing, foraging and reproducing.

New research has also begun to show an increase in pesticides being found beyond the farms where the seeds are sown

We interfere with our allies in the natural world at our peril. Without bees, many food crops would simply fail to grow; they pollinate the plants so that they can produce fruits and grains.

One north American study found 121 different pesticides present in bees studied.

Short Documentary about how agriculture is responsible for the bee crisis.

In 2015 the bees are still dying in masses. Which at first seems not very important until you realize that one third of all food humans consume would disappear with them. Millions could starve. The foes bees face are truly horrifying – some are a direct consequence of human greed

Honeybees have thrived for 50 million years, each colony 40 to 50,000 individuals coordinated in amazing harmony. So why, seven years ago, did colonies start dying en masse? Marla Spivak reveals four reasons which are interacting with tragic consequences. This is not simply a problem because bees pollinate a third of the world's crops. Could this incredible species be holding up a mirror for us?

Amphibians such as frogs are particularly vulnerable to concentrations of pesticides in their habitat.

Atrazine, one of the world's most popular weedkillers, has been found to feminize frogs, leading to sterility in males. It is still in use in the US, with about 80 million pounds being applied annually, but has been banned in the EU countries since 2004.

Atrazine may also affect male fertility in humans and is a known endocrine disruptor.

An other study looked at the effects of a pesticide called neonicotinid, which not only is dangerous to bees, but is also found to be harming birds, such as the the red-throated rufous hummingbirds. The population of the beautiful bird has declined about 2.67 percent per year from 1966 to 2013 along with two other local species.

Netherlands

Poison Bulbs
The Netherlands is a major exporter of flower bulbs in the world. However, the growing of bulbs is very damaging to the environment. With the use of 1,5 million kilograms of pesticide and 16 million kilograms of artificial fertiliser, the flower-growing sector is among the most polluting types of agricultural industry in the Netherlands. Growing of environmentally friendly produced bulbs in the Netherlands is nearly absent. Only a very dramatic change in government policy or a drastic change in the market situation could stimulate its growth. Only a handful of farmers are active in this field.

Solutions

Since the 50s, synthetic pesticides are largely used in Europe, in agriculture, parks and gardens, or even at home. These pesticides, whose function is to kill fungi, insects or herbs, also present a toxic risk for humans and the environment. Numerous scientific studies show their dangerousness, making these products a real public health problem. It is therefore necessary to turn to non-toxic alternatives. Fortunately, alternative systems exist and are in development: whether organic farming or biodiversity based solutions, these systems have proven their effectiveness. It is the same in the garden, in forests or at home. This section reviews some alternatives to synthetic pesticides in the agricultural sector.

New verdicts
A California jury has ordered Monsanto to pay more than $2bn to a couple that got cancer after using its weedkiller, marking the third and largest verdict against the company over Roundup.

A jury in Oakland said that Monsanto, was liable for the non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) cancer of Alva and Alberta Pilliod. The jury ordered the company to pay $1bn in damages to each of them, and more than $55m total in compensatory damages.

An other victory for the Pilliods follows two consecutive trial wins for families taking on Monsanto over Roundup, the world’s most widely used weedkiller, which research has linked to NHL, a cancer that affects the immune system. Dewayne Johnson, a former school groundskeeper with terminal cancer, won a $289m victory in state court last year, and Edwin Hardeman, who sprayed Roundup on his properties, was awarded $80m in the first federal trial this year.

New estimates predict that there are now 13,400 similar Roundup cancer cases pending in state and federal courts in the US. New regulations could eventually prohibit the use of such hazardous chemicals.

New production systems

Organic farming
Organic production is the main type of alternative farming in developed societies. In the Netherlands almost 60% of the population say that they eat at least one organic product per week. This practice is pesticides free and more respectful of the environment.

In this film, organic market gardeners Frank and Josje discuss the issues with the supermarket system and how Community Supported Agriculture fits into a new story for sustainable food growing.

Years of isolation and short stocks of fossil fuels have created agricultural practices in Cuba that are radically organic

Integrated production
In integrated production, we think preventive rather than curative.

This system has a global vision that seeks to put agronomy at in the middle of agricultural practices while taking into account all the elements (humans, animals, soils...). The goal of this practice is to replace as much as possible external inputs (mostly chemicals) by natural processes of regulation that are beneficial for environment. For example using certain type of insects that can help plants with viruses, or using organic wastes as fertilizer.

This type of production is beneficial for nature, consumers but farmers as well, they can increase their benefits and avoid manipulation of toxic products like pesticides, that can lead to infections.

Changes in the law regulation
In the agricultural sector, the law allows almost everything, even if it can be harmful for environment. Indeed, companies like Monsanto have the right to sell their seeds and the pesticides that comes with. The sides effects of this type of products was already proven but the states doesn’t act in favor of farmers and nature.

In addition to these effects on environment, GMOs are patented products even if they can change the genes of another plant. In fact, we can find modified genes in plants that grow in nature because they adapt to GM plants next to them.

But the problem comes now, farmers can’t use their land if they don’t pay Monsanto, because they use plants with particularities modified by the company.

Changes in the mind of consumers (awareness)
The benefits of passing through the consumer to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are numerous. First, it does not imply additional cost, the positive impact on environment can be immediate and lasting. This can stimulate competition for a more virtuous economy and push governments to implement policies in this direction.

However, the authors identify barriers to changing consumer behavior. First of all, it is a question of changing the cultural model: mass consumption is deeply rooted in mentalities, other values ​​must be promoted. And this is the role of the government. They must help people to discover all the benefits offered by organic production and organic diet.

What do you do regarding making more sustainable food choices? By tagging us with #theconsciouschallenge you can share your ideas!

Want to contribute to our Ecological Footprint Bible? Submit us your scientific articles! Mail us at info@theconsciouschallenge.org

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