Reality Cheques 31dead-zone, an area of 5000–18,000km^2 of sea that has received so much nutrient
input that all aquatic life has been killed. The cost of farm overuse of nutrients in
the Mississippi basin is thus borne by the fishing families of Louisiana. No one has
yet put a cost on these losses, yet if they were internalized in the prices of fertilizers,
or the activities of intensive livestock units, we would expect to see much greater
care shown about such polluting activities.^28
At the University of Essex, we recently conducted a study of the costs of nutri-
ent enrichment of water in the UK.^29 Eutrophication affects the value of waterside
properties, and reduces the recreational and amenity value of water bodies for
water sports, angling and general amenity, for industrial uses, for the tourist indus-
try and for commercial aquaculture, fisheries and shell-fisheries. Additional costs
are incurred through a variety of social responses by both statutory and non-statu-
tory agencies. In total, we estimate nutrient enrichment to cost some £150 million
per year in the UK.^30
Industrialized Agriculture and Foodborne Illnesses
Having mostly conquered hunger in industrialized countries, it is a sad irony that
food is now a major source of ill health. We eat too much, we eat the wrong mix
of foods, and we get ill from foodborne illnesses. In Europe, 10–20 per cent of all
people are defined as obese, with a body mass index greater than 30kg per square
metre. The World Health Organization estimates that 2–7 per cent of health care
costs in Europe arise from obesity, and one American study suggests that a 10 per
cent weight loss amongst obese people would increase life expectancy by 2–7
months, and produce lifetime benefits of US$2000–6000 per person.^31 Several
diseases are strongly linked to unbalanced food consumption, including non-insu-
lin dependent diabetes, the incidence of which is growing rapidly, together with
strokes, coronary heart disease and some cancers.
Many of these health problems, though, are attributable to the choices con-
sumers make. We could eat five portions of fruit and vegetable per day, thus pro-
tecting against many of these problems, but for a variety of reasons we do not. But
we cannot choose when it comes to foodborne diseases. The WHO estimates that
130 million people in Europe are affected by foodborne diseases each year, mainly
from biological sources, particularly strains of Salmonella, Campylobacter, Listeria
and E. coli. Salmonella is the most common pathogen, accounting for up to 90 per
cent of cases in some countries. Throughout the world, diarrhoea is the most com-
mon symptom of foodborne illness, and is a major cause of death and retardation
of growth in infants. There is evidence that cases of Campylobacter and Salmonella
poisoning are increasing in Europe, though some of the increases can be explained
by better monitoring systems.^32 In the US, the incidence of foodborne illness is
greater, perhaps because of the greater industrialization of agriculture and, in par-
ticular, of livestock raising. According to the government’s Centers for Disease