More Fertilizer: More Food, But More Pollution Too

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Trends in Fertilizer Use, 1961-94

Agriculture accounts for by far the largest amount of human-generated nitrogen -- some 86 percent. Fertilizer use was scant until the 1950s but since then has increased exponentially. For more information see http://www.wri.org/trends/nutrient.html.

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), FAOSTAT Statistical Database (FAO, Rome, 1997).

Note: Data for Asia and Europe do not include the countries of the former Soviet Union until 1991.