So how did we get here?

By “here,” I’m referring to the common practice of spraying our food with chemicals that are harmful to both our bodies and the planet and somehow deciding that this was the most normal and accepted way to grow food. How did that become standard?

Well, did you know the inventor of synthetic fertilizers originally developed the process to be used in World War I for explosives? In addition to that, he later supported Nazi Germany in World War II with fuel production. Whaaaat? It’s true.

Fritz Haber was a German scientist in the early 20th century who discovered a way to react nitrogen and hydrogen to create ammonia. Ammonia is the starting point for most synthetic nitrogen compounds used in agriculture today. The process was later industrialized and became known as the Haber–Bosch process, which eventually led Haber to win a Nobel Prize.

Not only was this revolutionary for militaries around the world, but scientists say synthetic nitrogen is also the key that unlocked the modern global food system. Before Haber developed this method of fixing nitrogen, farmers sourced fertilizers from bird guano in the Pacific Islands, nitrogen salts in South America, or even the bones of animals like bison (see the photo above). As you can imagine, those sources weren’t exactly sustainable at a global scale. The timing seemed perfect for a new way to obtain nutrients for crops.

The process was quickly industrialized and used to boost crop production worldwide. In fact, a 2008 study suggested that without the Haber–Bosch process, about half of the world’s population would not have enough food. That’s incredible.

And yet it didn’t come without consequences.

The massive influx of synthetic nitrogen has created serious environmental problems: polluted drinking water, harmful algae blooms, soil degradation, and increased air pollution. The production of synthetic nitrogen fertilizer is now responsible for roughly 1% of global human-made carbon dioxide emissions. High-yield farming fueled by added nitrogen also encouraged large-scale monoculture systems. Monocultures are more vulnerable to weeds and pests, which in turn increases reliance on herbicides and pesticides. Systematically and chemically, the Haber–Bosch process is deeply connected to the industrialization and chemicalization of our modern food system.

So how did we get here? We got here through innovation driven by urgency. First military, then agricultural. A breakthrough meant to solve scarcity reshaped the entire planet. It helped feed billions, but it also normalized a system dependent on synthetic inputs, fossil fuels, and chemical controls. Understanding that history means recognizing that every technological solution carries trade-offs. And now, the real question may not be how we got here, but where we choose to go next.