Food crops are ideally harvested and used to nourish people. Sometimes market forces or environmental factors cause crops to remain unharvested in the field. These factors are often beyond the control of farmers, and include commodity prices, market specifications, labor shortages, damage to crops by pests and disease, and weather events such as flooding or drought. Alternative and secondary markets can sell, process, or upcycle crops that do not meet primary market specifications. Gleaning organizations can harvest surplus crops for donation. But if crops will not be consumed even if harvested, leaving them in the field avoids the impacts of picking, processing, packaging, and distributing food that is ultimately wasted. Unharvested crops may be grazed by animals or plowed into the soil. The plant nutrients and carbon in unharvested crops enhance soil health and support the growth of future crops.