Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Effects of Agriculture on our environment
Literature review on why organic farming is better than conventional farming
Review of related literature about organic farming
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Effects of Agriculture on our environment
Industrialized food production is the production of large quantities of crops and livestock for domestic and foreign sale. More food is available throughout the world with greater variety and availability, and long shelf life makes food cheaper because of industrialized agriculture. However, industrialized agriculture has harmful effects on soil and human health. It uses large amounts of fossil fuels (natural gas and oil), water, and pesticide to produce food. Industrialized food production is vital because we should know how our food is produced. Also, it is our responsibility to keep the environment sustained because we are dependent on this planet. We can produce food more sustainably by using less high-input agriculture and more low-input
Organic farming has many benefits, but it requires more labor. However, it opens up jobs to many people, and is beneficial to them. We can research on organic agriculture with human nutrition in mind, and educate ourselves of how organic agricultural systems work. The downsides to organic agriculture include; smaller yields on smaller areas of land compared to conventional agriculture and that most organically grown food costs 10-100% more than conventionally produced food, primarily because organic farming is more labor intensive. However, organic farming methods are better for the environment, which is also better for
We should switch to more sustainable forms of food production to reduce harmful environmental impacts of industrialized food production systems. Balancing industrial and traditional agriculture can be safer way to produce food. Imagine not having your kids have same advantages as you did at you age. It can impact their life in a horrible way because of the decisions you made. You can eat less meat, choose sustainably produced food, use organic farming, and cut food waste. Expanding safer way to produce food can have many benefits, which, outweigh the harmful effects. In fact, our environment would be more sustainable than it was since the industrialization era began. Switching to one of the things listed can be a life changing benefit. Industrialized agriculture contaminates our food that is also globally exported. So, not only it affects more developed countries, but also less developed
Humans are damaging the planet to live comfortably, we must change the way food is distributed worldwide, support local farmers and switch to a healthier diet in order to stop global warming. The current global has been getting better for us humans over the years, from eating bread and eggs 3 times a day in the XV century, now we can eat better than the kings of those times, however the much of the food in not healthy and the global food system still fails in getting food to every individual in the planet and in addition it contributes to the destruction of our world. Ms. Anna Lappe explains how the food system contributes to around 1/3 of the global warming issue in her essay “The Climate Crisis at the End of Our Fork”, while a group of Plos one explains the issues about the export and import of food growth over the last 50 years in the
On the topic of environmental impacts due to “industrial farming”, Bill McKibben and Blake Hurst share completely different perspectives. McKibben believes that industrial farming has simply left an unexcusable bad impact on the environment, saying that it is unethical and that the meat we eat is potentially killing our environment and us as well. McKibben states that “we should simply stop eating factory-farmed meat, and the effects on climate change would be one of the many benefits.” (page 201). McKibben addresses that the techno fixes brought in industrial farming are simply not enough to help our environment.
Agriculture is the practice of farming and it has widely affected the world today. There are some believers that it has ruined human race because of how it revolutionized the hunter- gatherer’s society. Jared Diamond, an author, wrote “The Worst Mistake in the History of the Human Race,” which he explains how he believes that agriculture has ruined us today. He states many facts about the conversion of being a hunter-gatherer society to an agricultural society ruined the world. The transition had a negative effect on the human race, but the positivity that came out of it outweighed the bad and it has allowed the world to progress and advance every day.
Shifting back to a more locally sourced food economy is often touted as a fairly straightforward way to cut externalities, restore some measure of equity between producers and consumers, and put the food economy on a more sustainable footing.” (source E). The long-distance transportation of food uses a profligate amount of fuel and exploits cheap labor in the process. It can greatly assist the environment to buy from local sources by making the carbon footprint of food production lesser and saving natural resources such as oil.
One of the big problems that came along with unsustainable foods is its terrible impact on the environment. The factory farms that have produced these unsustainable foods have caused a lot of pollution.
My starting point for this paper was the movie Food Inc. directed by Robert Kenner. Although the film’s main purpose was to expose how detrimental today’s food industry is to our health, at the same time I found myself wondering how the food industry and our diets affect the environment. The film mentions how the meat industry takes heavy tolls on the environment because of the land that must be devoted in order to raise livestock—both to grow the food for the animals to eat and to provide a place for the animals to reside. The film also mentions how there are only 4 or 5 major crops that are grown in America—including corn, wheat, and soybean, which are used a lot for animal feed—which decreases America’s biodiversity (Food). All of these things led me to pursue the question: how does our consumption of animal products affect the environment?
A United Nations report states that land used for animal agriculture, both for grazing and production of crops fed to livestock, takes up an astounding 30% of land on Earth. ("Meat Production Wastes Natural Resources") To meet the industry’s demands, over 260 million acres of forest in the U.S. have been cleared to grow grain fed to farm animals. ("Meat Production Wastes Natural Resources") With that in mind, the meat industry also dumps disease-causing pathogens through animal waste that pollutes water and forces the need for waste lagoons to be constructed, which are susceptible to leaking and flooding. ("Facts about Pollution from Livestock Farms”) Scientists say that about 14% of the world’s greenhouse gases are released by said agriculture industries, which is a growing concern for climate change and global warming. (Silverman) The meat industry uses one-third of all the fossil fuels consumed in the United States. (Moore) There is no question that farming animals has a negative effect on the environment and steps should be taken to mitigate air and water pollution risks and future deforestation. If animal agriculture was phased out, land used for animal grazing could be returned to forest land and some of it converted into fields for cultivating crops for humans. A global shift toward veganism, resulting in the elimination of the meat and animal agriculture industries, would protect the environment from various detrimental effects.
In order for us to maintain our lives, we need to consume food to supply nutrient-needs for our bodies. As the global population increased, the demand for food also increased. Increased population led to mass production of foods. However, even with this mass production, in under-developed countries, people are still undernourished. On other hand, in developed and developing countries, people are overfed and suffering from obesity. In addition, the current methods of industrial farming destroy the environment. These problems raised a question to our global food system. Will it be able to sustain our increasing global population and the earth? With this question in my mind, I decided to investigate the sustainability of our current global food system.
For years organic farmers and conventional farmers have feuded over which is superior. Organic farmers argue that their product is more eco-friendly because they do not use the synthetic chemicals and fertilizers conventional farmer’s use. Conventional farmers argue that their product is healthier and yields more. People tend to have stereotypes regarding the two types of farmers. Organic farmers are usually thought of as liberal, hippy, tree-huggers while conventional farmers are usually thought of as right-wing, industrialists. Obviously, some do adhere to this stereotype, but a majority of these farmers are normal, hardworking people. Although these farmers, both believe in their methods, one is no better than the other. There are advantages and disadvantages to both, but there is no true superior method of crop farming.
Cruelty toward animals, huge economic problems, and major health concerns are just three reasons why factory farming should be banned worldwide. Many people argue that factory farming is the only way to meet growing demands for food in the world today. However, factory farming is just not necessary, especially when it comes down to killing innocent animals in order to feed people. A way to put an end to the factory farming system is by buying our food from smaller, sustainable farms. These businesses still aim to profit from their labor, but that’s not their only objective. (The Issues: Factory Farming, n.d.) They simply will not sacrifice the health of the land or the quality of food simply to make a few extra dollars.
Thirty years later, organic farming was in high demand, but suffered developing pains. Although there was agreements being made, there was no regulations put forth towards organic farming. Fast forwarding to present time, many consumers are starting to purchase organic food products even making it a trend. Written in Inouye, Alena, and McCauley’s 2006 article “Organic Farming Should Be Pursued”, “organic farming is gaining in popularity due to Americans ' increasing concern about food safety and environmental protection.” This quote assumes the reasoning behind the sudden popularity in organic farming is society’s attraction towards the idea of a cleaner food industry and environment. The article also mentions, “As a result, sales of organic foods in the United States have increased by more than 20 percent every year since 1996, reaching $7.8 billion in 2000.”(Inouye, Alena, McCauley) The fact that popularity towards organic farming grows at a rate of 20 percent every single year further proves how its movement has such an impact towards the consumers of
...veryday foods require a lot of energy and release a lot of greenhouse gases to produce. This is the reason we should stop wasting the foods, consume less meat, and eat more locally grown food.
Chemical farming has become such a cultural norm that humans have turned a blind eye to what is really happening behind the scenes and have come to accept what the big manufacturing companies have told us. What these companies don’t want us to know is that when you produce food on a conventional farm you are producing food that is harmful to the environment. Conventional farms use fossil fuel derivative fertilizers to help add nutrients to the soil, but “these are the reason the earth is experiencing dangerous climate changes” (Sustainable Table). Also, the quality and consistency in the crops are lowered when they are planted on a chemical farm because many companies use artificial manure that leads to “artificial nutrition, artificial food, artificial animals and finally artificial
Agriculture is one of the most ancient forms of art and science that ties human development and well-being to natural resources and ecosystems. (Fritz J. Häni, 2007) Sustainable Agriculture is the production of food, fibre, plant and animal products using farming techniques that protect the environment, public health, human communities and animal welfare. (Sustainable Agriculture - The Basics, 2015) Sustainable agriculture is an integrated system of plant and animal production practices having a site – specific application that over the long term will:
Today agriculture is the livelihood of most poor underdeveloped nations. This communal life blood provides a majority of the population with a source of employment, nourishment and income. It is considered to be an invaluable skill, that is taught down from generation to generation along with a sense of respect for the environment. However as a nation begins to undergo development, so do their food production systems. The country's newfound development causes significant restructuring of their agricultural production practices. This restructuring leads to poor environmental practices, and adverse agriculture methods. Increased economic development/production negatively affects a country's environmental and agricultural health.