A question that the agricultural industry is faced with; and it becomes more demanding with the growing population, and the looming threat of global warming. What it comes down to, really, is convenience and profit versus health and the environment. Industrial agriculture is clearly the more efficient and profitable method of farming. With it, we rely on a few productive breeds of livestock and crops.
Only a select few crops are grown year after year to reduce production costs, thus creating a higher profit for the farmers. Growing certain, more productive crops in bulk is efficient, but it reduces the diversity of plants. The plants that are grown tend to get attacked by pests and weeds due to lack of crop rotation, and so more pesticides and fertilizers are needed. These chemicals go into the food that we consume, and run off into rivers and streams, causing harm to humans and the environment.
On farms where industrial agriculture is practiced, they have huge amounts of livestock. Like with the crops, they are farmed for speed, quantity, and profit, rather than quality. Animals are genetically modified to be fatter, and therefore worth more meat. These specialized animals are kept in filthy, crowded conditions, and are susceptible to disease. This is potentially harmful to us, and cruel to the animals. The most common example of this would be chickens. They are grown to unnatural sizes and so many of them are crowded in tiny spaces on these farms.
Why then, do we do it? Profit, of course, why else? The cheap products brought about by industrial agriculture benefits the farmer and the consumer – but only from a financial point of view. This is not a good enough reason.
Some have questioned if agriculture is going to be able to keep up with the steady increase in population. With the speed at which industrial agriculture produces, we are, in fact, overproducing some foods. The problem is not producing more food for today’s population, but sustaining our resources so that we can feed populations of the future, with natural products, grown from uncontaminated soil and water.
This is where sustainable agriculture comes in, the readily available alternative. The number of ways to produce and consume sustainable foods continues growing. Sustainable agriculture does not use the methods of industrial agriculture, such as genetically modifying plants and animals. Instead, plants are grown naturally, reducing the risk of contamination and using less harmful chemicals in the making. Sustainable techniques include using natural pesticides and no-till cultivation to prevent soil erosion, all benefiting the environment. The short term health benefits and long-term environmental advantages, outweigh the immediate convenience of industrial farming. When it comes to what we consume, and what we put into the environment, quality, not quantity, should be our first priority.
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The foods we eat could kill tons of other species!
Stop Before It's Too Late!
The foods we eat could kill tons of other species!
Stop Before It's Too Late!
It's true that the plants that are grown tend to get attacked by pests and weeds due to lack of crop rotation, because since most of the harvest would fail from pests and disease, the animals would take more energy being raised then they could offer in the form of food. In my opnion, I think that the Industrialized system has succeeded because of producing vast quantities of wheat, maize, and soybeans, so much so that efforts to use up the latter two in particular have ended in a spiral of poverty, environmental, risky trust on a compress genetic base for food crops and animals, and chronic diseases. This has made it more rare for mixed farms to produce nutrient rich vegetables and fruit.
ReplyDeleteI feel like industrial agriculture brings good outcomes but also brings bad outcomes. Of course there are the benefits of making a lot of food products and the cheap costs. It's the process of making the food that is troubling. To hear that the animals are kept in cramped and bad conditions makes me sad. The animals should be able to roam free and reproduce naturally. It's better for the genetic diversity. Since sustainable agriculture is more expensive it's no wonder that industrial agriculture has thrived. I also agree with you when you say that industrial agriculture is probably because of the profits. I honestly wish that this wasn't the case.
ReplyDeleteIt is hard to believe that our standard food systems operate without observing the effects of livestocks and crops on humans, and our environment. I agree with what you said about the industry's driving force - profit. Our food industry's concern is not so much on sustainable product, but more on the benefits from their livestock on their company. I think that once the routine abuses that occurs at factory farms become exposed, the greater the demand for change for sustainability will be.
ReplyDeleteHey erica :)
ReplyDeletewow! i learned a lot, this blog was packed with so much information i had to read it a couple of times to really get the impact. You had several interesting facts, especially about the crops, and you're side to the situation was quite blunt, and i comopletely agree with you.
Overall, the blog was very good, and the only advice I would give would maybe to let your writing flow, since I found it to be a bit choppy at times,
otherwise, great job!
I was shocked after I learned about how the industrial agricultural industry and how unethical their actions are. Even though we have the option of sustainable agriculture, we still choose to take the faster option. I love how sustainable agriculture offers so many options and it is important to utilize it as much as possible. Great job!
ReplyDeleteHey Erica!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your blog. It was full of information about industrialized farming and the effect it has to the world as a whole. It was very interesting to see just what people are doing for profit, even going as far as showing cruelty to animals. I agree with you that more farmers need to stop industrializing their farms and switch to sustainable farming. The benefits of sustainable farming heavily outweigh the downsides of industrialized farming.
Hey Erica :)
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with your blog. Farmers are choosing profit and convenience over health and the environment. There are many long-term affects that are cause by industrial agriculture. I found it interesting how people worry about having enough food when we are actually over producing certain foods. The environment should be our first priority like you said. Awesome Blog!
Good job on your bioblog, it tells the positive effects on both sides. I think they should combine the two ways of farming so that there would only be small problems according to health and profit.
ReplyDelete