Effects of Industrial Agriculture on the environment

Effects of Industrial Agriculture on the environment

Introduction

With the advancement and the sophistication of technology in the present world, agricultural production has also taken on the path of embracing technology. Most farmers across the globe now are practicing industrial agricultural production. The use of industrial agriculture has had some benefits to both the consumers and the farmers. Industrial agriculture is reliable because of its cheaper food production. The use of biotechnology in industrial agriculture has led to increased availability of food products at relatively low prices.  Again, the shelf-life of the produced foods is elongated by the use of modern food preservation methods that increases their economic value.  Farmers are no longer affected by seasons due to the application greenhouse farming and irrigation which reduces the effects of seasonal weather changes. Due to the advanced food production and processing methods of the industrial agriculture, there has been reduced time for the food products to reach the destination market. Industrial farming has caused more harm to the environment and the farmer’s food production than it has helped to alleviate the existing global food crisis and needs to be abolished and people revert to urban methods of food production to avoid further consequences of industrial agriculture.

Effects of the industrial Agriculture of the environment

Industrial agriculture has become very much popular due to the advancement of technology in the agricultural sector. This increased application of technology in industrial agriculture has over time proved harmful to the environment and the consumers of these agricultural products. Industrial agriculture has got various adverse effects on the environment. The present-day framers have adapted the industrial agriculture as the primary solution to the agricultural food shortage (“Food and the City: Urban Agriculture and the New Food Revolution”, 2018). However, this industrial agriculture is a coming in at a cost to the humans and the environment as a whole. According to Cockrall-King, one of the major effects of industrial farming includes the environmental degradation. The key impact of this type of agriculture is that it pollutes the environment. Environmental conservation should be one of the foremost priorities by the farmers. A major is concern is raised on how much industrial agriculture destroys the environment through pollution of water, soil and even air. This in return leads to devastating consequences like the climate change. Climate is a primary cause for concern globally because it causes a reduction in the available arable land. This is through a combination of effects such the rapid changes in the ecology and prolonged drought seasons.

Furthermore, industrial agriculture disregards the need for a balanced use of land sparingly to enhance the quality of the soil. Instead, the land is continuously used without giving it rest time. There is no practice of crop rotation, and therefore the soil is not replenished to enhance its productivity.  Eventually, the subsequent farming outcomes deteriorate due to the industrial style of farming. Again, industrial farming utilizes the application of fertilizers throughout the season.  The over application of this fertilizers results in the depletion of the soil due to increase in the variation of the soil acidity.

A key factor to note about the consequences of industrial agriculture is the soil erosion. Industrial agriculture applies methods that overwork on the soil which makes the soil loose and become vulnerable to the factors promoting soil erosion.   When land is exposed to soil erosion, it loses its viability of crop production since most of the crops get swept away during erosion. Again, industrial agriculture leads to lack of biodiversity (“Book Review: “Food and the City” by Jennifer Cockrall-King”, 2018). Majoring in a single type of crop production minimizes biodiversity within the agricultural farms which is detrimental to farms. A farm increases its productivity when it has biodiversity. Since most of the forests are cleared for industrial farming, most of the plants are eliminated which would have helped in the development of nutrients within the soil. Additionally, to develop industrial agriculture, the aquatic ecosystems are destroyed as a result of eutrophication

The methods of urban agriculture to be adapted to lessen industrial agriculture

Urban agriculture remains the only formidable way of reducing industrial agriculture and still retains a sustainable food supply. There are several methods of urban agriculture that can be used in food production to replace the food production by industrial agriculture (“New Agriculturist: Book reviews – Food and the city – Urban agriculture and the new food revolution”, 2018). Just as Cockrall-king indicates, urban agriculture can be used to supply enough food to the major city centers. Some of the cities that have shown the potential of urban agriculture producing sufficient food for the cities are cities such as Vancouver, Paris, and Detroit. Urban agriculture is essential in the present generation than ever before owing to an increased population living in the urban areas than in the rural areas as it was registered in the year 2008.

Several methods can be used in the production of food using the innovation of the urban agriculture. Such kinds of innovations include the use of biodynamic, use of small plot intensive farming and growing of food in small spaces.  Urban agriculture cannot be achieved without employing such methods of innovation in the food production. Technologies such as the biodynamic should be implemented in to realize food production in the concrete jungle (“Food and the City: Urban Agriculture and the New Food Revolution”, 2018).  Advanced ways which can be utilized to produce food in a small area needs to be implemented to capitalize on the level of urban agriculture. Cockrall-king visited several countries and realized the amount of effect that the industrial agriculture was having on the environment and humanity at large. He also established how the urban agriculture methods had gained much popularity and suggested these methods in finding a solution to the food problem in the growing need for food in the major cities across the world.

Countries such as Cuba have been cited by Cokrall-King to be the major beneficiaries of urban Agriculture after they had failed to find a convenient way of carrying out their agriculture. Countries can implement this form of agriculture is far much beneficial compared to the industrial agriculture. Just in Paris, urban agriculture can be embraced by using community gardens that would be used for food production. These kinds of particular community gardens can be used in the production of fruits and vegetables (“Book Review: “Food and the City” by Jennifer Cockrall-King”, 2018). In Paris, these methods of urban farming as Cockrall-King found out have been in place as a tradition from the 19th century.

Conclusion

In conclusion, industrial agriculture has had a significant impact on food production which has enhanced availability food globally. Such notable improvements include an increased amount of food availability at a lower price. It has also enabled farmers to practices farming throughout the year regardless of the season. However, industrial agriculture has done more harm to the environment that it needs to be avoided. Farmers need to embrace urban methods of farming to avoid the effects of industrial agriculture. Many cities including Paris practice urban farming and it has been proved sufficient enough to feed the people living in the cities.