Advantages And Disadvantages Of Food Production

When you think of the word agriculture farming is probably the first thought that comes to mind. At its most basic element, agriculture is the way in which we produce food, the most basic human need. There is an untold amount of differing opinions on the topic of how we should grow food; smaller family farms being pitted against commercial operations, conventional agriculture against organic practices, and much of the public does not know what “side” to pick. Agriculture has developed into a highly controversial issue, with each view point claiming that it is the only correct way to farm; despite this, it is imperative that we lay aside our differences in opinion and come together if we are going to create a sustainable food system responsible for feeding 9 billion hungry mouths.

One of the biggest issues accompanied with modern agriculture is land use. In the United States, for example, around 60 percent of land is used to grow produce and livestock. With such an extensive use of land

Lots of energy is wasted in factory farming. When farming with animals, companies have to feed the cattle and livestock. The energy put into feeding the cows is often wasted, because energy is lost when the cow is killed. “Converting grain into meat entails a large loss of food energy, particularly if cattle are doing the converting. Conservatives estimates are that cattle require 7 kg of grain to create 1 kg of beef,” (Horrigan, Lawrence, Walker 448). If fewer cows were being killed for food consumption, less energy would be wasted. For every 100kg of beef made, 700kg are grain are needed to feed the animal. The ratio that every one kg of beef requires seven times the amount of energy to produce it is wasteful when the outcome is so small. The outcome does not outweigh the negatives consequences that come with food production.

The Local Sustainable Food Chain creates a healthier environment because the farmers work with the land and animals in more natural ways and help the environment thrive. As shown by Polyface Farms, a prime example of Local Sustainable farming, regular farming practices had created soil that “was either no longer fertile or had washed away. (Pollan 161)” As Joel salatin, the owner of Polyface, switched types of farming, he

Factory farms increase production and help feed the world. Due to an increase in population factory farms holds the world’s food supply in check. Factory farms produce more animals in a quicker matter than any other place. Factory farms help contain waste and help stop some

Industrial agriculture is currently the predominant food production system in the United States. It is distinguished by large-scale monoculture, abundant use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and meat production in CAFOs. CAFOs are ‘Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations’, otherwise known as factory farms, which aim to cram as many animals in one space to boost efficiency and profit at the expense of animal suffering and environmental hazards.

As the Earth’s population grows at breakneck pace over the next several decades, who will feed the world’s people? Agriculture has undergone an extensive expansion and transformation throughout the last few centuries, beginning with the Industrial Revolution of the late 1700s. New technology allowed for better and greater methods of production. With the development of modern technology, people try to think some way can plant less, get more. Many farmers plant only one crop in the same place year after year. However, those against monocropping claim that it is very hard on the environment and actually less profitable than organic means of farming (“Monoculture Crops – Learn About The Effects Of Monocropping”). In addition, the destructive nature of agriculture has recently shown its hand. While our supermarkets, convenience stores, and restaurants are filled with abundant food options, people forget to ask themselves where all this food comes from. Globalization has opened up economies of scale and has allowed people to tap into different types of products, whether that is food or clothing. But the availability of an increased mass market comes at a cost. However, today, the modern farming techniques have grown into a headache for farmers and governments alike, because they are the consequences of overproduction, industrial waste and other problems arising from the modern methods of agriculture. Thus, modern techniques are harmful to environments, animals, and humans.

Farming for our food causes many issues. Growing our food is causing a major decrease in finite resources, like fertile soil and water (Clemmitt 555). Fertile soil and water are being wasted on crops that are not successfully growing. The decrease in finite resources is caused by old, non-efficient techniques, like the throw-and-grow (Clemmitt

It is known that industrial farming allows a systematic production of food to feed millions of people. Yet the environmental impacts due to “industrial farming”

Just a couple of positives for farming are that we will know where the food that we eat comes from, it is stable and predictable, opportunity for larger population, and we can use animals for our benefit in domestication. Since we are spending most of our time hunting and gathering, there is no time to entertain or create art that could strengthen our religious practices. Farming gives us the free time to entertain and make artistic creations because not all of our time will be focused on finding food. From farming, we will all know exactly where the food that we consume came from because we made it. This will make every single one of us healthier and stronger.

“Foods produced in more traditional ways (farming without synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, pasture raised animals, no additives and preservatives) are often better for human health”, according to a Pomona College study. Food from traditional farms is often healthier for people because traditional farmers don’t add harmful chemicals, while factory farmers do. Food from more traditional farms has more vitamins, nutrients, Omega 3’s, and Fatty Acids than food from factory farms. Pomona studies also say how “each year, hundreds of thousands of animals are subjected to terrible living conditions in industrialized factory farms.” Animals on factory farms are locked up inside in pens with barely enough space to live in, they are being treated with hormones, antibiotics, and toxins, and some animals get “docked or debeaked”(www.sustainabletable.org).

Even though we are only conducting a small scale sustainable agriculture on campus, we wish to achieve the goals for sustainable farming. We want to be sufficiently productive, while using resources efficiently and minimize undesired and unnecessary waste. Moreover, we want to be resilient and adaptable to any changing conditions such as weather, water shortage, and labor availability. Therefore, the main goal of our project is to maximize production with limited resources and

With the global climate rising, human population progressively increasing, and our current administration peeling away environmental regulations, taking care of our earth has become more of a priority than ever before. A growing issue is finding a sustainable agriculture method: one that meets society’s food needs whilst also keeping in mind future generations to come. Finding an efficient and effecte solution has been a controversy for years. The debate stems from the idea of survival versus morality and preservation. Regardless of conflicting views and standpoints, the issue regarding agricultural practices affects all.

Too many people pick up food products off of the shelves and put it into their shopping cart without knowing what exactly it is or what the product has been through. After watching an absolutely disturbing documentary called "Food Inc." I started to feel strongly about the problems of the Food Industry. The problem is that our food is no longer being produced in an all American farm, but in dirty abusive factories. Not only is the food unhealthy for us after all of the processing, but the workers and animals are being abused. I know that I single handily cannot change all of the problems with the twisted food industry, but I know that I can do my part by making others aware so that they can make sure that they can make fully informed decisions about what they are putting into their carts at the grocery store and eventually into their bodies.

The raising of cattle, pigs, chickens, turkeys, and more are the reason for most of the destruction of the environment on the planet. Over all farm land covers about 38% of the worlds land area. So humans can continue to eat meat millions of animals and insects are losing their homes and even going extinct so more farm