Agricultural Pollution And The Environment

In the article,” Why Bother” written by Michael Pollen, he explains how the environment has gotten very bad over time. He talks about sustainability, global warming, and the cheap-energy mind in his article. He tells us that we need to act now before the phenomenon gets worse. Have you paid attention to the environment lately? Have you noticed the rising temperature around the world? Have you noticed the melting of the ice caps? If you haven’t you are about to be in for a surprise. The world has gotten very bad and we need to act now. There are a lot of causes to the environmental problems. The main cause are from farmers all around the world. Farmers are a lot more technologically advanced then what they were 50 years ago compared to now. The problem with the farmers are the overuse of energy, erosion of the soil, and pollution. The answer to all of these problems is sustainable agriculture because it is more efficient and better for the environment.

Aside from air pollution, animal agriculture is also the main cause of deforestation and land degradation on the planet, and is even estimated to be responsible for over 80% of all deforestation worldwide. Animal agriculture is also the leading cause of species extinction, ocean dead zones, water pollution, and habitat destruction. Due to the production of livestock, 1/3 of the planet has been desertified, and as the demand for animal agriculture increases, the supply will grow, causing more forests to be

After learning about the statistics of how much agriculture consumes our planet, I was appalled to see how destructive it is. Jonathan Foley put into perspective the increase and rapid demand for food. Agriculture alone consumes 40% of our land surface, 70% of our irrigation system, and

Introduction (Attention Step): What do you think is the greatest cause of emission pollution? What do you believe is harming our planet? Well if you guessed that fossil fuel emissions are the biggest emission polluters, then you are completely wrong (attention getter). Animal Agriculture is actually the number one Greenhouse Gas emitter in the planet. Yes, cow farts are destroying the environment. It sounds crazy, but ever since the mid 60’s, agriculture associations have been spreading across the Americas and dominated the industry. The most destructive of all Ag corps are Livestock Corporation. These associations include IBP, Conagra, Perdue, Farmland National Beef, Cargill, etc … Animal Agriculture is effecting every single person in this room because we all breathe in the same air, drink the same water, and eat the same (credibility). The buildup of Animal Agriculture is a great destruction to our planet and our species because it is creating

Since the beginning of mankind, we have become dependent on animal products as a food source. As population increased, so did the production of animal agriculture and its profitability. Unfortunately, it has grown into an industry that is unsustainable for this planet and is demolishing our environment at an astonishing rate. In the academic article, ‘Cowspiracy’ Strips the Meat Industry Down to the Bone, Ford reports the shocking statistic that “even if all utilities were turned off and every fossil-fuel-guzzling system of transportation ceased immediately, environmental damage that results from greenhouse gases would be irreversible…even with humanity’s greatest efforts, the dairy and meat industries will still eventually destroy life on Earth”. As the environment is at its most crucial and devastating point, the major contribution that animal agriculture has on rainforest deforestation, pollution of our water, and global warming becomes undeniable.

The profound effects of the livestock sector are amongst the top contributors to serious environmental problems at both a local and global scale (Bourgeois, 2012).

Agricultural societies were sedentary, which means the members lived in one place for pretty much their whole life. As a result of this, the waste products that were produced by the people build up and were hard to eliminate safely. This was definitely not an issue for hunter-gatherer and pastoral societies, as they were always on the move so filth was just left in one area while the grouped moved on. Pollution accumulation is a vast problem across the world, that was started at the beginning of agriculture. It has detrimental effect on people and the environment. When I was driving by a large lake in my town, I noticed that there were several bottles, cans, plastic bags, and other waste things. The only way this happened is because many people settled in this area since agriculture requires a stationary lifestyle. Prior to the Agricultural Revolution, humans would leave a little waste behind and move on, which barely had an affect on the environment. My local library had records on the fertilizers and pesticides used in the area over the last few decades, and I realized that agriculture has demanded the use of more fertilizers to increase crop supply. This fertilizer can be washed away by rainwater, and end up in bodies of water where it can kill fish. The Agricultural Revolution is the main reason why there is such enormous amounts of

Agricultural runoff is another big factor in water pollution and it is similar to the storm water process but only with more dangerous pollutants. Agricultural waste runoff from the barnyards finds its way into the drainage emerging with the water bodies. The runoff from the barnyard being polluted by the multiple fertilizers used in the crops, pesticides, and livestock waste. Then the polluted water from the runoff makes contact with the water bodies such as lakes and rivers polluting them. There are two essential chemicals for the growth of crops and livestock: nitrogen and phosphorus. However, nitrogen and phosphorous are very dangerous chemicals when they make contact with water or soil. High concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus in

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”

Meat production in modern conditions and scope can negatively affect the environment. Unfortunately, the entire global transportation of cars, planes, and ships allocates a large amount of interest and disposing of all greenhouse gases. Because in the world, many people who like to eat meat, countries allocate a huge swath of land to make more room for animals. Also scattered land to feed these animals. According to the article “Vegetarianism” by Ramsey. P, “Animals not confined to feedlots pose different problems for the environment. Overgrazing and disagreements about land use in the western United States have become major battleground issues between ranchers and environmentalists.” I believe that this is a big problem for our environment.

In order for food to be cultivated and produced, forest, grasslands, and other ecosystems have to be transformed into farmlands. This alteration destroys the habitat and affects all the animals that once lived there leading to the decline of their population. Secondly, large amount of fresh water (a limited resource) is utilized to produce consumer goods. 70 percent of [fresh] water worldwide is used for agriculture. (Houtman) Consequently, when food is wasted and thrown away, the water that was used to produce it is also being thrown away. Lastly, all the food, and other materials that are not utilized end up in landfills. Not only are these landfills taking up land that can be used for other purposes, but they are also contributing to the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Toxic gases such as carbon dioxide, and methane are emitted from landfills into our atmosphere leading to global

Many negative environmental impact from unsustainable farming practices include; Land conversion and habitat loss, Wasteful water consumption, and Soil erosion and degradation (“Environmental Impacts of Farming”).There are many different types of harmful gases are released into the atmosphere. Many of these gases are potent greenhouse gases, which contribute to environmental damage and climate change (“How Factory Farming Creates Air Pollution”) Scientists are still researching, but data shows factory farms create a mass production of manure that they toss into huge lagoons which goes up into the atmosphere. Over 37 percent of methane emissions result from factory farming. Methane has a global warming potential 20 times higher than carbon dioxide. The industrialized animal facilities have caused serious respiratory and cardiac disorders (“Pollution Water, Air, Chemicals”). Most factory farming has a negative effect on our environment, and will affect many forests, animal life, and soil. Many trees are going extinct because factory farms want to expand, and cut down the trees. Trees like the Hinton’s Oak is going extinct because of farmer’s selfishness, and pollution

Agricultural pollution has historically not been regulated under the United State’s most powerful water quality control law, The Clean Water Act of 1972 (CWA). But as the U.S. agricultural industry has become more industrialized, additions have been added to the CWA that attempt to curb increasing pollution from industrial animal farm housing facilities, technically known as Concentrated Animals Feeding Operations (CAFOs). One of these additions — the “Waters of the United States,” (WOTUS) Rule — came in 2015, providing scientific evidence for the regulation of CAFOs and other highly toxic sources alike under the CWA. In the name of all farmers, President Donald Trump has taken the side of industrial agriculture since taking office, and proposed

Current conventional farming practices are also responsible for many pollution problems that would not exist otherwise. The land where we live and grow our food, the water we drink, and the air we breathe are all being contaminated. The large amounts of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers used on our crops are poisoning the soil, air, and water. Toxic heavy metals such

One of the leading causes of water pollution is from agriculture. Some of the reasons for this are that agriculture is close to most bodies of water, agriculture is the most widespread land use in the U.S., and agriculture uses chemicals and nutrients to improve production. Figures