Benefits Of Sustainable Agriculture Practices

By the year 2050, estimates show that over 9 billion people will inhabit Earth, and it is imperative that agriculture finds a way to feed them all. That is about 1.5 billion more people than there are today. One of the biggest dilemmas that agriculture faces is that relatively little more land can be converted into land used for agriculture production, without causing irreparable, detrimental effects to the environment. The damage that this would cause is the subject for another essay, but the bottom line is that it is necessary we produce this food using the land we already have. The only way we can accomplish this is to combine the best practices of organic, or small farms, with those of

"I believe in the future of agriculture, with a faith born not of words, but of deeds." These famous words from "The FFA Creed" by E.M. Tiffany outline the basic beliefs of FFA members and agriculturists around the world. But these values, although crucial to the sustaining of our world's ever-increasing population, are growing more and more detached from the people not involved in agriculture. Although food and fiber production has increased in recent years, providing more bushels per acre and more meat per head of cattle, the agriculture industry has come under fire due to an overwhelming majority of people being totally disconnected from the agriculture industry. Today, we'll examine the primary causes of this disconnect, the negative effects on agriculture and our society as a whole that results from it, and how you can help solve this ever-growing problem.

An arising food category in America is anything organic. Over the years, several local grocery stores organic section is rapidly increasing. Michael Pollan, who wrote Omnivore's Dilemma, is a New York Times bestselling author. Pollan stated, “Forty years ago there was no such category as ‘organic’ food. Today it is a $20-billion business- the fastest growing part of the food industry.” (112) With organic farming becoming more common, there are many changes being made that are resulting in significant outcomes. One of the substantial changes while using organic farming is the improved treatment and health of animals. Further knowledge and awareness of the importance on how organic farming is better for the lives of animals, as well as our health is needed. Gaining more education on animals lives with organic farming, will potentially lead organic food becoming the most popular because of its remarkable outcomes.

Hey today I will be talking about why I choose sustainable Agriculture and go against Traditional Agriculture. First I’ll give you the definition or what traditional and sustainable agriculture are.Traditional Agriculture is an old fashion way of agriculture. Sustainable Agriculture is a newer way. Also the definition for Agriculture: is a way of farming and practicing a way of producing wool or food. The reason that I choose Sustainable is because it doesn't damage a lot like traditional agriculture does. But that's my personal opinion. I will tell you why I think Sustainable is better and what advantages it has.

One realization I pondered from reading this book is humans have been performing agricultural practices for more than 10,000 years which began in the fertile crescent of Mesopotamia, but farmers have only been showering these crops with dense chemicals for the last several decades. The use of heavy chemicals as pesticides and fertilizers ensures the crops will yield a large harvest and create a hefty profit. Today, crops are genetically engineered in a way that they produce their own insecticides and show immunity to pests. The book also explains that eating from an organic farm in the United States and shipping the crops to your home would be more environmentally friendly than eating from an even local but industrial conventional farm.

Pollan writes , " The way we eat represents our most profound engagement with the natural world. Daily, our eating turns nature into culture, transforming the body of the world into our bodies and minds.” (Pollan,386 ). In the book “ Farm city “, Carpenter, who started an urban farm deep in an Oakland ghetto. She showed what is important about food, and what is lacking in our food culture. She pointed out the issues of local food by demonstrating that it could be done on anywhere, even if your community is full of gangsters. She started raising her own food and learned about animal husbandry, her neighbors, and herself. Furthermore, eating less corn-fed meat, or shifting corn toward more efficient dairy, poultry, pork and grass-fed beef systems, would allow American to get more food from each bushel of corn. The US government should encourage American farmers explore other methods for growing corn, including better conventional, organic, biotech and conservation farming methods that can dramatically reduce chemical inputs, water use, soil losses and impacts on

Horrigan, L., Lawrence, R., & Walker, P. (2002). How sustainable agriculture can address the environmental and human health harms of industrial agriculture. Environmental Health Perspective. In this article, Horrigan agrees with Pollan that there is definitely a problem with using corn-based feed for animals who are to then be fed to human beings. Specifically, Horrigan examines both animal feed and the danger of other forms of pollution which have an impact on human food production and eventual consumption. The authors make the claim that animal consumption itself is highly dangerous and perhaps should be universally abolished in order to help the environment in terms of pollutants and to help humans in their health concerns.

Crop Rotation - When a farmer studies crops and plans for different placement in soil for the plants each year, rotating their placement annually.

A growing number of foods we intake on a daily basis are composed of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). DNA from other kinds of organisms, bacteria, or viruses are used to change the DNA of GMOs so that they can counteract pesticides. According to Bill Freese, “GMOs are present in 60 to 70 percent of foods on US supermarket shelves” (1) . Not only is the food itself a problem, but the method of growing GMOs can potentially harm the soil, in turn decreasing bio-diversity. Purchasing non genetically modified foods is a better decision. Despite the convenience of junk food, anyone can live a healthier lifestyle by making an effort to eat non gmo, raw, organic, and vegan foods.

Our food system, agricultural system, and healthcare system involve many stakeholders which make any amount of positive change very difficult to accomplish, but this does not stop Michael Pollan from pursuing and envisioning a more sustainable way of living for all people. When he first began his work of health promotion it was during a time of food confusion and a national health crisis. He seized that moment and 25 years later his passion and purpose for his work is still evident. He continues to try and help others understand the connection between our health, the health of our nation, and the health of the environment. He supports the development of new farm policies that support local farmers rather than large industries such as the sugar industry. He also encourages people to think about how their daily lives of consumerism perpetuate our reliance on fossil fuels and the consequences that has on our environment (Oke, 2016). Although change occurs slowly and can sometimes feel nonexistent, I believe the work of Michael Pollan and others like him is making a

The quantity of meat Americans consume and the way the animals are farmed in the U.S. has changed over the last half century resulting in major impacts on the environment. These effects are largely a result of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations which are also known as “CAFOs” or “factory farms” in abbreviated terms (McCorkell 2009). Animal agriculture is responsible for much of the damage to land, biodiversity, consumption of drinkable water, and contributions to global warming in the United States. For years, its impacts have only become more extreme. Over the years, a few options for solutions have been brought to light involving efforts of reducing the demand for animal products, grass-feeding livestock, and passing stricter

With the modernization of the United States over the last decades, companies are manufacturing food rather than farming. Industrial farming, also known as factory farming, is an abusive and inhumane way of raising animals. The amount of food these farm factories are mass-producing is not the issue, instead, the quality of food needs to improve. The nation contains over hundreds of millions of people that need to be fed, the right way. The government needs to make sure the nation’s health is not at risk and properly manage the way food is made.

Industrial or commercial farming places a large amount of pressure on our natural resources, and us as humans. Animals in these factories produce an extreme amount of fecal wastes, which leads in pollution of our air, land, and water. The residents who live in areas where industrial farming takes place have already seen and personally lived through the outcomes of such horrendous form of food production. It is known that industrial farming effects our health, but there is more to this. Residents who live near these kinds of areas face lower property values because of how close they live to these factories and the contamination that has spread into their homes and possibly in their bodies. In addition, the natural cycle of renewal is interrupted when

Monsanto has taken a bold approach to create a product that increases the world’s food supply at a time when urban sprawl and population growth is extremely high. Land for farming is becoming more scarce as the profitability of being a farmer is shrinking. Monsanto has done a great thing to attempt increasing crop yields through genetic modification. However, the history of chemical use has shown both short term and long term health issues in field workers (Harvey, 2014). To continue to build on the successful increase of produce yields while limiting the consequences of chemicals used, Monsanto should use fewer chemicals, research short and long term effects of chemical use, and support the sustainability efforts for clean water.

"Crop rotation is the arrangement whereby the successive development of different crops in a specified order on the same fields is employed instead of the one-crop technique or a shoddy style. " Micropedia Britannica. This pointed to the usefulness of selecting rotation crops.