Persuasive Essay On Agriculture

Times have changed, and so has the family, the community and our environment. And these changes have impacted our lives and earth immeasurably. This is where the factor greed comes in to play, the need for more. This need for more called for extensive measures, measures like fertilizers, pesticides and equipment to work the ground and harvest the crops became necessity. Agriculture became a booming business that did not and still does not promote the well-being of the employee nor the individual let alone the family unit and community. Since 1950 an average farm size has doubled, but the number of laborers decreased substantially and the number of small local farmers has been cut in half. Farmers have been forced to become more efficient and there 's been a reliance on greater chemicals and technology, which has become very extensive and expensive. Sadly, what has been short term expansion has become a long-term threat (Trautmann, 2012). This greed driven increase has led to subtle damaging ramifications that most people are ignorant to. Their needs are being met as quality is being forsaken. Our environment is being squandered. Selfishness abounds.

"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.

FRESH is a documentary by Ana Sofia Joanes, she explores the consequences of our current agricultural system and documents the work of farmers, activists, non-profit organizations and business that advocate for sustainable agricultural practices to address the problem. The film presents the farmers from Shenandoah Valley that practice traditional farming by raising and keeping their chickens, pigs, cattle and soil in traditional ways that attempt to imitate the way in which nature naturally works on nutrient and energy cycling. These practices challenge the industrial agricultural model that use a high input of resources to produce large amounts of a single crops/species in designated areas known as monocultures. Monoculture agricultures relies

Nobody denies that the need for more food grows with the global population. Factory farms seem to be a solution to this problem since they produce mass quantities of food for cheap compared to their organic counterparts, which are forty-seven percent more expensive (Consumer Reports). The factory farming business, however, is not the best way to feed more people since it pollutes the environment. The factory

Other flaws in “big” organic are discussed, painting a picture  of a feel‐good movement that provides few benefits. Pollan’s final position on “big” organic is  somewhat unclear. He clearly perceives substantial flaws in the system, such as the fact that it is  as non‐sustainable as typical industrial food production, but at the same time he seems to argue  that it is at least a step in the right direction.     Pollan’s position on “small” organic is much less equivocal. He spends a substantial section of  the book detailing his visit to a small organic “grass” farm. Although Pollan does his best to  maintain a journalistic, neutral view throughout the book, it is clear that he was captivated by  the work being done by the grass farmers. Pollan shows that the most important crop to these  farmers is in fact the numerous varieties of grass, which form the foundation of the life cycle on  the farm. These farmers work to farm in a sustainable, natural way that closely resembles the  symbiosis of nature. In this section, Pollan provides a fascinating look at the evolved  relationships between different species of plants and animals, and how these relationships can  be utilized to create a sustainable farming system. Although Pollan is clearly enamored with  such “small” grass‐based farming, he also recognizes the near impossibility of implementing  such farming on a large scale. For example, the higher costs

Our Ag program has grown immensely in the past years and it has doubled at least in the past 5 years. If we look beyond our school district, there are other schools that do have 2 Ag teachers yet their programs are smaller than ours. Plus, there are classes that can’t be offered due to the fact that our current Ag teacher doesn’t have the time to teach all the classes, take care of grading papers or tests, and keep an eye on the students. If we can afford to have multiple teachers for our other electives, so there is no reason as to why we can’t and don’t have two Ag teachers at the very least.

Where does the food humans consume come from. probably not, if there is food on the plate most are satisfied with that. But, most of the food humans consume probably comes from factory farms. Factory farms consist of large buildings that confine animals in order to prevent diseases but also to produce food fast and more efficiently. Factory farms help produce more food to feed the world. World hunger is a growing issue and has been an issue for quite some time.

In his paper, Pollan discusses the reliance on fossil fuels for agriculture, public health issues, and food security problems. He proposes policy that promotes alternative, local farming. Lyson describes a shift from craft to mass production, the consolidation of farms, and the disembedding of agriculture from the community. He discusses how civic economies challenge the market based agriculture system. Kloppenburg discusses how our current foodshed is built on a market economy and distances people from their food sources. Berry describes the problems of land consolidation, the industrialization of agriculture, and a culture of distancing people from farms. He proposes instituting more community based food systems. Although these authors discuss important economic, social, and environmental problems

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

Beep! Beep! Beep! I rolled over and stopped my alarm that was going off at one in the morning; I had to get up because it was time to check our cows. It was late January and all of our cows started having their calves. Every three hours the cows need checked so everyone in my family had their turn. Now that it was my turn, I crawled out of bed and got dressed to go out into the dark of the night to see if we get to bring another baby calf into this world. I have grown up on a farm with 9,000 pigs, 40 cows, 6 hunting dogs, and 150 acres of alfalfa which requires work that is usually never easy. I have been an active part of the routine care of these animals ever since I was four years old. Living on a farm has helped me learn more about life than most could ever imagine. In Father Boyle’s “Tattoo’s on the Heart” we learned how he gave the homies opportunities that most would never get the chance to have and in order to succeed, you must have failure. Growing up on a farm is an opportunity that most never have, it is like being an outcast. I couldn’t imagine a day in the homies shoes, and they couldn’t imagine a day in mine but we at the end of the day we can all relate to and are all thankful for getting second chances, new opportunities and learning how to forgive.

Welcome to the age of an agricultural revolution as everyday biotechnology continues to bring innovation to human’s most basic needs – food. Food is essential to any living organism, providing energy for our production and nutrients for our protection. Without this fundamental element, life cannot exist. Our lack to produce our own energy, like plants, causes us to become dependent on others for survival. Humans existence is attributed only to the million years of evolution our food source underwent to sustain our survival. Changing the primary nature of our food source, whether it is plant or animal, directs mankind in a dangerous future if our food dependency is permanently hampered. Welcome to the age of an agricultural devolution

The “problem statement” to these three articles is to see if organic farming is capable of sustaining the global population by weighing the pros and cons of organic vs conventional farming.

If you live in the US and eat commonly found food, you are most likely consuming foods that are genetically modified (GM), whether you like it or not. If you never have wondered where the origin of the food you choose to consume on a daily basis, it is time to start understanding how important knowing where your food comes from. “A genetically modified organism is a new version of a plant or animal that is created by altering genes using biotechnology” (What Is a GMO?). Most of the food found on the market today in America is GM. People have a common misconception of the safety of GMOS because the FDA makes statements that GMO’s are nothing to worry about, and that it is perfectly healthy to intake food that is artificially made.

As time has gone on, there are major controversy over whether the methods used in the agricultural industry are appropriate or not. One issue in particular that the Ag industry faces, is whether conventional or organic produce is superior. A man by the name of Steven Savage has lived most of his life with the pressure to “go organic”, but he’s never been fond of organic farming practices. While growing up, his generation was influenced by the book “Silent Spring”, and he was also very involved in an organization known as the Wilderness Society. He even helped his grandfather grow crops in an organic garden, and was good friends with people on the forefront of the new exercise called organic farming. Even though Steven Savage was affiliated with the organic industry most of his upbringing, he has realized that the use of organic foods creates “self-imposed limitations and is not properly ethical” (Savage). Steven Savage argues that most people don’t purchase conventional grown food because many think organic foods contains better nutrition and are safer, but studies show that there is no difference between organic and inorganic grown crops. He also claims both organic and conventional farming practices use pesticides that are “safe when used according to the label requirements”. Therefore, a safe measure of pesticide residue appears on both conventional and organically grown produce. He also argues that organic food organizations create fear based messages to draw people