Soy Environmental Impact On Health And Environmental Effects On Human Health

Such unnatural crop selection slowly transforms our lush lands into monocultures, depleting the soil, harming the bees and other wildlife. To one mono-crop—soya bean—Patel devotes a whole chapter of his book, titled Glycine Max, that exposes the massive industry of soya bean production and post-production: from the soybean oil, to food for the cattle, to the enormously popular food additive lecithin. Hence, against the superpower of those who stand behind the soya bean business, one way to rebell, according to Patel, is to start cooking from the scrap, from simple ingredients and not prepacked foods brimming with additives. However, it is easier said than done,”I don't really like Ranch dressing, but can't seem to not have a salad without it” claims my friend

Modern farming and agricultural operations contribute to the degradation and contamination of our environment as well as the neighboring ecosystems. Fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, animal manure and other Argo-chemicals are rich in chemical nutrients and toxic substances which are often the major sources of agricultural pollution. The use of these various types of products can affect water quality when it rains, and the contaminated soils and water is washed into the waters or into ground waters. These chemicals can also be absorbed by plants which are then consumed by animals and even humans, harmful to animal and human health. There are many causes of this pollution.

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

Today, in the United States, farmers and ranchers produce a wide variety of commodities for food, fuel, and fiber in response to markets. These farmers understand and recognize the significance of managing their soil as well as their plant productivity. America’s farmers are true professionals because crop production is a very complex business.

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

Soil is the most important element for agricultural ecosystems. Healthy soil comes with beneficial microbes and insects. Unfortunately, these are often killed off by the abuse of pesticides. Healthy soil can produce strong crops that are less vulnerable to pests. Damaged soils often need strong fertilizers application to produce a high amount of crops. Soil quality can be amplified in many ways, including leaving crop remainders in the field after harvest and adding composted plant material (Union of Concerned Scientists) Compared to industrial agriculture, companies continue to damage and consume natural soil. While intensive plowing and monocrop (does not rotate) agriculture systems have caused nutrient exhaustion and soil erosion. Excessive application of fertilizers and pesticides has contaminated soils and polluted waterways (Grace Communications Foundations)

Today, most soy and corn grown in the U.S. is Genetically Modified. Soy and corn are also the number one feed for the animals that we eat. Corn also provides the ingredients for most of our sweeteners and cooking oil. Most processed foods sold in the United States have ingredients from genetically modified crops. And yet, “Scientific Studies have not concluded that Genetically Modified foods are safe for the population” (Eating Well. “Should the US ban GMOs?”). The major question that has developed with GMOs is whether or not these modification in the plants we consume is detrimental to our own health. Are we trading higher crop yields for personal health risks? Are we replacing possible starvation with another form of disease or health problem? And, “Should GMOs be allowed in the General Food Supply?”

a. Russian Academy of Sciences’ Irina Ermakova found in her study "GM Soy, Dangerous for Newborns?" that third generation lab rats fed GM soy were observed to have significantly more physiological and neurological issue to that of other rats; the mortality rate was 4-6 times higher and most of these rats became infertile.

Land and soil quality is important to agriculture, but so is plant and the animal systems. The can be defined as ecosystems, and agriculture is an agroecosystem. The ecosystem links between the function of soil, water, and air. Changing concepts have been made from management of a single-resource, single species approach to making it a multiple management approach that would involve the structure, composition, and function of the entire ecosystems. Soil quality can be defined as the capacity of soil that is to function with ecosystem boundaries to sustain biological productivity that will maintain environmental quality, and promote plant and animal health (CEQ, 1993).

The Xavante territory is to the Brazilians, what Cancer Alley is to Americans. It is a low-income area downstream from large corporate farms that release dangerous toxins into the river. “Soy’s environmental sustainability and social justness depends upon respecting rights of local peoples including their food sovereignty, ensuring local land bases and water resources are not exceeded, halting all new industrial soy monocultures in order to properly scale agricultural development, and stopping the use of toxics (Food for Thought).”

The use of fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides have many effects, including causing acid rain (Pollan), killing aquatic animals (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) and beneficial insects (Union of Concerned Scientists), and even contributing to global warming (Pollan). Monoculture depletes the soil of nutrients and causes insect problems, causing a need to use more fertilizer and pesticides (Union of Concerned Scientists). Also, because so many farmers grow the inexpensive HYVs grains, they are in abundance. This contributes to the over use of grains in processed food, which has caused health

Environmental Protection Agency has blamed the current farming practices for 70% of the pollution in the nation’s rivers and streams. They reports that runoff of chemicals, silt, and animal waste from U.S. farmland has polluted more than 173,000 miles of waterways in 1998. These natural resources are being depleted at a faster rate than they can self-replenish (Horrigan 447). Livestock are fed with genetically engineered corn and soy instead of pasture which means that a lot of energy is used up by the animal during the conversion of grains eaten to meat. Extensive monocultures of grain feedlots used to supply diet in factory farms means the use of huge amounts of pesticides which pollutes ground water and emits nitrous oxide (Horrigan 450). According to a 2006 report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), animal agriculture is responsible for 18 percent of all human-induced greenhouse gas emissions, including 37 percent of methane emissions and 65 percent of nitrous oxide emissions. The methane releases from billions of imprisoned animals on factory farms are 70 times more damaging per ton to the earth’s atmosphere than CO2. Immense natural ecosystems such as forests and wetlands have been destroyed to pave way to intensive feedlots and animal rangeland. This wasteful exploitation of resources has disrupted the ecosystems natural balance of

American agriculture is arguably the strongest and best industry we have to offer. Farmers are the world’s foremost land and water conservationists. There is a lot of hype around the agricultural world these days: from GMO’s to animal welfare and land ethics issues, but what the general public does not understand is farmers are not out to ruin the earth. They make 99.9% of their income off the earth, and a good portion of the farmers now days make most of their income in a few short months.

Since the 1970s, the agribusiness and agrochemical industries have been aware of a growing problem: as the global population soars, soils around the world are becoming less suitable for farming as a result of erosion, nutrient depletion, and structural degradation. In the United States, about 60,000 farmers have abandoned the "conventional" system which relies on chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and adopted the organic farming systems that allowed areas of China and India to be successfully farmed for 4,000 years (Reganold et al., 1990, p. 112). Organic farmers use plant matter and animal and municipal wastes for fertilizer, and rely on natural predators

The modern agricultural practices cause the degradation of the eco-system, land and environment due to the modern day by products of agricultural. ( https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/causes-and-effects-of-agricultural-pollution.php)