Agriculture, And The Associated Consumption Of Food

1. Issue Overview Agriculture, and the associated consumption of food, has been identified as one of the principal drivers of environmental degradation (Robinson Harris 2012; UNEP 2010; Brown 2012), with industrial scale agriculture being of particular concern (Robinson Harris 2012: 135); subsistence agriculture tends to have little environmental impacts, although some alteration to natural landscapes do take place (Robinson Harris 2012: 135). Since the Green Revolution, these industrial crop systems have aimed to maximise the productivity of the land through the inputs of new technologies (ibid: 135). Such productivity increases are arguably necessary in view of the rising global population, with consumer demands only just being met (Figure 1.). However, this intensification is also unsustainable, and is associated with a number of environmental pressures, most notably soil degradation, habitat changes, climate change, excess water use, and pollution (Robinson Harris 2012; Brown 2012; UNEP 201 0; WWF n.d.). Soil degradation resulting from excess tillage is an impact of particular concern, as good quality soil is essential for land productivity (Robinson Harris 2012: 137). Irrigation, along with artificial fertiliser use, has been successfully used to combat both natural and anthropogenic decreases in soil fertility. However, irrigation may also lead to unsustainable water use and salinization, while fertilisers may result in pollution through runoff andShow MoreRelatedOrganic vs. Conventional Farming: An Anthology757 Words   |  3 Pagespaper makes claims that most Corn,  livestock and poultry produced in the United States of America is done organically. 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