Gizela Kwihangana| April 28, 2022
If one had to choose between their favorite meal and their life, what would it be? Though many of us would like to have both, we are at a point where industrial food production or agriculture has become a concern to our lives. Before agriculture as we know it today, there was farming – the more individualized practice of growing crops and/or raising animals for human consumption. R. M. Harrison, and R. E. Hester talk about how, as technology advanced, farming expanded to include different systems that makes up agriculture, as discussed in their article, “Modern Agriculture and Implications for land Use and Management” (2). Modern agriculture includes production, research, and development. With agricultural developments and increasing food demand, farmers had to adopt problematic agricultural practices to provide an almost unlimited supply of food at an incredible rate to feed a large population. Adopting methods that called for an increase usage of natural resources created the problems modern agriculture face. Putting this analysis of modern agriculture together, we see that modern agriculture practices threaten our quality of life because they diminish our natural resources by increasing water usage, pollution, and greenhouse emissions.
People do not realize how much agriculture takes from our natural resources. Agriculture systems rely on natural resources like water, air, and climate. We use these natural resources to make food, fuel, and raw materials to produce goods. In the article, “The future of food - Scenarios and the effect on natural resources use in agriculture in 2050,” researchers I. Y. R. Ordegard and E. van der Voet (from Yale and Delta University) explains that putting a strain on natural resources will result in a change of lifestyles in terms of putting new limits and regulations on natural resources (58). While agriculture has made it possible for people to have a higher quality of life, it also (particularly in reference to the poor methods and techniques farmers use in modern agriculture) threatens our ability to sustain the natural resources we depend on for survival.
Water is one of the critical resources in all aspects of life. Our standard of living significantly depends on the availability of the natural resource, water. We need it for survival. To put it in the words of the leader and teacher in the field of energy technology and policy, Michael Webber, in his book, Thirst for power: Energy, Water, and Human, he says, “Water helps give DNA its shape, which means water gives life its shape” (43). Water is not a privilege, it’s a necessity. Thus, when human activity threatens water’s sustainability, it could mean extinction for all living organisms. According to the article “Smart…,” excessive irrigation is one agricultural practice that has caused an alarm in the environment’s water availability (Bwambale, Erion, et al, 2). Irrigation is a farming practice that uses artificial application of water from rivers, lakes, reservoirs, aquifer, etc. to the soil through means of channels like tubes, pumps, and sprays. The consequences of excessive irrigation include wet foliage in crops, nutrient leaching, groundwater contamination, and evaporation (Li, Yang, et al., 2). Not only is there an over usage of water from the production of large sum of agricultural goods and food, but it is also being contaminated with farming fertilizers, pesticides, and other chemicals. By contaminating water through irrigation, it limits the water used for human consumption. If these trends in modern irrigation keep going in the same direction, they will change life as we know it.
Breathing, another crucial component to the human species, is done automatically. We do not have to make conscious efforts to breathe, thanks to the medulla oblongata in our brain and the carbon dioxide in the air. However, when we face health issues and the depletion of goods due to pollution in the air, it forces us to be conscious. Air pollution is commonly referred as the contamination of the air with harmful substances to both biotic and abiotic organisms. We understand the value of the natural resource, air, but do not value it enough to sustain it. The point is that air pollution is real and human activities are behind this problem. Explicit examples of these human activities that causes air pollution are found in poor agricultural practices. According to the article, “Estimating Health and Economic Benefits of Reductions in Air Pollution from Agriculture,” agriculture has a significant contribution to air pollution emission (Giannadaki, Despina, et al., 1305). Because we depend on farmers to produce an extensive production of food, they tend to rely on poor agricultural practices that can do the job. This has led to many environmental concerns, one being air pollution. Some of the poor agricultural practices used include husbandry or the breeding of crops and animals. In the practice of husbandry, Particular Matter, the harmful substances emitted into the air, is released form manure processing and fertilizer use (Giannadaki, Despina, et al., 1305). Other poor practices that cause air pollution from agriculture is the burning of cropland, and the waste emissions of agricultural machines like tractors. As clean air diminishes, health issues such as cerebrovascular disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, and acute lower respiratory illnesses and the scarcity of goods increases. Air pollution is not just an agricultural concern, but a concern for everyone and everything that depend on the natural resource, air.
Many of our environmental issues derive from human activities, specifically agriculture. For an example, agriculture plays a huge part in the debate of climate change. Reason being that it has contributed to global warming through the excessive release of greenhouse gasses emission (Hester, R. E., et al., 108). It is important to note that climate change is not a matter of debate, it is a consequence of greenhouse gases emission in the atmosphere. The greenhouse effect is defined by the entrapment of the sun’s heat by naturally occurring gases like carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, water vapor, and ozone in the earth’s atmosphere to warm the planet. Though the greenhouse effect saves the planet from freezing by maintaining and regulating heat, it is a problem when the volume of greenhouse gasses increases in addition to naturally occurring gasses in the atmosphere. Like a greenhouse for plants, some gasses act like the glass, trapping the heat inside the house. Except for the planet, instead of allowing some of the gasses to pass into space, it keeps it in the atmosphere, causing global warming. Agricultural greenhouse gasses intensify and prolong the heat we feel. As a result, we experience inconsistent climate, which disrupts food production and supply and wildfires, and health issues such as respiratory disease (Hester, R. E., et al., 113). Poor agricultural practices like excessive deforestation and burning, drainage of wetland, tillage, fermentation, manure management, application of nitrogenous fertilizer, cropping practices, and many more adds to the gasses released in the atmosphere (Hester, R. E., et al., 108). Climate might not be thought of as a natural resource, but it is. We depend on the balance of climate in the atmosphere to support the function of our societies. Taking agricultural greenhouse gas emissions out of the equation, the natural resources, and the climate support our lifestyles and enhances the quality of life, and these are directly affected by agricultural practices.
Some people might argue that the diminishing of natural resources is not the influence of poor agriculture practices alone. At large, human activities are a broad configuration and is not set on one activity. For a visual example, agriculture makes up 6.3% of greenhouse gas emissions, which would mean that 93.7% is outside of agricultural influences (Hester, R. E., et al., 108). Though this argument might seem agreeable, what is not being considered is population and food production demand increase. In other words, as the population grows, so does the need to produce more food, forcing farmers to use more natural resources at an unhealthy rate. It becomes difficult to sustain these resources when they are being used faster than the earth can reproduce them. The mentioned agricultural practices are labeled “poor” due to their excessive utilization. When these practices are done in moderation, farmers become advocates for the sustainability of natural resources. In the direction we are heading, by 2050, there will be an increased demand of natural resources utilization in agriculture (Odegard, I. Y. .., and E. van der Voet, 51). Yes, other factors play into the diminish of natural resources; however, agriculture not only depends on more than one natural resource, but it also answers to the population’s demands to produce food. Meaning, over time, agriculture will be responsible for the loss of many natural resources from excessively using them.
In conclusion, food production, as well as natural resources are essential to human life and must be sustain for the purpose of survival. From this, farming, an ancient practice, has evolved into agriculture with the help of advanced technology to support human life by providing food for a mass population. Given that population dictates how much food is needed to be produced, farmers must find ways to feed such growing population. Some of the techniques, methods, and practices farmers have adopted are costing us our natural resources and the quality of life. The natural resources used in agriculture are not being replenished at the rate of their use. Farmers’ excessive utilization of these natural resources will result in their unsustainability. Without vital resources like water, air, and climate, we can expect for the human species to vanish as well. However, as technology advances, solutions are being cultivated. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is being developed to combat and reduce problematic areas in agriculture like irrigation, air pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions. According to the article, “Artificial Intelligence, a Possible Solution for Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Sector?” the implementation of AI in agriculture will give farmers the advantage of making the best decisions for highest possible productivity. AI can also help farmers monitor livestock welfare and reduce their tasks by adopting to different knowledge-based techniques (Rotaru, Ancuţa, et al., 3). As agricultural AI is being crafted, we can help sustain natural resources by being intentional about how we use them. For an example, recycle, turn off lights if not in use, pick up litter, be conscious of water usage, etc. After all, your life depends on sustaining natural resources. If one thinks about it, wanting to reap the benefits of agriculture without acknowledging the cost and being and advocate for natural resources sustainability is the same thing as wanting the cake and to eat it too. The saying just doesn’t provide you the option of getting both.
Works Cited
1. Bwambale, Erion, et al. “Smart Irrigation Monitoring and Control Strategies for Improving Water Use Efficiency in Precision Agriculture: A Review.” Agricultural Water Management, vol. 260, Elsevier B.V, 2022, p. 107324–, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2021.107324.
2. Giannadaki, Despina, et al. “Estimating Health and Economic Benefits of Reductions in Air Pollution from Agriculture.” The Science of the Total Environment, vol. 622-623, Elsevier B.V, 2018, pp. 1304–16, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.12.064
3. Hester, R. E., et al. Sustainability in Agriculture. RSC Pub., 2005.
4. Li, Yang, et al. “Irrigation Has More Influence Than Fertilization on Leaching Water Quality and the Potential Environmental Risk in Excessively Fertilized Vegetable Soils.” PloS One, vol. 13, no. 9, Public Library of Science, 2018, pp. e0204570–e0204570, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0204570.
5. MorrisCorresponding author, Joe, and Paul J. Burgess. “Chapter 1 - Modern Agriculture and Implications for Land Use and Management.” Environmental Impacts of Modern Agriculture, The Royal Society of Chemistry, 2012, pp. 1–34, https://doi.org/10.1039/9781849734974-00001.
6. Odegard, I. Y. .., and E. van der Voet. “The Future of Food — Scenarios and the Effect on Natural Resource Use in Agriculture in 2050.” Ecological Economics, vol. 97, Elsevier B.V, 2014, pp. 51–59, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2013.10.005
7. ROTARU, Ancuţa, et al. “Artificial Intelligence, a Possible Solution for Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Sector?” Bulletin of University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca, vol. 78, no. 2, AcademicPres, 2021, pp. 1–5, https://doi.org/10.15835/buasvmcn-asb:2021.0004.
8. Webber, Michael E. Thirst for Power: Energy, Water, and Human Survival. Yale University Press, 2016.
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