Agriculture has a significant role to play in the domestication of human civilisation, which, over centuries, has transformed into the world we see today. However, a practice that transformed humans has itself changed drastically over the years.
For the sake of development and, as a result, mass production, industrial farming has become dominant in the sector. Industrial farming is a widely prevalent form that might have fulfilled our demands but failed to foster the necessity. Necessity being a clean, green, and sustainable environment.
Industrial farming has been degrading the ecosystem rapidly and the task of healing the wounds instilled by the environment is getting more onerous with time. Here are the ways through which industrial agriculture impacts the environment.
Loathing Lands
Industrial farming is a practice where monoculture is a very popular practice. Monoculture or monocropping means the vast lands are used to grow one crop, mostly wheat, corn, etc. This form of farming is highly unnatural and unsustainable. It leads to acute soil degradation lowering the land’s efficiency to grow.
Pesticide Problem
The use of chemicals is high when it comes to agriculture farming. Pesticides, although used for the protection of the crop, make the crop toxic and further harm the crops. These toxic chemicals are then passed on to our bodies through direct or indirect consumption.
Animal Abuse
Animals are abused beyond measure in industrial agriculture. In order to produce large quantities of meat and dairy, animals are kept in conditions that are unhygienic and make it extremely difficult for animals to live healthily. One such aspect of agriculture farming that contributes to the abuse of animals is Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO). CAFOs are one of the indicators of why animals take the worst of industrial agriculture.
Diseases and Doom
With cattle and poultry living in extremely bad conditions and the increased use of chemicals during the practice of farming, industrial agriculture is a major threat to human health. In multiple instances, one could draw industrial agriculture as a source of zoonotic diseases. Such places act as a medium for the transfer of viruses from animals to humans.
