Agricultural Pollution
A few months ago, we talked about marine pollution. We also touched a bit on agricultural pollution. But I would like to delve in deeper into agricultural pollution so let’s get right down-to-earth with it!
History of Agriculture
Cultivating crops or agriculture is by far nothing new to us. In fact, as far as we know at the moment, the earliest humans began growing crops was about 23,000 years ago. This can be evidenced by weeds being present at the site of the Ohalo II people’s camp which wouldn’t be present otherwise if harvesting did not take place. The claim is further backed up by the well preserved plant material with morphological signs of harvesting tools. Special thanks to the international collaboration of researchers from University of Haifa, Bar-llan University, Tel Aviv University, and Harvard University who made the discovery!
Modern Agriculture
Present day, we build upon ancient methods of agriculture. We did so by adding artificial fertilizers, pesticides, and new technological advancements -such as the tractor- into the mix. However, while these advancements seem to be beneficial to us, they are causing harm as well.
What is the cons that modern farming brings?
First, before we dive into the cons of modern farming, let’s find out how much food we (internationally) produce per year. Although we produce enough food to feed about 9 billion people, with around 66% of all food produced going to livestock with some left to rot due to imperfections such as bruising and not being the right color for marketing. (Fun fact: carrots were originally a purple or off-white color!).
However, even though the 66% of food is being put to good use, only 10% of all energy from the crops are then transmitted into the animal. This not only means that a lot of energy is “wasted” (put back into the environment through feces, heat, breathing, etc) but water as well. And to top it all off, there is an excess amount of methane -a greenhouse gas which we will get into a bit- that is produced by cows as a waste product which are put into the atmosphere. All of this spells for wasted energy and climate change.
What is the greenhouse effect?
The greenhouse effect is the natural warming of the earth that occurs due to greenhouse gases causing the atmosphere to trap heat which would otherwise escape into space. The greenhouse effect is a good for our planet. It keeps the planet warm and allows for life to grow and flourish. Greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and fluorinated gases. However, when the greenhouse effect gets out of hand, this can lead to overheating which can result in more frequent natural disasters, warming of the earth on the north and south pole, and much more.
Then what about modern agriculture?
Farming does not seem like it could be harmful to earth’s bodies of water. However, nutrients in fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, and animal waste from farms contain high amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus which when they enter waters, can help create the perfect conditions for algae growth. This makes aquatic organisms not only have a harder time thriving due to many factors (look at the Marine Pollution blog for greater details! ^-^) but also land animals. This is because many land animals do rely on marine life -most namely fish- to sustain their populations. It can also lead to land animals that drink the water to fall ill due to the chemicals from agricultural developments.
I hope you learned something more about the negative side of today’s modern agriculture. As always, stay safe and hope you have a great day! :)
Citations:
[1] Anderson, Paul K. “Marine Mammals in the next One Hundred Years: Twilight for a Pleistocene Megafauna?” OUP Academic, Oxford University Press, 1 Aug. 2001, academic.oup.com/jmammal/article/82/3/623/2372562.
[2] DiLonardo, Mary Jo. “7 Fruits and Veggies That Used to Look a Whole Lot Different than They Do Today.” Treehugger, www.treehugger.com/fruit-and-veggies-that-used-look-whole-lot-different-than-they-do-today-4864247.
[3] EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/overview-greenhouse-gases.
[4] EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, www.epa.gov/gmi/importance-methane#:~:text=Methane%20is%20also%20a%20greenhouse,%2Dinfluenced)%20and%20natural%20sources.&text=Methane%20is%20more%20than%2025,trapping%20heat%20in%20the%20atmosphere.
[5] “First Evidence of Farming in MIDEAST 23,000 Years Ago.” ScienceDaily, ScienceDaily, 22 July 2015, www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/07/150722144709.htm.
[6] July 16, 2019 Melissa Denchak. “Greenhouse Effect 101.” NRDC, 23 July 2019, www.nrdc.org/stories/greenhouse-effect-101.
[7] July 31, 2019 Courtney Lindwall. “Industrial Agricultural Pollution 101.” NRDC, 5 Feb. 2020, www.nrdc.org/stories/industrial-agricultural-pollution-101.
[8] Plumer, Brad. “How Much of the World's Cropland Is Actually Used to Grow Food?” Vox, Vox, 21 Aug. 2014, www.vox.com/2014/8/21/6053187/cropland-map-food-fuel-animal-feed.