A brief history and specific impacts...

So after last week’s explanation of my inspiration for this blog I thought it best to give a brief history of agribusiness and outline the specific environmental impacts it is having today.

Industrialised farming refers to a system of chemically and mechanically intensive food production. This is in contrast to the small scale and labour intensive forms of agriculture that had preceded it.  The development of industrialised farming brought about two new farming techniques. The first of these is the practice of monoculture whereby single crops such as wheat and rice are grown intensively on a very large scale. To be successful year on year monoculture relies on chemical fertilisers and large vehicles capable of efficiently harvesting hundreds of acres of land. The second practice is that of animal factory farming which involves a profit driven approach to preparing livestock for slaughter. Animals are fed high-calorie diets, they have movement restricted and are given antibiotics to prevent illness, all with the goal of maximising weight gain. (Union of Concerned Scientists)

The systems of industrial farming were developed during World War 2 as a response to declining national food security and after the conflict as a response to the rapidly growing world population. Indeed, in 1947, the UK government passed a revised Agriculture Act which granted subsidies to farmers who were able to increase their agricultural output using new technologies and improved animal breeding and management (BBC, 2011).

While the food producing benefits of industrial agriculture are still heralded today, even by the UN, there is an admission that 'food and nutrition policy is, at the same time, environmental policy'. Any form of agricultural activity is bound to have an environmental impact simply by the nature of the practice. In many cases these impacts are sustainable however in the case of industrial farming, where fields stretch hundreds of acres and livestock populations are kept in the tens of thousands, the extent of these impacts is exponential.

Environmental Changes

Water
Industrial agriculture is heavily reliant on the use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides. They are used to ensure crops grow to their full extent in the quickest time possible without being harmed by animal pests. To contain these chemicals within the system is extremely difficult and so inevitably they are leached from the soil and often find their way into nearby water sources. This has drastic affects on the quality of water and therefore the ecology within it. Indeed it is estimated that 75% of sediments polluting water bodies have originated from farming (Collins and Anthony, 2008). The result of such pollution is that only 24% of water bodies in England are considered of 'good ecological status' (Water Framework Directive).

Deforestation
Currently agriculture is judged to be the direct driver for 80% of global deforestation (Kissenger et al, 2012). Deforestation results in the loss of habitat for millions of species while also removing important carbon sinks from earths surface.

Soil erosion
The intensive, profit-driven, nature of agribusiness results in heavily over-worked soils which quickly lose structure and are depleted of minerals.

Loss of biodiversity
Through the practice of monoculture and the use of pesticides industrial farms are designed to lack all biodiversity. This can have a huge impact ecologically and has far-reaching consequences.


Atmospheric Changes

Climate change
Agriculture is dependent on climatic conditions and is therefore vulnerable to climatic change. However agriculture on an industrial scale massively contributes to the release of greenhouse gases into the Earth's atmosphere. So many of the activities associated with agriculture contribute to global warming in one way or another. These activities range from fertiliser production to direct emissions from enteric fermentation (when cows fart!). Many of these processes are particularly important because they release GHGs such as methane and nitrous oxide which are far more potent that carbon dioxide. Indeed animal agriculture is globally the single largest contributor to methane emissions. Worryingly, the IPCC predicts CH4 and N2O emissions to continue to rise.

Conclusion and plans for this blog

In this post I have only scratched the surface as to the practices and environmental impacts of industrialised agriculture. Throughout this blog I hope to write in-depth about the specific ways (which have briefly been mentioned here) in which farming impacts the environment and explore alternative ideas and plans for the future.

Welcome!

Hello!

First a little about me. I am a Geography student at University College London in my third and final year. Geography is very broad and it was clear to me within my first year at university that my interests lay in the physical aspect of the subject. 

When the opportunity arose to identify a topic related to Global Environmental Change and maintain a blog on the subject I had a difficult decision to make. This decision was all but made for me however one evening when I was flicking through Netflix and the documentary 'Cowspiracy' popped up. After reading the description I decided it would be worth a watch and I most certainly was not disappointed! In a nutshell the documentary, filmed and produced by Kip Andersen, examines the often overlooked environmental implications of an ever-growing animal agriculture industry. What is striking is that Anderson claims Agribusiness (the group of industries dealing with agricultural produce and services required in farming) is the single leading cause of deforestation and water consumption while also emitting more greenhouse gases than the entire transportation industry. Now if being at university has taught me anything it is to be sceptical about everything I see and read however the arguments Anderson conveys are particularly engaging and he himself questions why Agribusiness has so far seen very little opposition. In fact many environmental organisations fail to mention it entirely on their websites! Overall the film gave me good introduction to the issue of agribusiness and I was left wanting to know more about it's impact on the environment. 

Throughout the course of this blog I hope to examine agribusiness within the context of global environmental change, narrowing in on specific problems and examining case studies from across the world. It will both be learning process for me and hopefully for you too!

For the next 3 months I will be posting weekly so be sure to check back in soon to see where this blog is headed.

I shall leave you with this incredible statistic from the film...