What are the negative effects of industrial agriculture?
Agricultural livestock are responsible for a large proportion of global greenhouse gas emissions, most notably methane. In addition, overgrazing is a major problem regarding environmental sustainability. In some places, stretches of forage land are consumed so extensively that grasses are unable to regenerate.
How did industrialization impact farmers?
How did industrialization impact farmers during the Gilded Age? The machines were expensive to buy, which helped cause some of the debt the farmers faced. However, the machines allowed for more crops to be grown and harvested, which led to an oversupply of crops. This caused crop prices to drop, which squeezed the farmers financially. ]
What are the advantages of industrial agriculture?
Pros of Using Industrial Agriculture
- Industrial agriculture comes with a lot of benefits which are listed below.
- It increases agricultural production in lesser time.
- It makes life easier by bringing down the cost of agricultural produce.
- It boosts the economy.
- It creates employment opportunities for the skilled and unskilled.
When was first agriculture industry started in India?
Agriculture plays a vital role in India‟s economy. The Indian agriculture system began as early as 9000 BC. During this period techniques were developed for the settled mode of production in agriculture and wheat, barley and jujube were the popular crops that were domesticated in the subcontinent by 9000 BC.
How did agriculture contribute to the Industrial Revolution?
Industrial agriculture arose hand in hand with the Industrial Revolution in general. The identification of nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus (referred to by the acronym NPK) as critical factors in plant growth led to the manufacture of synthetic fertilizers, making possible more intensive types of agriculture. The discovery of vitamins and their role in animal nutrition, in the first two decades of the 20th century, led to vitamin supplements, which in the 1920s allowed certain livestock to be raised indoors, reducing their exposure to adverse natural elements. The discovery of antibiotics and vaccines facilitated raising livestock in concentrated, controlled animal feed operations by reducing diseases caused by crowding. Chemicals developed for use in World War II gave rise to synthetic pesticides. Developments in shipping networks and technology have made long-distance distribution of agricultural produce feasible.
What is industrial agriculture?
v. t. e. Industrial agriculture is a form of modern farming that refers to the industrialized production of crops and animals and animal products like eggs or milk. The methods of industrial agriculture include innovation in agricultural machinery and farming methods, genetic technology, techniques for achieving economies ...
Why are artificial methods used in chicken production?
Food and water is supplied in place, and artificial methods are often employed to maintain animal health and improve production, such as therapeutic use of antimicrobial agents, vitamin supplements and growth hormones. Growth hormones are not used in chicken meat production nor are they used in the European Union for any animal. In meat production, methods are also sometimes employed to control undesirable behaviours often related to stresses of being confined in restricted areas with other animals. More docile breeds are sought (with natural dominant behaviours bred out for example), physical restraints to stop interaction, such as individual cages for chickens, or animals physically modified, such as the de-beaking of chickens to reduce the harm of fighting. Weight gain is encouraged by the provision of plentiful supplies of food to animals breed for weight gain.
What is organic farming?
Organic farming methods combine some aspects of scientific knowledge and highly limited modern technology with traditional farming practices; accepting some of the methods of industrial agriculture while rejecting others. Organic methods rely on naturally occurring biological processes, which often take place over extended periods of time, and a holistic approach; while chemical-based farming focuses on immediate, isolated effects and reductionist strategies.
What are the three main goals of sustainable agriculture?
Sustainable agriculture integrates three main goals: environmental stewardship, farm profitability , and prosperous farming communities .
What are the economic liabilities of industrial agriculture?
Economic liabilities for industrial agriculture include the dependence on finite non-renewable fossil fuel energy resources, as an input in farm mechanization (equipment, machinery), for food processing and transportation, and as an input in agricultural chemicals.
What are the challenges and issues of industrial agriculture?
The challenges and issues of industrial agriculture for global and local society, for the industrial agriculture sector, for the individual industrial agriculture farm, and for animal rights include the costs and benefits of both current practices and proposed changes to those practices.
Why did people start farming?
In the Near East, for example, it's thought that climatic changes at the end of the last ice age brought seasonal conditions that favored annual plants like wild cereals. Elsewhere, such as in East Asia, increased pressure on natural food resources may have forced people to find homegrown solutions. But whatever the reasons for its independent origins, farming sowed the seeds for the modern age.
What was the farming revolution?
Taking root around 12,000 years ago, agriculture triggered such a change in society and the way in which people lived that its development has been dubbed the " Neolithic Revolution.". Traditional hunter-gatherer lifestyles, followed by humans since their evolution, were swept aside in favor of permanent settlements ...
What mutation occurred during the spread of farming into southeastern Europe?
But at some point during the spread of farming into southeastern Europe, a mutation occurred for lactose tolerance that increased in frequency through natural selection thanks to the nourishing benefits of milk.
Where did wheat come from?
The wild progenitors of crops including wheat, barley and peas are traced to the Near East region. Cereals were grown in Syria as long as 9,000 years ago, while figs were cultivated even earlier; prehistoric seedless fruits discovered in the Jordan Valley suggest fig trees were being planted some 11,300 years ago.
When did corn cobs first appear?
While maize-like plants derived from teosinte appear to have been cultivated at least 9,000 years ago, the first directly dated corn cob dates only to around 5,500 years ago . Corn later reached North America, where cultivated sunflowers also started to bloom some 5,000 years ago.
How long ago did goats come to Europe?
Dates for the domestication of these animals range from between 13,000 to 10,000 years ago. Genetic studies show that goats and other livestock accompanied the westward spread of agriculture into Europe, helping to revolutionize Stone Age society. While the extent to which farmers themselves migrated west remains a subject of debate, ...
When did rice and millet farming start?
The origins of rice and millet farming date to around 6,000 B.C.E.
What Is Industrial Agriculture?
Industrial agriculture is the large-scale, intensive production of crops and animals, often involving chemical fertilizers on crops or the routine, harmful use of antibiotics in animals (as a way to compensate for filthy conditions, even when the animals are not sick). It may also involve crops that are genetically modified, heavy use of pesticides, and other practices that deplete the land, mistreat animals, and increase various forms of pollution. In recent decades, consolidation in the industry has intensified as agriculture has undergone what is known as “vertical integration,” a transition from small, diverse farms producing a variety of crops and livestock to an industrialized system dominated by big multinational corporations. These corporations reap the benefits while farmers, growers, and their workers see their profits evaporate, even as the health burdens of industrial practices increase.
What is a factory farm?
The term “factory farm” is commonly used to refer to large, industrialized facilities raising animals for food, but it isn’t a legal or scientific term. The official name for these facilities is concentrated animal feeding operations, or CAFOs.
What are conventional farmers left to do to avoid pests?
What are conventional farmers left to do to avoid pests? Apply pesticides. That’s why monoculture and genetic modification tend to go hand in hand. Planting pesticide-tolerant GMO crops enables farmers to blanket the landscape with chemicals without damaging their corn or soy. (Speaking of corn and soy, many U.S. farmers rotate their fields back and forth between those two crops, leading to a duoculture that’s only slightly less damaging to the soil than a monoculture.)
How do giant farms affect the environment?
Giant farms—whether growing crops or animals—often rely heavily on chemicals and produce waste that pollutes the water and air. As a result, the system we’ve designed to feed the planet also takes a serious toll on its health.
How are GMOs made?
So how are modern GMOs, or genetically modified organisms, made? Once a potentially useful gene is identified, researchers make millions of copies of that piece of genetic code. To then get that gene into the target plant, they can spread the genes onto a tiny piece of tungsten or gold, shoot that into the target plant cell, and hope that some of the genes will integrate into the plant’s DNA.
What is vertical integration in agriculture?
In recent decades, consolidation in the industry has intensified as agriculture has undergone what is known as “vertical integration,” a transition from small, ...
What Is Monoculture?
Monoculture is the planting of a single crop on the same farmland year after year, a practice that is extremely bad for soil health. Planting the same crop over and over again depletes soil nutrients, which often leads farmers to apply large amounts of synthetic fertilizers—something that further degrades soil health in the long run. Monoculture also renders the soil prone to rapid erosion, since the practice leaves the soil bare outside of the crop’s growing season. Perhaps more problematically, repeatedly planting the same crop invites pests that prey on a certain plant to wait around the same spot for their favorite food to return.
Who was the secretary of agriculture under Roosevelt?
Henry Wallace sent Borlaug to Mexico where Borlaug began to conceive of the green revolution. Henry Wallace was Roosevelt’s Secretary of Agriculture and he also ran for president back in the 40s. He had two terms as Secretary of Agriculture under Roosevelt.
What did Liebig discover about plants?
He narrowed it down to nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Having isolated those elements for the leaves and the roots he stated a theory, which is called the theory (law) of the minimum. Whichever nutrient is available to the plants and then the minimum amount will determine that plant’s ability to grow.
Who led the Green Revolution?
• Note #1: The Green Revolution: The initiatives, led by Norman Borlaug, the “Father of the Green Revolution”, who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970, credited with saving over a billion people from starvation, involved the development of high-yielding varieties of cereal grains, expansion of irrigation infrastructure, modernization of management techniques, distribution of hybridized seeds, synthetic fertilizers, and pesticides to farmers…
Do farmers save seed for next year?
Heather – Whereas, since time began farmers have always saved their seed for next year’s crop.
How long ago did agriculture start?
Wild grains were collected and eaten from at least 105,000 years ago.
Where did agriculture originate?
By 8000 BC, farming was entrenched on the banks of the Nile. About this time, agriculture was developed independently in the Far East, probably in China, with rice rather than wheat as the primary crop. Maize was domesticated from the wild grass teosinte in southern Mexico by 6700 BC.
How did the Industrial Revolution affect agriculture?
Between the 17th century and the mid-19th century, Britain saw a large increase in agricultural productivity and net output. New agricultural practices like enclosure, mechanization, four-field crop rotation to maintain soil nutrients, and selective breeding enabled an unprecedented population growth to 5.7 million in 1750, freeing up a significant percentage of the workforce, and thereby helped drive the Industrial Revolution. The productivity of wheat went up from 19 US bushels (670 l; 150 US dry gal; 150 imp gal) per acre in 1720 to around 30 US bushels (1,100 l; 240 US dry gal; 230 imp gal) by 1840, marking a major turning point in history.
What are the social issues that modern agriculture has raised?
Modern agriculture has raised social, political, and environmental issues including overpopulation, water pollution, biofuels, genetically modified organisms, tariffs and farm subsidies. In response, organic farming developed in the twentieth century as an alternative to the use of synthetic pesticides.
How has agriculture changed since 1900?
Since 1900, agriculture in the developed nations, and to a lesser extent in the developing world, has seen large rises in productivity as human labour has been replaced by mechanization, and assisted by synthe tic fertilizers, pesticides, and selective breeding.
What were the crops that were introduced in the Middle Ages?
In the Middle Ages, both in the Islamic world and in Europe, agriculture was transformed with improved techniques and the diffusion of crop plants, including the introduction of sugar, rice, cotton and fruit trees such as the orange to Europe by way of Al-Andalus.
Why was clover important to agriculture?
The use of clover was especially important as the legume roots replenished soil nitrates. The mechanisation and rationalisation of agriculture was another important factor.
How Was Agriculture Industrialized?
At that point in time, it was believed that scientific engineering and laboratory processing actually gives off better, healthier and safer products compared to natural products. And when the industrialization of the agriculture was able to guarantee the food security for the Americans who have been through devastating food shortages and just passed through the Great Depression, it was only natural for the administration and policymakers to nod positively for the industrialization of the agriculture to ensure food safety of a growing population.
What is industrial agriculture?
In this type of agriculture, the focus is mainly on maximizing the yield of fewer types of crops for more sales and greater profits, instead of diversification of the crops. The crops grown using industrial agriculture is meant to feed the masses and ensure food security across the world.
What Are the Benefits of Industrialized Agriculture?
As said earlier, the ultimate objective of the industrialization of agriculture was to ensure global food security, as well as, to address the future food demands of a growing population. And while over the decades’ industrial agriculture has proven to be detrimental to the environment, it nonetheless has proven to be the ultimate answer to global hunger and food security. Below are some of the benefits of ERP in industrialized agriculture
What is Environmental Harm by Industrialized Agriculture?
Industrialized agriculture is recognized as highly unsustainable and dangerous for the environment. Industrial farming requires large natural resources including; land, water, and energy to cultivate crops and raise animals for food purposes, which significantly contribute towards the degradation of land and other natural resources. The excessive use of mechanical tools in agriculture farming also releases large amounts of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
Why are industrial farms better than traditional farms?
Apart from increasing the crop yield, large industrialized farms are also better suited to lower the cost of production, making food more accessible for the masses even at the lower income levels. The use of modern machinery and technology for various agriculture processes makes industrial farming more cost-effective for farmers, which in turn lowers the overall cost of the produce for the end consumers.
How has industrialization affected agriculture?
However, on the other hand, the industrialization of agriculture has wreaked havoc on the natural resources; depleting the soil of nutrients and destroyed water reservoirs & marine animals. While it is certainly efficient to continue feeding the growing population of the world, it’s inherently unsustainable and brings more damage to the environment.
How does subsistence farming work?
Subsistence agriculture is heavily dependent on manual labor with all the harvesting and cultivation activities being done by humans or animals using simple hand tools to work the lands. This type of agriculture also doesn’t use chemical fertilizers or pesticides, rather age-old proven natural techniques are used to deal with the fertility of infestation problems. Most of the farmers practicing subsistence agriculture also have poultry, and livestock, manure from which is used as natural fertilizers for the crops. The crop yield is primarily used to meet the family food requirement, as well as, to feed the livestock. Any surplus food is then supplied to local families or in the local market.
How did the Industrial Revolution affect farming?from encyclopedia.com
Even on the farm, the Industrial Revolution was beginning to be felt. As small-holding agriculture became less profitable, farmers who owned smaller fields were often forced to supplement their income to make ends meet. At the same time, higher efficiencies gave them the time for other activities. The result was the growth of cottage industries (originating in the 1600s) in which farm families did piecework for those who supplied the raw materials. The products, mostly crafts, were often sold in the cities and sometimes challenged established guilds. The competition, management, supply chain systems, and market shifts resulting from cottage industries provided experiences that were put to use during the start of the Industrial Revolution.
Why did the agricultural revolution happen?from encyclopedia.com
In order for farmers to benefit from excess food production, they had to get their crops to market, so the agricultural revolution became an impetus for the development of roads, bridges, tunnels, and canals. The rapid growth of railroads was also strongly driven by the need to get a valuable, perishable product to consumers. To manage this market, commodities exchanges were created. The Chicago Board of Trade was established in 1848.
What is the role of tilling in agriculture?from encyclopedia.com
Seed drills and automated tilling still dominate agriculture. In fact, the rotary mechanism in Tull's invention is the basis for all mechanical sowing devices. But tilling has become somewhat controversial. Loosening the soil might help get water to plant roots and limit weeds, but it also increases erosion, which reduces arable land, pollutes water, and clogs harbors and seaways. Over the last 30 years, no-till farming, which injects nutrients into the soil and controls weeds with herbicides, has been developed as an alternative. The fields are no longer plowed, which conserves soil and saves on labor and fuel costs.
What were the effects of mechanization on agriculture?from encyclopedia.com
One consequence of mechanization and other agricultural advances was that farms grew larger. Agriculture became a business and favored the formation of estates. By 1815, the majority of farms in Britain were owned by a minority of landowners (often absentee) who saw their holdings as financial properties, largely independent of tradition and community values. They invested in more agricultural innovations, changing agriculture even more. Larger farms were more profitable, and led to the dominance of plantation farming, which continues to this day with agribusiness. (The value of U.S. agricultural exports in 1999 exceeded $50 billion.)
What were the inventions of the 18th century?from encyclopedia.com
Among all the agricultural inventions and innovations of the eighteenth century, Whitney's cotton gin (1793) stands alone as a direct link between the agricultural and Industrial Revolutions. As a young man, Eli Whitney (1765-1825) supported himself by inventing gadgets. While on a visit to the American South, he was approached by farmers who wanted a better way to separate cotton fibers from cottonseeds. Until this time, separating one pound of cotton lint from seed took ten hours of hand work. His southern hostess told her visitors, "Gentlemen, apply to my young friend, Mr. Whitney. He can make anything." Within six months Whitney devised a machine that pulled the fibers onto a coil of metal wires and could clean 50 lb (23 kg) of cotton in a day. The results were nearly instantaneous. For the first time, cotton became a profitable crop in the South, and, supported by slave labor, it soon became the region's most important agricultural product. Spinning machines and mechanical looms already existed, so the cotton gin quickly became an essential link in the manufacture of fabric.
What were the major developments in farming in the 1700s?from encyclopedia.com
There were many other important developments in farming in the 1700s: Charles Newbold invented a cast-iron plow that could dig more deeply into the soil in 1797. Joseph Boyce developed an early reaper (1799). New crops were introduced, and Viscount Charles Townsend helped end the practice of letting fields lie fallow by showing that rotating soil-enriching crops, such as turnips and clover, with traditional crops kept the soil fertile. This put 50% more land into use and increased the supply of available cattle feed.
What does market concentration mean for farmers?from foodsystemprimer.org
What does market concentration mean for farmers and consumers? In some cases, market concentration can lower prices for consumers and increase sales. 23 On the other hand, with fewer competitors in a concentrated market, dominant companies may gain greater power to influence prices in their favor. 23 They may also dictate how foods are produced, leaving farmers with little choice over how to grow crops or raise animals. 18 Many highly concentrated corporations also have a strong presence in government agencies, where they can influence policies in their favor. 24
When did China start industrializing?
The first attempt was made between 1861 and 1911. It came on the heels of China's defeat in 1860 by the British in the Second Opium War. Deeply humiliated by unequal treaties imposed by Western industrial powers, the Qing monarchy that was then in control in China embarked on a series of ambitious programs to modernize its backward agrarian economy, including establishing a modern navy and industrial system. This attempt started eight years earlier than the Meiji Restoration that triggered Japan's successful industrialization. Fifty years later, the effort in China turned out to be a gigantic failure: The government was deep in debt, and the hoped-for industrial base was nowhere in sight.
How long has China been industrialized?
China's industrial revolution, which started 35 years ago, is perhaps one of the most important economic and geopolitical phenomena since the original Industrial Revolution 250 years ago. The reason is simple: Less than 10 percent of the world's population is fully industrialized; if China can successfully finish its industrialization, an additional 20 percent of the world's population will be entering modern times. Along the way, China is igniting new growth across Asia, Latin America, Africa and even the industrial West, thanks to the country's colossal demand for raw materials, energy, trade and capital flows.
How did the British Industrial Revolution affect the world?
3 But the Industrial Revolution changed it all: Starting about 1760, the living standard in the United Kingdom began to increase dramatically, leading to an era of permanent growth in per capita income. Because of the almost magical increases in living standards and national income, among other things, almost every nation has tried to emulate the British Industrial Revolution.
What was the first industrial revolution?
1760-1830: first industrial revolution in textile industries, relying on wood-framed and water-powered textile machines for mass production; 1830-1850: boom in industrial trinity: energy (such as coal), transportation (such as railroad) and locomotive (such as steam engine);
What is China's most important industry?
Thirty-five years ago, China's per capita income was only one-third of that of sub-Sahara Africa. Today, China is the world's largest manufacturing powerhouse: It produces nearly 50 percent of the world's major industrial goods, including crude steel (800 percent of the U.S. level and 50 percent of global supply), cement (60 percent of the world's production), coal (50 percent of the world's production), vehicles (more than 25 percent of global supply) and industrial patent applications (about 150 percent of the U.S. level). China is also the world's largest producer of ships, high-speed trains, robots, tunnels, bridges, highways, chemical fibers, machine tools, computers, cellphones, etc.
When did China become the No. 1 industrial powerhouse?
level. About 1980, China's manufacturing started to take off, surpassing the industrial powers one by one, overtaking the U.S. in 2010 to become the No. 1 industrial powerhouse.
Which countries have tried to emulate the British Industrial Revolution?
Unfortunately, only a few places have succeeded: Northern and Western Europe, the United States, Japan and the Asian Tigers, among others.
Overview
Historical development and future prospects
Industrial agriculture arose hand in hand with the Industrial Revolution in general. The identification of nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus (referred to by the acronym NPK) as critical factors in plant growth led to the manufacture of synthetic fertilizers, making possible more intensive types of agriculture. The discovery of vitamins and their role in animal nutrition, in the first two decades of the 20th century, led to vitamin supplements, which in the 1920s allowed certain livestock to be r…
Challenges and issues
The challenges and issues of industrial agriculture for global and local society, for the industrial agriculture sector, for the individual industrial agriculture farm, and for animal rights include the costs and benefits of both current practices and proposed changes to those practices. This is a continuation of thousands of years of the invention and use of technologies in feeding ever growing populations.
Animals
"Concentrated animal feeding operations" or "intensive livestock operations", can hold large numbers (some up to hundreds of thousands) of animals, often indoors. These animals are typically cows, hogs, turkeys, or chickens. The distinctive characteristics of such farms is the concentration of livestock in a given space. The aim of the operation is to produce as much meat, eggs, or milk at the lowest possible cost and with the greatest level of food safety.
Crops
The projects within the Green Revolution spread technologies that had already existed, but had not been widely used outside of industrialized nations. These technologies included pesticides, irrigation projects, and synthetic nitrogen fertilizer.
The novel technological development of the Green Revolution was the production of what some referred to as “miracle seeds.” Scientists created strains of maize, wheat, and rice that are general…
Sustainable agriculture
The idea and practice of sustainable agriculture has arisen in response to the problems of industrial agriculture. Sustainable agriculture integrates three main goals: environmental stewardship, farm profitability, and prosperous farming communities. These goals have been defined by a variety of disciplines and may be looked at from the vantage point of the farmer or the consumer.
Organic farming methods combine some aspects of scientific knowledge and highly limited mod…