Nutrition is vital to people, and many are concerned about how to do it right to stay healthy. However, one aspect is often missed – food and its production affect not only humans but also the planet. Agricultural waste of resources on food production has a predominantly negative impact, exacerbated by high levels of social consumption. However, even though the consequences of industrial food production are extensive, everyone can contribute to protecting the environment by changing some eating habits.
The food industry emits a significant number of harmful materials that negatively affect the environment. For example, plant cultivation and soil treatment destroy it, animals release methane, and production contaminates water. So all aspects of production – the cultivation and collection of plants, the maintenance of animals, the processing of products, their packaging, and transportation, affect the environment. Moreover, people as consumers are the driving force of these processes.
Each aspect of industrialized food production has different negative consequences. Miller and Spoolman (233) describe such adverse effects as loss of diversity – various species of plants, fish, and animals die due to monocultures, emissions, and product protection. The soil undergoes erosion, and salinization and becomes barren, and the water, in turn, is wasted and damaged by pesticides. Greenhouse gas emissions pollute the air and lead to climate change. All these effects – pesticides, nitrates, dirty water, and bacteria in meat products – affect human health.
Food production with so many negative consequences cannot continue and requires changes. Sustainable agriculture is a more profitable and environmentally friendly production option. It involves a decrease in soil erosion, crop diversity, a reduction in the excessive number of animals, and other consequences (Miller and Spoolman 247). Sustainable farming methods include crop alternation, non-tillage, compost use, livestock, and crop integration (“What is Sustainable Agriculture?”).
Moreover, sustainable production can be achieved if people, in turn, also take action. For example, buying organic and seasonal products in local stores lessens the need for packaging and transportation, as well as the use of pesticides. Eating more vegetarian products will help reduce meat production and improve health. At the same time, when choosing plant products, it is worth choosing those that do not look perfect – this is how people can lower waste.
In the modern world, many adults and children suffer from insufficient access to food, which is called food insecurity. Malnutrition leads to hunger, disease, weakness, and, as a result, prolonged poverty. As mentioned earlier measures that support local producers and reduce waste contribute to improving food safety. Through such actions, local farmers will lower food waste and be able to grow more affordable products. However, the leading role in achieving such security is assigned to the state. According to Miller and Spoolman (252), the government affects food production through price regulation and subsidies to farmers.
However, such assistance most often results in adverse effects such as poor biodiversity. Instead, they should focus on eliminating poverty and malnutrition through assistance programs, providing quality food, and improving people’s health and education.
In conclusion, the way a person eats directly affects the environment. Society has recently been prone to more consumption, and as a result, the burden on the ecology is increasing. Industrialized food production degrades soil and water, and destroys various species of plants and animals. To prevent even more terrible consequences, more sustainable production is needed. It can be achieved through additional measures to change farm management. Such sustainable agriculture is also crucial for improving food safety. To raise its level, it is also necessary to develop state programs to reduce poverty and improve the standard of living.
Works Cited
Miller, G. Tyler, and Scott Spoolman. Environmental Science. Cengage Learning, 16th ed., 2019.
“What is Sustainable Agriculture?” Union of Concerned Scientists. 2017. Web.