Is It Really Worth it? Feeding a Growing Population vs Conserving Biodiversity

Based on opinion I feel that, sure one may be able to go on and on with the benefits of Industrial Agriculture,but these benefits do not hide the harsh consequences that follow, which may not be significant now, but in the future problems may arise which may or may not be irreversible. Therefore I strongly am against Industrial Agriculture, and am for, the "less profitable" Sustainable Agriculture. Now I remind you that I am only a consumer that relies on my parent's to put food on the table.

Now just in case your not informed, basically, Industrial Agriculture is good for company profits, bad for humans and the environment while Sustainable Agriculture is bad for company profits, good for humans and the environment.

To be specific, Industrial Agriculture uses artificial selection, fertilizers, pesticides and other methods to create larger, and fresher products at the cost of putting all sorts of chemicals into it. Not only are we affected by these chemicals, but so is the environment. Industrial Agriculture uses fertilizers filled with nitrogen, nitrogen may be good for plants however through such a large overdose, it causes soil acidification. Industrial Agriculture also requires a large quantity of water, so much that it is almost wasted and nearby communities often have water shortages. Companies which use such methods simply do not invest in ways to stop or reduce negative effects on the environment.

While Sustainable Agriculture uses more natural methods to create products at the cost of a little more resources. Companies that use this method tend to invest in ways to reduce water usage and reduce amount of pollutants. However the cost of an eco-friendly method means that companies receive less profits and the consumer will generally end up paying more for such products.

With a little research I've found out that a lot of the produce we eat in our daily lives has gone through some form of artificial selection. That humans have been intentionally breeding livestock such as pigs and cows with desired characteristics through artificial selection, characteristics that allow these animals to grow faster and to a much larger mass in a less amount of time.

Now is artificial selection right? I feel that its not, I believe that changing a characteristic of an animal or plant for our own benefit is morally wrong. These changes may benefit us, but I highly doubt its benefiting these animals, and its only a matter of time until something negative and irreversible happens.

Can agricultural industries keep up? Yes industries can keep up and this issue cannot be used as an excuse for Industrial agricultural industries to keep on destroying our environment for the demand of products. In only Toronto, let alone the rest of the world, an estimate 17.5m kilograms of food is thrown out each month! and 61% of this waste could have been kept and eaten at another time. A recent survey in the U.K suggests that families throw out 1/3 of their food purchases.

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Comment - Cris Iconaru
Comment - Puji Wibowo