Khalil Fleming
Debate paper
Section 3
Industrial agriculture has been a part of America since the beginning. At one point in time a
large percent of the United States’ population were farmers. Farming and agriculture was the main
source of trade for a number of years, and was especially important during the beginning of the United
States. Part of what caused the war that ended up founding America was, in fact, the need to be able to
freely import and export agriculture and other goods. Corn at that time was an especially important crop
that the United States would export. Today industrial agriculture is much more efficient. The use of
pesticides, machinery, and different farming techniques have all helped farmers yield much more per
harvest. Nowadays, one famer can feed around 155 people today, as opposed to earlier when one
farmer might have trouble feeding his own family. However, this new system, while it may produce
more food, it also produces a lot more waste. The machines farmers use nowadays require large
amounts of fossil fuels. Tractors, harvesters, and crop sprayers are used by many modern day farmers
and all require gasoline to run. In terms of energy input to food ratio it is about ten units of energy for
every one unit produced of food (Shiva). Nowadays we measure agriculture in terms of yield instead of
overall output using only labor as a natural resource. Thus, we require more and more land to meet our
agricultural needs. Because of this, the agricultural industry is racing for land and will stop at nothing to
get it. This is leading to deforestation in places such as the Amazon and in some emergent
countries(Shiva). However, even though industrial agriculture causes a lot of problems and pollution,
farmers and other advocates if industrial farming say that there really is no other viable solution.
Organic farming is really a thing of the past to many farmers. In addition, without the use of pesticides
and other additives things like mold, fungus, and bugs all increase. With bad results already likely to
happen because of organic farming, it really seems like a necessary evil to keep doing the things
necessary to ensure that food produced is sanitary and able to be sold. The alternative to this is to hire a
lot of low paid laborers to do all the work that is not done because of a lack of additives. In addition,
while many critics of agriculture farming also critique some of the pens that animals must be held in,
they may not realize that some pens are used for a reason. For example, hog pens are not used simply
to isolate the pig from its mother. In fact, it is used for just the opposite. In some cases, mothers
accidentally sit on, or even eat the young hogs. Either way, farming is a messy, painful, dirty job and will
continue to be no matter how industrially inclined it is or isn’t.
Organic advocates would argue that the pollution and energy used in agricultural farming isn’t
worth it. “According to the FAO International Technical Conference on Plant Genetic Resources in
Leipzig (1995), industrial agriculture is responsible for 75 per cent biodiversity erosion, 75 per cent water
destruction, 75 per cent land degradation and 40 per cent greenhouse gases”.(aljeezra). This is a huge
amount of pollution caused by just agriculture. Moreover, the fact that only about one of every ten units
of energy are matched in food units makes that pollution even less justifiable. In addition, to the already
blatant energy waste that agriculture already produces, it’s amplified even more if animals are put into
factory farms and fed grain. As of now, “Industrial agriculture is an inefficient and wasteful system which
is chemical intensive, fossil fuel intensive and capital intensive.” Farmers in developing countries can’t
take it. Even though over 70% of food is produced by small farmers they are the first to be shut down
because of low yields. As a result since 1997 over 270,000 farmers have committed suicide. So not only
is the burden for industrial farming too heavy for the environment, but also on our farmers.
Even though pollution is necessary for industrial agriculture and the yields aren’t too great,
organic agriculture is just not a viable solution. Organic farming on a large scale production is not too
efficient. To have all of the workers of organic farming would produce a lot of jobs, however, that would
also sky rocket food prices. For farmers to pay workers to do the manual labor, the payout and benefits
must be worth it for the worker to do such laborious work and be satisfied. This then in turn makes the
food itself more expensive because the consumer must shoulder a similar burden that is placed upon
the farmer. Although the food is fresher, the price would be too much for it to be truly economical. As it
is now people see organic produce as a luxury. There are chains such as Whole Goods that strictly sell
organic produce, however, these chains are usually very expensive. I do not believe that the average
American would be able to take on that financial burden. In addition, many farms already have the
infrastructure for industrial agriculture. To throw away an investment like that would be a waste.
Moreover there are some reports that say organic foods aren’t even much healthier for you. No matter
how hard we attempt to prevent it, bugs, bacteria, and mold are a part of farming. However, the use of
pesticides significantly reduce the amount. Many organic farms use little to no pesticide at all to keep
their plants fresher. This is almost counterproductive. By not using pesticides to keep the food fresher,
bugs are more apt to eat the food. As the bugs eat the food some of them may carry bacterium that are
harmful to humans. So in an effort to keep food fresh, some of the food ends up infected unsafe to eat.
In the end, organic farming really isn’t safer or more nutritious than industrial farming.
Those in that are against organic agriculture believe that there is just no way around the dirty
work that farmers must accomplish. The lifestyle has, and will most likely always be, harsh and
unforgiving and no method can really get around that fact. However, as stated earlier, many farms are
looked at in terms of yield. Right from the beginning organic farming is at a disadvantage. Without the
use of pesticides and other additives, the sanitation work becomes manual labor for a lot of low paid
individuals. This means that the cost to produce the same amount of food in a different way goes up. It
is much less expensive, and much easier to buy and use a machine that picks up, cleans, and prepares
crops than hire and pay workers to do all that labor for you. In addition, organic agriculture, as stated
previously, offers no nutritional advantages. Contrary to what many people think, the use of pesticides
and biotechnology don’t detract from the nutritional value of the food. In fact, it helps keep bugs and
other bacteria out of the food. In Britain, there was an outbreak of organic corn meal that was
contaminated with a cancer causing bacteria. Tests showed that the contamination level was around 20
times higher than the safety threshold of what is allowed in that area. Although organic food may be
free from pesticides and science labs, it is simultaneously open to all kinds of nature that can have
potentially harmful effects on humans.
Although industrial agriculture may produce more overall, it leaves behind infinitely more waste
and toxins. As the agricultural industry expands, more and more soil is contaminated by chemicals. This
makes the land less attractive to farm in again, because the chemicals in the soil cause it to be
somewhat deficient. Because of the soil deficiency, for the agricultural industry to maintain its yields, it
requires for new land to use because the current land is now unfit. Moreover, some of the same
chemicals that cause the soil to weaken can end up in our food. The bad soil also effects the nutrition of
the crop itself. The food can only be as healthy as the soil it grows in, so crops planted in bad soil can
lose nutritious value. In one study conducted by Nutrition and Health, Carrots had lost 75 per cent of
their calcium, 46 per cent of their iron, and 75 per cent of their copper. Potatoes had lost 30 per cent of
their magnesium, 35 per cent calcium, 45 per cent iron and 47 per cent copper. This in turn actually
increases the hunger problem because people are eating, but not getting enough nutrients. This can
lead to obesity and malnutrition because of the lack of nutrients. Moreover, since many small farms are
in developing countries, and around 88 percent of agriculture is eaten within the same eco region, many
of these developing countries must eat their own food that lacks many different nutrients. In addition,
many of small farms are unfairly treated. Around 70% of food is produced by these small farms, yet they
are the first to be shutdown.
I believe that industrial farming is the future of agriculture, however it still needs many
refinements. Small farmers need to be taken care of more, chemicals need to have more research done
on them, and land needs to be preserved. However, solutions to these problems can all be solved with
research and resources. I see no real benefits to organic agriculture other that it keeps the pollution rate
down. Organic farming is an outdated method that doesn’t need to expand any further. I believe it truly
is an indulgence and is not a necessity. Industrial farming is cheaper, more efficient, and produces much
more than organic farming ever could. In addition, the use of bio technology and pesticides help keep
the food clean from contamination. Granted, the energy input to food output is unacceptable, and the
amount of pollution is horrendous, however, I believe with more resources and modifications, it could
prove to be a very efficient method of farming.
Works Cited:
Bittman, Mark. "Not All Industrial Food Is Evil." Opinionator Not All Industrial Food Is Evil Comments.
N.p., 17 Aug. 2013. Web. 20 Oct. 2014.
Hurst, Blake. "AMERICAN.COM." The Omnivore's Delusion: Against the Agri-intellectuals — The
American Magazine. N.p., 30 July 2009. Web. 19 Oct. 2014.
Miller, John J. "The Organic Myth." Hey Miller RSS. N.p., 9 Feb. 2010. Web. 21 Oct. 2014.
"Myths about Industrial Agriculture." - Opinion. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2014.
Shiva, Vandana. "Myths about Industrial Agriculture." - Opinion. N.p., 23 Sept. 2012. Web. 20 Oct. 2014.