Industrialized Farming

There is no doubt that industrialized farming has great positives when it comes to our economy and the rest of our lives. This type of farming streamlines the process by which we get our food, and also helps our farmers live a little bit easier than they used to.

Industrial agriculture/farming is based on several key technological advances. The first is the improvement of farming equipment to make it more efficient and have a lower cost. Another advancement is the widespread use of fertilizers, now that we know what plants need to flourish and be productive. Vitamin supplements and vaccines have helped us take better care of our livestock, allowing cows to have more calves and produce more milk, as well as allowing bulls to live longer and become fatter for more meat to sell. A very important advancement is genetic engineering, which allows animals to be modified to live in different conditions, or to be cloned. The majority of industrial techniques used in farming are not harmful, but some techniques can be detrimental to the health of the animals, as well as to us.

The main problems with industrial agriculture are environmental-the large amounts of water and fossil fuels used is a major one, because once these resources are gone, they are not coming back. Another detrimental effect is from the fertilizers, which eventually get washed off the fields and run into creeks and other water sources and cause health problems for the human and animal populations that use the water.

There are several effects that directly affect the human population as well. Some farmers use growth hormones in their livestock so that the animals grow faster and are ready in a shorter amount of time. These growth hormones can wreak havoc on human bodies, and mess up our natural hormones. There also is the problem of bacteria and viruses being spread. With animals being packed close together, diseases spread quickly, and we may be recieving contaminated food. There also may be problems with diseases on farm equipment which later gets passed on to us.

Industrial farming can be very good for us, but there can be some nasty side effects, now that you are partially informed, you can look up more info, and make your own decision.