Industrial agriculture is how most Americans get their produce. This practice refers to farming techniques that raise produce in environments where they can maximize the density of their crops to get the highest harvest output. Modern technology is often used to accelerate the pace at which produce is harvested. However, while production goes up, it comes at a price. Here are the negative implications that come with industrial agriculture.
Industrial Agriculture Impacts Small Businesses
In many cases, industrial agriculture is maintained by large-scale corporations that have the money, space, and materials necessary to produce food at an incredible rate. Since they can create food so efficiently, they are able to distribute it to supermarkets at prices that are much lower than what smaller farms can offer. This puts a hindrance on small farms as they struggle to compete with these industrial goliaths.
Industrial Agriculture Brings Up Concerns for the Environment
Many animals are raised inside of factory farms. In these farms, they make a large amount of waste. This waste is ultimately poured into large bodies of water, polluting the water in the process. The animal waste can also impact the air by harming the ozone layer, and it can spread to various lands and other sources of water, like streams and rivers.
Health Problems Can be Caused
Industrial agriculture can harm human health in a variety of manners. As mentioned prior, pollution is a driving factor. Anyone who lives near large masses of waste is more vulnerable to contracting illnesses.
Herbicides also present risks because of how they contaminate produce. These herbicides have been associated with people getting sick. The health implications of herbicides are still not known for certain, but it’s believed by many that the effects are often detrimental to the wellbeing of humans.
Industrial Agriculture Can Produce Lower-Quality Food
Produce often gets sprayed with pesticides before being sent to stores for selling. This can result in pesticide poisoning. Also, while the animals found on these industrial farms are given antibiotics to keep them from getting sick, bacteria can still mutate and get them ill anyway. When animals get sick, it’s not only detrimental to them; it also has a negative impact on the food that gets produced.
Baywater Farms Has The Right Produce For You
Baywater Farms is a family-owned and operated farm servicing Baltimore, Washington D.C., Maryland, Delaware beaches, and the Eastern Shore. We are capable of meeting the demands of your produce distributor, restaurant produce supplier, CSA produce supplier, or wholesale produce supplier while maintaining the integrity and character of a small farm. When you work with Baywater Farms, you work with an experienced, ethical, and local farm dedicated to providing the highest-quality heirloom produce possible.