Hazards of Industrial Agriculture

1. Hazards of Industrial Agriculture Key: AWL to Study, Low-frequency Vocabulary What are the hazards of industrial agriculture?

2. Organic Farming: A Growing Trend • Consumer demand for organic farming is rising at 20% per year. • The highest growth is in Argentina, US, and China. • People are growing consciousof adverse effects of industrial agriculture, where there is a focus on maximizing profits at the expense of health and the environment. How do you think industrial agriculture contributes to global warming and water pollution?

3. Health Risks: Industrial Methods • Pesticide residues on produce • remain after washing and peeling. • have links to cancer. • Antibiotics we ingest • from plant and animal sources • lead to the development of untreatable superbugs Do you worry about pesticide residues on or antibiotics in your food? Explain.

4. Additional Health Risks • Plant and animal growth hormones • disruptendocrinesystem. • lead to early puberty. • Biological engineering • Unregulated items are virtually invisible in stores. • Manipulation of genetic code could impact health. How do you think genetically modified food might impact your health?

5. Environmental Hazards • Environmental hazards comprise air pollution, global warming, and other problems. • Synthetic fertilizers • largest source of nitrous oxide emissions • 300 times more toxic than carbon dioxide gases • will affect air pollution and intensify global warming if continued Are you concerned about air pollution in your country? Why or why not?

6. Authoritieson Water Pollution • Animal waste, fertilizers, and pesticidesleachinto soil. • They run off through irrigation and contaminate ground water (large portion of water supply). • They contain nitrates, which cause permanent damage to ground water. Are you concerned about water pollution in your country? Why or why not?

7. Dead Zones in Oceans • Preponderance of nitrogen in fertilizers • helps crops grow; harms oceans • generates algal overgrowth • Algal overgrowth • depletes oxygen in water • no plant or animal can survive

8. Unsustainable Soil • Industrial mono-cropping: one crop is planted repeatedly on a single field. • The process relies on the use of synthetic fertilizers. • Mono-cropping kills microorganisms needed to produce soil nutrients. • Infertile soil leads to erosion, unsustainable farmlands, and reduced biodiversity. If mono-cropping is destroying farmlands and biodiversity, what is the alternative?

9. Vicious Cycle • Soil infertility leads to a vicious cycle of fertilizer use. • Increasing fertilizer use leads to environmental hazards. • Increased use of pesticides • Only the fittest pests survive. • Stronger pesticides are then needed. What are the environmental hazards associated with the use of pesticides?

10. Organic Farming • Organic farming prohibits the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, hormones, antibiotics, and genetically modified organisms. • It ensures soil sustainability and overall quality. What are the advantages of eating organic food?

11. Crop Rotation • Holisticfarming techniques • infusesoil with essential nutrients. • ensure different crops are planted every year. • vary the nutrient demand in soil. • create sustainable soil. How does organic farming affect soil?

12. Animal Welfare • Small-scale organic farms are • less likely to confine livestock to small spaces. • against the use of antibiotics. • Free-range farms • allow animals to roam freely. • reduce stress and susceptibility to disease. How do you feel about confining animals to small spaces in order to produce food?