Sorry farmers, but agriculture is not good for our environment.
Sorry farmers, but agriculture of any form is not good for the environment.
Whether it’s occupied by hog barns, pastures, or peanut fields, land taken up by agriculture takes away from healthy ecosystems. They both leak chemicals and wastes into the ground, are substantial greenhouse gas emitters and are major groundwater users. While neither animal nor plant agriculture is great for our environment, which one more efficiently feeds our population with the least amount of environmental damage?
The greenhouse gas argument for plants versus animals is difficult to nail down because of the broad scope, but unquestionably plants produce less emissions.
According to a study from the Worlds Resource Institute (WRI), “Around two-thirds of agriculture’s production-related greenhouse gas emissions in 2009 [was related to raising livestock], while only contributing 37 percent of total protein consumed by people in that year.” This increase in emissions comes directly from the animal’s waste, the transportation for them and their feed along with the production of the plant crops they eat.
Animal production uses far more land than plants. The WRI states, “Production of animal-based foods accounted for more than three-quarters of global agricultural land use.”
While livestock cannot compete with plants in a calories-per-acre contest, they don’t have to. Food grown for animals is grown in different areas than plants we eat. Cattle can be put on pasture land where row crops cannot be grown due to soil infertility or harsh weather.
Crops grown specifically for feeding animals, like grain corn, can’t grow effectively in places where crops we eat are grown, like sweet corn. Many animals are even fed our food waste, like dried distillers’ grain, a byproduct of alcohol distilling.
We can also get around these limitations by growing crops indoors. In a single acre of land, greenhouses can grow vegetables, fruits, and other plants year-round that feed many more people than animal agriculture could ever feed in the same space. Even with compact broiler chicken houses or hog barns, animals take longer and require more space.
Runoff pollution is possibly the biggest impact the agriculture industry has on our environment, and neither plants nor animals are exempt from this issue. Plant agriculture suffers from pesticide runoff and overspray (things other than crops getting sprayed) which can kill ecosystems quickly.
Heard of honeybees dying? This is a major culprit. The fertilizers’ nitrogen and phosphorus leak into waterways and create devastating algal blooms. Many would argue to go organic, but it would likely be unfeasible due to the massive growing area that it would require.
Animals have a more unique issue: lots and lots of excess animal waste to get rid of. While it can lead to major ecological issues getting rid of this waste, it can also be used beneficially when spread on crop fields for fertilizer, negating this issue.
UTM teaches agriculture students how to lessen land use, runoff and GHG emissions in the modern farm economy in a variety of career programs. Specifically, the 640-acre farm here uses best management practices with animals and crops to help lessen the impact our farm makes.
In most ways, plant agriculture is better for the environment than animal agriculture. Yet, they complement each other. Where our crops can’t grow, livestock animals and their food can. Plus, the nutrition we as people need can be difficult to find in plants alone.
Whether you may choose to go vegan or maybe begin a carnivore diet, both plant and animal agriculture are not mutually exclusive, but are complementary. And they are here to stay.
Whether they are hog barns or peanut fields, land taken up by agriculture takes away from healthy ecosystems. They both leak chemicals and wastes into the ground, are substantial greenhouse gas emitters and are major groundwater users. While animal and plant agriculture is not great for our environment, which one more efficiently feeds our population with the least amount of environmental damage?
The greenhouse gas argument for plants versus animals is difficult to nail down because of the broad scope, but unquestionably plants are lesser producers.
According to a study from the Worlds Resource Institute (WRI), “Around two-thirds of agriculture’s production-related greenhouse gas emissions in 2009, while only contributing 37 percent of total protein consumed by people in that year.” This comes directly from the animal’s waste, the transportation for them and their feed along with the production of the plant crops they eat.
Animal production uses more land than plants. The WRI states, “Production of animal-based foods accounted for more than three-quarters of global agricultural land use.”
While livestock cannot compete with plants in a calories-per-acre contest, they don’t have to. Food grown for animals is grown in different areas than plants we eat. Cattle can be put on pasture land where row crops cannot be grown due to soil infertility or harsh weather.
Crops grown specifically for feeding animals, like grain corn, can’t grow effectively in places where crops we eat are grown, like sweet corn. Many animals are even fed our food waste, like dried distillers’ grain after alcohol distilling.
We can get around this by growing indoors. In a single acre of land, greenhouses can grow vegetables, fruits, and other plants year-round that feed many more people than animal agriculture could ever feed in the same space. Even with compact broiler chicken houses or hog barns, animals take longer and require more space.
Runoff pollution is possibly the biggest impact the agriculture industry has on our environment, and neither plants nor animals are exempt from the issues. Plant agriculture suffers from pesticide runoff and overspray (things other than crops getting sprayed) which can kill ecosystems quickly.
Heard of honeybees dying? This is a major culprit. The fertilizers nitrogen and phosphorus leak into waterways and create devastating algal blooms. Many would argue to go organic, but it would likely be unfeasible due to the massive growing area that it would require.
Animals have a more unique issue: lots and lots of excess animal waste to get rid of. While it can lead to major ecological issues getting rid of this waste, it can be used beneficially when spread on crop fields for fertilizer, negating this issue.
UTM teaches agriculture students how to lessen land use, runoff and GHG emissions in the modern farm economy in a variety of career programs. Specifically, the 640-acre farm here uses best management practices with animals and crops to help lessen the impact our farm makes.
In most ways, plant agriculture is better for the environment than animal agriculture. Yet, they complement each other. Where our crops can’t grow, animals and their food can. Plus, the nutrition we as people need can be difficult to find in plants alone.
Whether you may choose to go vegan or maybe begin a carnivore diet, both plant and animal agriculture are here to stay.
