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Farming communities that try to reduce environmental impacts through modifying their practices will adopt sustainable agriculture practices. The negative impact of agriculture is an old issue that remains a concern even as experts design innovative means to reduce destruction and enhance eco-efficiency. [2]
Efforts toward more sustainable agriculture are supported in the sustainability community, however, these are often viewed only as incremental steps and not as an end. [95] One promising method of encouraging sustainable agriculture is through local farming and community gardens. [95]
Small farms tend to be more sustainable than large farming operations, because of differences in their management and methods. [35] Industrial agriculture replaces human labor using increased usage of fossil fuels, fertilizers, pesticides, and machinery and is heavily reliant on monoculture . [ 36 ]
2 is a long-term concern, farmers can be reluctant to adopt more expensive agricultural techniques when there is not a clear crop, soil, or economic benefit. Carbon farming methods might have additional costs. Individual land owners are sometimes given incentives to use carbon farming methods through government policies. [5]
In the U.S. over the past 25 years, urban farming has become crucial in helping alleviate a phenomenon known as food deserts, where grocery chains began pulling out of inner cities and residents ...
Although four million farms disappeared in the United States between 1948 and 2015, total output from the farms that remained more than doubled. The number of farms with more than 2,000 acres (810 ha) almost doubled between 1987 and 2012, while the number of farms with 200 acres (81 ha) to 999 acres (404 ha) fell over the same period by 44%. [12]
In 2001, the global market value of certified organic products was estimated at US$20 billion. By 2002, this was US$23 billion and by 2015 more than US$43 billion. [109] By 2014, retail sales of organic products reached US$80 billion worldwide. [110] North America and Europe accounted for more than 90% of all organic product sales. [110]
Climate change and agriculture are complexly related processes. In the United States , agriculture is the second largest emitter of greenhouse gases (GHG), behind the energy sector. [ 1 ] Direct GHG emissions from the agricultural sector account for 8.4% of total U.S. emissions, but the loss of soil organic carbon through soil erosion ...