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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] Animal agriculture practices tend to be more environmentally destructive than agricultural practices focused on fruits, vegetables and other biomass. The emissions of methane ...
The use of biological pest control agents, or using predators, parasitoids, parasites, and pathogens to control agricultural pests, has the potential to reduce agricultural pollution associated with other pest control techniques, such as pesticide use. The merits of introducing non-native biocontrol agents have been widely debated, however.
Livestock produces the majority of greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture and demands around 30% of agricultural freshwater needs, while only supplying 18% of the global calorie intake. Animal-derived food plays a larger role in meeting human protein needs, yet is still a minority of supply at 39%, with crops providing the rest.
The 2024 UNEP Food Waste Index Report, "Think Eat Save: Tracking Progress to Halve Global Food Waste," addresses the severe issue of food waste that accounts for US$1 trillion in losses, 8–10% of global greenhouse emissions, and the unnecessary use of 30% of the world's agricultural land, exacerbating hunger and affecting child growth.
The environmental impact of agriculture involves a variety of factors from the soil, to water, the air, animal and soil diversity, plants, and the food itself. Some of the environmental issues that are related to agriculture are climate change, deforestation, genetic engineering, irrigation problems, pollutants, soil degradation, and waste.
Today, over 3.5 billion kilograms of synthetic pesticides are used for the world's agriculture in an over $45 billion industry. [17] Current lead agrichemical producers include Syngenta (ChemChina), Bayer Crop Science, BASF, Dow AgroSciences, FMC, ADAMA, Nufarm, Corteva, Sumitomo Chemical, UPL, and Huapont Life Sciences.
In 2010, enteric fermentation accounted for 43% of the total greenhouse gas emissions from all agricultural activity in the world. [36] The meat from ruminants has a higher carbon equivalent footprint than other meats or vegetarian sources of protein based on a global meta-analysis of lifecycle assessment studies. [ 37 ]
Land degradation reduces agricultural productivity, leads to biodiversity loss, and can reduce food security as well as water security. [3] [1] It was estimated in 2007 that up to 40% of the world's agricultural land is seriously degraded, [4] with the United Nations estimating that the global economy could lose $23 trillion by 2050 through ...