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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.
Pollutants from agriculture greatly affect water quality and can be found in lakes, rivers, wetlands, estuaries, and groundwater. Pollutants from farming include sediments, nutrients, pathogens, pesticides, metals, and salts. [1] Animal agriculture has an outsized impact on pollutants that enter the environment.
Examples of environmental impacts of animal agriculture: Meat production is a main driver of deforestation in Venezuela; Pigs in intensive farming; Testing Australian sheep for exhaled methane production to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture; Farms often pump their animal waste directly into a large lagoon, which has environmental ...
Food loss and waste is a major part of the impact of agriculture on climate change (it amounts to 3.3 billion tons of CO 2 e emissions annually [5] [6]) and other environmental issues, such as land use, water use and loss of biodiversity.
[211] [212] A study summarising a number of impact studies of climate change on agriculture in Latin America indicated that wheat is expected to decrease in Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay. [212] Livestock, which is the main agricultural product for parts of Argentina, Uruguay, southern Brazil, Venezuela , and Colombia is likely to be reduced.
Besides the impact on air quality, burning of agricultural waste in fields also has a negative impact on soil fertility, economic development and climate. [24] The absence of environmentally friendly agricultural waste management further leads to animal suffering, water pollution, fertilisation, and decline in biodiversity, among others. [25]
Research in New Zealand estimated that switching agricultural production towards a healthier diet while reducing greenhouse gas emissions would cost approximately 1% of the agricultural sector's export revenue for New Zealand, which is an order of magnitude less than the estimated health system savings from a healthier diet. [53]
A farm that can "produce perpetually", yet has negative effects on environmental quality elsewhere is not sustainable agriculture. An example of a case in which a global view may be warranted is the application of fertilizer or manure , which can improve the productivity of a farm but can pollute nearby rivers and coastal waters ...