Environmentalist Jonathan Foley presented his theory of “The
Other Inconvenient Truth” during a Ted Talk during October of 2010. His theory refers to the intersection of
food, land use, and the environment.
When we take a look at our planet at night, human presence can be seen
by the immense amounts of light being emitted, mostly from urbanized
areas. In comparison, 60 times the
amount of land is used for agricultural purposes. The question is whether or not this land,
which much of is being used to create food, is being used responsibly or if it
will have a lasting negative impact on the environment.
The
demand for food has led agriculture to become one of the largest forces behind
global climate change and loss of biodiversity.
For example, we can look at lettuce which is being grown in the desert
of Arizona. This irresponsible practice
needs to draw water from somewhere and will use exponentially more than if the
lettuce was grown in a more appropriate climate. The Colorado river has suffered as a
result. Being the main water source in
that region, it has been drained to the point where it no longer flows into the
ocean. It is amazing to think that this
agriculture has consumed an entire river for irrigation. Another example of this on a larger scale is
the Aral Sea in the former Soviet Union.
It was completely drained over a 40 year period solely to irrigate
desert land in Kazakhstan to grow cotton.
As a result, 19 of the 20 unique fish species found in this sea are now
extinct. As a planet we already use
almost 50% of the world’s fresh water that is sustainable, with agriculture
accounting for 70% of that figure.
Agriculture
accounts for 30% of all greenhouse gas emissions globally, which is larger than
any other single contributor. This
includes energy and manufacturing. With growing pressure being put on the oil
industry as a source of energy, bio fuels may become more prevalent. As the population grows so will the food
demand. We are not going to see a
decrease in the effects of agriculture on our land use or environmental impact
any time soon as a result. There are
solutions to this problem, one of them being to increase the efficiency of the
agricultural land already being used.
This would produce higher yields of crops, use less energy, and protect
biodiversity of sensitive ecosystems.
The agriculture industry, environmental protection, and land allocation
must work together to solve this problem before it is too late.
To read more on this topic or to view the video click here
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