Chapter 22. Chapter 22: Agriculture: Raising Crops

What are the advantages and disadvantages of sustainable farming, and what role will it play in helping us feed the world?

Why You Should Care

Why isn't sustainable farming the rule instead of the exception? It comes down to money, demand, and inertia. There is a lot of profit to be made from industrial farming, but not all of it from selling the food. For example, the production of chemical fertilizers and pesticides is a huge business. In the United States, at least, governmental subsidies reward the industrial growing of crops more than sustainable production. It is normal for the production cost of crops to exceed the sale price and only subsidies allow farmers to profit from their efforts. This means that subsidies keep food prices lower than food costs. When sustainably grown food is sold at a more realistic price, it seems too expensive in comparison. As long as industrially grown food remains artificially cheaper than sustainably grown food, there will likely not be enough demand for sustainably grown food to make it mainstream.

There is also inertia and speculation in farming. Good growing seasons are always a gamble and farmers stick with methods that have worked for them in the past. It seems like a risky venture to most farmers to convert to less conventional, but more sustainable, methods. This is especially true because sustainable methods often have lower yields, regardless of the fact that the profit can be higher because of the reduced costs for fuel and chemicals.

Despite potentially lower yields, sustainable agriculture will likely be essential for avoiding food shortages in the future. As nonrenewable energy sources dwindle, industrial agriculture in developed countries will become less able to supply surplus food to the world. Most of the world's population is growing in developing countries, and, in many of those countries, farming is unsustainable in a way that is potentially irreversible. Staggering amounts of natural forests and other habitats are being lost in developing countries as people clear land to grow crops, livestock, and other products to support their families. Often, the degradation to the cleared land is extreme enough that it is unlikely the original natural ecosystem could recover if farming were abandoned. Even worse, the cleared land often becomes infertile within a few years, meaning that more land has to be cleared. Furthermore, the high costs and resources associated with industrial agriculture make it an impossibility for most farmers in developing countries. Sustainable farming methods could mean that families could have a stable source of food that doesn't come at the cost of environmental degradation. Combining sustainable agriculture with education, family planning, and social justice are all part of the path toward a sustainable world population.