Intensive Farming

Image by Goran Horvat from Pixabay

Please see the bottom of this post for the links I have used in my research.

Intensive farming is a term that I have heard banded about many times. Recently it has purely been in a negative light. With that in mind, I thought I would look more into this method of food production.

Here is one definition of intensive farming:

“Intensive farming is characterized by efficiency: higher crop yields from smaller farms and more meat and dairy from fewer animals in smaller spaces. To achieve these ends, farmers may turn to some combination of fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, heavy farm machinery, growth hormones, or genetically modified organisms (GMOs). It’s all about making the best use of farm space and “getting the most bang for your buck.”

There are a lot of mouths to feed in this world, and it is easy to see why intensive farming has been one of the main ways of doing this over the years. It also forms part of our economy and provides livelihoods for many people through its associated industries.

So, what are the pros and cons of intensive farming? Here are some of them.

Pros

• It produces higher yields. A growing population equals an increasing need. Intensive farming meets that need.

• Intensive farming produces food in ways that are economically beneficial for the consumer. They can produce more food on smaller plots of land—lower costs for farmer results in lower prices for the consumer.

• Intensive farms are easier to monitor and, therefore, easier to manage. In addition, the many technological advances have made monitoring the job of machinery.

Cons

• Intensive farms use a greater amount of fertilisers and pesticides than traditional or alternative methods of farming. However, doing this can lead to pesticide resistance and damage to the soil. Continued use can create a vicious cycle and lead to a decline in crop quality and the food produced.

• Intensive farms typically only produce one crop or animal, increasing the risk of the entire crop or livestock being lost to disease, pests and environmental changes.

• Due to the intensive nature of this method of food production, animals are kept in smaller spaces, sometimes with no access to the outside, raising concerns for the welfare of the animals.

Intensive farming is beneficial for business and the consumer, but we should not be blind to the cost we may be paying for this in the long term. These are issues that we need to address. The pandemic and climate crisis have brought forth in people’s minds the need to look beyond the short time benefits of what we do.

References

https://www.studysmarter.co.uk/explanations/human-geography/agricultural-geography/intensive-farming/
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/ztwvk2p/revision/3
https://greener4life.com/blog/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-intensive-farming

The opinions of this post are mine and do not reflect those of Kelp Social.