Importance of farming to the environment
Maize farm (Pic by Miriam Mangwaya) |
Farmed areas – both on land and in the water – provide important habitats for many wild plants and animals.
When farming operations are sustainably managed, they can help preserve and restore critical habitats, protect watersheds, and improve soil health and water quality.
But when practiced without care, farming presents the greatest threat to species and ecosystems.
When farming operations are sustainably managed, they can help preserve and restore critical habitats, protect watersheds, and improve soil health and water quality.
But when practiced without care, farming presents the greatest threat to species and ecosystems.
Negative environmental impacts from unsustainable farming practices include:
- Land conversion & habitat loss
- Wasteful water consumption
- Soil erosion and degradation
- Pollution
- Climate change
- Genetic erosion
Industrial crop and livestock production damages the environment,
threatens human health, degrades rural communities, harms workers and
compromises animal welfare. These pages provide detailed information,
along with resources for promoting a sustainable alternative. Industrial livestock operations generate a tremendous amount of air
pollution - yet these facilities remain largely exempt from meaningful
air quality regulation.Though healthy soil is invaluable, industrial agricultural practices
degrade this natural resource by causing erosion, nutrient depletion,
and soil contamination.