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The United States Food Production System Effects on Environment

Many aspects of the current system of food production in the United States are harmful to the environment. Using animals for food, they consume a lot of resources in the most expeditious means. The production of some crops require a large amount of pesticides and pesticides cause environmental damage. Genetic engineering can also have harmful effects on the environment. Unfortunately, it appears that current methods of food production are damaging the environment for future generations. A system of food production for a diet that is so focused on animals using many more resources. For example, it takes more water to produce one pound of beef than it does to produce a pound of beans, vegetables or fruit. According to research by John Robbins takes 23 gallons of water to produce one pound of lettuce, 25 gallons of water to produce one pound of wheat, 49 gallons of water to produce one pound of apples, 815 gallons of water to produce one pound of chicken, and a whopping 5,214 gallons of water to produce one pound of beef. At this rate, aquifers are being depleted rapidly. However, many people try to keep their water at home. However, water conservation efforts of individuals have a small bump that in comparison, "you can save more water by not eating a kilo of beef than you would by not showering for six whole months." Grazing can also contribute to the depletion of land if the land is overgrazed. With plants and grasses are gone, the soil is bare and their nutrients are easily washed. Resources that could have been used for humans are used for animals. Most of the crops cultivated today are fed to the animals that will soon be our food. The food production system could be safer for the environment if people ate more plant-centered diet. Pesticide use in agriculture many today also environmentally friendly. Many of these pesticides contaminate the water supply. The residues of these pesticides may end up in predator through biomagnification. Part of the solution is to find ways to use less pesticides. However, it is also important to realize that many farmers oppose any risk that insects could take care of their crops. In another part of that solution is then to find safer pesticides for use on crops. We need to develop pesticides that are not harmful to predators or people who can consume the pesticide residues. Regulation in the development of new pesticides have created "a serious slowdown in the development of these types of pest control tools that both environmentalists and farmers have loved most." The new and safer pesticides take so long to approve it is often easier to continue to use more dangerous chemicals. Testing procedures involved also require a large amount of money. Making it difficult for safer chemicals to come to the market results in the continued use of more harmful chemicals into the environment. Your continued use of pesticides in our current way can have many adverse effects on the environment. There is some potential for genetically engineered crops harm the environment too. GM food can spread their genes altered in wild varieties of the same plant. According to an article in Scientific American "U.S. logistics landscape, it is unlikely that herbicide-tolerant crops or Bt genes will spread their GM. "However, there have been cases of GM crops spreading their genes to the plants from traditional varieties. These GM crops can contaminate organic crops by cross pollination. However, instead of apologizing to farmers for the destruction of valuable organic crops, "Monsanto has sued farmers whose crops have been contaminated by cross pollination, accusing [. . .] By stealing a patented product. "Since we know that these genes can be transferred to other crops of the original variety, it is reasonable to assume that if these crops are planted close to the wild soon transgenic DNA can be found in them. This could be a bad thing if these varieties were a failure. Once genetically modified plants have been introduced, there is no way to take back. It is important first to make these plants are not only safe, but effective. If plants are made to resist insects, must stand the test of time. Later insects can become resistant to these crops and genetically modified crops original plants were contaminated all be vulnerable. Without more testing and time it is difficult to know what damage we are doing to our environment with genetically modified crops. The current system of food production in the United States could hardly be considered safe for the environment. With some changes, it is possible that we can move towards a safer and more sustainable. We must work towards the conservation of resources in agriculture. A change in the American diet may be necessary to preserve our existing resources. The reduced dependence on pesticides would also benefit the environment. At a minimum, we need to change the use of less harmful pesticides. The harmful effects of genetically modified organisms should be investigated further before introducing new variants for many species in our environment. Without changing our ways, we are only going to harm the environment even more. Changes in our food production system could greatly benefit the environment.

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