In the United States, we are fortunate to have an abundant supply of food. However, this abundance is largely due to advances in agricultural technology, which have in turn created numerous concerns surrounding our food sources. Two modern examples of how the United States has increased its food production are: aquaculture and industrial agriculture. Aquaculture is the farming of the sea to decrease the overuse of land agriculture. Industrial agriculture is the use of is the use of technology “combined with agrochemical use with mechanization and improved water control (irrigation and/or drainage) and the selection of crop varieties adapted to thrive when provided with them” (Woodhouse, 2010, p.437).
These changes have affected the environment by increasing the productivity of the modern food supply. “Aquaculture has become increasing important to the supply of seafood. In the 1970’s Aquaculture production has went from 3.5 million tons to 63 million tons 2005 which made up 40% of the 157.5 million tons of seafood produced and has been a growing trend in the increased food production” (Asche, 2008, p.527). For my other example, industrial agriculture, “the majority of American farmland is dominated by industrial agriculture; the system of chemically intensive food production developed in the decades after World War II, featuring enormous single-crop farms and animal production facilities” (Union of Concerned Scientists, 2014). In the past industrial agriculture was all the rage; however it is highly controversial because the system, said to be:
“Monoculture farming, relies heavily on chemical inputs such as synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. The fertilizers are needed because growing the same plant (and nothing else) in the same place year after year quickly depletes the nutrients that the plant relies on, and these nutrients have to be replenished somehow. The pesticides are needed because monoculture fields are highly attractive to certain weeds and insect pests” (Union of Concerned Scientists, 2014).
These two changes have impacted food safety because aquaculture tends to have multitudes of seafood and other fish that are farmed in areas that are segregated to small area, not allowing the potential food supply to be exposed to fresh living conditions. The fish eat and defecate in the same living area that they will be harvested from. This can lead to contamination similar to plants that are harvested from areas that are farmed exposed to human waste run off. As I mentioned in the above quote, industrial farming produces large amounts of food for mass populations; however, the constant use of the same land over and over, using chemicals and pesticides lead to poor nutrition in the soil that our plant type foods are grown in. Industrial agriculture does not just include vegetable farming; it also includes the mass production of farm livestock that is forced to live in close quarters, eat food to bulk up for slaughter and often injected with antibiotics that may harm sensitive digestive systems. Animal industrial farming is quite similar to aquaculture farms where the overall nutrition is not the main goal but instead mass production at a rapid pace to feed the multitudes which can lead to unsafe food practices and overall food safety.
References
Asche, F. (2008). Farming the Sea. Marine Resource Economics, 23(4), 527-547.
Union of Concerned Scientists. (2014). Industrial Agriculture-The outdated, unsustainable system that dominates U.S. food production. Food and Agriculture. Retrieved from http://www.ucsusa.org/our-work/food-agriculture/our-failing-food-system/industrial-agriculture#.VFrPrvnF98E
Woodhouse, P. (2010). Beyond Industrial Agriculture? Some Questions about Farm Size, Productivity and Sustainability. Journal Of Agrarian Change, 10(3), 437-453. doi:10.1111/j.1471-0366.2010.00278.x
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