One subject examined in the documentary The Future of Food is industrial farming. Our food is controlled by industrial farmers since organic farming and farming with the help of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) is gaining ground in some of the developed nations and being adopted in the developing nations. Thanks to technology invented largely by the industrial sector, farming around the globe has changed for the better.
The industrial sector has provided contributions such as tractors for tilling land, machines for sorting produce, harvesting machines, and storage and packing mechanisms. Industrial farming comes with its own set of threats to communities, though. Livestock farming, for example, can be a particular problem for residents living close to the farms.
Increased levels of animal excreta, inadequate and/or improper waste management, air pollution due to increased movement of vehicles, unprocessed animal skin, dead animals, and other process waste emitting gaseous substances of varying descriptions can be major hazards to the residents. Water pollution is another issue that traditional farmers and the residents may have to put up with. Another major factor held against industrial farming is that it focuses only on livestock farming with all the attendant ills.
Industrial farming is not without its gains either. In the first place, industrial farming benefits from economy of size. Opposed to traditional farming, industrial farming can find large amounts of capital to invest in technology and equipments without the challenges that a traditional farmer will encounter.
The sheer size and the professional outfit will motivate the investors/bankers to pump in large sums of money in anticipation of decent returns. Consumers of the final product/s from industrial farms can expect to enjoy better quality and more realistic prices arising from economy of scale.
Given the conflicting position of industrial farming, it could be up to the policy makers to evolve an environment where the benefits of industrial farming can benefit the future of food without compromising the health and environmental issues of communities around the industrial farms.
The industrial sector has provided contributions such as tractors for tilling land, machines for sorting produce, harvesting machines, and storage and packing mechanisms. Industrial farming comes with its own set of threats to communities, though. Livestock farming, for example, can be a particular problem for residents living close to the farms.
Increased levels of animal excreta, inadequate and/or improper waste management, air pollution due to increased movement of vehicles, unprocessed animal skin, dead animals, and other process waste emitting gaseous substances of varying descriptions can be major hazards to the residents. Water pollution is another issue that traditional farmers and the residents may have to put up with. Another major factor held against industrial farming is that it focuses only on livestock farming with all the attendant ills.
Industrial farming is not without its gains either. In the first place, industrial farming benefits from economy of size. Opposed to traditional farming, industrial farming can find large amounts of capital to invest in technology and equipments without the challenges that a traditional farmer will encounter.
The sheer size and the professional outfit will motivate the investors/bankers to pump in large sums of money in anticipation of decent returns. Consumers of the final product/s from industrial farms can expect to enjoy better quality and more realistic prices arising from economy of scale.
Given the conflicting position of industrial farming, it could be up to the policy makers to evolve an environment where the benefits of industrial farming can benefit the future of food without compromising the health and environmental issues of communities around the industrial farms.
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