Mignery 1

Sophia Mignery

Professor Calhoun

English 1201

21 March 2021

First Draft

How does agriculture affect the environment? What can we do to better our farming

practices and keep our environment safe? These questions represent a largely debated topic about

farming practices and keeping the environment clean. Agriculture, the practice of farming, can

sometimes have bad effects on the environment. By using sustainable agriculture and

regeneration agriculture as a method of farming, we can restore the environment and prevent

problems such as soil erosion, climate change, water pollution, and air pollution.

For years people have had organizations that are geared toward saving renewable energy

and keeping our ecosystems clean, but when did people start to realize that some things only last

so long? The Sustainable AG movement began around the 1950s, the same time that modern

agriculture started booming. In the 50s, people started getting worried about the non-renewable

resources. Bill Ganzle, the writer of the article “Farming in the 1950s & 60s” addresses this topic

by talking about how scientists in the 50s started pointing out the limits to nonrenewable

resources. The use of oil and natural gasses sparked ideas that some of our resources could

eventually run out (Ganzle). During the 50s and 60s many groups and organizations started that

were based around environmental and sustainability issues. The PSEP tells us that from the

1950s through the 70s agriculture was changing rapidly and providing new techniques for

American farmers. We now know today that some of those practices farmers used were not very

good and were often hurtful to the environment (PSEP). Nowadays, WWF is one of the biggest
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sustainability organizations promoting planet conservation. WWF provides credible information

on how to help conserve our ecosystems.

Without farmers where would we be? This is an important question to consider when

discussing farming and the ecosystems. Over two million US farmers get up everyday and work

hard so that you can have food on the table. Farmers provide us with essentials. Without farmers,

you probably wouldn't be able to go to the grocery or produce store to get whatever food you

wanted. Instead, you would have to grow the food yourself or trade with other people to get

what you wanted (You probably wouldn't have a variety.) While some farmers could do better in

their farming practices, we should be thankful for the hard working farmers who truly want the

best for us and are providing us everyday with our delicious meals.

This photo gives us a good insight on the farmers that care and work hard to do what's

best for us and our ecosystems. The photo shows a young chicken farmer caring for his chickens.

Farmers like this rotate their chickens daily, fertilizing the ground beneath them. Because the

chickens fertilize the ground, this eliminates the need for commercial chemicals and fertilizers

(Held).
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Farming as mentioned before, can negatively affect the environment in many ways.

Farming in the “wrong” way can create water pollution, air pollution, soil erosion, and climate

change. Katherine Killebrew, the writer of “Environmental Impact of Agricultural

Technologies”, uses her article to provide information on why certain farming practices could

not only affect the ecosystems, but also a person's health. The Dust Bowl is a good example of

why we should use better AG practices and how farming really can affect our health and

ecosystems. The Dust Bowl was mostly the product of overtilling and drought. Although in our

case, overtilling may not be the case, we may be headinding toward a second Dust Bowl. Some

research by Berardelli suggests that the Dust Bowl is 2.5 times more likely to happen in our

modern climate (Berardelli). Sadly, we could easily be heading toward another Dust Bowl, but

by using smart farming practices, we can prevent soil erosion, keep our air and water free of

pollution, help reverse climate change, and prevent a second Dust Bowl.

The solutions that I am proposing for my topic are sustainable AG and regeneration AG.

Sustainable farming and regeneration farming are methods by which we grow what we need, but

do not compromise the ability for future generations to obtain their needs.The SARE

(Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education) website provides credible information on

sustainable AG. The SARE provides a detailed look at the goals of sustainable farming practices.

The SARE educates us that agriculture seeks to provide and sustain non renewable resources by

promoting healthy, profitable farming practices. Sustainable Agriculture works on farms big and

small and rewards the farmers with good and healthy yields. Sustainable Agriculture is always

renewing old farming practices and inventing new practices (SARE). Sustainable farming

provides hope for future generations. By using Sustainable AG and Regeneration AG we are

providing future generations with clean food and healthy ecosystems. Jullee Kim, author of
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“Applying Sustainable Land Use Development Studies to Sustainable Agriculture” builds on

SAREs ideas by addressing the importance of finding a solution to the poor effects of agriculture

on the environment. Jullee Kim explains to us that if we continue to abuse the environment, then

we will ultimately end up depleting our resources such as water, land, air and biodiversity. By

having a plan and using good farming practices we can prevent damage and future damage of the

environment. (Kim)

While sustainable AG sounds like a good idea, Sustainable and Regeneration AG could

hurt our economy. Large scale operations of sustainable and regeneration farms would be very

costly. Before jumping into new farming techniques though, we must consider all possibilities

and outcomes.

In summary, by using sustainable agriculture and regeneration agriculture as a method of

farming, we can restore the environment and prevent future problems that could be devastating

to our ecosystems and future generations.

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Works Cited
Berardelli, Jeff. "A devastating Dust Bowl heat wave is now more than twice as likely, study
says." 21 May. 2020, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/dust-bowl-heat-wave-climate-change-
twice-as-likely-study-says/. Accessed 29 Mar. 2021.
Ganzle, Bill. "The Sustainable Agriculture Movement Begins- Farming in the 1950s and 60s."
https://livinghistoryfarm.org/farminginthe50s/crops_19.html. Accessed 21 Mar. 2021.
Held, Lisa. "How States are Helping Farmers Adopt Sustainable Practices | Civil ...." 16 Oct.
2019, https://civileats.com/2019/10/16/how-states-are-helping-farmers-adopt-sustainable-
practices/. Accessed 12 Apr. 2021.
Ikerd, Jhon. "What is Sustainable Agriculture? - SARE Western." Western Region SARE
https://western.sare.org/about/what-is-sustainable-agriculture/. Accessed 22 Mar. 2021.
Killebrew, Katherine, et al. "Environmental Impact of Agricultural Technologies | Evans School
of Public Policy in Governance." https://epar.evans.uw.edu/research/environmental-impact-
agricultural-technologies. Accessed 19 Mar. 2021.
Kim, Jullee. “Applying Sustainable Land Use Development Studies to Sustainable Agriculture.”
Brooklyn Law Review, vol. 78, no. 3, Spring 2013, pp. 1033–1065. EBSCOhost,
search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=90572411&site=ehost-live.
Accessed 19 Mar. 2021.
Trautmann, Nancy M., et al. "Fact sheets :: Modern Agriculture: Its Effects on the Environment-
PSEP." http://psep.cce.cornell.edu/facts-slides-self/facts/mod-ag-grw85.aspx. Accessed 19 Mar.
2021.
"WWF conserves our planet, habitats ...." https://wwf.panda.org/. Accessed 21 Mar. 2021.