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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agriculture | 9/13 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agriculture | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T13:56:01.016896+00:00 | kb-cron |
Agriculture is both a cause of environmental degradation and sensitive to environmental degradation, such as biodiversity loss, desertification, soil degradation and climate change, which cause decreases in crop yield. Agriculture is one of the most important drivers of environmental pressures, particularly habitat change, climate change, water use and toxic emissions. Agriculture is the main source of toxins released into the environment, including insecticides, especially those used on cotton. The 2011 UNEP Green Economy report stated that agricultural operations produced some 13 percent of anthropogenic global greenhouse gas emissions. This includes gases from the use of inorganic fertilizers, agro-chemical pesticides, and herbicides, as well as fossil fuel-energy inputs. Agriculture imposes multiple external costs upon society through effects such as pesticide damage to nature (especially herbicides and insecticides), nutrient runoff, excessive water usage, and loss of natural environment. A 2000 assessment of agriculture in the UK determined total external costs for 1996 of £2,343 million, or £208 per hectare. A 2005 analysis of these costs in the US concluded that cropland imposes approximately $5 to $16 billion ($30 to $96 per hectare), while livestock production imposes $714 million. Both studies, which focused solely on the fiscal impacts, concluded that more should be done to internalize external costs. Neither included subsidies in their analysis, but they noted that subsidies also influence the cost of agriculture to society. Agriculture seeks to increase yield and to reduce costs, often employing measures that cut biodiversity to very low levels. Yield increases with inputs such as fertilizers and removal of pathogens, predators, and competitors (such as weeds). Costs decrease with increasing scale of farm units, such as making fields larger; this means removing hedges, ditches and other areas of habitat. Pesticides kill insects, plants and fungi. Effective yields fall with on-farm losses, which may be caused by poor production practices during harvesting, handling, and storage. The environmental effects of climate change show that research on pests and diseases that do not generally afflict areas is essential. In 2021, farmers discovered stem rust on wheat in the Champagne area of France, a disease that had previously only occurred in Morocco for 20 to 30 years. Because of climate change, insects that used to die off over the winter are now alive and multiplying.
=== Livestock issues ===
A senior UN official, Henning Steinfeld, said that "Livestock are one of the most significant contributors to today's most serious environmental problems". Livestock production occupies 70% of all land used for agriculture, or 30% of the land surface of the planet. It is one of the largest sources of greenhouse gases, responsible for 18% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions as measured in CO2 equivalents. By comparison, all transportation emits 13.5% of the CO2. (This comparison later turned out to be an apples-and-oranges analogy.) It produces 65% of human-related nitrous oxide (which has 296 times the global warming potential of CO2) and 37% of all human-induced methane (which is 23 times as warming as CO2.) It also generates 64% of the ammonia emission. Livestock expansion is cited as a key factor driving deforestation; in the Amazon basin 70% of previously forested area is now occupied by pastures and the remainder used for feed crops. Through deforestation and land degradation, livestock is also driving reductions in biodiversity. A well documented phenomenon is woody plant encroachment, caused by overgrazing in rangelands. Furthermore, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) states that "methane emissions from global livestock are projected to increase by 60 percent by 2030 under current practices and consumption patterns."
=== Land and water issues ===