Before we get into the details about the affects of food availability on the environment, the definition of agriculture needs to be understood. Agriculture is essentially the cultivation of crops for subsistence or economic gain. The popularity of agriculture around the world is astonishing. For example, did you know that about 11% of the world's land is used for agriculture or similar purposes? (according to fao.org). This land use statistic is unsettling, and there are some unsettling affects that go along with this overarching use of land. Affects such as pollution, loss of crop variety, a decline in pollinators (such as bees for example), and ultimately food supply chains facing vulnerability are all a result of our overuse of land to fit our needs. The problems provided in the previous sentence are indirect affects of agriculture. However, there are direct affects that come from agriculture in itself. The main repercussions stemming from agriculture are climate change (resulting from emitted greenhouse gases), diminishing biodiversity, an excess in nutrients (resulting from runoff), and soil erosion. Enough with the reasons though. Research has shown (according to eea.europa.eu) that Nitrogen in the environment (within the U.S) has doubled since pre-industrial times. This is because of fertilizers partly produced from nitrogen and the overuse of fossil fuels. To really see the atrocious affect that nitrogen buildup is having on the environment, one can simply look to Europe. According to eea.europa.eu, agriculture has led to a 50-80% buildup in nitrogen within Europe's freshwater ecosystems (which includes seas). With drastic affects such as these, something is going to give in the near future, whether we as a species can handle it or not.
What seems to be the most severely harmed environments in the U.S are bodies or streams of water and animal habitats. For example in a past EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) report, 55% of streams in the U.S are unsuitable for aquatic organisms to live in. What is puzzling to me about this statistic is the fact that bodies of water can get this polluted, yet we use freshwater for survival. Anyways, agriculture is the main "culprit" to blame for this mistreatment of America's water systems. The runoff produced from farms and corn production (which ultimately stems from agriculture intensification) seeps into streams and oceans, so it is easy to see how already more than half of the streams in the U.S are in peril. As stated in the paragraph above, excesses in nutrients prove to be detrimental to ecosystems around the globe. This is for several reasons. As excessive amounts of nutrients enter a body of water, this "helps" to spur the growth of algae. When the algae eventually die, the bacteria at the bottom of the body of water decompose them and effectively use oxygen in the process. This rapid use of oxygen by the bacteria proves harmful for fish and any other organisms in the water above. When a lake or any other body of water loses it's life in this way, they become known as "dead zones". Again, these dead zones are a major result of the use of nitrogen fertilizers. What is really concerning about these fertilizers is what Robert Howarth of Cornell University had to say about them. He stated, "we have put more nitrogen fertilizer on the ground in the past 15 years than all the fertilizer we have used since it was invented 100 years ago!"
There is also the critical issue of over fishing as a result of greed for more and more food from the oceans. Don't believe it's severity? Well, according to a 2010 FAO report, 82% of the over fisheries around the world have been exploited or are in recovery. To further prove my point, about 100 million tons of fish are caught yearly (according to ocean.nationalgeographic.org). If these affects of overfishing worldwide weren't bad enough, there is also the issue of bycatch. Bycatch is basically the acquisition of unneeded organisms through the process of overfishing. The methods that are used by fishers which ultimately cause bycatch are, long line fishing, bottom trawling, and FAD's (Fish aggragating devices). The latter (last) of these three methods involves an object that is put into the water, and then attracts numerous fish for fishers. This may seem "ok", but it is far from it. As a result of these FAD's and several other practices used by fishers, bycatch has increased significantly. For example, as of 2014, bycatch has amounted to a staggering 40% of the world's catch.
Another issue resulting from food availability as a whole is aquaculture. Now, what in the heck is aquaculture? Don't worry, it isn't as bad as it sounds. Aquaculture is similar to agriculture, in that it involves the growth of aquatic plants and animals for food, as opposed to the growth of crops for food. This is a very important method used by fishers, as it allows for the consumption of 46% of the fish worldwide. Despite this positive aspect, aquaculture has done some serious harm to the environment. For example, it leads to eutrophication (which ultimately leads to the creation of dead zones). Overall, aquaculture has it's similarities to the dangerous affects of an FAD, and therefore needs to be controlled in the near future.
In my opinion, there need to be ways for us as a species to obtain food more fairly. By "fairly" I mean that if we are going to utilize 11 percent of the Earth's land for agriculture, then we need to treat the land with respect. We should do our best to preserve the soil and also not emit too many harmful substances into the air as well. In terms of dead zones and most of the streams across the U.S being polluted, these occurrences will be hard to improve. What should be enforced are laws to prevent the amount of runoff from farms and gases emitted into the air. Over fishing is another issue that I view with disbelief. It doesn't make sense to me that people need 100 million tons of fish every year. I personally feel that this is so excessive, especially given that a person only needs 2,000 calories a day. The methods that are being used aren't exactly ethical either. I think if the amount of fish being caught every year is going to be that high in number, then there needs to be a limit on the amount of bycatch caught. It simply isn't fair to other organisms that most likely aren't eaten when they are caught. All in all, I think our cultivation and gathering of food ultimately affects the environment in far too much of a negative way.
What seems to be the most severely harmed environments in the U.S are bodies or streams of water and animal habitats. For example in a past EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) report, 55% of streams in the U.S are unsuitable for aquatic organisms to live in. What is puzzling to me about this statistic is the fact that bodies of water can get this polluted, yet we use freshwater for survival. Anyways, agriculture is the main "culprit" to blame for this mistreatment of America's water systems. The runoff produced from farms and corn production (which ultimately stems from agriculture intensification) seeps into streams and oceans, so it is easy to see how already more than half of the streams in the U.S are in peril. As stated in the paragraph above, excesses in nutrients prove to be detrimental to ecosystems around the globe. This is for several reasons. As excessive amounts of nutrients enter a body of water, this "helps" to spur the growth of algae. When the algae eventually die, the bacteria at the bottom of the body of water decompose them and effectively use oxygen in the process. This rapid use of oxygen by the bacteria proves harmful for fish and any other organisms in the water above. When a lake or any other body of water loses it's life in this way, they become known as "dead zones". Again, these dead zones are a major result of the use of nitrogen fertilizers. What is really concerning about these fertilizers is what Robert Howarth of Cornell University had to say about them. He stated, "we have put more nitrogen fertilizer on the ground in the past 15 years than all the fertilizer we have used since it was invented 100 years ago!"
There is also the critical issue of over fishing as a result of greed for more and more food from the oceans. Don't believe it's severity? Well, according to a 2010 FAO report, 82% of the over fisheries around the world have been exploited or are in recovery. To further prove my point, about 100 million tons of fish are caught yearly (according to ocean.nationalgeographic.org). If these affects of overfishing worldwide weren't bad enough, there is also the issue of bycatch. Bycatch is basically the acquisition of unneeded organisms through the process of overfishing. The methods that are used by fishers which ultimately cause bycatch are, long line fishing, bottom trawling, and FAD's (Fish aggragating devices). The latter (last) of these three methods involves an object that is put into the water, and then attracts numerous fish for fishers. This may seem "ok", but it is far from it. As a result of these FAD's and several other practices used by fishers, bycatch has increased significantly. For example, as of 2014, bycatch has amounted to a staggering 40% of the world's catch.
Another issue resulting from food availability as a whole is aquaculture. Now, what in the heck is aquaculture? Don't worry, it isn't as bad as it sounds. Aquaculture is similar to agriculture, in that it involves the growth of aquatic plants and animals for food, as opposed to the growth of crops for food. This is a very important method used by fishers, as it allows for the consumption of 46% of the fish worldwide. Despite this positive aspect, aquaculture has done some serious harm to the environment. For example, it leads to eutrophication (which ultimately leads to the creation of dead zones). Overall, aquaculture has it's similarities to the dangerous affects of an FAD, and therefore needs to be controlled in the near future.
In my opinion, there need to be ways for us as a species to obtain food more fairly. By "fairly" I mean that if we are going to utilize 11 percent of the Earth's land for agriculture, then we need to treat the land with respect. We should do our best to preserve the soil and also not emit too many harmful substances into the air as well. In terms of dead zones and most of the streams across the U.S being polluted, these occurrences will be hard to improve. What should be enforced are laws to prevent the amount of runoff from farms and gases emitted into the air. Over fishing is another issue that I view with disbelief. It doesn't make sense to me that people need 100 million tons of fish every year. I personally feel that this is so excessive, especially given that a person only needs 2,000 calories a day. The methods that are being used aren't exactly ethical either. I think if the amount of fish being caught every year is going to be that high in number, then there needs to be a limit on the amount of bycatch caught. It simply isn't fair to other organisms that most likely aren't eaten when they are caught. All in all, I think our cultivation and gathering of food ultimately affects the environment in far too much of a negative way.
http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/a-bad-kind-of-fad-the-fish-magnet-thats-not-so-sexy/
http://ocean.nationalgeographic.com/ocean/global-fish-crisis-article/
http://www.fao.org/docrep/005/y4252e/y4252e06.htm
https://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/agriculture/greening-agricultural-policy/food-security-and-environmental-impacts
http://nutritionstudies.org/impact-of-food-choices-on-the-environment/
http://oceana.org/sites/default/files/reports/Bycatch_Report_FINAL.pdf