Foods are produced more cheaply today by using improved fertilizers and machinery. However, some of the methods used in agriculture are dangerous to human health and local communities. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this view?
The way we produce and preserve food is becoming increasingly efficient. In developed countries, only two percent of the population is engaged in agriculture, yet they are able to feed the entire nation. However, this kind of technology-intensive agriculture also has its side effects.
The extensive use of pesticides and other chemicals poses alarming health threats. Needless to say, pesticides are poisons strong enough to kill pests but supposedly safe enough to be swallowed by men. But, it is not actually the case. Even after we banned the use of evidently noxious chemicals such as DDT, those commonly used pesticides still send thousands of people to hospitals each year. There is no such a thing as an edible pesticide. That is why we should always wash before eating any fresh vegetable or fruit. However, not all pesticides are soluble to water. So good luck!
Other more insidious effects are emerging recently. Scientists have established the correlation between the declined fertility rate and the use of fertilizer. It turns out that fertilizer and fodder contain certain hormones that are largely responsible for the increased infertility rate among men. In addition, those harmones also lead to precocity. The potential health threats posed by some novel food technologies such as genetically engineered food are hard to determine.
Large-scale farming is becoming unsustainable because it is not energy efficient and damages the environment. Farm machines consume huge amount of gasoline or diesel each year. This accelerates the depletion of unrenewable energy sources. Furthermore, like other vehicles, farm machines cause pollutioin. The rivers, forests and air are being polluted by the fuel-burning machines on farms.
As far as food is concerned, quantity should not be the only thing we aim at. Sadly, we are producing ever larger amount of junk food each year. Modern farming methods need to be closely examined and improved because our health is at stake here.
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