It doesn’t matter what you like to eat — we all need the things that farming can offer. Growing crops and raising livestock are both forms of farming. Whether you enjoy a good hamburger or prefer a vegan diet, everyone can benefit from capitalizing on sustainable farming. What is sustainable farming, and how can you incorporate its benefits into your own life?
What is Sustainable Farming?
First, what is sustainable farming?
The goal of sustainable farming is to meet the food consumption needs of a country without causing irreparable damage to the environment. In the past, agriculture utilized a great variety of harsh and dangerous chemicals to promote plant and animal growth, kill pests, and ward off fungus and plant diseases.
Sustainable farming strives to end the use of these chemicals while still providing plenty of food crops and livestock. They also focus on lowering things like environmental impact (i.e. animal waste and soil nutrients) and minimizing water use wherever possible.
The Benefits of Sustainable Farming
How can this style of farming benefit both the environment and the people consuming the food produced?
- Reduced Water Impact — Not only do sustainable farms look for ways to minimize their water use, they’re concerned with the impact that their production has on natural water sources. With that in mind, they take steps to reduce runoff and protect local water sources from pesticides, salt, and other contaminants.
- Reduced Air Pollution — Moving away from fossil fuel powered equipment allows sustainable farms to reduce their carbon footprint and air pollution.
- Recycled Equipment — Farming equipment is a must for sustainable farms both big and small. Instead of investing in new equipment, farms can reduce their carbon footprint by utilizing used equipment instead.
- Healthier Soil — Farming depletes the soil of its natural nutrients. Sustainable farms cultivate natural methods of replacing those nutrients, such as crop rotation and using compost or animal waste as fertilizer in place of the chemical alternatives.
- Healthier animals — sustainable farms do not rely on factory farming, instead allowing their livestock to live as intended. It improves animal quality of life, reduces waste and improves livestock treatment.
- Support for Rural Communities — Sustainable agriculture provides more than just healthier food and happier livestock. It also provides support for small farmers and rural communities that are completing these practices.
- Improved Worker Safety — Sustainable farming practices don’t rely on dangerous chemicals, creating a safer work environment for the field workers.
Sustainable farming has a number of environmental benefits, but these are very broad benefits. What can you do to both support sustainable farming and bring these benefits into your own home?
How Can You Benefit from Sustainable Farming?
What can you do in your own home to both benefit from the sustainable agriculture practices and to support these practices so they are able to continue into the future?
- Purchase from sustainable farms — This might take some research, but take the time to find a sustainable farm in your area that you can purchase your produce from. Check with your local farmers markets to see where they get their foods from and go from there.
- Reduce your meat intake — While there are sustainable livestock farms, meat production has a high carbon footprint. You don’t need to give up meat, just reduce your overall intake and buy what meat you do consume from sustainable farms.
- Grow your own sustainable fruits and vegetables — Local produce grown using sustainable means help to reduce your carbon footprint even further because you don’t have to worry about the greenhouse gasses being released to ship the produce to your local market. If you don’t have a ton of space, consider space-saving techniques like window boxes or even roof gardens.
As the population of the planet continues to grow, sustainable farming will become an essential tool to enable us to continue to feed the planet.