Food &
Agriculture
Initial Research by Nuecolah Behnzukeh
Words and Additional Research by John Staughton
Illustrations by Danielle Buerli
Part I: The Problem
Our Global Food System is Broken
The food system that we rely on—and often take for granted—is destroying our environment, compromising public health, and threatening the livelihoods of farmers around the globe. While myriad solutions to these problems have been proposed, and in many cases already exist, the underlying cause is clear: industrial agriculture.
Industrial agriculture is the large-scale and intensive farming of animals and crops. Beginning in the 1800s with the advent of agricultural mechanization, increased fossil fuel use, and advanced breeding techniques, this leap forward in mass food production sought to boost yields in order to feed a growing global population. In recent decades, it has become nearly synonymous with genetically modified crops, pesticide use, mistreatment of livestock, and environmental damage.
While it was once praised for its positive impact on production efficiency and food security, the long-term effects of industrialized agriculture have been devastating, from spreading disease and deepening inequality to increasing the risk of pandemics and contaminating water sources. The insidious impacts of industrial farming also include public health epidemics of obesity and chronic disease, increased antimicrobial resistance, excessive greenhouse gas emissions, the global exportation of malnourishment, and the destruction of critical ecosystems.
Modern industrial agriculture is an unnatural and unsustainable system for the production of food, and in the pursuit of a just, healthy, and sustainable future, it must be left in the past.
Resource (Ab)use:
Land, Water, Soil and People
One of the foundational tenets of industrial agriculture is monoculture farming, where a single crop is grown every year on most or all of a farm. This type of specialization reduces the need for multiple harvesting methods, which can lower overall costs for farmers, but natural ecosystems flourish due to diversity, not isolation and homogeneity.
Maintaining a monoculture crop typically requires the intensive use of toxic fertilizers, insecticides and bactericides to imitate the conditions of a natural ecosystem, thus enabling the mono-crop to flourish—at the expense of other flora and fauna. Those synthetic chemicals enter the soil and the plants that are subsequently grown there, affecting crops for years or even decades in the future. Those same chemicals also enter the groundwater supply, where they will slowly seep into and damage nearby ecosystems.
Not only is a monoculture farm contaminated by the frequent use of toxic chemicals, but the topsoil is also gradually destabilized and degraded, making plants more vulnerable to strong winds and heavy rain. Crop yields decline, more synthetic chemicals are added each year, and the vicious cycle worsens until the soil is essentially infertile. It can take years for such barren earth to once again support life, and sometimes it may never fully recover.
A second critical land use problem involves food priority, more specifically, the fact that the majority of agricultural land is being used to feed land, rather than people. 1,000 years ago, only 4% of the planet's habitable land was used for farming. Today, roughly half of all habitable land is used for agriculture, and of that land, more than 75% is used for pasture grazing or the production of feed crops for animal livestock. About 60% of the world's agricultural land is grazing land. Despite this domination of usable agricultural land, livestock farming only represents 18% of the world's calories, and 37% of all protein.
Due to the focus of industrial agriculture on high-calorie crop production, the vast majority of the remaining agricultural land is dedicated to three staple crops—rice, maize and wheat. This trio represents ~90% of total cereal production, and approximately 50% of all the calories consumed globally. Roughly 36% of all calories from crops are fed to livestock, and another 9% are used to produce biofuel. Only 55% of the calories produced around the world feed people directly, even though 1/3 of the global population experiences inadequate access to food. To put it simply, industrial agriculture prioritizes profit margins and productivity over equitable, humane, and sustainable land use and food distribution.
In terms of resource use and environmental impact, the production of pesticides and fertilizers is energy-intensive, and are therefore produced with cheap fossil fuels. Additionally, large industrial farm equipment is almost exclusively reliant on fossil fuels. The digestive processes of livestock are another massive source of methane gas, while the sheer volume of solid waste produced by cattle in factory farms frequently pollutes the air, water and land. To support vast tracts of irrigated land and huge herds of livestock, industrial farming also demands incredible amounts of fresh water—an essential resource that is only becoming more valuable and threatened.
Finally, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, the supply chain supporting the global food system is the fastest-growing source of GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions; the world's agrifood systems contributed 31% of all anthropogenic emissions in 2021. 35% of that total comes directly from supply chain factors, including food processing, packaging, transportation, retail, household consumption and food waste disposal. The transportation of ingredients and food products, particularly the movement of fruits and vegetables in refrigerated vehicles, makes up nearly 1/5 of all carbon emissions in our current food system.
Shipping food from overseas and across entire countries is inefficient and short-sighted, compromising food quality, destabilizing local economies, and increasing inequality. In many cases, crops are produced by local workers who are often underpaid, given limited rights, and work in unsafe or unhealthy conditions. The literal fruits of their labor are then exported to wealthier or more developed regions and countries to be sold at a significant profit. This extractive core of the agrifood system, which benefits from vertical integration within multinational corporations, on the backs of a marginalized network of laborers, is a legacy the world needs to shed.
Food Waste: The Hard Truth
Today, human beings produce more food than at any other time in history, but unfortunately, we also waste a shocking amount of that bounty. Our planet's population currently stands at around 8.1 billion people, yet we already produce enough food to feed a population of 10 billion. Despite that, food insecurity, malnutrition and hunger persist in many parts of the world.
One of the primary reasons behind this literal feast vs. famine imbalance is the widespread acceptance and normalization of food waste. After our food—produced largely through industrial farming—has been fertilized, grown, herded, harvested, slaughtered, processed, packaged, shipped and prepared for consumption, roughly one-third of it will never be sold or eaten. Yes, over 1.3 billion tons of food is lost or wasted each year, valued at approximately $1 trillion USD.
While there are some natural factors that lead to food waste, such as pests, disease, water availability, soil conditions, weather and climate changes, these are far from the only causes.
Food waste is present at every stage of the supply chain, including on farms, from mishandled produce and mistimed harvests to poor animal husbandry standards or diseases that result in livestock mortality. Approximately 8% of all the food produced globally is lost at the farm phase alone. In most data reporting, unharvested food isn't even calculated into food waste totals, and farmers regularly overproduce to hedge against risk and ensure they can supply their buyers, so most farm waste estimates are assumed to be conservative
Regarding animal livestock specifically, research from 2019 on the six most common domesticated animals (chickens, turkeys, pigs, sheep, goats, and cows) revealed that roughly 18 billion animals die or are killed, but go uneaten. In other words, one-sixth of all the meat produced globally is lost.
Another 14% is lost between the farm gate and the retail sector, while 17% of food is estimated to be wasted between the retail and consumer stages of the supply chain. Some of the factors in the latter include high cosmetic standards of supermarkets, which cause perfectly good food to spoil unsold, along with partial, canceled or altered crop orders based on demand expectation vs. reality.
The final culprit of food waste hits closer to home—literally—as it is estimated that up to 20% of all food waste occurs in our own kitchens, cupboards and garbage cans. In 2021, one American nonprofit estimated that private US households waste about 44 million tons of food, out of the 241 million that country produces. Notably, per capita food waste in Europe and North America is between 95-115kg per year, which is more than ten times higher than per capita food waste in most regions of the Global South.
In total, most experts argue that at least 40% of all the food we produce ends up lost or wasted. Not only is that food unavailable for consumption by our planet's ever-growing population, but that wasted food has an enormous carbon footprint. When food waste ends up in a landfill, rather than being recycled into biofuel or fertilizer, it is unable to decompose properly due to a lack of oxygen. Consequently, that food waste releases high concentrations of methane, one of the most harmful greenhouse gases heating the planet. It is estimated that food waste contributes 8-10% of total GHG emissions each year, with a carbon footprint of 3.3 billion tons. On a list of largest national carbon footprints, food waste would come in third.
For the sake of environmental sustainability, an equitably nourishing food system for all, and the welfare of billions of animals, food waste and the underlying systems that fuel it must be addressed radically and urgently.
Food Systems, Human Health
and the Future of Society
The brokenness of our food system is perhaps most glaring in its negative impact on the health of farm workers and consumers, as well as the countless communities affected by industrial farming.
Industrial farming undermines public health in various ways, with different communities and regions being more or less susceptible to these harms. Industrial farming, particularly concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), generate excessive animal waste and runoff that contaminates the air, soil and water, increasing the risk of animal-borne pathogens infecting human populations. Transnational agrifood companies also produce and distribute inexpensive but nutritionally insufficient food around the world, preventing market competitiveness and contributing to chronic disease, particularly in lower-income regions. Finally, the excessive use of pesticides, fertilizers and antibiotics by industrial farming operations threatens the health of farmers and farm workers who administer them, as well as the consumers who buy the end products.
In addition to the devastating effects of industrial farming on our ecosystems and natural resources, and its super-sized contribution to climate change, the global impact it has on public health is a third damning accusation that must be addressed.
Contamination of Water, Soil, Air and Food
It is estimated that roughly three-quarters of all land livestock are factory-farmed, meaning that roughly 23 billion animals are being raised on these farms at any given time. These animals are often genetically uniform, and housed in movement-restricting pens, where they generate a huge amount of waste. The US Department of Agriculture estimates that 1.4 billion tons of manure is annually produced by the country's nearly 10 billion heads of livestock and poultry.
Livestock waste contributes to air pollution from methane and ammonia emissions, reduces soil quality through acidification and nutrient imbalances, and contaminates water sources with excessive nutrients, microbial pathogens and pharmaceutical runoff. Going back decades, research has demonstrated the environmental and public health risks originating directly from water sources contaminated by industrial farming runoff.
The cruel conditions of concentrated animal feed operations (CAFOs) are also ideal for the spread and adaptation of bacterial pathogens, which is why roughly three-quarters of the world's antibiotics are used in farm animals, primarily in factory farm settings. A recent report from World Animal Protection estimated that 84% of antibiotics administered on farms are not actually given to sick animals, but to healthy animals in order to prevent diseases that stem from and spread in such inhumane living conditions.
Even so, it is estimated that there are more than 48 million cases of illness from foodborne pathways each year in the US alone, and over 3,000 deaths. Eating contaminated poultry is the leading cause of foodborne fatalities, followed by the dairy industry.
This overuse of antibiotics in farm animals has directly impacted the evolution of antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria, often referred to as superbugs. These bacterial infections are resistant to previously effective antibiotics, and are often fatal. In 2019, the CDC reported approximately 2.8 million cases of antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections, resulting in an estimated 35,000 deaths—a 52% increase since a preceding CDC report in 2011.
Finally, according to the CDC, 75% of emerging human diseases originate in other animals, and given the similar conditions of animal markets and industrial farming operations, the next global pandemic could very well originate in the factory farms of America's heartland.
Quantity Over Quality
While it is undeniable that industrial farming has helped to keep the world fed, it has not managed to keep the world healthy. To satisfy the appetites of billions of people, industrial farming tends to focus on commodity crops—wheat, corn, soybeans and rice—which can be turned into calorie-dense, inexpensive, and readily available foods.
These foods are often heavily processed, in addition to their possible exposure to chemical pesticides and fertilizers that are then consumed in your next meal. Although they do satisfy caloric needs, processed foods fail to deliver a balanced nutrient profile, and reduce the amount of agricultural land dedicated to fruits, vegetables, and pulses. The globalized food system has facilitated the wide distribution of such foods, ostensibly exporting malnutrition to the world.
By definition, malnutrition relates to a broad range of nutrient dysfunction, from undernourishment and inadequate nutrient intake to obesity and chronic diet-related diseases. More than one-third of the global population is malnourished in some way, with nearly 2 billion classified as overweight or obese, and another 462 million being underweight. Even the claim that industrial farming is necessary to keep the world fed has not been born out; nearly half the deaths of children under the age of 5 are linked to undernutrition.
A poor diet is characterized by an overconsumption of animal products, as well as a high proportion of ultra-processed foods, which are high in added salts, sugars, trans fat and saturated fat, along with chemical additives and other ingredients not included in natural culinary traditions. Unhealthy eating habits are one of the leading causes of premature death around the world, and also contribute to globally rising levels of heart disease, obesity, diabetes, cancer, osteoarthritis, metabolic syndrome, and liver diseases. These public health epidemics are only projected to worsen unless we collectively undergo radical shifts in our food systems and dietary habits.
Profits Over People
Globally, 880 billion people work in the agricultural sector—approximately 27% of the global workforce. In the United States, there are roughly 2.4 million farmworkers, one-third of which are seasonal, immigrant, or part-time workers. These workers face many acute health risks, from excessive exposure to pesticides and a high risk of injury to respiratory illness due to airborne pathogens and limited healthcare access caused by immigration status, income level, or remote location.
Whether it comes in the form of lifting injuries, falls, cuts, machinery accidents, or chemical exposure, farming is one of the most dangerous occupations in the United States for a number of reasons. The annual cost of agricultural injuries in the country is estimated in $8.3 billion in lost productivity and medical expenses.
Farm workers are fifty times more likely to be poisoned than non-farm workers, and the fatality rate in agricultural workers is 7 times higher than in private industry workers. On factory farms, in particular, the risk of direct exposure to toxic chemicals is high, leading to both short- and long-term effects, including a higher risk of certain cancers, birth defects and neurological disorders. Workers on livestock farms face additional respiratory risks from the inhalation of pathogens kicked up from manure and dust, and experience higher levels of active and latent tuberculosis.
In terms of mental health, it is irresponsible to ignore the psychological and emotional burden that accompanies killing and handling the carcasses of countless sentient animals. Slaughterhouse workers are particularly vulnerable to a subset of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) called Perpetration-Induced Traumatic Stress (PITS), which affects not the victims of trauma, but those who are active participants in the traumatic act, in this case, the workers employed to robotically kill animals.
Compounding these direct impacts on worker health is the lack of access to care for physical and mental health concerns. This can be due to the workers' insurance status, cost of care, or the threat to job security should they take time off for health-related needs. The obstacles or concerns about seeking out medical care are even greater for the nearly 300,000 undocumented farmworkers in America. Despite the dangerous working conditions, intensive physical labor, and widespread lack of farmworker protections, the average earnings of non-supervisory farmworkers in America was only $16.62/hour in 2022—roughly half the average hourly wage of all American workers ($32.00)
By failing to protect and support the human foundation of our nutritional welfare, we are sacrificing a future of sustainable agriculture on the altar of corporate profits.
Food &
Agriculture
Part II: Solution
A New Path is Possible
The problems of our current food system represent a radical threat to our species' survival, so a radical reimagining and transformation of our agricultural economy is required.
While many argue that our globalized food supply chain is entrenched, unchangeable, and essential for the stability and appetite of society, humanity has a responsibility to protect the planet, ourselves, and the generations that follow. Transitioning out of our present paradigm means developing a sustainable system that utilizes land and resources wisely, minimizes waste, protects animal welfare, and improves public health.
This type of revolutionary change will demand the disruption of existing power structures profiting from industrial farming and recklessly endangering our future as a species. The disruption must come at both the macro and micro levels, including the restructuring of agricultural business models, bold governmental interventions, creative policy solutions and the informed transition of our collective eating habits.
Regenerative Farming for the Future
Considering the disastrous environmental, economic, and health impacts of the existing food system, many farmers and ranchers have already recognized regenerative farming as the best chance we have at a long-term solution.
Relying on ecological principles, rather than demands of the market, regenerative farming is a process of soil restoration achieved through agricultural practices that work with the natural order, rather than against it. The most common practices in regenerative farming include decreasing the use of fertilizers and pesticides, planting crops with no-till methods to avoid excess soil disturbance, diversifying cover and commodity crop production to encourage greater ecosystem resilience, and alternating land use for pastured animals to allow grazed land to recover.
Whereas industrial farming imposes its structures and practices without considering the nuances and vulnerabilities of local ecosystems, regenerative farming may look slightly different on every farm, based on each farm's particular geography, climate, resources, and ultimate goals. Myriad forms of regenerative farming have existed for thousands of years; indigenous examples of crop rotation/integration (i.e., the Three Sisters) and balanced land use were once the foundation of agricultural practices, but industrialization and mechanization of the industry now reward productivity over practical wisdom.
There are many benefits of regenerative farming, particularly the cultivation of more productive soil that can better withstand droughts, floods and wind erosion. That soil is also dense with organic matter, promoting micro-biodiversity and reducing the runoff of synthetic chemicals into water sources. Healthier soil means greater plant productivity, so farmers will need to use fewer chemical inputs, thus protecting the soil, water and air. Greater diversity in crops and grazing livestock on agricultural land lead to greater resilience against pests and disease, which regularly threaten the homogenous model of industrial farming. By improving soil health, water quality and crop diversity through regenerative farming, the land is allowed to return to a more natural state, offering a stable habitat for livestock and wildlife, while supporting farmers with healthier food and a profitable operation.
Establishing a Circular Economy
To counter the negative effects of a global food system driven largely by industrial agricultural, regenerative farming must be coupled with a circular economy for food, particularly in urban settings, where it is estimated that 80% of all food will be consumed by 2050. A circular economy for food mirrors natural regenerative cycles, wherein waste does not exist, as that “waste” material is simply used as feedstock for a different cycle.
Broadly speaking, a circular economy for food consists of developing a system where food is grown locally and used efficiently, thus reducing the inherent food waste and carbon footprint of the industrial farming supply chain. It also requires a rethinking of our priorities in food production to make food healthier, more affordable, easier to access, and seasonally appropriate. A circular economy represents a social, cultural and philosophical shift, urging us to work in harmony with the land as it provides the sustenance we need to survive and thrive.
After mapping out material flows and use patterns related to food, cities and communities can begin the transition to a circular economy by addressing problematic production and consumption trends, as well as issues of food waste and recycling, to further reduce carbon emissions. With a clear overview of their urban food system's strengths and weaknesses, policies can be established to prioritize local food sourcing, increase the availability of green spaces for growing, connect food manufacturers to food rescue programs, and capture organic waste before it hits the landfill.
City governments, retailers and the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCGs) industry have a serious amount of buying power within local and national food systems. As a result, their purchasing choices can impact the types of food products being designed, marketed, produced and consumed in their area of influence. These economic and social forces already guide our dietary habits, whether we realize it or not, so a sustainable redirection of these market preferences would be hugely impactful. By prioritizing regeneratively and locally grown food, cities can prevent the degradation of their local ecosystems and protect public health by improving the entire landscape of nutrition.
Locally grown food is full of flavor and typically picked at the peak of ripeness, rather than being transported vast distances or stored for long periods, which causes nutrient profiles to decline. Buying local food also supports local economies, shortens the distance between farm and table where contamination can occur, and ensures that small farmers can remain profitable and in control of their agricultural land. Local growing and distribution also puts us in closer relationship to our food, enabling consumers to know where their food comes from, who grew it, and what practices those farmers used.
The final crucial step of a circular economy for food is the efficient diversion of food waste, and in a perfect system, the complete elimination of waste as we know it. The redistribution of surplus food is essential in such a system, along with the upcycling of inedible food byproducts into other products, from medicine and livestock feed to biomaterials and energy production.
The Food Recovery Hierarchy, also known as the Food Waste Pyramid, illustrates this widely applicable model, moving downwards from most preferred to least preferred endpoints for surplus food. At the top level, there should be a reduction in surplus food being generated at the production source. Farmers often overproduce to guard against market instability and seasonal variation, but a more equitable system with greater protections for farmers could eliminate this need for excess. On the second level, the surplus food that is produced should be given to hungry people through donations to food banks, soup kitchens, and other food rescue organizations.
On the next level down, certain agricultural byproducts and food scraps can be made into food for animals and livestock. Next, food waste and waste oils can be diverted into industrial uses, such as the production of biofuel and bioproducts. Below that is the composting level, where excess food waste can be used to produce nutrient-rich soil amendments, thus returning the unused nutrients back to the land, while reducing the need for chemical fertilizers. At the very bottom of the pyramid is the landfill or incineration—the absolute last resort for food waste, and the level that would be eliminated in a fully efficient circular model.
Even as 10% of the global population continues to go hungry, more than $1 trillion worth of food is thrown away each year. The widespread adoption of food diversion policies and recovery hierarchies is a critical bridge between food surplus and insecurity for our ever-growing population.
The Power of Personal Choice
Many of the problems within the food system feel systemic, entrenched, and far beyond the control of the average consumer trying to feed their families and keep themselves healthy. However, the impacts of the food system are felt in every corner of our lives, in every meal that we prepare or processed snack we enjoy. From seed to soup bowl, our communities, our bodies, and our planet bear the weight of this unsustainable system.
While addressing many of the stated problems will require political, economic and industrial movements on a systemic level, the power of individuals should never be underestimated. After all, it was people who constructed and continue to support the current paradigm, both shaping and being shaped by dietary preferences and market forces.
As individual consumers, the most powerful thing we can do to fix our broken food system is transition to a whole food plant-based diet. Research suggests that if humanity switched to a plant-based diet, we could reduce the global land use for agriculture by 75%—sparing an area of land as large as the United States and Brazil combined.
Widespread deforestation and rampant biodiversity loss are primarily driven by our annual expansion of agricultural land, and roughly 80% of all agricultural land is currently used for meat and dairy production, between grazing pastures and cropland dedicated to animal feed.
Expecting the entire world to rapidly adopt a whole food plant-based diet will take time, however a concerted reduction in red meat and dairy consumption would drastically reduce the amount of land needed for agriculture, and counter the domineering influence of industrial farming.
For those concerned about the essential nutrients that billions of people access through animal products, a protein transition is already underway, with developments in alternative proteins that have reached or are approaching parity in taste, cost, and availability. Driven by the well-founded critiques of industrial farming, hundreds of companies and billions of dollars are pouring into this nascent industry, which is estimated to support 80+ million jobs and be valued at $700 billion by 2050.
A plant-based diet is also more aligned with global dietary guidelines, helping to address the health epidemics of diet-related diseases, and it will assist in the equitable distribution of protein, which is currently unfairly portioned around the world. A shift towards plant-based proteins in high-income countries, coupled with broader access to essential protein in nutrient-insecure regions, will create a more sustainable and equitable food system for all.
Through achieving significant emissions reductions, sparing agricultural land for recovery, prioritizing food security, protecting farmer livelihoods, improving public health and developing new economic sectors, a collective transition to a sustainable protein and plant-based diet would send shockwaves of change through our current food system.
With increasing awareness and direct experience of climate change, societal instability, and wealth inequality, humanity is waking up to the pressing need for a new direction, and a new framework upon which to build the future. Recognizing the power of individual and collective choice within our current system—as we simultaneously work to create a new one—can push people towards hope and activation, rather than continued acceptance of the status quo.
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