L'impact de l'agriculture sur l'environnement

English: Oral expression

The impact of the agriculture on the environment

Introduction:

Hello, today I would like to talk with you about agriculture and environment.

• First I will explain what’s the difference between industrial farming and family farming.
• Then I will talk about impact of agriculture in general around the world : Climate change
• Then I will compare the different farming solutions in 6 points:

• Pollution
• Soil degradation
• Deforestation
• Water using
• Fossil fuel using
• Animal welfare

- Finally, I will try to make a conclusion about « witch is the best farming solution ».

Let’s get started

Differences between industrial agriculture and family farming:

Industrial agriculture: Industrial agriculture is a form of modern farming that refers to the industrialized production of food products.The owner of the farm is rarely a farmer and most of the time there are at least 5 employees. The methods of industrial agriculture include innovation in agricultural machinery and farming methods, genetic technology, confined animal ,… They can hold large numbers of animals ( sometimes hundreds or thousands) often indoors. The goal of these methods is produce more at the lowest possible cost.

Family farming :  Farm owned by a family and where the majority of the business is owned by the family and sometimes hire an employee. The family farm isn’t more than 50 to 70 hectare of land and sell his products to local industries ( for example the milk is sold directly in the farm or in a local milk house) This prevents environmental damage and human health problems caused by transportation-generated pollution. The goal of that kind of agriculture isn’t producing a lot of food products but producing high-quality products (sometimes a little bit more expensive).

Now let’s talk about,

Impact of agriculture around the world: climate change

Agriculture, deforestation and other land use account for 20 % of all Green house gazes emissions. 14% for transports and 37% for producing energy. Agriculture is responsible for about half of global methane emissions. Methane is 26 times stronger as a GHG than Co2.

So yes, I can say that agriculture is a major actor of global warming. But have the 2 different way of farming the same responsibility ? That’s the question I’ll try to answer.

Pollution:

Soil degradation:

Deforestation:

Water using:

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