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Thousands of years ago many people grew small amounts of crops and raised small numbers of livestock to feed their families. As the human population has increased and we have moved from small villages into larger towns and cities farming has become modernised to meet the demands of a larger and more urban lifestyle.

Intensive farming

Intensive farming uses machines, natural and artificial fertilisers, and high-yield crops to maximise the amount of food produced. Most of the meat, fruit and vegetables, dairy products and eggs found in our supermarkets come from intensive farming so it is important for our food security. Farmers growing arable crops can specialise in growing only one crop to maximise the food they produce. This is called monoculture. This can reduce key nutrients in the soil and can lower biodiversity.

Hedgerows have been removed from many fields to make them bigger and easier to farm. This allows farmers to make more food. Often, more animals and plants live in hedgerows than fields and so their removal can also reduce biodiversity.

Some intensive farming can also mean keeping livestock in smaller pens with regulated temperatures. This reduces the energy they need for movement and temperature regulation and so maximises their size and yield. Some animals are fed high protein foods to increase their growth. They can also be fed antibiotics in their food to prevent diseases. Many scientists think this is a contributing factor to antibiotic resistance in bacteria.

Advantages and disadvantages of intensive farming practices:

Organic farming

Some people object to some modern intensive farming methods. Some farms have become organic to address this. Organic farmers do not use machines to the same extent as intensive farming. They do not apply artificial pesticides to their crops and use natural fertilisers such as compost and manure. They rotate their crops to avoid monoculture.

This image shows how crops planted in a field are rotated each year. This helps keep the soil heathy.

Organic food is often more expensive than intensively farmed food because it often has a lower yield.

Intensive farming of animals

The demand for more meat has resulted in increased intensive farming of animals such as cattle, pigs and chickens. This has an impact on food security because animal farming wastes more energy because the food chain is longer. It is much more efficient to grow crops so more people can be fed per area of land. In addition, farmed animals are often fed crops which could be consumed by humans.

Negative impact of pathogens and pests

Pathogens including bacteria, fungi and viruses may infect the crops or farm animals and will reduce the yield of crops and reduce the food availability for the human population. New pathogens may reduce yields dramatically as the crops or animals may not be resistant. New diseases may lead to crop failure and reduced food production. Also new pests such as insects may damage the growth of crops, reducing yield and food security.

Sustainability and farming

Sustainability means maintaining the needs of the human population into the future. This includes food security and fuel for vehicles and industry. Fuels such as diesel and petrol made from crude oil are non-renewable and are running out. An alternative fuel is biofuel such as bioethanol which is made by fermenting sugar from corn or sugar cane. Therefore these biofuel crops provide a renewable fuel. They have a negative impact though, as they are often grown on land which could be used for growing crops for food.

Cost of agricultural inputs

Farming is expensive in terms of land costs, machinery, fuel and fertilisers. As costs increase, many farmers find it too expensive to continue farming so farms shut down and food production stops. This has a negative impact on food security.