The Interrelatedness of Agriculture, Environment, and Human Health

November 6, 2017
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| Agriculture & Farming Cooperative, Center of Development, Education, Empowering Women, Food in India, Health & Wellness, Life in India, Natural Resource Management, Reflections, Social Enterprise, Social Fund

So far, we have highlighted the importance of agriculture to IMG_0298both the economic life of a nation as well as to its culture.  In today’s blog we will be exploring the relationship between agriculture and environmental and human health.  Agricultural practices like intensive farming and the cultivation of mono-crops expose the environment to harmful chemicals which results in a depletion of natural resources and soil health as well as poses a threat to local wildlife and the health of human beings.

Unsustainable farming practices lead to the following harmful effects for the environment: pollution; climate change; genetic erosion; land conversion and habitat loss; soil erosion and degradation; and wasteful water consumption.  Agriculture requires a large amount of land use throughout the world-a number that is increasing with the world’s growing population.  This increase in land used for farming (primarily for the use of monoculture farming) results in the loss of natural habitats for wild plant and animal life which rely on agricultural ecosystems to meet their needs to survive.  An imbalance to such an ecosystem affects not only the indigenous plants and animals directly involved but also surrounding human life as well as the agricultural industry [1].

Several methods of unsustainable farming utilized in India were born during its Green Revolution of the 1960s, which began as a response to a famine that occurred nearly twenty years prior.   The revolution, which included an expansion of farming area and utilization of seeds with superior genetics, resulted in a boom for India’s agricultural industry.  Though the revolution brought tremendous success to India and other developing nations, some of the technological advancements implemented at the time went on to cause harm in various aspects of human, animal, and environmental life in the country.  Introduction of chemical fertilizers and pesticides led to depletion of soil which, as we have seen in previous entries, hurts farmers economically as depleted soil produces smaller yields with each passing year [2].

In addition, harmful chemicals increase exposure to health hazards for India’s farmers and their families.  A 2014 study conducted by the Health Department of the Kerala Government in the Kasaragod district revealedIMG_0233 significant health problems attributed to the practice of spraying endosulfan on cashew plantations.  Endosulfan is an agrichemical that has generated much controversy over the years resulting in global efforts to phase out its use.  One part of the study aimed its attention on a particular area in the district where pollution caused by endosulfan was especially high.  Here, it was revealed that the number of people affected by the harmful agent climbed from 259 to 466, in just four years beginning in 2010.  Those affected ranged in age from 15 to 60 and comprised mostly farm workers who became limited in their ability to work as a result of their newly acquired health problems.  Such problems included, but were not limited to, effects on the central nervous system, kidneys, and liver as well as development of cerebral palsy, mental illness, visual problems, and cancer [3].

Intensive and unsustainable methods of farming can negatively and severely impact the environment and the public’s health in a relatively short period of time.  In addition to being detrimental to environmental and human health, such practices hurt small farmers’ economic opportunities by causing degradation to soil resulting in lower yields and exposing them to chemicals which result in illnesses that lead to missing out on crucial days of cultivation and farming.  The information here and in my previous two blog entries highlights just a few of the ways in which agriculture impacts various aspects of human life, not least among them the economy, culture, environment, and health.  In my next and final entry of this series on agriculture, we will learn about sustainable methods of farming which can go a long way to preserving a nation’s culture while generating economic opportunities, sustaining the environment, and improving health conditions.

Sources:

[1] http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/footprint/agriculture/impacts/

[2]http://edugreen.teri.res.in/explore/bio/green.htm

[3] https://search.proquest.com/openview/2b2a42d1ca04b5995c7c93d1084acfa5/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=736335