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# Discover the Environmental Impacts of Unsustainable Farming
- URL: https://www.foodconsumer.org/unsustainable_farming_0515130543/
- Published: 2013-05-15T18:41:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-22T16:01:42.000Z
- Description: Clearing and plowing farmland strips topsoil — WWF estimates Brazil loses 55 million tons a year to soy production — while chemical and pesticide runoff pollutes streams, rivers and oceans. WWF also reports about half the earth's habitable land has already become farmland.
- Author: Food Consumer
- Tags: Environment, #vivvo-import

Farming has been an important part of life for centuries. The ability to produce food is essential to sustaining the population on the earth, and there are still many areas where people go hungry. In more developed countries, farming is booming producing massive quantities of fruits, vegetables and grains. 

While it may seem like farming is one of the greatest things that ever happened to civilization, it can actually be very harmful to the planet. When farming is done unsustainably it can lead to increased emission levels, land degradation and harm to creatures all over the world.

**• Soil erosion and run-off**

When farmland is cleared of its natural vegetation and plowed, it risks losing substantial amounts of topsoil through erosion. Essentially, the fertile ground can be either blown away or carried off by rainwater, which is a serious problem when your work depends on growing good products in the ground. Unfortunately, this happens all over the world. According to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), Brazil loses 55 million tons of topsoil each year due to soy production. In addition to losing soil fertility, runoff of chemicals and pesticides can pollute water sources such as streams, rivers and even oceans.

**• Habitat loss**

The population is continuing to expand, therefore, the need to produce food is growing as well. But the more farmland needed to supply people with nutrients, the more harm is done to the environment. The WWF reports about 50 percent of the earth's habitable land has already been converted into farm land. The encroaching development can impact entire ecosystems, not to mention push creatures toward extinction. But dry land isn't the only part of the planet affected. Fish farms are affecting estuaries all over the world, endangering aquatic species' as well.

**• Water use**

Obviously water is essential to a farmer's livelihood. It's needed to grow plants and water animals. But the amount of water used by farmers may be considered unsustainable. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, farming makes up 80 percent of the nation's water use. This can be a huge issue in areas suffering from severe drought. But even in regular conditions, that amount of water use can change the water table. Additionally, excessive irrigation can cause soil salinity and contribute to pollution running into rivers and streams.

**• Climate change**

From equipment to fertilizers, agriculture contributes a large amount of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere each year. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reported that the industry produced 8 percent of America's greenhouse gases in 2011\. One of the leading contributors is methane gas from livestock waste. Numerous sustainable farms across the nation have harnessed that methane to create energy and limit their environmental impact. This energy can be sold to electricity suppliers, like those on [Electric.com](http://www.electric.com/?ref=foodconsumer.org), and contribute to renewable energy resources in the United States. However, the majority of farmers have not opted to join in this energy production, leading to harmful emissions and climate change risk.