Environmental Issues in Modern Agriculture
12 | Unit 3.3
Agriculture itself (whether “certified organic” or “conventional”) is one of the most extensive
and environmentally disruptive land-use practices, where terrestrial plant and animal
communities are converted to row crops and enormous amounts of water are diverted to supply
needed irrigation water. Irrigation water has led to elevated salt levels, which may result in
the interference of crop plants to access and regulate moisture. Water diverted from rivers has
resulted in the degradation of these aquatic ecosystems through the erection of dams. Overdraft
of underground aquifers for agricultural use has led to the depletion of this resource, and in
coastal areas, to the intrusion of saltwater into agricultural wells.
GMO crops pose an unknown environmental and human health risk, reduce the diversity of
crop genetics and, where adopted, create further input dependence for farmers. Hybrid seed
reduces the diversity of crop genetics and creates further input dependence for farmers.