Traditional agriculture has unlocked a stable food supply, but now it jeopardises the future of our civilization. Farmland expansion drives 80 per cent of deforestation and 70 per cent of biodiversity loss, destroying ecosystems that regulate climate, sequestrate carbon and make soil fertile (given that agriculture occupies half of Earth's habitable land, these effects are particularly alarming).
At the same time, agriculture consumes about 70 per cent of freshwater, putting a strain on our finite resources (less than 3 per cent of water is drinkable). Moreover, chemical runoff from farms is responsible for more than two-thirds of water pollution in Europe and North America, leading to even less drinking water available in the future.
By fuelling climate instability, agriculture is ultimately knifing itself in the back: Rising temperatures, droughts and extreme weather events are already cutting yields, and global crop productivity in some regions is projected to fall by 25-30 per cent by next century.
This is compounded by a growing vulnerability of crops to droughts due to soil erosion (predominantly caused by agriculture) that entails poor water retention. Taken together, these problems indicate the need to develop and embrace other food production methods – ones that are local, require less land and water, and abstain from chemical use.
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