Agriculture is a centerpiece of the integrated water, energy, and food nexus. Agricultural production and transportation are critical elements of the increasingly complex and interconnected system that feeds the world. Farming operations are the quintessential component of agriculture, and the structure of farming operations has serious implications for human health and environmental quality. 

Farms exist in a variety of sizes, and differences in farm size usually correspond to differences in the goals and capacities of farm operators. Variations in farm size have also been linked to variations in the impacts of farms to the environment and human health.

Large scale farms operate with several advantages, including higher levels of labor productivity, access to economies of scale for processing, packaging and marketing, and better access to markets, information, and technology (1). Collectively, these advantages can mean more efficiency and a cheaper food supply.

However, these advantages can increase pressure on environmental quality, particularly when the costs of these impacts are born by society at large instead of individual farm operations. One review of agricultural research concludes: "The industrial agriculture system consumes fossil fuel, water, and topsoil at unsustainable rates. It contributes to numerous forms of environmental degradation, including air and water pollution, soil depletion, diminishing biodiversity, and fish die-offs" (2).

The research review suggests that industrial farms may be more efficient; however, more diversified, family-labor farm systems often "compare favorably with conventional systems when the comparison includes a full-cost accounting of the environmental and public health harms and benefits of each system."

The complicated issues related to agriculture are numerous and nuanced, and there is robust and ongoing debate on how they are related to the size and structure of farms. A few of the health and environmental issues of farming are listed below. We look at both a broad and local scope, and also examine how the issues are related to farm structure. 

The audio clips on this page feature varying viewpoints about these issues.

The agricultural system uses a majority of the world's freshwater supply.

Water

The only resource humans need more than food is water, and the agricultural process happens to be incredibly water intensive. Agriculture is a major user of ground and surface water in the United States, accounting for approximately 80-90 percent of the consumptive water use in Western states like Utah (3). The size of a farm and the irrigation system it uses can substantially affect how much water it requires. 

In particular, animals and livestock require a significant amount of water to feed and maintain, largely from the grain feed that animals are fed. One estimate suggests that nearly 1,800 gallons of water is required to produce just one pound of beef (15). That's as much water as you would use if you took a ten-minute shower every day for three months!

Animals and livestock also produce large amounts of waste material, and it often ends up in water sources. The manure from a dairy farm with 200 cows produces as much nitrogen as is in the sewage from a community of 10,000 people (4). Heavy rains can create runoff that sends this nitrogen, phosphorous, and other waste products directly into streams and bodies of water.

In Cache Valley, runoff like this can cause serious problems. Irrigated agriculture is responsible for 37 percent of the phosphorous content found in the Little Bear River drainage (5). The phosphorous and nitrogen pollution, even at low levels, can be harmful to our health and the environment.

Industrial farms use chemical products at higher rates.

Pollution

Industrial farms are usually monocultural, and monocultural farms often use fertilizers and pesticides at higher rates (6). This is because only growing one type of crop can damage soil health and deplete nutrients in the soil more quickly. Smaller farms are more likely to be polycultural, and grow a wider variety of crops. Some of these may include cover crops, which are planted to improve soil health, smother weeds, and help control pests and diseases. 

Fertilizers and pesticides can occasionally pollute water sources as well, and almost 40 percent of all chemical fertilizers used eventually break down into ammonia and are released into the atmosphere (7). This ammonia contributes to a host of health and environmental problems, including respiratory problems, soil acidification, smog, and respiratory irritation.

As a whole, agriculture is responsible for 10-12 percent of total pollution caused by human activity, and even while other sources of pollution slow, agricultural pollution is growing quickly (8). Cache Valley is notorious for its incredibly poor air quality — the EPA has recognized it as occasionally being the worst in the entire country (16) — and though there are a multitude of contributing factors, agriculture is certainly one part of the problem.

The nature and types of pollution are so complex that "Current scientific understanding is not sufficient to quantify all agricultural emissions and their effects" (9). However, a growing body of evidence suggests that agricultural intensification has led to pollution that has serious health and environmental risks.

Farm workers are often exposed to unsafe conditions.

Clifford Lilywhite on food safety

Safety

Every year, foodborne illnesses affect 76 million people, leading to more than 325,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths (10). Agricultural practices and regulations evolve to reduce this number, but as mentioned previously, some regulations can also overburden small and large farmers alike.

Clark Israelsen cited one future regulation in particular that would likely affect Cache Valley farmers. In December of 2017, a policy will be implemented that will limit the use of antibiotics for agricultural purposes. Farmers will have to get a veterinary prescription for antibiotics, whereas previously they could purchase them over the counter.

This regulation stems from the fact that overuse of antibiotics in animal agriculture has led to antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria that make treating human and animal illness more difficult (11). However, it will burden small farmers who won't be able to get a prescription.

Working conditions on farms are also a concern. Industrial farmworkers often face very difficult and dangerous working conditions. They are regularly exposed to unsafe chemicals, spend extended amounts of time in the heat, and are are frequently injured, usually very severely (12).

In addition, many of them are immigrants. One of every three industrial farmworkers in Utah is an undocumented immigrant (13). Undocumented workers face harsher working conditions, are paid less, and are often exploited due to their fear of reporting injustices (14).