Feeding a Growing Population vs. Conserving Biodiversity

Not only does sustainable agriculture have significant positives for humans, its counterpart - industrial agriculture - proves to be very damaging in several ways.

Sustainable agriculture is one of the steps to creating a healthy planet once again.

Sustainable Agriculture
In my opinion, when it comes to the sustainable vs. industrial debate in agriculture, sustainable agriculture is the morally correct option. Animals are raised in much more humane ways when they are on sustainable farms - they are not given chemicals or other unnatural products and are not kept in tiny crates their whole lives.  It's not only the animals who live healthier and happier lifestyles in sustainable agriculture. It is also healthier for consumers to eat food raised using this method, due to the lack of chemicals and more nutrients.  Farmers and rural communities also benefit as fair wages and working conditions are available for farmers, which in turn lets rural communities prosper.  The environment is protected through sustainable agriculture, as it takes an ecological approach and takes into the account relationships between organisms and environments. Sustainable agriculture is designed to not have the negative impacts on the planet that industrial agriculture does - specifically by lack of harmful chemicals, not over-working plots of land, and using natural resources at an acceptable rate to meet demands.

An industrial chicken farm.

Industrial Agriculture
The method of industrial agriculture is very damaging to animals, consumers, farmers, farming communities, and the earth. Animals are raised in inhumane conditions, spending the majority of their time in tiny crates. They are often pumped with chemicals; there is little to no respect for the animals in industrial agriculture. Consumers benefit from cheaper prices for their food, however, the quality, taste, and nutritional value of the food is not at the same level as food raised by sustainable agriculture methods. Many workers have been replaced by advanced machinery, taking away many job opportunities. Furthermore, farmers and other workers are often underpaid to maintain cheap production costs (and in turn, cheap selling prices and hefty profits). Farming communities are hurt by industrial agriculture as there becomes less demand for their goods due to the takeover by industrial agriculture. Rural communities are often unable to thrive due to competition, especially in profit and speed of production.  Finally, the planet is negatively affected due to heavy use of chemicals, unnatural substances, rapid depletion of natural resources, and an overall disregard of the environment's well-being.

Hundreds of pigs are crammed into inhumanely sized cages in
industrial farms.

Biodiversity
In order for more effective mass production, industrial agriculture restricts biodiversity by only breeding what is considered to be more efficient or higher quality. Eliminating diversity within a species is very dangerous, as that species becomes more vulnerable to being wiped out completely. This is another issue that has arisen from industrialism in farming.

In my opinion, the benefits of sustainable agriculture greatly outweigh and outnumber the benefits of industrial agriculture.




Sources:
http://www.sustainabletable.org/intro/comparison/
http://lifemorenatural.com/?p=1155
http://www.idrc.ca/es/ev-67637-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html
http://www.sustainabletable.org/intro/whatis/

My comments can be found on these entries:
http://kennedy-a.blogspot.com/2011/03/sustainable-agriculture-vs-industrial.html?showComment=1299594781887#c5726667570789859416
http://jessy3149.blogspot.com/2011/01/blog-post.html?showComment=1299777075314#c8603703915155182406