Is Intensive Farming Inherently Bad?

Intensive agriculture might be the “least bad” option for feeding the UK while saving its species and environment, say researchers.

High-yield farming systems don't damage the environment as much as previously thought and could even help spare habitats. The study suggests that high-yield farming could be harnessed to meet the growing demand for food without destroying more of the natural world

Agriculture that appears to be more eco-friendly but uses more land may actually have greater environmental costs per unit of food than intensive farming that uses less land, the study published in the Nature Sustainability explains.

There is mounting evidence that the best way to meet rising food demand while conserving biodiversity is to wring as much food as sustainably possible from the land that is farmed, so that more natural habitats can be “spared the plough” However, this involves intensive farming techniques thought to create disproportionate levels of pollution, water scarcity and soil erosion. But the study says this is not necessarily the case.

However, the team behind the study, led by scientists from the University of Cambridge, caution that if higher yields are simply used to increase profit or lower prices, they will only accelerate the extinction crisis we are already seeing.

https://www.farminguk.com/news/Intensive-farming-least-bad-option-for-food-production-and-environment_50241.html