For many centuries traditional farming methods were used successfully to produce food. However, growing human population meant an increased demand for more and cheaper food. Intensive farming has been developed to meet this demand-but the cost to the environment has been great.

Manure is used in traditional methods and it keeps the soil healthy by adding bulk and nutrients. Intensive agriculture involves the use of powdery chemical fertilizers to increase the yield of a crop but they lead to soil erosion and pollution of freshwater.

Chemicals are also used to kill insect pests and weeds. These pesticides and herbicides can also kill harmless wildlife. It is even thought that some of them can be harmful to human health.

Intensive farming also involves the use of fossil fuels, and therefore pollution, as food is transported around the world. People in Third World countries working on food plantations are often paid low wages and exposed to pesticides.

Public demand for cheap meat and eggs has resulted in animal welfare concerns. Intensive methods mean that animals like chickens and pigs suffer as they are crowded together and transported hundreds of miles to be slaughtered.

Take Action!!

Support organic farming: organic farmers produce vegetables, fruit, meat and eggs without the use of chemicals. They use natural fertilizers and control pests by encouraging natural predators and using ?crop rotation? (changing the crops grown on the same piece of land each year).

They cannot grow as much to the acre as intensive farmers, but their methods are much better for the soil and wildlife.

The produce is also safer for us to eat.  Animals on organic farms are free-range and fed an organically-grown diet.  Organic farming cannot yet supply all the world?s food needs, but more and more farms are converting to organic methods to meet public demand.

* Buy organic products whenever possible. There is a large range of organically produced vegetables, fruit, meat and eggs and groceries available in the supermarkets nowadays. 18% of agricultural chemicals used world-wide are sprayed on to land cultivated for cotton, so it?s also a good idea to buy cotton wool which has been produced from organically-grown cotton crops.

* Whenever possible, buy your fresh foods from local producers, so reducing pollution resulting from transportation. Farmers? Markets are now held in many places and are excellent places for  buying fresh produce from your particular area.

* Help the poorest people in Third World countries by buying Fairtrade goods, such as chocolate, coffee, tea and bananas. For example, buying fairly traded chocolate ensures that the cocoa growers in countries such as Ghana receive a fair price for their cocoa. Many Fairtrade goods are also organically-grown.

* Have a go at growing your own organic fruit and vegetables!