- Land Conversion and Habitat Loss
-Land conversion is the clearing of land for agriculture/aquaculture for the intensive areas with only one crop n the area (called a monoculture.) Farmland covers over 38% of the world's entire surface and while we need the land to be able to feed all of the people on the earth, more sustainable practices need to be implemented in order to keep the percentage of land use down. This is because rain forests are often turned into oil palm plantations, soybean farms, or cattle farms. When it has been shown that rain forests are vital to the world's biodiversity and overall well-being. Desertification often occurs when land is converted over to be used for farming. Aquaculture on the other hand affects marine life because it has the natural marine life in a given area competing for natural habitats. Often times aquaculture farmers may put devices around the farms in order to ward off any other species, which in turn can disrupt the natural movement of marine species.
- Wasteful Water Consumption
-Aquaculture alone uses up on average 78% of the world's drinkable water. The practice of wasteful water consumption is because of leaky irrigation systems, wasteful field application methods, and planting crops in the wrong environment, forcing them often to need more water than you should be using on a given plant. This practice harms the environment by changing the water table significantly and depleting the groundwater supply.
example: Amu Darya River Was Central Asia's longest river that flowed into the Aral Sea. The Amu Darya River was used to irrigate cotton and crops in both Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. The Aral Sea being the 4th largest lake at one point in time, is now less than half of it's original size due to the lack of flowing water from the Amu Darya River - Soil Erosion and Degradation
-Soil erosion and degradation occurs when ploughing of farmland exposes the topsoil, which makes it susceptible to being blown or washed away. Sedimentation often occurs when near bodies of water when the soil is washed into the water sources. When this occurs land is often abandoned when it is of no use to the farmers. Crops that cause soil erosion include coffee, soy, cotton, corn, rice, wheat, etc. To put it into perspective, Brazil loses 55 million tons of top soil each year.
- Pollution : Agriculture is the leading cause of pollution in many countries worldwide. This pollution consists of pesticides, fertilizers, and agrochemicals. Often times, some pesticides are sprayed from planes onto the crops, when this occurs it contaminates more than just the target area which includes rivers, neighboring lands, and/or wetlands. When areas are not implemented with proper water management services, run off occurs. Run off causes eutrophication in many rivers and lakes which is proven to be detrimental to the entire ecosystem. This phenomenon is known often as algal blooms.
- Climate Change
-Agriculture practices account for more than 14% of global greenhouse gas emissions. The practices that most often contribute to this production of these emissions includes the use of fertilizers, livestock, manure management, ploughing, and rice cultivation.
- Genetic Erosion
-When you replace traditional crops and animals with agenetically modified form, genetic erosion occurs. This has resulted in up to a 75% loss in diversity among crops. The loss of genetic diversity reduces plants potential for adapting, breeding, and changing conditions. This puts the food-supply for the world in risk for the long-term.
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