Food Essay Non-Sustainable Food Production

Question: What extent have industrial food manufacturers been responsible for non-sustainable food production? Answer: Sustainability is the most important aspect in todays world. It importance lies in the survival of the living being on earth. If one has to define sustainability, then the concept of consumption and production needs to be understood well enough. Sustainability can be defined in many ways. Sustainability can be defined as the capability of any person or resources to sustain them in the long run. The sustainability of resources is necessary for its utilization by the future generation. The sustainability became more and more important for the day consumption became far more than the production. The over consumption has also resulted in poverty and isolation of a certain group of people. This accounts for the social and economic barriers. Food is the essential thing that sustains life on earth, but recent conditions have hindered the sustainability of foods itself. The essay will give a brief overview of how the sustainability is threatened by the manufacturers or industries that deal w ith crop production, farming and other industries[1]. With rapid globalization and industrialization, the food requirements and the demands are increasing every minute. To meet the needs and demands of the market, the manufacturers, therefore, needs to produce a massive amount of products and within a short time. There are practices called monoculture. Monoculture is characterized by the production of a single crop on a large scale. However, a single crop environment is perfect for the harmful microorganisms to thrive upon and harm the food. To avoid such conditions the manufacturers uses pesticides that are artificial for fast result. Such actions decrease the sustainability of the foods produced. The production takes up the natural resources and also depletes the natural value of the food. The sustainability of the food circles two major points: impact of the food on people and the impact of the food produced in the environment. The pesticides that are used are one of the major concerns that affect both the two sectors of food sustain ability. Water is another resource that is readily depleted by the overconsumption in the food industries. In cases of industries that produce meat, the resource consumption is more compared to grain and crop outputs. This is because we feed on the animals that are fed grains instead of the grain itself. In such cases, a large amount of livestock energy is converted hence totally used up. The lack of sustainability can thus be related to the two important issues in the food industry. Firstly, most food industries consume mostly the nonrenewable resource such as fossil fuels. In cases of renewable resources, the rate of depletion is much greater than that of the regeneration[2]. Monoculture and another form of food production should, therefore, be stopped or modified for the lesser use of pesticides and fertilizers. More than this fertilizers and pesticides also harm the nearby river water contaminating the aquatic ecosystem and fishes, which are consumed by people. Therefore food su stainability according to Calgary's definition a sustainable food system is, therefore, a complete network that incorporates and implements every necessary element to increase the social, economic and environmental sustainabilit[3]y. Many methods can be adopted to lessen the chances of overexploitation and overconsumption of resources. One of the procedures is adopting the polyculture. Polyculture is less susceptible to the pest attack and hence would automatically reduce the use of the pesticides and fertilizers. Moreover, the sustainability can be achieved only within limits by set rules. It is the mindset and education, and awareness of people can contribute to the complete sustainability of the food production from the industries. Crop rotation can be another step towards sustainability along with water utilization in a sustainable way. Rainwater harvesting can be done to conserve water and also proper water irrigation systems[4]. Therefore, sustainable food systems need to be developed following certain principles like balanced consumption of nonrenewable source, lesser use of fertilizers, diversity according to the culture, choice and nutritional values. Other factors include maintaining proper economic bal ance and environmental balance, the health of individuals and connected ecosystems also needs to be considered if the aim is to suitably produce the foods[5]. Lesser use of genetically modified crops may also be used as a step towards sustainability. Organic production is seen to be useful in restoring and proper consumption of the resources for the sustainable production of the foods. Therefore, food sustainability is of utmost importance for the survival and development of the environment in the long run especially when it will require resources at a large rate[6]. References Blay, A,Imagining Sustainable Food Systems: Theory and Practice. in , , 2010. Goldman, R,Food and food poverty: Perspectives on distribution. in , , 1999. Gordon, G,Food for all in the twenty-first century. in , , 1999. Mepham, B,Food Ethics. in , , 2012 Peter, Newman,Sustainable agriculture for a food secure third world. in , , 2016. Robinson, G,Sustainable rural systems: sustainable agriculture and rural communities. in , , 2016. [1] Peter, Newman,Sustainable agriculture for a food secure third world. in , , 2016. [2] Mepham, B,Food Ethics. in , , 2012 [3] Gordon, G,Food for all in the twenty-first century. in , , 1999. [4] Goldman, R,Food and food poverty: Perspectives on distribution. in , , 1999. [5] Robinson, G,Sustainable rural systems: sustainable agriculture and rural communities. in , , 2016. [6] Blay, A,Imagining Sustainable Food Systems: Theory and Practice. in , , 2010.