Cheng, M. (2023, February 6). How Spain became Europe’s largest pork producer. Quartz. Retrieved February 6, 2023, from https://qz.com/how-spain-became-europes-largest-pork-producer-1850078265 

This article talks about the cons that farming and meat production has on Spain’s rural areas. In this article it states that “Spain is No. 3 in pork production in the world,” and from this mass production it brings many cons to peoples lives. Half of the industrial farms are located in rural areas. From industrialized pork farms, there has been a lot of leaks and pollution from the farms into water supplies which causes the water to be both contaminated and smelly. Spain joined the Eu, European Union, in 1986 to continue their farming on a bigger scale. By doing this alot of pig farms relocated to Spain which caused such an uprising in its production as there was a lot of healthy land that could be used for industrial farming. 

This article is important because industrial farming techniques cause a lot of environmental issues. Not only do they emit a lot of methane and co2, but they also affect the people living around them. How it states in the article that manure and other chemicals contaminate the water supply from these farms thus hurting the people. And seeing how Spains such a big producer it only increases these flaws. 

X, S. (2023, January 12). Cutting costs and emissions in beef production. Phys.org. Retrieved February 7, 2023, from https://phys.org/news/2023-01-emissions-beef-production.html 

This article is about the research of the University of Queensland developing a tool to lower the cost and emissions from beef production while keeping the demand for beef. C. Castonguay from UQ’s School of Veterinary Science states that 85 % of emissions can be cut out of the equation without majorly affecting the economy. Castonguay states that this can be achieved by ”opting for more efficient feeds and locations, and restoring forests in inefficient areas, without increasing global costs of production.” Meaning that if we change our feed to a more healthy source of food and plant more trees and use3 locations that thrive in nutrients to farm on greenhouse gasses can be cut by 85% in the beef sector. 

This article is important because it not only relates to greenhouse emissions from a big producer but it also shows a plan to keep the same amount of meat being produced while lowering emissions. Meaning that we can produce the same amount of meat while cutting out a lot of the greenhouse gas emissions. It stated in the article from C.Castonguay, a graduate from Queensland university in veterinary science, that changing our feed and relocating to areas that have a lot of nutrients can help the production of meat while keeping emissions low.

SHIKE, J. E. N. N. I. F. E. R. (2023, January 30). How will higher expected meat exports to China impact global trade … FarmLandersPork. Retrieved February 7, 2023, from https://www.porkbusiness.com/news/hog-production/how-will-higher-expected-meat-exports-china-impact-global-trade 

This article talks about the imports of meat and compares red and white and how they will affect China’s economy and trade. A USDA study showed that chicken’s overall demand decreased to lower levels before the pandemic. Whole chicken demand decreased beef and perks demand increased resulting in slower shipments due to the fact of how great the demand was. Chicken demand fell about 4% while beef and pork demand increased by 3%. It states in the article that the shipments are now slower because importers want to use all their product that’s in cold storage before they buy more. 

This article is important because it relates to China’s overall meat demand and its enom=nomy. China’s demand for red meat increased by 3% in both pork and beef. With this much of an increase greenhouse gasses will increase and affect our climate even more. Not only red meat, but white meat  affects our climate as well. But recently china’s demand for chicken has decreased to levels lower than pre pandemic.

Mcdougal, T. (2022, December 19). Poultry set to take nearly half of the global meat market by 2031. Poultry World. Retrieved February 7, 2023, from https://www.poultryworld.net/the-industrymarkets/market-trends-analysis-the-industrymarkets-2/poultry-set-to-take-nearly-half-of-the-global-meat-market-by-2031-2/ 

This article is about poultry and how they’ll take over half of the global meat industry by 2031. Poultry is the fastest growing meat product and is easier to obtain for low and middle class people. It’s not only healthier but it’s also cheaper than other meats. It is estimated that by 2031, poultry’s protein availability will be 47% compared to other meats like lamb, beef, and pork.  Poultry plays a big part in the “diets of several populous developing nations, such as China, Indonesia, India, Malaysia, Pakistan, Peru, the Philippines and Vietnam.” Not only developing nations but already rich countries strive on poultry and are looking for diverse protein sources. 

This article is important because it talks about how big poultry will become in the future. Not only economically but how poultry will take over the meat industry from how easy it is to acquire, how healthy it is, and how cheap it is. Poultry is way healthier for the environment as it does not produce anywhere near as much pollution as cows, pigs, or lambs. It is a very cheap and clean source of protein that is helping a lot of developing countries. 

Rose, M. P. (2023, January 23). How pesticides intensify global warming. Grist. Retrieved January 29, 2023, from https://grist.org/agriculture/a-new-report-says-pesticides-intensify-climate-change/ 

California uses nearly 20% of all pesticides used in agriculture in the United States. However, “less than .01 percent of pesticides” actually end up killing the pests they were meant to, creating a huge amount of pesticides being wasted and ending up in water supplies, soil, and the air. In addition, the manufacturing of pesticides greatly impacts the environment, especially in terms of greenhouse gas emissions. The emissions from making these pesticides end up accelerating global warming and climate change

This article shows the large impact just one part of California’s agriculture industry has on the environment. The sheer amount of greenhouse emissions from producing pesticides for California is enormous and not only does this affect the atmosphere, but overusing pesticides also leads to a large amount of water contamination and soil contamination causing a whole group of other environmental issues. The thing that shocked me the most is how little pesticide is actually effective. I believe that farms should definitely use less pesticides even if it means losing a few crops, the damage done by pesticide overuse is utterly insane. This is also one of the environmental impacts that I think is the most overlooked. I don’t think I have seen any laws that affect pesticide use, other than general safety measures to make sure the food is safe to eat.

Nilsen, E. (2023, January 21). Faucets in McCarthy’s district are running dry after years of drought. Constituents want him to do more. CNN. Retrieved January 29, 2023, from https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/21/politics/mccarthy-district-drought-water-crisis-climate/index.html 

California’s drought is causing severe water shortages for rural communities, many are left without running water and are forced to rely on water deliveries, for which many are insufficient. Many communities have requested that Sen. Kevin McCarthy did something about the extreme water shortage in his district, however, he has failed to take any sort of meaningful action. A lot of the communities are located next to large farms, which have used up all the underground water in the area. Furthermore, these farms have the finance to drill further into the ground to access deeper aquifers, leaving the residents without water.

This article shows the extreme side of agriculture’s effect on the environment. The large farms in California have used up so much water that residential wells can’t even reach available aquifers. Being in a drought, these farms are so inefficient that they are endangering the lives of people in nearby communities. Not only is there a shortage of water, but even when there is water, it is contaminated by runoff from the nearby farms and is essentially unusable, one citizen interviewed by CNN even mentioned that the water was “treated with so much chlorine that it turned his family’s black clothing gray in the wash.” This article made me really scared to think about the future of California. I didn’t really think this type of thing happened in California and I definitely think there has to be action taken right now. However, it is hard to get things done especially because of how important agriculture is to California and the whole country. 

Manjoo, F. (2023, January 20). What Will ‘Weather Whiplash’ Mean for California? The New York Times. Retrieved January 29, 2023, from https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/20/opinion/california-drought-flooding-climate-change.html 

Climate scientists are predicting that California’s climate will be extremely volatile due to the effects of climate change. The trend in the last decade has shown that California will be extremely dry and then experience immense downpour. Additionally, the rainfall can’t be contained as well as before because much of the downpour has been in the form of water, rather than snow. This is a problem because snow acts like a solid reservoir of water, until it slowly melts in spring, whereas water mostly runs off into the ocean and becomes unusable.

This is yet another article on the California storms, however in this one, the main focus is more on the preparations and strategies that citizens will have to implement to conserve water. Furthermore, it discusses why California lacks the right infrastructure to deal with the extreme climate. California’s infrastructure is mainly suited to the drought and dry years because many don’t think about flooding when they’re in a drought. This leads to a ton of problems when faced with heavy storms, which leads us to agriculture. Most of California’s farms use way more water than is necessary, this combined with insufficient water supplies due to a drought leads to ideas on efficient water use. In the article, it is said that “Farming currently accounts for 80 percent of California’s water use.” and most of this is because the farmers are not planting water efficiently. This fact thus leads me to wonder what California’s water supply would be like if the agricultural industry here grew water-efficient plants.

Flavelle, C., & Zhong, R. (2023, January 5). Weeks of Storms Test California’s Approach to Taming Nature. The New York Times. Retrieved January 29, 2023, from https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/05/climate/california-floods-drought-preparedness.html 

Due to the increase of rainfall in the recent storms, California officials are reconsidering their strategy of containing rain water. Officials want to add a second levee alongside rivers not only due to the severe consequences of flooding, but also to allow the water to seep into underground aquifers. Runoff from farmland located on the river banks that contaminates water reserves, and aquifers are not being replenished because the water is flowing elsewhere. Despite these consequences, many property owners are refusing to sell their properties for the government to build levees. 

This article covers the recent storms in California, and the effects of flooding as well as inefficient water management. In the recent storms, huge amounts of runoff from agricultural areas nearby large waterways were washed away into other parts of the state. Additionally, much of the fresh water was lost due to insufficient facilities to contain the water. Many of the agricultural areas in California are now relying heavily on underground water, specifically aquifers, however, these aquifers are being depleted quickly and the only way to replenish them is through water on the surface seeping down. Therefore, many officials are now looking to add a second levee to prevent flooding, as well as allow overflow from the river and first levee to seep into the ground. The problem is, many property owners do not want to give up their land located around the rivers because the land is expensive, and productive. This article also mentions the possibility of more storms to come, due to climate change, and I wonder if California could be pulled out of the drought if efficient water management is applied. If so, would this make the agriculture industry even better due to the large increase in water and healthy soil?

Roth, S. (2023, January 17). Want to solve climate change? This California farm kingdom holds a key. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 29, 2023, from https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2023-01-17/want-to-solve-climate-change-this-california-farm-kingdom-holds-the-key 

As global warming continues to drive temperatures up, many agricultural counties in California are running out of water, at the same time solar companies have started to buy farm land to develop large solar farms. In Imperial County, residents and farmers are divided by the option to sell land to these companies. While some are eager to bring new jobs into the county, sell off some less useful land, and help the environment, others are hesitant to give up their land, which has been passed down for generations. Some say it’s because their land is worth more than clean energy.

This article displays a great example of one of the many challenges that developing clean energy has. Every source of energy has a downside, and for solar, it is a necessity for land. But this land can’t come from anywhere, many activists oppose developing new areas for solar farming because it would destroy natural habitats which is why many solar companies are buying land off agricultural areas, however, many of these farmers are reluctant to give up their farms for a plethora of reasons. Despite the farms causing immense environmental damage, nearly draining the section of the Colorado River that reaches the bottom of California, as well as creating a huge sea of contaminated water due to runoff from all of these farms, many farmers continue to oppose helping the environment because they see their neighbors doing the same thing. This article shines a light on a prime example of a “tragedy of the commons” in terms of agriculture. In my opinion, the farmers should be selling some of their land to help solar development. Not only would it help the local economy, it would also bring us a lot closer to reaching our climate goal. I think this would be one of the best ways California could start becoming carbon neutral. However, at the end of the article, it mentioned that a company nearby was drilling into the ground to find steam pockets underground that are large enough to turn turbines. I wonder how much impact these companies will have on our environment and energy production.

What is the environmental cost of factory-farmed meat? Down To Earth. (n.d.). Retrieved September 7, 2022, from https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/climate-change/what-is-the-environmental-cost-of-factory-farmed-meat–84760 

Factory farming is the production of animals that maximizes output at the lowest cost. Trying to get as much as possible with spending the least as possible. But as years go by the demand for meat has risen. The USA consumes 24 kg of pork and 50 kg of chicken each year. Seeing how much CO2 animals give off farming animals is very bad for the environment. Later in the article, it compares the United States’ consumption to other countries and how over time their prices will drop or increase for meat production. 

The demand for animals increases over time and more farms being built to satisfy that need will drive deforestation. This is because farmers will need the land to harvest, thus causing carbon to be released into the atmosphere. Not only the animals but humans and now the trees. When the trees are cut down the solid will be disrupted by agriculture and cause harm to the environment. This is all from the production of meat and the demands people want. I like meat products but I’m not obsessed with them Eating them every day. Two or three times a week is good for me but seeing how demands just grow and grow a lot of problems revolving around ecosystems and climate change will be harder to handle.