Why Your Grocery Habits Matter: The Climate Impact of Industrial Farming

Gabriela Ledesma
Jul 17
4 min read

By Gabriela Ledesma

When we consider the causes of climate change, we often picture power plants, transportation, and pollution. One of the most overlooked contributors to climate change is our food system. Industrial agriculture has made food cheaper and more widely available, but its environmental impact is not worth the convenience. “The practices of industrial agriculture contribute to about 25 to 30 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions”. Farmers’ markets represent a more sustainable, environmentally friendly, and health-conscious alternative to the industrial agriculture system.

Industrial agriculture is the large-scale, intensive production of crops and animals. This type of agriculture is heavily reliant on the use of fertilizers, pesticides, and non-therapeutic antibiotics. Industrial agriculture was created to mass produce food at a cheap price to accommodate the rapidly growing US and world population. Most grocery store chains source their products from farms that use industrial agriculture methods, but this type of farming has not solved hunger, and food insecurity continues to be a growing issue in the United States.

Industrial Agriculture’s Impact on Human Health

Industrial agriculture can negatively impact human health. Food produced through industrial agriculture practices has less nutritional value than food that is produced on farms that use sustainable practices. Consuming food produced through industrial agriculture practices can result in cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, hormone disruption, and obesity: “The pesticides used heavily in industrial agriculture are associated with elevated cancer risks for workers and consumers and are coming under great scrutiny for their links to endocrine disruption and reproductive dysfunction.” Chemical fertilizers, synthetic pesticides, and herbicides can seep into our drinking water, and the residues can stay in the food we consume, causing these serious health risks.

Environmental Impacts of Industrial Agriculture

According to the UN Environment Program, the damage that industrialized farming causes to the environment costs three trillion U.S. dollars every year.” Degradation of soil is a significant consequence of industrial agriculture. Monoculture is often used in industrial farming practices; monocropping depletes the soil of nutrients, reduces organic matter in the soil, and can cause significant erosion. Without rotating crops, the crops become infertile and dependent on the use of chemical fertilizers. Soil is eroding much faster than it can be replenished. The chemical fertilizers that are used have high levels of nitrogen and phosphorus; these fertilizers often end up in our waterways as a result of runoff and erosion. This pollution results in eutrophication, which depletes the oxygen in water and causes algal blooms, dead zones, and kills fish. According to the EPA, runoff of chemicals, silt, and animal waste from U.S. farmland has polluted more than 173,000 miles of waterways. Industrial farming also consumes a significant amount of fossil fuels for machinery, chemical production, and transportation, effectively increasing carbon emissions. This method of farming uses fossil fuels in the production and application of chemical fertilizers. Industrial agriculture’s carbon footprint continues to grow as a result of the food processing facilities used and the packaging of the produce. Transportation is another major factor contributing to the carbon footprint of industrial agriculture. The Farmers’ Market Coalition explains, “On average, a piece of produce in the United States travels 1,500 miles before being sold, amounting to 250,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions from produce transportation annually. In total, agriculture accounts for 11% of the United States’ greenhouse gas emissions." These environmental impacts reveal that the current industrial agriculture system is not only unsustainable but also has detrimental impacts on the health of our planet.

What Can You Do?

Even the smallest shifts in your shopping habits can help to reduce your food-related emissions. When choosing what grocery stores to shop at, check to see if the store works with vendors that use sustainable and/or organic farming methods. Shop at your local farmers markets, most farmers who attend local farmers markets use sustainable and certified agriculture practices, such as “reducing the amount of synthetic pesticides and chemicals that pollute our soil and water.” Farmers' markets ensure that farmers can earn a sustainable income from growing food responsibly, while offering local communities a place to access and buy their products. At farmers’ markets, produce is typically sourced locally, which reduces your carbon footprint by minimizing the distance your food travels: “locally sourced produce travels about 27 times less distance than conventionally sourced produce”. Unlike food sold in grocery store chains, which is often wrapped in plastic or is sealed in nonrecyclable materials, farmers market produce is usually sold with little to no packaging. This reduces single-use plastic waste and carbon emissions associated with packaging production and disposal. Make sure when shopping at your local farmers' markets, you remember to bring your reusable bags and containers to further reduce waste. From reducing carbon emissions to supporting local economies and healthier lifestyles, farmers' markets are a better option than shopping at chain grocery stores.