Conventional Farming Practices
Conventional farming practices might not be the first thing that comes to mind when considering your health and well-being. But like I discussed in my post about Where Does Your Food Come From?, we’ve become super disconnected from the sources of our food! And this disconnection from our food is costing us.
When you walk into the grocery store, it’s easy to grab a bag of vegetables or a package of meat without considering how it even got there. Yet, the way your food is grown, raised and shipped significantly impacts your health - not to mention the environment and the treatment of animals.
Here’s what you need to know about conventional farming practices and why they should guide your choices every time you shop.
Is Produce Really Healthy?
We often believe we’re making healthy choices by eating fruits and vegetables - that’s what they teach us in elementary school, right? But it’s important to understand the nuance. Compared to organic produce, conventional options often contain fewer nutrients and minerals. This is due to the depletion of soil through chemical fertilizers and heavy machinery, leaving the soil lifeless and unable to nourish the crops you are eating effectively. Weak soil produces weak crops, meaning you’re consuming fewer vitamins and minerals, even when you think you’re eating well.
Additionally, to ward off pests and weeds, conventional farming relies on pesticides and herbicides—chemicals designed to kill living organisms. These substances cling to food and seep into water sources, contaminating rivers, lakes, and oceans. According to the Environmental Working Group’s 2024 Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce, around 75% of non-organic produce contains potentially harmful pesticide residues!
Many of these substances are known to be carcinogenic (cancer-causing) and linked to other serious health issues. So, what are you really putting into your body when eating conventionally grown produce?
On top of that, products like Apeel and Organipeel—chemical coatings applied to extend shelf life—raise questions about what we’re really consuming. While they may help reduce food waste, what hidden chemicals are we ingesting along with our produce?
The Environmental Toll of Conventional Farming
Conventional farming isn’t just a personal health issue. Monoculture farming, where the same crop is planted on the same land year after year, also depletes the soil of specific nutrients, making it more susceptible to disease and requiring even more chemicals for growth. Its a vicious cycle.
This practice reduces biodiversity—the variety of plants, animals, and insects in an ecosystem. That’s not only sad for the animals and plants that have to die due to this process, but the decline in biodiversity also makes crops more prone to diseases and can lead to the collapse of entire ecosystems. The ecosystem suffers from multiple factors including: the heavy machinery used, water usage, and runoff from fertilizers and pesticides.
The Truth About Animal Farming
When it comes to conventional animal farming, it’s very popular and common to use antibiotics, vaccines, and growth hormones to accelerate growth and prevent disease in overcrowded, unethical conditions. This contributes to antibiotic resistance, making human antibiotics less effective. When you eat conventionally raised meat, you’re consuming traces of these drugs, hormones, and chemicals. What impact does this have on you?
Also - we have a responsibility to animals and their lives. Most animal conditions are appalling. Pigs, for example, are as intelligent as dogs, capable of complex tasks and emotional bonds. Yet, conventional farming treats them as products, not living beings. Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) keep animals in cramped, unhealthy conditions, often separating them from their mothers at a young age (an extremely traumatizing experience for them).
These stressful conditions affect the animals and the quality of the meat you consume. Stress hormones and adrenaline in mistreated animals impact the nutritional quality of their meat.
The Power in Your Choices
Next time you see labels like "organic" or "pasture-raised" at the grocery store, know that they represent more than simply marketing—they are signs of more ethical choices for the environment, animal welfare, and your health. Your shopping decisions can support better practices, positively impact your family, animals, and entire ecosystems.
Better Farming Practices
Now that you understand the harmful effects of conventional farming, let’s look at how we can do better. There is hope! Check out my post, Sustainable Farming 101, to learn about better farming practices and how to shop consciously.