Assignment 1 Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Assignment 1 - Coursework Example 3). However, agricultural and food practices have a significant impact on the environment and contribute to water, air and land pollution (Turk and Bensel, 2011, ch. 3). Nitrogen and phosphorus from fertilizer runoff into rivers and lakes lead to eutrophication and suffocation of fish, and pesticide residues in water pose a human health risk if consumed. Soil erosion gives way to dust storms, and methane gas produced by livestock contributes to global warming. Overirrigation of fields leads to waterlogging and loss of arable land, as has happened in Punjab, India. Deforestation is carried out to clear land for farming, eventually resulting in increased soil runoff, decreased rainfall and loss of soil fertility. Overfishing has led to a decline in the number of many fish species, such as the shark, to dangerously low levels. Natural disasters, attributed to global warming, have also had a significant impact on global food production. Among recent examples, a severe drought in China in winter 2011 severely damaged the wheat crop (Bradsher, 2011), and a flood crisis in Australia has followed a decade of water shortage, exacerbating the hardships faced by farmers (Belford, 2011).