IV. Solution, first reason:
The first important solution is making sure that the agricultural practices that are adopted in the production of food are environmental friendly. It is prudent to understand that altering the environment leads to the alteration of its processes and the organisms that are existent in it. This would mean that the use of inorganic fertilizers for example, would affect the different life forms that are present in the soil. Inorganic fertilizers in some cases alter the pH of the soil as well as the soil structure. Different burrowing organisms in the soil can only live at a certain level of soil ph. This means that the addition of inorganic fertilizers would affect the processes that are initiated by these burrowing organisms in the soil.
In addition, it is important to understand that the alteration of the soil PH through the use agricultural chemicals reduces the fertility of the soils. This is because some crops can only be able to grow within a certain pH range. This would mean that a reduction in pH through the use of agricultural chemicals would reduce the ability of a given soil to sustain various crops. This solution of using environmental friendly agricultural practices will work because the structure of the soil will remain in its natural state. In this way, the crops that are grown in such conditions will not be affected by the artificial conditions created by the addition of agrochemicals to the soil. In addition, the water quality and other micro and macronutrients that are absorbed by plants from the soil will not contain chemicals that are harmful to man upon consumption.V. Solution, second reason:
The consumer preference on organic foods is motivated by the expanding need for healthy dietary practices to avoid the various illnesses that are associated with poor nutrition. Therefore, the reduction of inorganic chemicals in foods should be the ultimate goal for farmers as they seek to produce foods that are not harmful to consumers. The use of agricultural chemicals in food production is seemingly effective in terms of protecting crops from pests and also in making sure the foods are not affected by the lack of various nutrients in the soil (Makoni &Mohamed-Katerere, 2003). The use of agricultural chemicals is motivated by the desire for profit maximization by farmers as they ensure that their crops are not affected by pests or the prevailing soil conditions. In light of the upsurge in nutritional illnesses there is a need for farmers to shift from the idea of profit maximization and take into consideration the long term effects that is associated with chemically produced foods. However, the shift from chemical production to organic production can only be initiated by then presence of various initiatives for farmers. This would include more subsidies for farmers in case they suffer from losses of yield and also the available of organic farm inputs at an affordable price.VI. Call to Action:
Urgent action is necessary in preserving the environment and also in protecting the effects of chemically produced foods on consumers. Failure to take action in the adoption of more sustainable agricultural practices would lead to more degradation of the environment. This would include the loss of sol properties such as PH and fertility (Cisilino & Madau, 2007). In addition, failure to take action would lead to more cases of illness resulting from the consumption of foods that are produced chemically.
References
Cisilino, F., & Madau, F. A. (2007). Organic and Conventional Farming: a Comparison Analysis through the Italian FADN. I Mediterranean Conference of Agro-Food Social Scientists.
Makoni, N., & Mohamed-Katerere, J. (2003). Chapter 9: Genetically Modified Crops. In Africa Environment Outlook: Our Environment, Our Wealth (2nd ed.). New York, USA: Springer.
