Question
Food can be produced more cheaply today by using improved fertilizers and better machinery. However, some people think that the methods used to increase production may be dangerous for human health and have negative effects on local communities.
What is your opinion?Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your knowledge or experience.
Sample answer
Although the advantages of applying machinery and fertilizers to agriculture are too obvious to be denied , there are after-effects that are certainly not in favor of natural environment and human health. It is probable that, without a continuous string of inventions related to agro-machines and agro-chemical know-how, the current world population could not be sufficiently sustained. Nowadays, it is increasingly known that such farming methods nevertheless contribute to undesirable pollutions and fatal diseases.
At a glance, economic benefits abound. To illustrate, better mechanized agriculture allows more land to be farmed by fewer people. Farm work therefore becomes more efficient and less time-consuming. Added to that, the use of new fertilizers creates higher yields because much of available land is made more fertile. As a combined result, food is cheaper, which of course benefits consumers in general. It is easy to see that, thanks to mechanical and chemical technologies, a series of positive changes have been made, ranging from preparing the soil to planting seeds to gathering the harvest to processing the crop.
Looking from a different angle, there are hidden drawbacks to such changes, affecting people''s health and the quality of air and water in the community. For one thing, agricultural equipment requires diesel fuel to operate, which causes air pollution. Thus, the more machines are being used, the more air pollution there is in the countryside. As if it were not bad enough, human health is endangered by the abuse of chemical compounds, eventually leading to water pollution under soil. Worst of all, reportedly some health problems are associated with farm products. Researchers have also sent shocking warnings against the possibility of links between polluted foods and various diseases, including intoxication and cancer.
In sum, it is clear that modernization in agriculture is not always good, inevitably giving rise to a mixed feeling of blessings and curses. The truth is that it is next to impossible now to do without machines and fertilizers on farms, especially when the global population is growing rapidly. If nothing else, at this point the world is nervously expecting the coming of environment-friendly machinery and risk-free fertilizers.
