Intensive methods of pastoral farming cause some of the largest impacts on water quality in the world. The EPA National water quality inventory in 2000 identified agricultural practices being the source of 48% of pollution in stream and river water and 41% for lake water.

Source: Planetsave.com

This water degradation and pollution is a huge problem not only in the USA but in all countries that intensively farm livestock. The pollution of water can have seriously detrimental impacts on the aquatic ecosystem as well as human health! 

The most predominant way in which this agricultural practice effects water is through poor management of this waste (Ackerman and Taylor 1995). 

The EPA estimates that a dairy farm with 2,500 cows will produce the same volume of  waste as that of a city with population of 411,000 residents! Furthermore, it is estimated that  220 billion gallons of animal waste is dumped into the environment each year!

So this is a very pungent problem indeed!

I am going to talk about the problem of waste management in my upcoming posts. 

Firstly, looking at the human and mechanical aspect of poor waste handling. Then taking a look at what role the animals themselves play in terms of directly impacting the water system.

Welcome to my blog! 

This blog is going to primarily tackle the environmental impacts of intensive pastoral farming and will also, inevitably, touch upon the social and moral issues associated with such practices.

As I currently understand, the environmental ramifications of intensive agriculture are varied and extensive. However, over the course of this blog I want to delve deeper into the subject to discover, clarify and ultimately share my findings on the true magnitude of the effect on our planet. Determining if we are truly entering an environmental Apocowylpse!!

I plan on assessing a range of material, from academic texts to social media posts to expose the truth behind this controversial but somewhat ignored topic. 

Intensive farming practices have been described as one of the 'elephant in the room' issues, this is because - myself included - we tend to turn a blind eye to our monstrous meat consumption, even though we have been clearly told about, not only in some cases, the inhuman treatment of farmed animals, but the detrimental impacts it has. Additionally, with meat consumption estimated to double from the amount in 2000 by 2050 by The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation, it looks unlikely that our attitude is changing. 

As a Environmental Geosciences student at UCL I have a keen interest in the preservation of the environment, but as a carnivore I enjoy eating meat. However, I have considered potentially becoming a vegetarian for a few years because of some rudimentary knowledge of the unsavoury impacts of the farming. 

Please join me on this journey of agricultural enlightenment! Maybe we can discover the ways to create a healthier planet and perhaps even a healthier me and you!

I found this eye opening video on youtube which touches on some of the questions I am endeavouring to expand upon, so please give it a watch for a 'taste' of things to come!