Title: Community health risks of industrial agriculture | Healthy food playbook
Headings: Community health risks of industrial agriculture
Community health risks of industrial agriculture
Takeaways
Agricultural practices and environmental health risks
Industrial agricultural inputs and risks
Fertilizer
Pesticides
Antibiotics
Public health impacts of agricultural practices
Water pollution
Air pollution
Climate health and greenhouse gas emissions
Antimicrobial resistance
Food system vulnerability
Farmworkers in the United States
Health risks for agricultural workers
Mobile Clinic: Bassett Health, Cooperstown, New York
Recommended practices for hospital community health engagement
Water quality
Air quality
Farmworker and farm owner health
Beyond community benefit
Partners
Learn more

Content: Farmworkers and owners face a myriad of health risks, including chronic and acute exposure to pesticides, high risk of injury, and limited access to health care. Routine antibiotic use in animal agriculture contributes to antibiotic resistance, diminishing the effectiveness of these drugs for human use. Agricultural contaminants, including pesticides, nitrates, and phosphorus, impact ground and surface water quality, affecting both urban and rural communities. Synthetic fertilizers deplete soil health and require intensive use of fossil fuels to produce. Emissions and pollution resulting from all stages of agriculture, from production (pesticide drift and methane) to distribution (carbon dioxide) affect air quality and contribute to climate change. While rural communities and farm owners and workers face the most immediate risks from these practices, the overall impact is far-reaching. Air and water pollution from agriculture affects communities over vast areas (rural and urban), and the impacts of antimicrobial resistance and climate change transcend geography. Agricultural practices and environmental health risks
Large-scale, conventional farming focuses on intensive single crop production, mechanization, and depends on fossil fuels, pesticides, antibiotics, and synthetic fertilizers. While this system yields high production levels, it also contributes to climate change, pollutes air and water, and depletes soil fertility. The policies and practices underlying this system contribute to the epidemic of obesity and diet-related disease in the United States, and the health impacts of this system extend well-beyond diet.