Modern food production is under the public spotlight and millions of people are discovering that their food choices really do matter! Although the drive to maximize farm productivity over the last 50 years has resulted in an abundance of so-called “cheap” food—especially meat—we now know industrial agriculture takes a costly toll on our health, the environment, biodiversity, animal welfare, rural economies and farming families.
HEALTH AND NUTRITION
Giving animals antibiotics routinely creates antibiotic-resistant suberbugs, putting the achievements of modern medicine at risk.
POLLUTION
Pollution from industrial livestock farms is an increasing public health concern, with pressure on farmers to intensify production.
CLIMATE CHANGE
When systems are evaluated as a whole and externalised costs are accounted for, industrial systems are clearly not “efficient” or climate-friendly.
WATER
Recent research shows that industrially farmed livestock consume and pollute more water resources than pasture-raised or grassfed systems.
ANIMAL WELFARE
Animal welfare is compromised routinely with practices like debeaking, forced molting, and lifelong confinement.
FARMERS AND WORKERS
Farmers under ‘captive contracts’ have very little choice or control over how they run their farming business.
SOIL
We’re losing 24 billion tonnes of fertile soil every single year as a result of unsustainable farming and soil management practices.
MISLEADING LABELS
Food label claims might sound positive, but may not always meet your expectations when it comes to animal welfare or the environment.
Take Positive Action
At AGW, our goal is to provide you with simple, straightforward solutions so you can choose foods that count when you’re shopping or dining out. Each of our farm certification programmes is designed to have positive and measurable impacts that encourage truly sustainable farming practices.
Find out more about the challenges we all face by selecting one of the issues above—or find out how YOU can be part of the solution here!
