{"id":"https://thebreakthrough.org/issue/industrial-agriculture","schemaVersion":2,"name":"Industrial Agriculture","category":"Food","url":"https://thebreakthrough.org/issue/industrial-agriculture","json":"https://thebreakthrough.org/issue/industrial-agriculture.json","ask":"","position":"You can’t have modern life without modern agriculture. And modern agriculture is not the problem that critics make it out to be. Industrial agriculture, which leverages technology and scale to produce more food on less land, is the only way to feed a growing global population without using up every last acre of land. Alternative systems, like organic, regenerative, and agroecology, may appear “gentler” on local environments, but these approaches have significant yield penalties. Industrial systems may appear to be less “natural,” but by producing more food on less land, modern agriculture actually spares land elsewhere, protecting forests, wetlands, and biodiversity, all while providing the world with affordable, nutritious food.","faq":[{"question":"What is industrial agriculture?","answer":"Industrial agriculture is large-scale, highly productive farming that uses modern machinery, fertilizers, pesticides, improved crops, irrigation, and specialized livestock systems. These technologies have made food more abundant and affordable while increasing productivity and helping spare land by producing more food per acre."},{"question":"Is industrial agriculture bad?","answer":"Not inherently. Industrial agriculture can contribute to pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and soil degradation. But it also makes food more abundant and affordable while producing more on less land. Modern technologies and farming practices reduce environmental impacts without sacrificing agricultural productivity."},{"question":"Can industrial agriculture be sustainable?","answer":"Yes. Industrial agriculture can become more sustainable by producing more food with less land, water, fertilizer, and other resources. Technologies like precision agriculture, improved crops, and efficient irrigation can reduce environmental impacts while maintaining the high productivity needed to feed billions."},{"question":"Why do factory farms exist?","answer":"Factory farms produce large quantities of meat, dairy, and eggs efficiently and affordably. Concentrating animals can lower production costs and use land efficiently."}],"experts":[{"name":"Dan Blaustein-Rejto","url":"https://thebreakthrough.org/people/dan-blaustein-rejto"},{"name":"Ted Nordhaus","url":"https://thebreakthrough.org/people/ted-nordhaus"},{"name":"Alex Smith","url":"https://thebreakthrough.org/people/alex-smith"}],"startHere":[{"title":"The Problem With Alice Waters and the “Slow Food” Movement","url":"https://thebreakthrough.org/issues/food-agriculture-environment/the-problem-with-alice-waters-and-the-slow-food-movement","date":"2021-12-03"},{"title":"The Environmental Case for Industrial Agriculture","url":"https://thebreakthrough.org/issues/food-agriculture-environment/the-environmental-case-for-industrial-agriculture","date":"2015-06-08"},{"title":"Can Industrial Food Be Part of the Food Movement?","url":"https://thebreakthrough.org/issues/food-agriculture-environment/can-industrial-food-be-part-of-the-food-movement","date":"2016-10-13"}],"latest":[{"title":"The Clock Is Ticking for Glyphosate","url":"https://thebreakthrough.org/issues/food-agriculture-environment/the-clock-is-ticking-for-glyphosate","date":"2026-01-16","type":"Analysis"},{"title":"Big Agriculture Dodged a Bullet with the New MAHA Strategy","url":"https://thebreakthrough.org/issues/food-agriculture-environment/big-agriculture-dodged-a-bullet-with-the-new-maha-strategy","date":"2025-10-06","type":"Analysis"},{"title":"MAHA: Making Agriculture Harder for All","url":"https://thebreakthrough.org/issues/food-agriculture-environment/maha-making-agriculture-harder-for-all","date":"2025-09-26","type":"Analysis"},{"title":"Mythbusting MAHA: A Reality Check on Glyphosate","url":"https://thebreakthrough.org/issues/food-agriculture-environment/mythbusting-maha-a-reality-check-on-glyphosate","date":"2025-05-27","type":"Analysis"},{"title":"Mythbusting MAHA’s claims about food and farming","url":"https://thebreakthrough.org/issues/food-agriculture-environment/mythbusting-mahas-claims-about-food-and-farming","date":"2025-04-07","type":"Analysis"},{"title":"Can RFK Kneecap American Agriculture?","url":"https://thebreakthrough.org/issues/food-agriculture-environment/can-rfk-kneecap-american-agriculture","date":"2024-12-13","type":"Analysis"},{"title":"Cheap Food Is The Only Option","url":"https://thebreakthrough.org/issues/food-agriculture-environment/cheap-food-is-the-only-option","date":"2024-10-18","type":"Analysis"},{"title":"The West Needs to Come to Grips with African Fertilizer Needs","url":"https://thebreakthrough.org/issues/food-agriculture-environment/the-west-needs-to-come-to-grips-with-african-fertilizer-needs","date":"2024-04-29","type":"Analysis"},{"title":"The Limits of Soil Carbon Sequestration","url":"https://thebreakthrough.org/issues/food-agriculture-environment/carbon-farming","date":"2020-03-09","type":"Analysis"},{"title":"The Environmental Case for Synthetic Fertilizer","url":"https://thebreakthrough.org/issues/food-agriculture-environment/synthetic-fertilizer-infographic","date":"2019-05-06","type":"Analysis"}],"policyHub":"https://thebreakthrough.org/policy?topics=pesticides-2","policyAreas":[{"slug":"pesticides-2","name":"Pesticides","records":1,"url":"https://thebreakthrough.org/policy?topics=pesticides-2"}],"policyRecords":[{"id":263491,"title":"The Clock Is Ticking for Glyphosate","url":"https://thebreakthrough.org/issues/food-agriculture-environment/the-clock-is-ticking-for-glyphosate","type":"Analysis","date":"2026-01-16","stance":"none","subject":"","subjectUrl":"","summary":"","authors":"Emily Bass"}],"dateModified":"2026-11-12T08:26:15-08:00"}