Industrial farms are normally viewed negatively, so to say I was skeptical about how they are "good for the environment" is an understatement. I was intrigued by the idea that the introduction of new technologies by large agricultural companies “has helped make them much more environmentally friendly than at any other time in history.” I would never have associated this statement with large agricultural companies. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Precision farming is definitely a great start to having more sustainable agriculture, and using less fertilizer helps keep nitrogen out of our streams. It's great that they're trying to repurpose animal waste by using it to produce electricity, but that still produces a greenhouse gas. I think it's important to note that obviously we have better technology today than we did in the 1950s, but there were fewer people then. Now farmers have to somehow provide food for 7 billion people, so they try to grow as much food as possible using the least amount of resources. “Big farms put profit above soil and animal health.” While this may be true in some places, I would never think of using clover and alfalfa to help with nitrogen fixation. No matter what we do, we will probably always need to use some type of herbicide or pesticide on the plants to protect them from pests. Obviously producing a “greener” pesticide is desirable and is something I think we should consider for the future. For now, I agree with the author that using a “safer, less toxic herbicide” is better than nothing. GMOs have been mentioned as a positive attribute on farms, but I think they haven't been studied enough to decide whether they are good or bad. On the downside, we've probably all seen the movie Food, Inc., a documentary about how corporations took control of the food industry, changing American diets, and the problem of large-scale animal processing plants. stairs. I am a meat eater but would like to know where my meat comes from. For this reason, for the past two years my parents and I have purchased beef from a small local farm where the cows were grass-fed. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Before majoring in environmental studies, I had never thought about what ethics and morals speak to me. Being in high school has helped me think about what I value; my ideas were challenged, which was hard to accept at first, but then you start to realize what you've been missing and start looking at the world in a different light. The knowledge that you are eating a once “living, breathing creature” is unsettling, but as sad as I may feel eating meat; it's ingrained in me to do this from my parents. I can and may one day make the switch to a plant-based diet, but I want to wait until I know I'm ready to make the switch.