What are the biggest ecological problems in today's agriculture? 1. Land consumption 2. Water consumption 3. Intensive agriculture What are the solutions for sustainable agriculture? 1. Organic and integrated agriculture 2. Certified agricultural raw materials 3. Plant based diet & alternatives 4. AgriTech and innovation

1. The three biggest problems of today's
agriculture and possible solutions

2. What are the biggest ecological
problems in today's agriculture?

3. Today’s agriculture covers almost 50% of the fertile soil globally. 32% is used to grow crops
such as grain, vegetables, palm oil and cotton. The remaining 68% is used as grazing land
for animal farming. As a result, agriculture has displaced large parts of natural systems
such as forests, grasslands and wetlands over the past 5000 years.
1. Land consumption
Quelle: OurWolrdinData.org, „Humanity destroyed one third of the world‘s forests by expanding agricultural land“

4. Land consumption per 100 grams of proteins in m2
Quelle: Poore, J. & Nemecek, T. (2018) & OurWolrdinData.org

5. Agriculture is responsible for approximately 70% of global freshwater consumption. The high
consumption in dry regions is particularly problematic. For example, the Doñana nature reserve
in southern Spain is increasingly drying out due to the enormous water consumption of Europe's
fruit and vegetable chamber.
2. Water consumption
Quelle: OurWolrdinData.org, „What are the environmental impacts of food and agriculture?“

6. Water consumption per kilogram of food
Quelle: Poore, J. & Nemecek, T. (2018) & OurWolrdinData.org

7. The majority of agriculture in industrialized and emerging countries is geared to the highest
possible crop yields. The problem here is the open material cycle. It means that fossil
fertilizers and pesticides are used on huge monocultures. Both cause lasting damage to the
soil and biodiversity.
3. Intensive agriculture

8. Global fertilizer consumption 1961-2019
Quelle: United States Department for Agriculture & OurWorldinData.org

9. What are the solutions for sustainable
agriculture?

10. Organic and integrated agriculture have the common goal of working with nature and not against
it. They are characterized by little or no use of fossil pesticides and fertilizers, a broader diversity
of plants, and integrative cultivation measures such as mixed cultivation. This protects the soil
and biodiversity and reduces the chemicals in our food.
1. Organic and integrated agriculture
#Organic

11. Standards and labels such as the Rainforest Alliance for southern products, FSC for the timber
industry, RSPO for palm oil or RTRS for soya are maybe not the ultimate solution, but they help
get the wider economy on a more sustainable course and are an important step in the right
direction.
2. Certified agricultural raw materials
#CertifiedFood
#CertifiedRawMaterials
#TreeLove

12. Plant-based food has a much smaller environmental footprint (less CO2, water and land
consumption) compared to the animal-based counterpart.
3. Plant based diet & alternatives
#PlantbasedFood
#GoVegan

13. Indoor and vertical farming, precision farming using the latest technologies and other innovations
can significantly reduce the ecological footprint of agriculture and even help to increase
productivity.
4. AgriTech and innovation
#AgriTech
#InnovationForGood

14. Together we contribute to sustainable
agriculture by:
• conscious consumption
• and investing in the solutions with us.
Find out how to do this at radicant.com