You are here: > What can one do about agriculture? What can one do about agriculture? There are a number of things you can do to minimise your impact on the environment from agriculture. Here are some ideas: Buy organic. If you buy organic food, you are supporting agriculture that does not use chemical pesticides or fertilisers on the land. Genetically modified seed is not allowed in organic farming either. Organic tea and coffee are widely available, and clothes made from organic cotton or other natural materials are on the rise. If possible, join a local food box scheme and get local organic fruit and vegetables delivered on a regular basis.   Buy local. Utilise local farmers’ markets which are held widely. In some places, general markets where local farmers sell their products (usually farmed conventionally) are a regular town feature. The food is likely to be fresher as well as better from an environmental point of view, as less fuel is used in bringing the produce to point of sale. Use these if buying local organic food is not an option.   Grow your own food. Get access to an allotment or other plot of land (maybe with someone else as it can be daunting doing it on your own if you’re a beginner gardener) and plant lettuce, tomatoes (start indoors), potatoes, onions, kale or whatever takes your fancy. If you live in a city, grow herbs on a windowsill or balcony. You will get fresher, tastier food that way, and will know how they’ve been grown. Know what you’re buying. If you find produce with stickers on it, be aware that a four-digit number means that the product has been farmed conventionally (i.e. chemicals have almost definitely been used), five-digit numbers beginning with 9 mean that organic cultivation has been used, and 5-digit numbers beginning with 8 mean that the product has been genetically modified. Pick your own wild berries (the type will vary according to where you live) and wild mushrooms, if you are confident that you know which ones are both tasty and not poisonous. Both activities are great fun and get you out into nature as well. Some people have signs up outside their house if they have produce (or flowers) for sale. In some cases there is a donation box or else a price is suggested and people are trusted to put the correct money in. These are worth using. Pick-your-own farms mean that you get fresh produce but it may well have been farmed using chemicals. You could, however, ask a farm worker which chemicals have been used and how often the crop has been sprayed. Be vegetarian or vegan or, failing that, buy free-range produce and reduce your meat, fish and poultry consumption. In environmental terms, a vegetarian diet is much better. Grain (which may be genetically-modified) has to be grown specially to feed livestock, and livestock use a lot of water too. And they produce methane – a powerful greenhouse gas. UN figures suggest that meat production accounts for 18% of global carbon emissions. Animal waste from factory farms can also pollute rivers and groundwater supplies. Back