Food is a necessity, but we can change how it's produced and where it comes from. Much of the food available in grocery stores comes from large scale farms, using unsustainable practices. Many of these farms are monocrop farms with tiling and intensive agriculture. This greatly depletes the soil, making it unusable in the future. Along with soil depletion, these farms produce a ton of fossil fuel emissions in all stages of their business from producing crops to transportation and distribution. They also use extreme amounts of water. Switching to buying locally grown food is much better for the environment, as there are reduced emissions, since crops don't need to be transported as far, and there's often more variety, as monoculture is less prevalent, and intensive agriculture is less used with locally grown crops. With locally grown food, you also know much more about your food, as it is often grown without the use of pesticides and is much healthier than the crops of large scale monocrop farms. Currently, I don't grow my own food, but after learning more and more about agriculture in my environmental science class, I want to start, even if it's something as simple as planting a few fruit seeds in my backyard.

I agree with everything you said Valerie.  Large industrial mono crop agriculture is really harming our soil and the environment and Im afraid if big companies and people don't make changes, it could harm us for the future.  Thats why , even though I would buy a portion of my food from local farmers, I am going to try and be more aware of where my crops are coming from and the impact they have on the environment.  Same with you, after learning about soil depletion and growing my own garden, I may try and grow a few crops, then I know exactly how they are grown and what is being put into them.

Monocultures are particularly a problem in Russia, Australia and America, in Europe a crop rotation is prescribed by the EU, which is why I think that it should be stipulated by government and law. And it is also better if tomatoes grow on large farms in California than in small, heated greenhouses in Michigan.