good morning afternoon evening night whenever you're watching this welcome back to the Mr sin Channel today we're going to be talking about different consequences of agricultural practices now throughout history we've seen the impact of different agricultural practices after the first and second agricultural revolutions Farmers started to modify the Earth's surface to allow for sedentary agriculture which transformed the cultural landscape and local environments around the world after the Green Revolution more and more Farmers started relying on GMOs different chemical fertilizers pesticides herbicides antibiotics and growth hormones to grow and produce their food commercial agriculture expanded and focused on maximizing food output and profit which led to the rise of concentrated animal feeding operations which allowed Farmers to produce more food than ever before but it also led to health concerns over the quality of the food being produced concerns about pollution sustainability and ethical concerns over the treatment of animals today there is over 8 billion people on planet Earth so it's no secret that we as a species need to continue to find new ways to feed our growing population as more countries continue to advance economically we will continue to see increased demand for meats and luxury foods which will put pressure on our environment and burden our local ecosystems as we continue to push the boundaries of food production today changes in the climate and how we produce the food are impacting local environments around the world more places are becoming impacted by desertification deforestation soil salinization and water and air pollution desertification is when arable land deteriorates and becomes part of the desert this is often induced by different human activities for example in parts of the Middle East and Northern Africa we see pastoral nomads who migrate with their animals grazing on the land as they move this removes the vegetation in the area which allows for the desert to continue to slowly spread countries with rainforests or heavily wooded areas continue to see the impact of deforestation where the forests are being cut down and sold for lumber many countries that remove their forests or rainforests do so in order to generate profit on the lumber by trading with other countries newly cleared land is often used for farmland or to make room for future settlements today we can see that countries in the periphery or countries that are less economically developed are more likely to destroy their natural resources for economic gain in order to trade with countries that are more economically developed and are located in the core deforestation is also an issue in communities that use slash and burn agriculture hear the rainforest or Forest is cut down and burned in order to grow crops for the community this increases the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere and destroys unique ecosystem another environmental impact we can see is soil salinization this is when excessive amounts of salt accumulate in the oil killing the plant roots which makes it difficult for crops and plants to grow this could cause more water runoff and could lead to soil erosion all of which reduces the amount of arable land and allows for more water pollutants to impact local rivers lakes and oceans speaking of water runoff we can also see increased water pollution from water runoff when societies drain local Wetlands wetlands are unique ecosystems which act as a filter system for water runoff such as rain water or water from irrigation methods when they're destroyed it's often to build new settlements over the land or use the land for agricultural use all of which makes it easier for water containing pollutants to enter local bodies of water we can also look at the impact of irrigation which is when water has moved from one place to another in order to help grow crops and plants this is great for producing more crops and helping plant crops in areas that traditionally do not have access to fresh water but it can also deplete fresh water sources from other areas and lead to increased water pollution this is due due to fertilizers pesticides herbicides and manure and other pollutants getting into the water and running off into local bodies of water another type of Agriculture that reshapes the local environment is Terrace farming which can often be found in Southeast Asia and other places with mountains or large Hills this type of Agriculture is very labor intensive to create and is utilized in areas that need to maximize their arable land to feed their population but in doing so they transform the natural landscape if done correctly it can decrease the amount of water runoff and can help increase the amount of food production in an area now it's not all gloom and doom countries around the world are doing a lot to protect their natural environment today different people countries and organizations are working to restore Wetlands protect the rain forest replant trees clean our oceans pass policies to protect our air and water and regulate the use of chemicals and antibiotics in our food plus consumer demand around the world is Shifting to to free-range food organic food fair trade food and healthier food that is grown in environmentally safe and sustainable ways all right and there you have it another topic review video is done now comes the time to practice answer the questions on the screen and when you're done check your answers down below remember if you need more help with your AP human geography class check out my ultimate review packet it's a great resource that can help you get an A in your class and a five on that National exam as always I'm Mr sin thank you so much for watching and I'll see you next time online