Question: How much pollution is caused by agricultural farms in comparison to fossil fuels?

Gemma Barron answered on 12 Nov 2015:

Hi @dan.
Thank you for your interesting question. I’m not an expert on pollution or fossil fuels so I had to research my answer to your question a little.
I wasn’t able to find an exact figure for how much pollution is caused by agricultural farms compared to fossil fuels but, I did find out that agriculture is known to be the leading source of pollution in many countries around the world. This is because agricultural pollution is from a variety of different waste products e.g., abiotic sources (pesticides, fertilisers, heavy metals and problems with land management (water pollution or soil erosion)) or biotic sources (including greenhouse gases from animal poo, invasive of unwanted animal species, and genetically modified organisms). The use of pesticides and fertilisers has increased hugely since the 1950s and due to poor land management, the chemicals inside pesticides and fertilisers can run-off into rivers and lakes and contaminate fish and people too. They can also kill beneficial insects which are vital for our food production, e.g., bees. Both pollution from farms and fossil fuels is now tightly regulated and levels are controlled and monitored for each country in the world. I also know this because my dad is a farmer and the farm is checked routinely for pollution levels in the land.
I hope that answers your question and sorry that I wasn’t able to give you an exact number for pollution levels. Thanks, Gemma