The future of agriculture must achieve several goals at the same time.
First, it now appears that we will have to double world food production in the next 40 years due to population growth, increasing meat consumption and pressure from biofuels (生物燃料). We will also have to reduce the environmental impacts from our farming practices, which have caused widespread damage to soils, ecosystems, waters and even the atmosphere. In fact, agriculture’s impacts are as bad as climate change as an environmental concern. Besides, we will have to improve food security for the world’s poor. While the Green Revolution of the 1960s made it possible to feed hundreds of millions more people than in earlier eras, the number of the under-nourished in the world has started to rise again. Finally, we will have to increase the recovering ability of agriculture from shocks. Today, our high-efficiency, globalized world has many benefits, but it is vulnerable (易受伤的) to destruction, whether from droughts, diseases or sudden price rises. We must start building better food systems to better keep us away from future shocks.
Currently, there are two models of agriculture: local and organic agriculture vs. globalized and industrialized agriculture. Each has been strongly supported and severely criticized, but neither of these models, standing alone, can fully meet our needs.
Organic agriculture teaches us important lessons about soils, nutrition and pest management. Unfortunately, organic food provides less than 1% of the world’s calories, mostly to the wealthy. It is hard to imagine organic farming developing to feed 9 billion. Globalized and industrialized agriculture has benefits of high output and low labor demands. Without it, billions of people would have starved. However, it has come with enormous environmental and social costs, which cannot be sustained.
Rather than voting for just one solution, we need a third way to solve the crisis. Let’s take ideas from both sides, creating new, hybrid solutions that increase production, save resources and build a more sustainable agriculture.
There are many promising avenues to pursue. A new “third way” for agriculture is not only possible but also necessary. Our problems are huge, and they will require everyone at the table, working together toward solutions.
1. How many goals of agriculture are mentioned in the passage?
A. Three B. Four C. Five D. Six
2. Which is true according to the passage?
A. Organic agriculture can feed most people in the world now.
B. Industrialized agriculture does no harm to our environment.
C. Modern farming is criticized while organic farming is not.
D. The future agriculture can’t only depend on organic agriculture.
3. We can learn from the passage that _______.
A. everyone can afford to enjoy organic food at will
B. we will vote to decide which farming system to take
C. the writer is quite optimistic about future agriculture
D. only experts can find a better agricultural solution
4. What’s the best title for the passage?
A. Organic Agriculture Vs. Industrialized Agriculture.
B. The Goals of Future Agriculture and Its Way Out.
C. A Third Possible and Necessary Way for Agriculture.
D. Modern Globalized and Industrialized Agriculture.
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