Modern farming has helped feed the world, but along the way, the land has suffered, according to this video adapted from the series 'Race to Save the Planet.' When farmers grow too much too fast, topsoil is depleted. Farmers can work around this problem with fertilizers, irrigation, and pesticides, but these create new problems. Pesticides can harm wildlife, linger on fruits and vegetables, or wash into water supplies. Farmers are now finding new approaches to raising food, like diversifying crops, applying organic fertilizers, and finding alternatives to pesticides. Includes background essay and discussion questions. [1:23]

Concepts

organic farming

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Additional Tags

factory farms, pbs learningmedia, pbs learningmedia: environmental public health: factory farms and organic alternatives, non-point source contamination, point source contamination, farms/farming

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Classroom Considerations

• Knovation Readability Score: 4 (1 low difficulty, 5 high difficulty)
• The intended use for this resource is Instructional