Beneficial and Harmful Effects of Agricultural Industrialization

Many interactions exist between the intensification of production processes and the undesirable side and harmful effects that counter the interests of the common good. Economic advantages for primary producers and adverse external effects for the common good promote an ambivalence that varies greatly depending on the specific context of each farm. Accordingly, each farm is the reference system for assessing the discharge of pollutants into the environment in relation to the quantity of desirable products sold. The individual farm management decides which measures are implemented and thus is responsible for the ratio between positive and negative effects that may arise from this. Above all, this has to do with the farm-specific marginal utility processes. The following remarks outline the extent of the harmful effects caused by agriculture, primarily due to a one-sided economic orientation of the production processes. If the damaging effects are to be contained, it is essential to understand their magnitude and diversity and the driving forces behind their causation.