IELTS Task 2 Academic: The use of fertilizers and machineries in food production

The increase in food production is mostly due to fertilizers and better machinery. Yet, some think that it harms human health and communities. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

It goes without saying that the proliferation of food products is mostly attributable to chemical substances and advanced machines. However, a number of people still regard them as detrimental to individuals’ well-being and society as a whole. In my opinion, the use of chemical substances and machinery shouldn’t be considered harmful by any means and, in turn, should be applied further to augment production.

Fertilizers and better machinery are an integral part of the world’s food production process. To elaborate, they provide the means necessary for agricultural products to increase rapidly in numbers, generating enough food to feed the whole population. Without them, there wouldn’t be an adequate replacement that yields enough food products to satisfy the ever-increasing rate of consumption. Africans would be a great case in point. Rather than incorporating chemical substances and autonomous machines into agriculture, they relied heavily on traditional farming practices to produce most of the food. As a result, they failed to cater for the needs of their population, which led to mass starvation.

Not only do they facilitate food production, but they have also significantly improved the community in other aspects. More precisely, fewer farmers are needed to grow and gather crops. This has encouraged the workforce to focus on other fields such as science and technology. Particularly, modern science has thrived on the premise that farm work could be done on a larger scale without requiring much manpower. Likewise, farming used to be a demanding and potentially hazardous job with little benefit to the practitioner. However, with the aid of fertilizers and modern machinery, farmers can now sit idly more than ever before. For example, there are milk machines for cows so that milkers wouldn’t need to do it by hand.

In conclusion, I firmly believe that fertilizers and machinery should be seen in a good light.