Imagine a family farm on a small plot of land and a huge commercial farm that spans acres and acres of land. What do you think makes these two types of farms different? Although both of these farms are designed to produce food, they vary in the methods of production, the amount of food they produce and who consumes the food produced.

Industrialized agriculture is the type of agriculture where large quantities of crops and livestock are produced through industrialized techniques for the purpose of sale. The goal of industrialized agriculture is to increase crop yield, which is the amount of food that is produced for each unit of land. Crops and livestock made through this type of agriculture are produced to feed the masses and the products are sold worldwide. The chemical fertilizers that are used in industrialized agriculture often add inorganic nutrients to the soil to increase yield and plant size. The use of pesticides is also common in industrialized agriculture, and most pesticides help increase yield by killing pests that are harming or consuming the crops. Another farming technique that is used in industrialized agriculture is the method of growing monocultures, which is when a single crop is planted on a large scale. Although planting monocultures can increase overall yield, this method of farming is also more susceptible to disease and causes a reduction in the dietary variation of consumers.

Although industrialized agriculture is necessary to feed the growing human population, there is another type of agriculture that is regularly practiced today. Subsistence agriculture is when a farmer lives on a small amount of land and produces enough food to feed his or her household and have a small cash crop. The goal of subsistence agriculture is to produce enough food to ensure the survival of the individual family. If there is excess food produced, it is sold locally to other families or individuals.