Welcome back to The Agriculture Season, our new series that explores the food on your plate, how it got there, and its global impact on the environment, social justice, and the economy.

In this episode (EP 2), we're explaining industrial agriculture (modern agriculture methods) and it's impact on the planet and people.

Sources cited in this episode:

https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/ag-and-food-statistics-charting-the-essentials/ag-and-food-sectors-and-the-economy

https://abcnews.com/Technology/borlaug-saved-millions-hunger-dies/story?id=8595855#:~:text=He%20was%20known%20as%20the,%E2%80%94%20a%20much%20better%20place.%22

https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/life-in-soil.html

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10969708/

https://www.undrr.org/understanding-disaster-risk/terminology/hips/en0019

https://ourworldindata.org/soil-lifespanshttps://www.valleyagvoice.com/regenerative-agriculture-offers-long-term-solutions-for-central-valley/

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8801175/https://foodtank.com/news/2020/02/24-organizations-finding-food-justice/

https://agriculture.ec.europa.eu/data-and-analysis/markets/outlook/medium-term_en

https://sustainablefoodtrust.org/news-views/george-monbiots-critique-of-grazing-livestock-its-not-the-cow-but-the-how-the-sustainable-food-trust-responds/

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The views, opinions, and statements expressed by guests in this episode are solely those of the individuals speaking and do not represent the views, opinions, or positions of Hotel Earth 360°, Ariana Halvaei or Alexandria Moorehead.

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To stay on top of Hotel Earth 360° updates, check out our links below

Substack: https://hotelearth360.substack.com/

Instagram: @hotelearth360

TikTok: @hotelearth360

Website: hotelearth360.com

To receive the Hotel Earth newsletter, for environmental news, episode announcements, book club updates, and more, subscribe to our Substack: https://hotelearth360.substack.com/subscribe

📧 For business inquiries: [email protected]

Welcome to The Agriculture Season, our new series that explores the food on your plate, how it got there, and its global impact on the environment, social justice, and the economy. This first episode explains why we chose to dive into this industry and gives a big-picture reality check of the current system.

Time stamps:

3:17 Intro

9:15 Ari's "why agriculture?"

16:17 Lexi's "why agriculture?"

22:24 Modern agriculture

28:40 Agriculture history lesson

39:44 Voices from the industry

47:00 (Some) farming setbacks

52:06 Wrap-up and details about next episode

Sources:

https://restpublisher.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/26.-Modern-Farming-Practices-Balancing-Productivity-and-Environmental-Impact-1.pdf

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/industrial-agriculture#:~:text=Industrial%20agriculture%20is%20defined%20as,biofuels%2C%20and%20processed%20food%20ingredients.

https://www.nrdc.org/stories/industrial-agriculture-101#:~:text=There%20is%20soil%20depletion%20and,leaches%20from%20a%20manure%20pile.

https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/agriculture#:~:text=Agriculture%20is%20the%20practice%20of,Revolution%2C%20leading%20to%20increased%20productivity.

https://professionale.saissementi.it/en/news/english-the-evolution-of-agriculture-from-1-0-to-4-0/#:~:text=Agriculture%2C%20the%20backbone%20of%20human,and%20productivity%20in%20all%20crops.

https://www.britannica.com/technology/Haber-Bosch-process#:~:text=Haber%2DBosch%20process%2C%20method%20of,favouring%20product%20formation%20is%20maintained.

_________________________________________

The views, opinions, and statements expressed by guests in this episode are solely those of the individuals speaking and do not represent the views, opinions, or positions of Hotel Earth 360°, Ariana Halvaei or Alexandria Moorehead.

_________________________________________

To stay on top of Hotel Earth 360° updates, check out our links below

Substack: https://hotelearth360.substack.com/

Instagram: @hotelearth360

TikTok: @hotelearth360

Website: hotelearth360.com

To receive the Hotel Earth newsletter, for environmental news, episode announcements, book club updates, and more, subscribe to our Substack: https://hotelearth360.substack.com/su...

📧 For business inquiries: [email protected]

An episode inspired by the question "What if we get it right?" Let’s explore a future together with less plastic.

Learn more at ⁠⁠HotelEarth360⁠⁠

Sources:

• ⁠⁠https://www.thecooldown.com/green-business/unep-environment-plastic-pollution-waste/⁠⁠
• ⁠⁠https://www.unep.org/resources/turning-off-tap-end-plastic-pollution-create-circular-economy⁠⁠
• ⁠⁠https://blog.cleanhub.com/how-much-plastic-is-recycled#:~:text=09%20%7C%20Summary-,How%20much%20plastic%20is%20recycled%20worldwide%3F,landfill%2C%20or%20polluting%20the%20environment.⁠⁠
• ⁠⁠https://www.oecd.org/en/about/news/press-releases/2022/02/plastic-pollution-is-growing-relentlessly-as-waste-management-and-recycling-fall-short.html⁠⁠
• ⁠⁠https://www.goclimate.com/blog/sustianable-fashion-material-guide/⁠⁠
• ⁠⁠What If We Get It Right?⁠⁠ By Ayana Elizabeth Johnson

An episode inspired by the question "What if we get it right?" Let’s explore a future together with less plastic.

Learn more at ⁠HotelEarth360⁠

Sources:

• ⁠https://www.thecooldown.com/green-business/unep-environment-plastic-pollution-waste/⁠
• ⁠https://www.unep.org/resources/turning-off-tap-end-plastic-pollution-create-circular-economy⁠
• ⁠https://blog.cleanhub.com/how-much-plastic-is-recycled#:~:text=09%20%7C%20Summary-,How%20much%20plastic%20is%20recycled%20worldwide%3F,landfill%2C%20or%20polluting%20the%20environment.⁠
• ⁠https://www.oecd.org/en/about/news/press-releases/2022/02/plastic-pollution-is-growing-relentlessly-as-waste-management-and-recycling-fall-short.html⁠
• ⁠https://www.goclimate.com/blog/sustianable-fashion-material-guide/⁠
• ⁠What If We Get It Right?⁠ By Ayana Elizabeth Johnson

An episode inspired by the question "What if we get it right?" Let’s explore a future together with less plastic.

Learn more at HotelEarth360

Sources:

• https://www.thecooldown.com/green-business/unep-environment-plastic-pollution-waste/
• https://www.unep.org/resources/turning-off-tap-end-plastic-pollution-create-circular-economy
• https://blog.cleanhub.com/how-much-plastic-is-recycled#:~:text=09%20%7C%20Summary-,How%20much%20plastic%20is%20recycled%20worldwide%3F,landfill%2C%20or%20polluting%20the%20environment.
• https://www.oecd.org/en/about/news/press-releases/2022/02/plastic-pollution-is-growing-relentlessly-as-waste-management-and-recycling-fall-short.html
• https://www.goclimate.com/blog/sustianable-fashion-material-guide/
• What If We Get It Right? By Ayana Elizabeth Johnson

In need of inspiration? Look no further.

People make a difference.

Learn more at ⁠HotelEarth360⁠

Sources:

• https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/managing-reducing-waste/reduce-plastic-waste/canada-action.html

• https://www.marcachile.cl/en/dia-sin-bolsas-plasticas-mas-de-100-paises-prohiben-su-uso-y-chile-fue-el-primero-en-la-region/

• https://www.forbes.com/sites/christophermarquis/2025/01/14/ikeas-circular-economy-redefining-sustainability-in-the-furniture-industry/

• https://theoceancleanup.com/

• https://www.unep.org/championsofearth/laureates/2016/afroz-shah

• https://oneplasticbag.com/the-women/

• https://imagine5.com/interview/melati-wijsen-the-teen-activist-who-got-plastic-banned-on-bali/

• https://www.plasticfreejuly.org/thanks-for-taking-part/

• https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/45358683 

• https://www.youthvgov.org/

• https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/press-release/historic-day-campaign-beat-plastic-pollution-nations-commit-develop

• https://www.basel.int/implementation/plasticwaste/amendments/overview/tabid/8426/default.aspx

• https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2023/08/09/1190211814/the-toughest-plastic-bag-ban-is-failing-a-tale-of-smugglers-dumps-and-dying-goat#:~:text=In%202017%2C%20Kenya%20passed%20a,and%20other%20products%20were%20exempted.

• https://www.solubagusa.com/

• https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/evaluating-existing-substances/science-assessment-plastic-pollution.html

• https://www.ikea.com/us/en/this-is-ikea/sustainable-everyday/a-circular-ikea-making-the-things-we-love-last-longer-pub9750dd90/

Spoiler: it's in your brain.

Learn more at HotelEarth360

Sources:

Come with us on an exploration of conflicting interests and the nexus between problem-solving and industry.

Learn more at https://hotelearth360.com/

Sources:

• https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.aax0587

• https://tos.org/oceanography/article/the-story-of-plastic-pollution-from-the-distant-ocean-gyres-to-the-global-policy-stage#:~:text=The%20first%20scientific%20findings%20of,Carpenter%20and%20Smith%2C%201972). 

• https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/plastic-waste-accumulated-in-oceans?time=earliest..2019 

• https://ourworldindata.org/waste-management 

• https://eeb.utoronto.ca/profile/rochman-chelsea-m/

• https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/gyre.html

• https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/great-pacific-garbage-patch/ 

• https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/what-is-the-anthropocene.html

• https://e360.yale.edu/digest/bugs-are-evolving-to-eat-plastic-study-finds

• https://ourworldindata.org/plastic-pollution?insight=better-waste-management-is-key-to-ending-plastic-pollution#key-insights

• https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/a-fierce-green-fire-timeline-of-environmental-movement/2988/ 

• https://www.epa.gov/history/milestones-epa-and-environmental-history 

• https://www.britannica.com/story/a-timeline-of-environmental-history

Ever wondered where modern plastics came from? Or how they infiltrated every aspect of our lives? Listen and wonder no more.

Learn more at https://hotelearth360.com/

Sources:

• https://plasticoceans.org/the-facts/#:~:text=We%20are%20producing%20over%20380,at%20least%20several%20hundred%20years.

• https://theoceancleanup.com/great-pacific-garbage-patch/#:~:text=ESTIMATION%20OF%20SIZE,times%20the%20size%20of%20France.&text=To%20formulate%20this%20number%2C%20the,elaborate%20sampling%20method%20ever%20coordinated.

• https://ourworldindata.org/plastic-pollution

• https://www.statista.com/statistics/282732/global-production-of-plastics-since-1950/

• https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/tupperware-plastics/

• https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/objects-and-stories/chemistry/age-plastic-parkesine-pollution

• https://www.sciencehistory.org/education/classroom-activities/role-playing-games/case-of-plastics/history-and-future-of-plastics/

• https://youtu.be/9GMbRG9CZJw?si=E1leT9GSchbBkLTn

• https://www.ciel.org/news/fossil-fuel-and-chemical-industries-at-inc-3/ 

• https://www.huffpost.com/entry/vintage-ads-plastic_n_5cdb1768e4b01e9bd3540ffa 

• https://repurpose.global/blog/post/how-plastic-lobbying-can-be-a-powerful-tool-for-corporations 

• https://www.ciel.org/news/fossil-fuel-and-chemical-industries-at-inc-3/ 

We are back.

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