Band 8 IELTS Essay Sample | Some People Believe That The Countryside Should Not Be Used For Building New Homes

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In many places, new homes are needed, but the only space available for building them is in the countryside. Some people believe it is more important to protect the countryside and not build new homes there. What is your opinion?

Band 8 IELTS Essay Sample

In many parts of the world, there has been an animated discussion about whether or not to build new homes in the countryside. Some people argue that building new houses in the countryside is less important than the protection of these zones. I agree with this view. In my opinion, the countryside is the most important place for any civilization because it is where the majority of food and cattle grow to feed people in the cities.

Developing suburbs in those areas that are being used for an agricultural purpose might have egregious consequences for the cities. Farmers have been growing crops in these places for many decades or even centuries. They know the weather patterns and the soil conditions of these places. Building new homes in these areas could create a huge problem for farmers as they may have to relocate to an unknown zone. Since they do not know the soil conditions or the weather patterns of the new place, they may get a poor harvest which will lead to an increase in the price of essential items. To illustrate, in 2014 The Daily Mail reported that in Geelong, Australia the use of farmland for building purposes caused rice prices to skyrocket as production was halved. This forced Australians to buy rice from overseas at higher prices than they used to buy before the new development.

Farm animals will have to be relocated to new lands if the space available is assigned to new developments. Animals living in the countryside have a certain type of grass or food in their diet, and these nutrients might not be available in the new location. This could lead to many diseases and an increase in veterinarian expenses. For example, a study done by The University of California showed that in San Diego the relocation of cattle added a new type of bacteria to the milk. This caused the waste of more than one million liters of milk and the hospitalization of several people.

To conclude, in my point of view, the preservation of countryside is vital for the survival of human beings and using this space for the purpose of building new living spaces might create consequences that are going to cost more than finding new locations for these properties to be built. Crops might be affected, production may reduce and animals may develop new diseases that might also affect the inhabitants of the area.