NATURE UNDER PRESSURE / NATURE UNDER THE PRESSURE TO SUCCEED

A photographic field study / Oliver Mezger / March 2025

Since the 19th century, agriculture has evolved from a craft to a highly mechanized system. What once depended on weather and soil quality is now controlled by machines, fertilizers, and chemicals.
Industrialization brought higher yields, but also a growing dependence on technology. Since the 1950s, the use of nitrogen fertilizers and pesticides has steadily increased – with noticeable consequences for soils and ecosystems. Compacted soil, declining humus content, and weakened soil life reveal the downside of progress.
While more than half of Germany’s land area is now used for agriculture, ownership is increasingly concentrated in large farms. Between efficiency and depletion lies the question of the future of our cultural landscape – and the price of success.