The aim of the study is to identify the different impacts of the economy and agriculture on the environment in the different countries in natural, historical, political and economic terms. Two countries were chosen as an example – the USA and China, and one group of countries – the European Union. The research used data from Faostat and the World Bank. It also used the author’s method of estimation of agricultural production, defined as the amount of energy expressed in kilocalories. Research showed that highly developed economies are highly polutogenic, but, on the other hand, they are effective, which means that the production of GDP entails relatively little pollution. In the case of agriculture, it was stated that productivity is determined primarily by demographic factors, mainly the density of population. It means that despite the differences in the level of development, the productivity of land is relatively high in China and the EU and lower in the USA. Basing on the analyses, a number of development dilemmas were pointed out, highlighting the social importance of multi-faceted security generated by the developed economy. At the same time, environmental threats were also identified.