No, "something the system demands" is not a useful definition of anything. "The system" demands people have food to eat. Survival is not profit in any meaningful sense.
The parent used the term profits to distinguish free-market and state-controlled activities, and to assert that state-controlled food production has historically been just as environmentally damaging.
The parent used the term profits to distinguish free-market and state-controlled activities, and to assert that state-controlled food production has historically been just as environmentally damaging.