Transcript Chapter 11
FEEDING THE WORLD Chapter 11 A Farm Where Animals do Most of the Work • Joel Salatin • Calls self a grass farmer • Grass – Cows – Larvae/ grubs – Chickens • Winter farming • Cows – corn – pigs • Using natural food chains • Purpose of talking about this… Implications for feeding the world Global Undernutrition • Why are malnutrition and undernutrition on the rise? Nutritional Requirements, terminology • Food security vs. food insecurity • 3 major food problems • Undernutrition – not consuming enough calories to be healthy. • Malnutrition – not having the proper nutrient ratio • Overnutrition – consuming too many calories/improper foods • Famine – when food scarcity is so extreme that large numbers of deaths occur in a given area over a relatively short period of time • Anemia Breaking Down Human Food Consumption • #1 component: grains • Grains – seed-like fruits of corn, rice, wheat and rye • #2 component: meat • Defined as… • Consumption is on the rise • Everything else Reasons for Undernutrition and Malnutrition • Current grain production is sufficient to feed 8 billion • So why is there undernurioushed and malnourished people? • #1 reason – poverty • Political factors • Economic factors • Using grain to feed livestock (corn and soy) • Human population is set to grow to 9 billion • Time for change? Energy and Agriculture • Energy subsidy – energy input per calorie of food produced The Green Revolution • Advent of Agriculture • Domestication of animals, cultivation of soil and selective breeding • Lead to environmental degradation on a larger scale • Started a positive feedback loop • Green revolution – new management techniques and mechanization as well as the triad of fertilization, irrigation, and improved crop varieties • Has increased food production dramatically • Norman Borlaug - selective breeding • Technology spread • Result: Green Revolution – 5 components: • Mechanization • Irrigation • Fertilizers • Mono-cropping • Pesticides Mechanization • Mechanization – cheaper to buy a machine once than it is to pay 100 workers every day • Positives: • Negatives: Irrigation • Irrigation – artificial application of water to the land or soil • Makes unprofitable land profitable • Problems • Waterlogging- when the soil remains under water for prolonged periods which impairs root growth because the roots cannot get oxygen • Salinization- when the small amounts of salts in irrigation water become highly concentrated on the soil surface through evaporation Fertilizer • Fertilizers – provide limiting nutrients to plants • Organic fertilizers- organic matter from plants and animals • Typically made from animal manure that has been allowed to decompose • Contribute more than just nutrients – CEC • Inorganic fertilizers (synthetic)- fertilizers that are produced commercially • Produced by combusting natural gas, which allows nitrogen from the atmosphere to be fixed and captured in fertilizer • Benefits: • Downsides: Monocropping • Growing a large amount of a single species of plant • Common practice in US • Benefits: • Downsides: Pesticides, Terminology • Pesticide- a substance that kills or controls organisms that people consider pests • Types based on target organism: • Insecticides – • Herbicides – • Fungicides – • Bactericides - Characteristics of Pesticides • Selectivity: • Broadspectrum - designed to kill many different types of pests. • Selective pesticides - designed to kill a narrower range of organisms • Persistence: • Persistent- pesticides that remain in the environment a long time. • Nonpersistent- pesticide that breaks down relatively rapidly, usually in weeks to months Pesticide Problems • Death to beneficial organisms • Non-persistent pesticides problems • Bioaccumulation – when chemical builds up over time in the fatty tissues of individuals • Caused by persistence • Substance is fat-soluble so it is attracted to fatty tissue • Example: DDT built up in the bodies of bald eagles and caused weakened eggs to be laid Pesticide Problems, con Pesticide Treadmill • Resistance- pest populations may evolve resistance to a pesticide over time • Pesticide treadmill- the cycle of pesticide development followed by pest resistance, followed by development of a new pesticide What are GMOs? • GMOs are created by taking a gene from one organism and inserting it into another organism Benefits of Genetic Engineering • Greater yield • Greater food quality • Reductions in pesticide use • Reduction of world hunger • Increased profits Concerns about Genetically Modified Organisms • Safety for human consumption • Effects on biodiversity • Who owns the seed? Concerns about Genetically Modified Organisms, con • Regulation of genetically modified organisms Labeling GMOs? How to be an informed consumer… Farming Methods • Conventional agriculture- industrial agriculture where labor is reduced and machinery is used • aka. Industrial agriculture • Traditional farming- still used in the developing world where human labor is used and not machinery • Shifting agriculture- used in areas with nutrient poor soils. • It involves planting an area for a few years until the land is depleted of nutrients and then moving to another area and repeating the process • Problems… • Nomatic grazing- moving herds of animals to find productive feeding grounds • Problems… Desertification • Desertification- when soil is degraded by agriculture to the point at which they are not longer productive. Sustainable Agriculture • Sustainable agriculture- producing enough food to feed the world’s population without destroying the land, polluting the environment, or reducing biodiversity • Practices include: • Intercropping- two or more crop species are planted in the same field at the same time • Crop rotation- rotating crops species from season to season • Benefits… • Agroforestry- intercropping trees with vegetables • Benefits… • Contour plowing- plowing and harvesting parallel to the land to prevent erosion. No-till Agriculture • No-till agriculture - helps to stop soil degradation by leaving crop residues in the fields and not tilling the land after each harvest. • Detriment of plowing? • Solution… leave crop roots in the soil to hold the soil in place • Benefits: • Ecological downside: Integrated Pest Management • Integrated pest management- using a variety of techniques designed to minimize pesticide inputs. • Crop rotation • Intercropping • Planting pest resistant crop varieties • Creating habitats for predators • Limited use of pesticides Organic Agriculture • Organic agriculture- production of crops without the use of synthetic pesticides or fertilizers • 5 Principles: • Use ecological principles … • Keep as much organic matter and as many nutrients in the soil /on farm • Avoid synthetic fertilizers/pesticides • Maintain the soil • Reduce the adverse environmental effects of agriculture • Costly • OFPA (1990) • Environmental Cost • Requires tilling • Flame the soil to get rid of plant seeds High-Density Animal Farming • CAFOs (concentrated animal feeding operations) – large structures where animals are being raised in high density numbers • Benefits: • Difficulties Sustainable Animal Farming • Advantages • Less of moral issue • Manure is evenly spread • Reduced disease • Fewer fossil fuels • Disadvantages • Costs more per animal • Animals take up more space Harvesting of Fish and Shellfish • Fishery - a commercially harvestable population of fish within a particular ecological region • Tragedy of the commons is occurring • Fishery collapse- the decline of a fish population by 90% or more. • Harvesting methods: • Boats stay at sea for long periods of time • Sonar/spotter planes • Large dragnets, long lines with hooks, or large nets • Consequences: • Bycatch • Ecosystem disturbance • Loss of populations Sustainable Fishing • Fishery management plans – work with other countries plans as well • Important since fish migrate across international borders • May include ITQs • Individual transferable quotas – total allowable catch determined by fishery management • Distributed or sold to fishers or fishing companies • Benefit for fishermen Aquaculture • Aquaculture- the farming of aquatic organisms such as fish, shellfish, and seaweeds. • Specs - large enclosure, given food and antibiotics • Benefits • Reduce impact of fishing • Reduce bycatch • Downsides: • More antibiotics in water • Spread disease • Pollutes water source