evr- agricutlure and food supply 1

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Spreads over 38% of worlds land area and is a multi-billion dollar industry

What is the magnitude of agriculture?

Millions of acres are treated with fertilizers, chemical insect pesticides, and weed-controlling chemicals; farming creates agroecosystems

What are some general environmental effects of Agriculture?

Agrosystems

Differ from natural systems; stops ecological succession to keep the agroecosystem in an early successional state, focus on monoculture, vulnerable to pests, require plowing, genetically modified crops, globalization

1. Stops ecological succession to keep the agroecosystem in an early successional state

2. Focus on monoculture

3. Vulnerable to pests

4. Require plowing

5. Genetically modified crops

6. Globalization

How are agrosystems different from natural systems?

Most crops are early-successional species so they flourish in this stage of abundant nutrients

Ecological succession stopped to keep the agroecosystem in an early successional state

large areas planted with a single species; makes crop vulnerable to disease and change in environmental conditions, may reduce soil fertility, contribute to famine

Focus on monoculture

In natural ecosystems, many different species of plants grow mixed together in complex patterns and thus provide shelter

Crops planted in neat rows and fields making crops vulnerable to pests

Plowing exposes the soil to erosion and damages its physical structure that leads to a decline in OM and loss of elements

Agricultural plowing, which is unlike any natural soil disturbance

Can harm ecosystems by transgenes getting to other plants

Genetically modified crops are becoming common

Relies on whether we can sustainably grow crops without damaging other ecosystems that recieve waste, and producing food while simultaneously growing other crops for fuels.

Why is the question “Can we feed the world?” complicated?

A series of human attempts to overcome environmental limitations and problems that is a Pandora’s box of problems, side effects, and pressures on land

What does the history of agriculture look like?

As population grows, the production of agriculture must grow; however, social disruptions and social attitudes impact this

How is agriculture impacted by population growth?

1. Improved crop varieties

2. Fertilizer use

3. Advances in pest control

4. Irrigation

What are the steps taken to cause the increase in agricultural yield?

Mendelian genetics

possible to manipulate traits of plants with predictable outcomes; has a role in improving crops, but not by much

Norman Borlaug

Worked with wheat strain with a gene for short stature and crossed this variety with other tropical varieties and developed semi-dwarf wheats

Malnourishment

Lack of specific chemical components of food, such as protein, vitamins, or other essential elements

Undernourishment

Lack of sufficient calories in available food that can manifest as famine

Marasmus and Kwashiorkor

conditions relating to insufficient protein in the diet

Chronic hunger

Enough food to stay alive but can not live satisfactory or productive lives

Expensive and requires large use of grain that can’t be used for anything else

Why is protein, a necessary component of a healthy diet, not available?

1. Unequal production of food

2. Unequal consumption of food

3. Overconsumption of resource intensive foods

4. Diversion of food to other products and waste

4 Main Issues for Global Food Issues

1. Crops (majority of Earth’s plant species are NOT agricultural crops; most of world’s food provided by 14 crop species

2. Forage (plants for livestock) are grown for domestic animals and we breed livestock in general

3. Rangeland provides food for grazing and browsing animals without plowing and planting, but is often overgrazed

4. Pasture (plowed for forage)

What do we grow on land?

Yes

Is there a decline in agricultural land now because of urbanization, etc?