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food security

guarantee of an adequate, safe, nutritious, and reliable food supply

who won the nobel peace prize for his work in the green revolution

norman borlaug

disadvantages of green revolution

• Depended on heavy use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, irrigation, fossil fuel powered machinery

• Pollution, loss of topsoil and soil quality

• Increased monocultures which devastated biodiversity and increased outputs

• Human diet is now narrow: 15 crops and 8 livestock species are our main food sources

benefits of green revolution

prevented some deforestation and land conversion, preserved biodiversity and ecosystems

biofuels

fuels derived from organic materials

ethanol

biofuel derived from corn

impacts of ethanol

food prices increased as farmers farmed more biofuels and less crops, causing riots to erupt in many nations

sustainable agriculture

agriculture that does not deplete soil faster than it forms. It also does not reduce the amount of healthy soil, pollute water, decrease genetic diversity

feedlots (factory farms, concentrated animal feeding operations CAFOs)

huge warehouses that deliver food to animals living in high densities

disadvantages of feedlots

1. huge waste production and subsequent water pollution

2. requires heavy antibiotics that immunize microbes

3. animals are fed with growth hormones and heavy metals that consumers then eat

4. produces odors and more greenhouse gases than cars

aquaculture

raising aquatic organisms in a controlled environment, most common in asia and necessitated from the plummeting fish population

benefits of aquaculture

• Sustainable, reliable protein source 

• Reduces bycatch and pressure on overharvested wild fish

• Energy efficient

disadvantages of aquaculture

• Diseases require expensive antibiotics, lots of waste

• Sometimes fed wild-caught fish

• Uses grain that could’ve went to people

• Escaped fish could infect or outcompete wild fish

seed banks

institutions that preserve seed types as living museums of genetic diversity

pollination

when wind or animals mix male plant s*x cells with female plant s*x cells

pest

any organism that damages valuable crops

weed

any organism that competes with valuable crops

pesticides

poisons that target pests; industrial farming limits the natural processes that control pests

pesticide treadmill

1. Pests attack crops

2. Pesticide is applied

3. Most pests are killed but some with resistance survive

4. Survivors breed and produce pesticide-resistant population

5. Pesticide is applied again

6. Pesticide has little effect, new pesticides have to be used

biological control / biocontrol

controlling a pest by using its predators or parasites

bacillus thuringiensis

soil bacterium that kills many caterpillars and some fly and beetle larvae

risks of biocontrols

risks the biocontrol becoming an invasive species, could start hurting nontarget organisms, and has to be carefully planned as its hard to stop using them

integrated pest management

mix of techniques to suppress pests like bio- and mechanical controls, crop rotation, alternative tillage methods, use of transgenic crops

organic agriculture

food-growing practices that don’t use synthetic fertilizers or pesticides in favor of biological methods like composting and biocontrols

• organic agriculture has higher standards

• higher prices and lower costs benefit farmers

• 1990 Organic Food Production Act establishes national standards for organic products

• farmers can’t keep up with demand

biotechnology

the application of biological science to create products derived from organisms

recombinant dna

DNA patched together from multiple organisms 

benefits of gm foods

• Increased yield, lower costs

• Decreased irrigation, deforestation, land conversion

• Reduced greenhouse gas emissions through more no-till farming

• Plants can produce their own insecticides like Bt

impacts of gm foods

• Could harm nontarget organisms

• Pests could evolve resistance

• Could interbreed with native wild species

what has been the causes for public debate over gm foods

1. big corporations patent their genes and sue small farmers for having their plants in their farms, even unknowingly

2. hasn’t really eradicated any hunger or helped farmers in developing countries; gm foods are a financially motivated industry