Envi. chp 9-13

Solving Food Insecurity

GMOS

Instead of farmers using herbicides, etc., they focused on smaller scale agriculture taking into consideration the ecosystem they are in

Buffers/barriers in their fields to prevent soil erosion, gathering soil nutrients, and having trees planted

Larger variety of diets and crops (western africa)

Technology: irrigation systems, pesticides

Green revolution (50s and 60s)

Agricultural resource stations trying to address hunger in developing countries

- Focused on research to figure out how to grow food more efficiently:

Fertilizer, nutrients, access to sun and water

-International Rice Research Institute

Increase overall yield

Green revolution fallout

Forced lots of farmers in developing countries to purchase a lot of chemicals to get these seeds to grow, purchase more resources

Potentially going bankrupt

Or wouldn't be able to afford what was needed to sustain these crops

Chronic undernutrition/hunger

people who cannot grow or buy enough food to meet their basic energy needs, which threaten their ability to live healthy and productive lives

-Malnutrition rates are falling in almost all areas of the world

Malnourishment

nutritional imbalance caused by a lack of specific dietary components or an inability to absorb or utilize essential nutrients

Macronutrients

Large groups of nutrients: carbs, protein, fiber, fats

Micronutrients

key vitamins and other minerals (Vitamin A, Zinc, Iron, and Iodine)

Vitamin and mineral deficiencies

2 billion people suffer from a deficiency in vitamins and minerals

Vitamin A

Vision

Lack can lead to blindness

Zinc

Lack can lead to hair loss; more susceptible to infections

Iron

Deficiency: Blood would be too oxidized; helps transport oxygen through blood; lack causes anemia

Iodine

Functioning of thyroid; lack can cause brain damage

Famine

large scale food shortages accompanied by widespread starvation and even death

Famine is caused by

A combo of environmental and social conditions

After natural disasters, unstable governments and conflict, climate change

Food security

ability to obtain sufficient and nutritious food on a day-to-day basis

Food security in Binghamton

Food Bank of the Southern Tier

Vines

-Develop urban gardens

Bring Food Rescue

-Take food from restaurants and distribute leftover food

Food Pantry

Chow

Food desert

Geographic area that lacks nutritious food

No grocery stores nearby

Can also be food swamps

- North side of bing was considered one until 2020 with the Greater Good Grocery

Food swamp

Geographic areas with overabundance of unhealthy food

Key food sources/crops

Wheat, rice and corn (biofuels, feed livestock, processed)

Trends in mean production and consumption

China produces the most meat, US is second

US, Australia, and Argentina consume the most meat

CAFOS

Concentrated animal feeding operations

Major emitter of Methane

Cow waste due to their diets

Antibiotic use

Antibiotic resistance

Amount of seafood produced worldwide

recently started using aquaculture more than capture fisheries

Aquaculture

fishfarms; solution to depleting wild fish populations

farms in water bodies or on land

Fishery

concentration of wild aquatic species suitable for commercial harvesting in a given ocean or inland body of water

Over exploitation

Trawling

Fishing technique: dragging a large net along seafloor

Along the ocean flood can destroy the habitat

Purse-seine fishing

Fishing technique: catch surface-dwelling species

Long-lining

fishing technique: lines with baited goods - swordfish, tuna, sharks, halibut, cod

Issues with fishery

Other/unwanted species getting caught in these nets - Bycatch

Excess waste

Fisheries are depleting rapidly

Problems with commercial fishing

We've fished too much, fisheries depleting rapidly

aquaculture concerns

Ethical? - keeping fish in these contained environments

Disease - lots of fish in a small area

Food - lots of food these fish are fed are other fish

Taking a large amount of fish out of the environment

Removing food source for other fish in the wild

Excess waste - too many nutrients in the water + lots of waste

Extra nitrogen, phosphorus which leads to algal blooms removing oxygen

Aquaculture video addressing concerns

Use currents to dispose of waste

More sustainable food pellets - use less fish (15-20%) in feed

Use cameras to monitor for overfeeding

Farm subsidies

government payments or other types of support intended to help farmers stay in business

issues with farm subsidies

Based off how much you're producing

Large amounts of government subsidies go to farms that are producing a lot - not to the ones that are struggling with output

soil conservation programs

Pay farmers to take land that they farm out of rotation, to help overall conservation of land and soil

Conventional farming

approach that uses chemicals in the form of plant protectants and fertilizers, or intensive, hormone-based practices in breeding and raising animals

Soil

Complex mixture of rock pieces, particles, mineral nutrients, decaying organic matter, water, air and living organisms that support plant and animal life

Detritivores and decomposers part of soil

Organic matter - contains carbon

Particle sizes in soil

Sand

Largest

If we have soils with a lot of sand, water drains really quickly

Not good for plant growth

Silt

Middle

Clay

Smallest

Clay holds onto water well, but more difficult for plant roots to grow and extend with how small the particles are

soil texture

Classified based on percentage of clay vs sand vs silt

Loam

Rich, fertile soil that is made up of about equal parts of clay, sand, and silt.

Soil Profile

All the vertical layers or horizons that make up a soil in a particular place

organic layer of soil

partly decomposed plant material (leaves, twigs, mosses)

Topsoil (A horizon)

the top layer of soil

Mineral soil from the plant material and some organic

Subsoil (B Horizon)

The layer of soil beneath the topsoil that contains mostly clay and other minerals

inorganic matter - broken down rock - more clay

Parent Material soil (C-horizon)

weathered rock (sand, windblown silt, bedrock, other mineral matter on which the soil is built)

Bedrock

The solid layer of rock beneath the soil

carbon cycle

the movement of carbon from the nonliving environment into living things and back

- photosynthesis

- respiration

If a plant dies, detritivores break down that plant, and the carbon goes into the soil (returns to the soil; cycle)

Plants uptake carbon from the soil

Fossil fuels are

layers of stored carbon deep underground

carbon exists as a gas and carbon that ...

cycles through the physical environment stored

Problem: when we take a bunch of stored carbon, when we burn these fossil fuels, increases climate change

Nitrogen gas (N2)

makes up 78% of the volume in atmosphere

Majority is in the atmosphere

Major building block for proteins

Nitrogen Cycle

The transfer of nitrogen from the atmosphere to the soil, to living organisms, and back to the atmosphere

Through: lightening strikes; nitrogen-fixing bacteria in the soil

nitrogen-fixing bacteria

bacteria that can use nitrogen in soil to make nitrogen compounds

symbiotic relationship

ie: legumes; fertilizer contains n2 for plant growth

phosphorus cycle

The movement of phosphorus atoms from rocks through the biosphere and hydrosphere and back to rocks.

Phosphate rocks contain phosphate ions

Water runs over rocks... making it available for soil to take in

Phosphates - important nutrient for plant growth

Usually a limiting factor in soil

Eutrophication

Excess richness of nutrients in a body of water, frequently due to runoff from the land, which causes a dense growth of plant life and death of animal life from lack of oxygen

Too much oxygen, nitrogen and phosphorus

Too much algae growth - blocking sunlight reaching below the surface of water, preventing it from reaching that organic life - causing plants and animals to die (dead zones)

Ie: gulf of mexico

Top soil erosion

Movement (displacement) of soil from one area to another by water and wind

1909-1929

Farmers tilled about 32 million acres of land in the Great Plains

till

overturning land, pulling up grasses - make spaces for air and water

If you till frequently, in addition to drought, lead to that soil being eroded by wind

(1930's) severe drought and high winds (dirty thirties)

Dust Bowl, 1935

Led to:

Establishment of Soil Erosion Service (NRCS)

Prairie states forestry project

220 million trees plants: creates 18,000 miles of windbreak

Effect: Hurt agricultural production

Killed livestock

Human health risk

Compounded great depression effects

Mass migration out west away from these areas

Of Mice and Men

The Grapes of Wrath

soil salinization

accumulation of salts in the upper soil layers due to overwatering

Water sitting on soil, not readily absorbed - when water is evaporated it leaves a layer of salt which can kill those plants

Water logging

accumulation of water underground, raising the water table

Major crops with pesticide use

Corn, soybeans, potatoes, cotton and wheat

Insecticides

bugs

herbicides

weeds

fungicides

fungi

rodenticides

rodents

advantages for synthetic pesticides

They work / are effective - they're economical

Disadvantages for synthetic pesticides

They can be harmful healthwise to humans, non-target organisms

Pesticide resistance

Pesticide drift

Types of Pesticides

Organophosphates

Attack nervous system in organisms

Chlorinated hydrocarbons

Highly toxic, build up in fatty tissues in organisms

DDT - bioaccumulation

Neonicotinoids

Bees

Main Goals of Sustainable Ag.

Maintaining soil nutrients

Preventing soil erosion

Lessening carbon emissions

Non-industrial, small farms matter

500 million family farms produced 8-% of food consumed worldwide

Smaller farms engage in more sustainable agriculture

89% of farms are considered small in the US

Conserving Topsoil

important as it contains a lot of organic matter (more organic matter = able to maintain water and nutrients better, support detritivores, etc)

Terracing

Prevent erosion

Parts of china, japan

Converting steeply sloped land into series of terraces cutting across land contours to catch any water and soil flowing downhill

Contour planting

Prevent erosion

If you're on a slope, plant crops perpendicular to that slope to create mini dams

Strip cropping with cover crop

Corn, cotton, soybeans

Plant in rows

Instead of keeping between the rows exposed soil, plant what are called cover crops - meant to trap soil and hold onto excess water and nutrients, prevent wind erosion

Lessen carbon emissions as green plants take in carbon from photosynthesis

Alley cropping / agroforestry

Planting trees along with your crop that you are growing

Complex root structures hold soil and nutrients in place

Depending on the tree, losing leaves they fall on the crops and soil adding even more nutrients

Windbreakers

Helps support greater biodiversity

Organic fertilizer

directly from plant or animal material

Examples of organic fertilizer

Animal manure - feces

Green manure - cut up plant material

Compost - breakdown of plant and/or animal material; microorganisms break down this organic matter

Crop rotation

Can plant crops for a time and instead of continuing growth of that crop year after year, you can alternate with other crops that are nitrogen fixing like legumes

Planting a crop that can fixate nitrogen that is added to the soil to support the crop again in the next year

Recovers and restores the soil

Can help in preventing pests

Biological controls

alternatives to synthetic pesticides: Natural predators

Parasites

Parasitic wasp; ladybugs

Disease causing bacteria and viruses

Problems with biological controls

Unintended consequences if we mess with the food chain

What if the pest becomes a pest itself - issue for another type of organism

Control becoming a pest themselves

Crops and pests are evaluated as parts of an ecosystem / integrated pest management

Biological controls

Cultivation controls (altering planting times)

Possibly applying small amounts of pesticides

Prevention -> cultural/sanitation -> physical/mechanical -> biological -> chemical

Not swiftly resorting to chemicals, taking into consideration other aspects first, chemicals are a last resort

Hydroponics

Just use water to grow and sustain plants

Exposed to nutrient rich water solution - maintaining soil nutrients and preventing soil erosion

Advantages to hydroponics

Water stays in a closed system - no nitrate runoff into lakes and rivers

Uses less water than conventional farming

Use space that was empty/abandoned

Efficient with light to help the plant grow

Selling locally, cutting carbon emissions from transport

No need for using pesticides since they are in an enclosed space

Drawbacks to hydroponics

Very costly monetarily and electricity

Aquaponic Systems

Adding fish into the system

Waste from these fish containing nutrients go into these spaces with plants which use these nutrients and filter the water, empty the clean water back into the tank which creates a cycle

Organic Agriculture

Production system that is managed to respond to site-specific conditions integrating cultural, biological, and mechanical practices that foster cycling of resources, promote ecological balance, and conserve biodiversity - USDA

No hormones, antibiotics, pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, genetic modification

Ways to support sustainable agriculture

Buying local

Help local economy

Reduction of greenhouse gasses for transportation

Participating in community supported agriculture (CSAs)

With a local farm, membership fee, get a box of produce based on what they're growing

Certain organization work with refugees to cultivate communities to support immigrant farmers in giving them land and resources

Genetic diversity

More genetic diversity = more resilience to natural disasters or disease

Species diversity

The number and relative abundance of species in a biological community.

species richness and evenness

ecological diversity

the variety of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems found in an area or on the earth

complexity in ecosystems/habitats

Why care about biodiversity?

biodiversity benefits humans and other species

world species provide vital ecosystems and economic services

ie: pharmaceuticals

existence value

biological extinction

When a species is no longer found on earth

Natural process

One species lost per decade = normal

A sixth extinction?

Five major extinction events over the years

Faster extinctions than normal

Threats to biodiversity - habitat destruction

Deforestation

Commercial fishing

Invasive species

major threat to biodiversity

Nonnative species that outcompete populations of many native species for food, disrupt ecosystem services, transmit disease, and lead to economic losses

-zebra mussel

-round goby

-emerald ash borer

-spotted lantern fly

autumn olive

zebra mussel

Mass around stationary objects, clogging ship rudders, pipes

Also painful to step on

invasive species

round goby

Help control other invasive species by feeding on them - eat too much

Displace other fish based on their spawning habits

Females spawn every 2 weeks

Long mating season - males protect the eggs

Lake Michigan

emerald ash borer

As a beetle, emerald green

Affect ash trees

Bore through the trees

Most destructive in larval stage - larva burrows in the trees cutting off nutrients to it which causes it to die

Canopy dieback -> bark starts to peel away

Preemptively cut down trees to stop spread of invasive animal

Biological control

Management tactic: dontmovefirewood . org

Prevent the spread of invasive species

Spotted Lanternfly

invasive

NYS very concerned

Really like apple trees, wineries as they impact grapes, orchard and fruit bearing trees

Feed on post trees, eat sap and destroying tree while releasing honeydew causing more mold increasing susceptibility for diseases

autumn olive invasive

invasive species

Introduced on purpose for ecosystem services and ornamental value

Grows almost everywhere and shades out other plants

What to do about invasive species

Research funding increase

Surveys

Observation tracking

Increasing inspection of imported goods

Dogs that trained to sniff invasives

Educating the public

Flyers and info spread

International treaties

United nations convention on biological diversity goals:

Reduce global rate of biodiversity loss

Share use of genetic resources

Control and prevent spread of invasive species