Chapter 1

Big ideas:

• In LDC too little food

• In MDC too much food

• Hard to achieve food security

  • Due to climate change, the harmful effects of industrialized agriculture

  • Poverty is the biggest cause of food insecurity

• Food insecurity can lead to malnutrition and undernutrition

• Undernutrition- not enough food to meet long-term energy needs

• Malnutrition- not enough key nutrients(fats, proteins, carbs, minerals, vitamins)

  • Vitamin A deficiency- Night blindness

  • Iron deficiency- Shortage of hemoglobin causes anemia

  • Iodine deficiency- Essential for thyroid function and metabolic rates, may result in growth stunts

Overnutrition and undernutrition pose similar health problems

• Lower life expectancy

• Vulnerable to disease and illness

• Lower productivity and life quality

Core Case study: Growing Power(an urban food oasis, this comes up a lot)

• Owned by Will Allen in Milwaukee

• Uses solar power

  Produces 150 varieties of vegetables

• Runs educational program

Urban farm benefits:

• Reuse own resources(composting)

• Reduces CO2 emissions(Don’t need to transport food around as much)

• No need for tractors; simple farming equipment

• Job opportunities

• Less reliance on nonrenewable fuel sources.

Chapter 2 How is food produced

3 systems of food; take up 40% of land

• Cropsland provide 77% of the world’s food

  • uses 11% of the land area

• Rangeleands supply 16% of the world’s food

  • uses 29% of the world’s land

• Fisheries

  • 7% of food supply

• 14 crop species provide 90% of the world’s food supply

  • Our diet is fragile, and vulnerable to disease due to the small variety

• Since 1960, increase in global food production

  • Using technology

  • use of tractors and farm machinery and high-tech fishing equipment

  • irrigation

  • use of pesticides and fertilizers

2 types of agriculture:

1. industrialized agriculture( high-input agriculture)

   • Uses heavy equipment

   • Lots of financial capital

   • fossil fuels

   • water

   • pesticides and fertilizers

   • monoculture

   • Mostly practices in MDC, on 25% of all cropland

   • produces 80% of food

   1. New form of industrialized agriculture

      • Uses large arrays of greenhouses to raise crops indoors

      • Water can be easily recycled and purified

2. Plantation agriculture

   • Tropical, LDC

   • Cash crops

   • Mostly exported to MDC

2 types of traditional agriculture:

1. Traditional subsistence agriculture

   • Use animals and human labor

   • Produces enough for the farm’s survival

2. Traditional intensive agriculture

   • increase inputs of human and draft animal labor

   • High crop yields

   • Can support family and self left over for income

Both practice polyculture

• Pros of polyculture:

  • Plants mature at different times the year to provide food year-round

  • Protect soil from erosion

  • Insecticides are not needed because multiple habitats are created for natural predators of crop-eating insects

  • weeds have trouble competing with a density of crops

Green Revolution:

• 1950-1970

• high input industrialization to increase crop yields

  • 1. Plants monocultures of GMO’d key crops

  • 2. Use synthetic fertilizers, lots of water, and pesticides

  • 3. increase # of crops grown on cropland through multiple cropping

• First Green Revolution: 1950-1970

• The second green revolution happening since 1967

  • Varieties of rice , and wheat bred for specific tropical climates

  • Producing more food on less land protects biodiversity

    • Less land is being converted into cropland

  • Gave more people jobs

  • Industrialized farming evolved into agribusiness- small number of giant corporations controlling production and distribution of food

  • People in LDC spend 40% of their income on food

  • Americans spend 9%, don’t follow the rule of sustainability and full-cost pricing

    • Causes higher health insurance bills relating to harmful environmental and health effects

    • Includes taxes to pay for farm subsidies.

• 46% of grain production produced to be consumed

• 34% used to feed livestock

• 20% used to make biofuel

  • The use of corn to make biofuel causes…

    • Lower food security

    • slower economic growth

Cross Breeding and genetic engineering

• Gene revolution: genetically selected to manipulate animals and plants for use

• traditional crossbreeding takes 15 or more years to produce valuable crop varieties

  • New varieties are only useful for 5-10 years before pests and diseases reduce crop yields

  • can only combine genetically similar traits

• Predicted second gene revolution:

  • Develop genetically strains of crops and livestock

  • use the process of gene splicing to change segments of DNA

    • results in GMO animals

• Genetic engineering using gene splicing is better

  • Takes half as long, costs less

  • allows for the insertion of any organism into another’s cells

  • European countries don’t use GMOs but USA, Argentina, and Brazil do

  • The average American adult consumes 193 pounds of GMO

    • In the US GM ingredient information is not required on food labels

      • USDA-certified doesn’t use DM

  • Scientists plan to develop GMs resistant to heat, cold, drought, parasites, etc

• GMO Trade-offs

• Pros

  • Less fertilizer, pesticides, and water

  • resistant to insects, droughts

  • grows faster

  • tolerates higher levels of herbicides

• cons

  • have unpredictable genetic and ecological effects

  • may put toxins in food( have self defense mechanism)

  • Can promote pesticide-resistant insects, weeds, and plant diseases

  • could disrupt the seed market and reduce biodiversity

    • Once released, their pollen will spread to other organisms, which will make it hard to find non-GMO-infected plants

Meat consumption has grown steadily

• Only cheap because it doesn’t follow full-cost pricing

• Between 1950 and 2010 beef pork poultry consumption increased 6x

  • consumption of meat per person doubled

    • China consumes ¼ of the meat produced

  • Half of the meat produced from grazing on unfenced enclosures

  • The other half is produced industrially through feedlots

    • Kepts in concentrated areas

    • Animals fed soybeans, fishmeal, hormones, antibiotics

    • Animal waste and runoff create an impact on water

  • Feedlot trade-offs

    • Pros:

      • Increased meat production

      • high profits

      • less land use

      • reduced overgrazing

      • reduced soil erosion

      • protect biodiversity

    • Cons:

      • Animals confined

      • Large inputs of grain, fishmeal, water, fossil fuel, carbon and methane emissions

      • concentrations of animal taste that pollute water

      • The use of antibiotics can increase genetic resistance to microbes in humans

• Overgrazing, soil compaction, and erosion degraded 20% of the world’s grasslands and pastures

• Rangeland grazing and livestock production cause 55% of topsoil erosion and sediment pollution

• China’s urbanization shrinks arable land

  • China, India, and Egypt are all buying cropland from other countries

• Agriculture affects aquatic biodiversity in that the inorganic fertilizer runoff creates dead zones

• Producing meats produce 10-20 times more greenhouse gases per unit of weight than the production of vegetables

• 80% of all antibiotics in the US and 50% of the world added to animal feed

• Animals produce 130x the amount of waste produced by the human population of that country

  • Half recycled half pollutes the air and water and emits greenhouse gases

Fish and shellfish production have risen dramatically(Aquaculture)

• 58% of fish and shellfish caught

• 42% produced through aquaculture

• 57% of fisheries harvested at max capacity

  • 30% overfished

• Blue revolution- 1980-2011 amount of fish produced through agriculture grew 12x

  • Asia accounting for 88%(China 60%)

• Agriculture uses 20% of all energy in the US

• Natural gas is used to power machinery

  • Used to produce synthetic pesticides and inorganic fertilizer

  • used to transport food

• 1/3 of wild fish caught from oceans are used to make fishmeal and fish oil fed to farmed fish

  • leads to the depletion of wild fish crucial in food webs

  • Inefficient as it takes 3kg of wild fish to farm 1kg of salmon

• Farmed fish may escape and mix with wild fish

• Seed companies trying to use soybean as fishmeal replacement

  • soybean causes more excrement

  • would allow for a small number of soybean companies to rule aquaculture

• GM salmon

  • Grows faster

  • lower cost and uses less fishmeal can reduce pressure on fish stock as feed.

• Aquaculture tradeoffs

  • Pros:

    • Highly efficient

    • reduce overharvesting of fisheries

    • job and profits

    • high yield

  • Cons:

    • Large waste output

    • Large inputs of grain and fishmeal

    • loss of mangrove forests, estuaries

    • Dense population vulnerable to disease

Industrialized Agriculture:

Pros:

1. Since 1976, the amount of energy per calorie used to produce crops declined by 50%

2. The amount of energy used to produce synthetic fertilizer decreased

3. Conversion tillage- reduced energy use and reduced environmental effects of plowing

Cons:

1. Large energy loss

2. Takes a lot of fossil fuel

Chapter 3

1. Pros:

• a. More efficient yield-wise (use less land and get more food).

• b. Good because you’re reducing forests and grassland destruction, which would

• normally used for farming.

• c. Cheaper

• d. Allows for global convenience (you can eat whatever you want whenever you

• want).

2. Cons:

• a. Biodiversity Loss

  • i. Habitat destruction via conversion of natural habitats (grasslands, forests,

• wetlands, etc.) to crops or rangeland.

  • ii. Loss of Agrobiodiversity (agriculture biodiversity) replacing it with monoculture strains.

• 1. Killing of wild predators to protect livestock.

• 2. Scientists estimate since 1900, we have lost 75% of the genetic diversity of crops that existed then.

  • iii. Aquatic Life death from pesticide runoff.

  • iv. Genetically engineered crops are also causing a loss in traditional crop biodiversity.

• 1. Saved crops are being banned by patents from certain companies who are then housing these crops in large seed banks.

• a. However, these are susceptible to natural disasters, manmade disasters, etc.

b. Soil

• i. Loss of fertility

• ii. Soil Erosion: Movement of soil components, especially surface litter and topsoil, away from land.

• 1. Removal of all crops that expose them to the elements.

• 2. Topsoil: A vital component of natural capital because it stores water and nutrients.

• 3. A Joint Survey by UNEP and WRI indicated topsoil is eroding faster than it forms 38% of the world’s croplands.

• iii. Desertification: Process in which the productive potential of topsoil falls by 10% or more due to prolonged drought and human activities that expose topsoil to erosion.

• iv. Soil Salinization: Too much salt is accumulated on topsoil. Topsoil is devoid of other nutrients as salt concentration is too high, making the land infertile.

• 1. UN estimates severe soil salinization has reduced yields on at least 10% of irrigated cropland (30% by 2020).

• 2. Stunting crop growth, lowering crop yields, and killing other native biodiversity.

• v. Waterlogging: Too much water due to overirrigation; introducing too much water to areas is causing massive water accumulation in the underground that’s causing rises in the water tables.

• 1. Stunting crop growth, lowering crop yields, and killing other native biodiversity.

• 2. 10% of irrigated lands also suffer waterlogging.

  c. Water

• i. Increased runoff, which causes sediment pollution and flooding.

• ii. Pollution from pesticides, which kills aquatic life, but also contributes to algal blooms.

• 1. In 2010, Agriculture accounted for about 60% of water pollution.

iii. Aquifer depletion.

• 1. In 2010, Agriculture accounted for about 70% of freshwater removed

• from aquifers and surface waters.

• iv. Increased topsoil erosion also leads to water pollution.

• d. Air Pollution

• i. Massive CO2 emissions from fossil fuel use in machining, livestock

• management, agriculture, transportation.

• N2O from inorganic fertilizers.

• CH4 from cattle.

• 1. In 2010, Agriculture accounted for about 25% of greenhouse

• emissions.

e. Human Health

• i. Bioaccumulation from various chemicals, like pesticides (water, food, air).

• ii. Bacterial, Viral, etc. contamination in livestock produce.

• iii. Livestock waste in water.

• 3. Genetically Engineered Foods/Genetically Modified Foods (Related to Green

• Revolution):

GMOS

a. Pros:

• i. Sustainable way to solve world hunger problems.

• ii. May need less fertilizer, pesticides, and water.

• iii. Can be resistant to insects, disease, weather (cold weather, drought, etc.)

• iv. Can grow faster

• v. May tolerate higher levels of herbicides.

b. Cons:

• i. Potentially dangerous foods in that they can have unpredictable genetic and

• ecological effects.

• ii. Can place toxins in food; negative for human health.

• iii. Promote pesticide-resistant insects, herbicide-resistant weeds, and plant diseases.

• iv. Allow seed companies to patent and build a monopoly over GM Foods

• and control food production.

c. Limiting Factors:

i. Without huge inputs of water and inorganic fertilizers, some GM crops tend to produce equal or less than their traditional strains.

Protecting crops from pests

• Pest- organism that competes with humans for food

• Dirt- Little to no nutrients, insufficient at growing

• Soil- nutrients filled, good at growing plants

  • Made up of eroded rocks, mineral nutrients, decaying organic nutrients, water, air, bacteria

  • Water percolates into soil until it reaches the bedrock

    • Bedrock slowly broken into fragments through weathering(contains 4 layers of soil)

    • Upper layers:

      • O horizon(organic material, decaying stuff)

      • A horizon(topsoil)

      • Both contain bacteria, fungi, worms, insects

      • Contains partially decomposed animals and plants known as humus

      • contains sand, clay, silt(sand largest)

    • Lower layers

      • B horizon(subsoil)

      • C horizon(parents material)

        • Both contain bacteria and sand, silt and clay

• How to protect crops from pests more sustainably

  1. We can cut pesticide use by using IPM( integrated pest management)

  • 1. Cultivation techniques( most safe)

    • Pest control practices that make crop fields inhabitable to pests

      • Soil tillage

      • crop rotation

      • change plants

      • adjusting harvest and planting dates

  • 2. Biological pest control(introduced predators)

  • 3. Small amounts of selected chemical pesticides as a last resort

    • Herbicides- kill weeds

    • fungicides- kill fungi

    • rodenticides- kill rodents

    • biopesticides- produced by plants to war off insects and herbivores

      Pesticides classified

  • First generation

    • Copied from plants

    • Pre 1940s used mercury, lead, and arsenic( all absorbed into our skin)

  • Second generation 1970’s

  • Synthetic lab produced

  • DDT(banned)

    • persistence of 10 years, causes bioaccumulation

  • Broad spectrum- agents(more harmful as they kill other organisms not targeted)(DDT, parathion)

  • Narrow spectrum-algicides, fungicides

  • Persistence varies on time and environment

• Synthetic pesticide tradeoffs

  • Pros:

    • Increase food supplies and profit for farmers

    • work quickly

    • save human lives, less pests, more food for humans

    • health risks are low compared to the amount of benefits from not starving

    • new pest control is safer

  • Cons:

    • Accelerates the rate of genetic resistance in pests

    • expensive for farmers

    • some insecticides kill natural predators

    • pollute environment

    • Some harm wildlife

    • Some are human health hazards

• What can you do?

  • Grow your food using organic methods

  • Buy certified organic foods

  • Trim fat from meats, fat bioaccumulates pesticides

  • Wash and scrub all vegetables and fruits

  • eat less meat or organic meat

• Pesticides haven’t reduced crop losses to plants

  • 1942-1997, crop losses from insects increased from 7% to 13%, even with a 10x increase in pesticide use

  • Every 1 dollar spent on pesticides is 10-15 dollars worth of environmental damage

  • Should use alternative pet management practices

• Treaties and laws that help protect us from the harmful effects of pesticides

  • Environmental protection agency(EPA)

  • United States Department of Agriculture(USDA)

  • Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

  • Fungicide and Rodenticide act of 1947

    • requires pesticides to be registered through the EPA

  • Food Quality Protection Act, 1996

    • requires the secretary of agriculture to collect pesticide residue data on food crops frequently consumed by children

• Inconsistencies in government support

  • Effects of active and inactive pesticide ingredients are poorly documented

    • politicians look away from harm to profit

  • Federal Insecticide, fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) allows for US states to export pesticides banned in the US

• Synthetic pesticide alternatives

  • Crop rotation

  • Polyculture- gives predators habitat

  • Import genetic resistance (genetic engineering)

  • Bring in natural enemies

  • Use pheromones

  • Use hormones to interfere with pest life cycles

  • Cover crops (till soil) and mulches( covering with compost) to deal with weeds

How can we improve food security

1. Reduce food prices

   1. governments can provide subsidies to make food more affordable

   2. Small loans can help the poor start businesses or buy land

2. reduce chronic malnutrition by removing fast food and processed foods

3. rely on locally grown foods

4. reduce food waste ( 80 million tons of food wasted per year, the world wastes 1.3 billion tons per year)

Unicef(United nations international children’s emergency fund)

• aims to immunize children against childhood diseases

• brings in food fluids and supplements to poor infants and children

Golden Crop diversity trust

• Seed stores in food banks to prevent loss of engendered food species

  • need to be replanted constantly

• some farmers working on preserving diverse gene pools to improve food security

Local farms

• Buying from them reduces transportation costs

• vertical farms use less land and are potentially the future of farming practices

12-6

important statistics

• 63% of US cropland uses convention tillage

• used on 10% of cropland globally

• organic farms use around 30% less energy the costs even out

• 38% of the world’s grain harvest and 37% of the world’s fish harvest used to produce meat

Transitioning to more sustainable agriculture strategies

1. Increase research on more sustainable organic farming and perennial polyculture

2. establish education and training programs towards more sustainable agriculture

3. Provide access to sustainable practices for poor countries using funds

4. Use government subsidies

5. Educate consumers

Hydroponics tradeoffs

• Pros:

  • Crops can be grown year-round, year-round food

  • cut the use of fertilizer water, and pesticides

  • reduce water pollution

  • reuse nutrients

• Cons:

  • Expensive

  • Threatens profits of pesticide, and fertilizer companies.

Prevention and cleanup of salinization

• Prevention:

  • Reduce irrigation

  • Use more efficient irrigation methods

  • Switch to salt-tolerant crops

• Cleanup:

  • Flush soil

  • Stop growing plants for 2-5 years

  • Install underground drainage systems

Sustainable agriculture

• High yield polyculture

• organic fertilizer

• biological pest control

• efficient irrigation

• perennial crops

• crop rotation

• water efficient crops

• soil conservation

• subsidies for sustainable farming

Less sustainable agriculture

• Soil erosion

• soil salinization

• waterlogging

• water pollution

• overgrazing/ overfishing

• aquifer depletion

• loss of biodiversity

• greenhouse emissions

• subsidies for unsustainable farming

Effects of Agriculture

Central Idea: Agriculture affects the environment, economy, and society.

Main Branches:

1. Environmental Effects

   • Deforestation

     • Loss of biodiversity

     • Soil erosion

   • Water Pollution

     • Runoff of pesticides and fertilizers

     • Contamination of water bodies

   • Climate Change

     • Greenhouse gas emissions

     • Deforestation contributing to global warming

2. Economic Effects

   • Employment Opportunities

     • Farming and agricultural jobs

     • Agribusiness and related industries

   • Economic Growth

     • Contribution to GDP

     • Export of agricultural products

   • Food Security

     • Domestic food production

     • Reducing dependence on imports

3. Social Effects

   • Food Availability

     • Access to nutritious food

     • Reducing hunger and malnutrition

   • Rural Development

     • Supporting rural communities

     • Infrastructure development

   • Cultural Impact

     • Preservation of traditional farming practices

     • Connection to local food and traditions

Sub-branches:

• Deforestation

  • Loss of biodiversity

    • Destruction of habitats

    • Extinction of species

  • Soil erosion

    • Reduced soil fertility

    • Increased risk of landslides

• Water Pollution

  • Runoff of pesticides and fertilizers

    • Contamination of drinking water

    • Harmful effects on aquatic life

  • Contamination of water bodies

    • Algal blooms

    • Disruption of aquatic ecosystems

• Climate Change

  • Greenhouse gas emissions

    • Methane from livestock

    • Nitrous oxide from fertilizers

  • Deforestation contributing to global warming

    • Reduction of carbon sinks

    • Loss of forest ecosystems

• Employment Opportunities

  • Farming and agricultural jobs

    • Farmers

    • Farm laborers

  • Agribusiness and related industries

    • Food processing

    • Equipment manufacturing

• Economic Growth

  • Contribution to GDP

    • Agricultural sector's contribution

    • Related industries' contribution

  • Export of agricultural products

    • Boosting trade balance

    • Generating foreign exchange

• Food Security

  • Domestic food production

    • Reducing reliance on imports

    • Ensuring food availability

  • Reducing hunger and malnutrition

    • Access to nutritious food

    • Impro