Modern Conventional Farming Methods

Modern Conventional Farming: The Chemical Age

• Intensive systems relying on chemical fertilizers and pesticides for high yields.
• Focus on replenishing nutrients instead of maintaining overall soil health.

Concerns Associated with Modern Agriculture

• Ecological: Soil degradation (structural decline, erosion, salinity, acidification, fertility loss), water contamination (nutrient loading).
• Economic/Social: Farmer competition, income disparity, pressure for low-cost production.
• Health: Effects of antibiotics and contaminants (pesticides, nitrates) on the public.

Productivity Growth

• Australian agriculture: Productivity growth has been approximately 2\% or more per year for thirty years.
• Developing world: Agricultural yields have almost tripled in the last fifty years.

Fertilizers

• Increased food demand since the 1960s met by improved agricultural productivity using fertilizers.
• Intensified land use requires more nutrient replacement for sustainability.
• Population and wealth growth are key drivers of fertilizer demand.
• FAO estimated that more than 33\% of the increase in cereal yields in the 1970s and 1980s resulted from fertilizer use.
• World fertilizer use has increased almost fivefold since 1960.

Dead Zones

• Caused by excessive phosphorus and nitrogen from fertilizers.
• Leads to microorganism growth, oxygen depletion, and marine life death.
• Common in coastal areas with high population density.
• Nutrient pollution from fertilizers is a primary cause.
• Algae overgrowth, decomposition, and oxygen consumption.

Historical Context

• Before mineral fertilizers: Soil fertility maintained by organic material recycling and crop rotations.
• Periodic famines were endemic under this system.

Nanofertilizers (NFs)

• Application of nanotechnology to fertilizers.
• Potential to enhance production and mitigate food insecurity risks.
• May alleviate damage to soil quality from conventional fertilizers.
• Potential benefits: Increased crop yield, plant growth promotion, reduced soil impact.

Risks

• Continued excessive use of conventional fertilizers may harm soil and human health.
• Environmental, occupational, and food supply risks associated with nanofertilizers must be evaluated.

Herbicides

• Broad Spectrum: Works on a wide variety of weeds.
• Selective: Works on a narrow range of weeds.
• Contact: Destroys plant tissue at the point of contact; requires even coverage.
• Systemic: Moves through the plant and can be injected into the plant.
• Residual: Applied to the soil, destroys root uptake, remains active, and controls germinating seeds.

Pesticides

• Generic term for natural and synthetic chemicals (over 700) to protect crops from pests.
• Pests: Insects, slugs, snails, nematodes, worms, mites, rodents, weeds, molds, bacteria, viruses.
• Application: Before/during plant growth or to stored crops (e.g., fumigants).

Arguments for Pesticide Use

• Ensuring an improved and relatively stable food supply.
• Meeting consumer expectations for blemish-free produce.

Arguments Against Pesticide Use

• Leave residuals in the environment and on food.
• Need for a more holistic approach to pest management to balance ecosystems.

Health Risks

• Possible increased risk of Parkinson's disease.
• Possible increased risk of neuropsychiatric disorders (ADHD, autism, learning disabilities, aggressiveness).
• Possible increased risk of some cancers.
• Possible increased risk of endocrine-related disorders.

Minimizing Pesticide Exposure

• Trim fat from meat, remove skin from poultry and fish.
• Discard fats/oils from broths and pan drippings.
• Select fruits/vegetables without holes.
• Wash fresh produce in warm running water, using a scrubber.
• Peel oranges/grapefruits with a knife, avoid biting the peel.
• Discard outer leaves of leafy vegetables.
• Peel waxed fruits/vegetables.
• Peel vegetables/fruits when appropriate (removes fiber/nutrients).
• Eat a variety of foods.
• Consider buying certified organic foods.

Nanopesticides

• Utilize nanoparticle technology.
• Potential to reduce the total use of pesticides and fertilizers.
• Pose potential health threats if not handled correctly; require a risk mitigation framework.
• Targeted and slow-release delivery can be toxic to the environment and human health.

Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)

• Toxic chemicals affecting human health and the environment.
• Introduced during the post-WWII industrial boom for pest/disease control and crop production.
• Transported by wind/water, affecting regions far from the source.
• Resistant to degradation, enduring in the environment.
• Accumulate through the food chain, concentrating in fatty tissue.
• Health effects: Reproductive, developmental, behavioral, neurologic, endocrine, and immunologic impairments.

Antibiotics

• Used for disease treatment/prevention and as feed additives in livestock.

Concerns

• Development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria that can transmit to humans.
• Antibiotic residuals in food.
• Livestock is a major contributor to antibiotic resistance.
• Low-dosage antibiotic feeding for growth promotion.
• Highest antibiotic consumption in livestock sector: China, US, Brazil, India.

Hormone Growth Promotants (HGPs)

• Used in Australia for over 30 years (about 40\% of cattle).
• Implants behind the ear in grass-fed and feedlot sectors.
• Improve growth rate and feed efficiency.
• Increase productivity, lessen environmental impact, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Economic Impact

• Without HGPs, cattle herd would need to increase by an estimated 7\% (2,000,000+ head) to produce the same amount of beef.
• Would require more resources (water, feed) and increase production costs.

Regulations

• EU has banned HGPs and import of products from cattle given HGPs since 1998.

Health Assessment

• 2003 Australian report: Unlikely health risk to consumers from eating meat from cattle treated with HGPs according to good veterinary practice.

Chickens

• HGPs are not permitted in chickens in Australia (banned for over 50 years).
• Rapid growth due to selective breeding and optimal nutrition.
• Meat chickens (broilers) selectively bred for growth rate.
• Distinct from chickens bred for egg production.