FOOD RESOURCES: A CHALLENGE FOR AGRICULTURE

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CHAPTER 18

• FOOD RESOURCES A CHALLENGE FOR AGRICULTURE

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NUTRITIONAL REQUIREMENTS Men 2,500 kcal/day
Women 2,000 kcal/day
Carbohydrates Metabolized readily Creates energy 4 cal/g Should be 60 of diet Proteins Release amino acids Some are enzymes Creates 4 cal/g Should be 30 of diet
Lipids Deliver more energy than carbs or proteins Creates 9 cal/g Should be 10 of diet Minerals Iron, iodine, calcium
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• Interesting Facts
• 100 species of plants are commercially grown to
  meet nutritional needs
• 16 lbs of grain to produce 1 lb of edible meat
  (90 of US grain is grown for animal feed)
• 20x increase in the amount of calories available
  8 fold increase in amount of protein available
  if we consumed grain directly

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Malnutrition86 countries are considered
food-deficient Cant produce enough food or
afford to import food to feed pop.

• Undernourished
• Consume less than the daily required calories for
  an extended period
• Health and stamina decline? sometimes death.
• 1/3 of all children under 5 in developing
  countries (WHO)
• Malnourished
• Receive enough calories, but do not receive
  enough specific, essential nutrients such as
  protein, vitamin A, iodine etc.
• Rice enough cal, but lack needed protein, lipids
  minerals
• Susceptible to disease have less strength- kids
  do not dev. well
• Affects cognitive development- kids do worse in
  school
• 3 Billion people worldwide are malnourished (WHO)
• Overnourished
• People that eat in excess- diet high in saturated
  fat, sugar salt
• Diabetes heart disease prevalent as well as
  cancers
• WHO estimates 55 of developed pop is
  over-nourished.

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• Common diseases of malnutrition
• Marasmus progressive emaciation caused by
• a diet low in total calories protein
• Common in children of poor families in
• developing countries/or POWs
• Slow growth muscle atrophy
• Kwashiorkor malnutrition resulting from protein
  deficiency.
• Common among children
• Edema (fluid retention swelling),
• stunted growth, sometimes mental retardation
• Typical feature pronounced swelling
• of the abdomen

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• Producing enough food
• Our yield has increased, but so has our
  population. washout
• Global food production can be increased in the
  short term, but the long term solution to food
  supply problems is to control population
• Famines
• Crop failures caused by drought, war, flood or
  catastrophic event may result in a severe food
  shortage.
• Worst Famine was in 1983-1985 in Africa (Ethiopia
  Sudan)
• 1.5 million people died of starvation
• Somalia (1993)- drought caused political unrest
  killing 2 million
• UN intervention to stop warring factions from
  stealing relief food sent
• North Korea- late 1990s killed over 2 million
• Several years of floods drought wiping out
  farming

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• World Grain Carryover Stocks the amounts of
  rice, wheat, corn and other grains remaining from
  previous harvests as estimated at the start of a
  new harvest.
• Think of it like a bank account
• A measure of world food security where all people
  have
• access at all times to adequate amounts and
  kinds of food needed
• Poverty Food Providing enough food for all
  people is complicated by poverty, problems of
  distribution, and cultural acceptance of
  nutritious but unfamiliar foods.
• Food producing nations cannot simply give food
  away indefinitely.

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The cost of food for one week

• Compare
• of family members
• Cost of food for 1 week
• Amount of food for 1 week
• Types of food for 1 week

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Germany The Melander family of BargteheideFood
expenditure for one week 500.39
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United States The Revis family of NCFood
expenditure for one week 341.98 US
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Japan The Ukita family of Kodaira CityFood
expenditure for one week 317.25 US
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Italy The Manzo family of SicilyFood
expenditure for one week 260.11 US
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Mexico The Casales family of CuernavacaFood
expenditure for one week 189.09 US
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Poland The Sobczynscy family of
Konstancin-JeziornaFood expenditure for one
week 151.27 US
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Egypt The Ahmed family of CairoFood
expenditure for one week 68.53 US
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Ecuador The Ayme family of TingoFood
expenditure for one week 31.55 US
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Bhutan The Namgay family of Shingkhey
VillageFood expenditure for one week 5.03 US
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Chad The Aboubakar family of Breidjing
CampFood expenditure for one week 1.23 US
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Principle Types of Agriculture

• Industrialized (High-Input Agriculture)
• Large inputs of capital and energy (fossil fuels)
  to produce and run machinery, irrigate crops and
  produce agrochemicals
• Produces high yields enabling forests and natural
  areas to remain wild
• Problems soil degradation, increase in pesticide
  resistance
• Subsistence Agriculture
• Production of enough food to feed oneself and
  family with little left over to sell or reserve.
• Requires a lot of human animal energy
• Many types (next slide)

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Agroforestry Harvestable trees or shrubs are grown among or around crops or on pasture land as a means of preserving or enhancing the productivity of the land
Alley Cropping Planting crops in strips with rows of trees or shrubs on each side. Increases biodiversity, reduces runoff erosion, reduces wind erosion, improves habitat
Crop Rotation Planting a field with different crops from year to year to reduce soil nutrient depletion.
Industrial Farming Characterized by mechanization, monocultures and the use of synthetic inputs (fertilizers pesticides) with an emphasis on maximizing productivity profitability
Lo No-till farming Soil is disturbed little or not at all. Lower labor cost, reduces the need for energy and fertilizer.
Plantation Cultivation of economically desirable species of tropical plants at the expense of widespread replacement of natural/native flora. Essentially export orientated
Poly-Varietal Planting a plot of land with several varieties of the SAME crop.
Tillage Surface is plowed exposing the soil. Followed by planting. Lots of water/wind erosion.
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Types of Subsistence Agriculture

• Shifting Cultivation
• Short periods of cultivation
• are followed by periods of
• fallow in which land reverts
• to forest.
• Slash-and-Burn clear small parts of forest to
  plant crops. Must move to another area 3 yrs.
• (land intensive)
• Nomadic Livestock is supported by land that is
  too arid for successful crop growth

• Intercropping
• (aka Strip-Cropping)
• Involves growing a variety
• of plants simultaneously
• on the same field. Produce
• higher yields (pest control).
• Native Americans used this method very
  successfully.
• Polyculture several kinds of plants that mature
  at different times are planted together.

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Genetic Diversity

• When plants and animals are domesticated, much of
  the genetic diversity found in the wild pop. is
  lost
• Agriculture protects domesticated plants
  animals from pests and disease
• Globally, a few agricultural varieties are
  replacing the hundreds of varieties developed by
  farmer-breeders over centuries
• SEED BANKS!!
• Genetic Engineered Crops (GMO) moving genes from
  one species to another with desirable
  characteristics
• PROS Require less water/fertilizer, higher
  yields, less spoilage, faster growth, resistant
  to disease/drought/ insects
• CONS unknown ecological effects, less
  biodiversity, harm beneficial insects, mutations
  with unknown consequences, pesticide resistance.

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Increasing Crop Yields GREEN REVOLUTION

• Production of more food per acre of cropland by
  using modern cultivation methods and using the
  new, high yielding varieties of certain staple
  crops.
• Began in the 1950s (post-WWII)
• METHODS Planting monocultures, high application
  of inorganic fertilizers and pesticides as well
  as extensive irrigation systems
• Gave Latin American Asian countries the chance
  to produce adequate supplies of food.
• Increased yield 200 with only a 25 land usage
  increase
• Second Green Revolution (1970s) continues today
  with the use of genetically engineered crops that
  produce more yield per acre.

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Problems with the Green Revolution

• Problems
• Made developing countries dependent on imported
  technology (rather than traditional methods)
• Environmental problems such as intensive use of
  inorganic fertilizers pesticides
• Require a large amount of energy to produce
• Building of dams for irrigation
• Fossil fuels to produce/run farm equipment
• Benefited large land owners but not subsistence
  farmers
• Dependence on small number of genetic varieties
• Ex) US Wheat 50 comes from 9 varieties
• LIVESTOCK the Green Revolution
• Use of hormones antibiotics are used to
  increase yield
• Unknown human effects- EU currently bans all
  imports of hormone-treated beef because of health
  concerns.

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Environmental Impact of Agriculture

• Agricultural use of fossil fuels pesticides?
  Air poll.
• Untreated waste chemicals (fert. pest.)?
  Water poll.
• Reduce biological diversity, harm fisheries, inc.
  nuisance species
• Single largest cause of surface water pollution
  in the US!
• Agribusiness livestock are concentrated in small
  areas
• Air water pollution- quantity of manure is a
  severe waste prob.
• Ex) Hurricane Fran hog lagoons 22 large
  lagoons spilled into the floodplain and
  streams causing major fish kills.
• Pesticide resistance- forces farmers to use more
• Degradation of the future land ability to produce
  crops.
• Soil erosion (1/5 of US farm land is vulnerable
  to soil erosion)
• Habitat Fragmentation? decrease biological
  diversity!

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Solutions to Agricultural Problems 1

• Sustainable Agriculture
• Cause fewer environmental problems
• Relies on benefical biological processes env.
  friendly chem.
• Farm diversification (crops, animals, fruit,
  nuts)
• Water energy conservation /use pred.-prey to
  control pests.
• Planting crops appropriate for the area (native)
• Organic agriculture- use of NO pesticides use IPM

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Solutions to Agricultural Problems 2

• Genetic Engineering
• Taking one specific gene from a cell of one kind
  of organism and place it into a cell of an
  unrelated organism .
• May produce food plants that are more nutritious,
  resistant to insect pests and viral diseases or
  are tolerant to drought, heat, cold herbicides or
  salty soil.
• Can use ANY organism- not traditional breeding
• GM crops were cultivated on 75M acres in 2000
• Concern that the inserted genes could spread to
  weeds or wild relatives of crop plants and harm
  natural ecosystems.

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Genetic Engineering
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GMO GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISM
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Fisheries of the World

• 90 of the worlds total marine catch is FISH
• 6 clam, oyster, squid, octopus, other mollusks
• 3 lobster, shrimp, crab
• 1 is algae or seaweed
• Fish other seafood are highly nutritious
  because they
• contain high-quality protein.
• About 80 of the global ocean pollution comes
• from human activities on land.
• Is this a problem???

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Types of Fishing

• No nation lays claim to the ocean, so resources
  are more susceptible to overuse TRAGEDY of
  COMMONS
• According to the FAO, 62 of the worlds fish
  stocks are in urgent need of management action.
• Growing human population requiring protein
• Technological advances.. Fish dont have a
  chance!
• Sonar, Radar, Computers, Airplanes, Satellites
• Long lines- lines with thousands of hooks. Can
  be 128 mi long.
• Purse-seine 2000m long used to encircle fish and
  trap them
• Trawl net funnel shaped net pulled along the
  bottom. As much as 27 metric tons can be caught
  at once. Destroy habitat!
• Drift net plastic nets up to 64 km that
  entangles thousands of fish and other marine
  organisms. Banned by most countries.

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Modern Commercial Fishing Methods

• Methods have become so successful that many fish
  species are commercially extinct.
• Organisms are accidentally caught and killed in
  addition to the target species.

TRAWL BAGS Cod, Flounder, Snapper, Scallops,
Shrimp BOTTOM FISH/SHELLFISH
LONG LINE Surface Sharks, Tuna Deep Cod, Halibut
PURSE SEINES Anchovies, Herring, Mackerel, Tuna
SURFACE FISH
DRIFT NET Salmon, Tuna OPEN WATERS
BAD!! ?
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Fishing Problems

• Bycatch dead or dying organisms that are
  unintentionally caught discarded.
• 25 of the total catch
• Open Enclosure Policy organisms within 200 mi of
  land are under the jurisdiction of the country
  bordering the ocean. In response to
  overharvesting.
• Magnuson Fishery Conservation Act (1977)
• Established 8 regional fishery mgmt. councils
• that developed quotas.
• ? Revised in 1996 (Magnuson-Stevens) to protect
  essential fish habitat for more than 600 fish
  species, reduce overfishing, rebuild populations
  minimize bycatch.

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Sustainable McDonalds!
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AQUACULTURE The rearing of aquatic organisms

• Fastest growing type of food production- 1 out of
  3 fish destined for humans comes from fish farms.
• 6 of all US fish- all striped bass rainbow
  trout as well as gt ½ the salmon served.
• To optimize quality of their crops, farmers
  control the diets, breeding cycles env.
  conditions of ponds.
• Try to reduce pollution keep predators away.
• Important crops include seaweeds, oysters,
  mussels, clams, lobsters crabs.
• Developing nations produce more fish by
  aquaculture than dev. nations.

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AQUACULTURE PROBLEMS

• If coastlines are not used for habitat, other
  competing uses will take over such as development
• Produces wastes that pollute adjacent water
• Causes a net loss of wild fish because many
  farmed fish are carnivorous.
• Expensive to set up and run
• Not profitable for all organisms.
• Population must be constantly monitored for
  diseases.
• Receptivity of animals to domestication
• ex lack of territorialism

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GROWING BUSINESS.
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Solutions to Agricultural Problems

• Using your knowledge of environmental science
  from the whole year, what do YOU think are some
  solutions?
• WRITE THEM DOWN
• Discuss with a partner
• Class Discussion
• 5 minutes MAXIMUM!!