Food Production-Chapters 11 and 12
Malnutrition (2)
A condition that affects those who live on diets consisting mostly of grains and little to no protein. It is a deficiency of protein and other key macro and micro nutrients which causes these people to be weaker, more susceptible to disease, and physically and mentally stunted in growth (277) Populations who are impoverished and do not have equal access to protein rich food are more likely to suffer from malnutrition because they cannot gain equal access to healthy food. It affects a huge number of people, over one in six, throughout the world. Equal access to nutritious food would thus greatly increase the life expectancy and mortality rates of these malnourished populations.
Cover Crops (3)
A crop of food planted in strip cropping that completely covers the soil and thus traps topsoil that would normally erode. In strip cropping rows of cover crops are planted between row crops, catching soil that erodes from the row crops naturally and catching water that flows when the row crops are harvested. They are also crops that are planted immediately after a harvest in the place of row crops in order to prevent soil erosion, because their strong roots will keep soil in place until it is time to plant a new harvest of row crops (302). Examples of cover crops include alfalfa, cover, rye, and legumes.
Traditional Subsistence Agriculture (1)
A form of traditional agriculture that uses human labor and animal labor in order to produce enough food to insure the family's survival with enough left over to sell for a living wage or to store for times of famine (280). This method of farming is practiced by over 2.7 billion people, which is about 42% of the world's population, and provides about 1/5 of the world's food. While it is often more environmentally friendly because there is generally less pesticide use, these people are often more ignorant of environmental consequences and more desperate to feed their families and thus will turn to fertilizers and pesticides more easily. This type of farming is also less efficient than industrialized farming because less crops grow in a larger amount of land.
Trawling (3)
A method of catching fish by dragging large nets weighted down with steel plates over the ocean floor. This is usually utilized to catch bottom dwelling fish and shellfish (like crab). (page 251) This method is very destructive to coral reefs, and also kills other bottom dwelling fish not intended to be caught by crushing them or burying them under sediment. This method affects a very large amount of land as well. Russia, China, and South Korea have (finally) agreed to a ban on bottom trawling in the high seas as of 2010, but it will be difficult to enforce.
Sustainable Fishing (1)
A method of catching fish using environmentally sound and socially responsible practices that do not harm the ecosystem and allow for the ecosystem to survive indefinitely (265). The Marine Stewardship Council supports sustainable fishing and certifies sustain ably produced sea food by giving sustainable fisheries the 'Fish Forever' eco label. Walmat has promised that it will soon only sell MSC certified fish, which could drastically improve fishing practices due to their large market reach.
Organic Food (1)
A method of food growth in which crops are grown without the use of any synthetic pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, or genetically modified organisms, and animals are grown without the use of genetic engineering, feed additives, or synthetic growth regulators (307). Organic farming is currently the fastest growing sector of the agricultural economy. Organic farming produces similar yields with less soil erosion, less aquifer depletion, less overgrazing and overfishing, less waste, less salinization, less biodiversity loss, and also improves soil fertility and is more sustainable through uses of IPM, efficient irrigation, crop rotation, and water-efficient crops. While yields of organic crops can be up to 20% lower, farmers break even because they do not have to pay for pesticides and receive more compensation for their crops. Organic farming is currently only 1% of cropland in the world, and only .3% of cropland in the United States.
Longlining (3)
A method used to catch fish at various ocean depths by putting out very long lines with hooks throughout that are baited. Fish are attracted to these baited hooks and then taken up by the boat that gave off the line. This method is used to catch open ocean species at various depths such as swordfish, tuna, halibut, and cod. (257) This method harms the environment by hoking and killing sea turtles, dolphins, and sea birds because these animals are also attracted to the baited hooks used to attract the target species.
Purse Seine Fishing (3)
A method used to catch fish that live on the surface of the ocean. A spotter airplane locates a school of fish travelling, and a fishing vessel encloses it within a large net (that looks suspiciously like a purse). This is primarily used to catch tuna, mackerel, anchovies, and herring (256). These nets also catch other fish that travel around the school of target species, such as dolphins, thus damaging the environment.
Drift-Net Fishing (3)
A method used to catch fish that uses large drifting nets and pulls them across the water using a large fishing vessel. (257) This method kills a lot of animals very quickly, and also harms non-target species such as sea turtles and dolphins. This was banned by the U.N. for any drift nets over 1.6 miles in international water, but compliance is voluntary and hard to enforce, so they are most likely still used. These can be extremely detrimental to biodiversity in an ecosystem by killing off massive quantities of fish very quickly.
Hydroponics (1)
A method where plants are grown with their roots located in troughs inside of a greenhouse and water is pumped from the troughs and then sprayed onto the plants as a type of 'rain'. (279). This is a water-saving method used when growing crops inside of greenhouses in areas not adept for growing crops outdoors due to low rainfall or other issues. Because it recycles water, it uses 1/5-1/10 less water than traditional farming methods and is useful in areas with low amounts of rainfall and fresh water, like Africa.
Wetland Mitigation (1)
A policy to ensure the conservation of vital wetland areas by requiring that any construction that destroys an existing wetland area must create an equal area of the same type of wetland (266). While good in theory, this policy may be ineffective if the new wetlands created are not successful for providing a new wetland ecosystem, as it is very difficult to create a wetland ecosystem from scratch. Ecologists say that it should be used only as a last resort, and that if it must be done, that the new wetland areas be constructed and evaluated before the existing wetlands are destroyed.
Aquaculture (1)
A process of catching fish for human consumption where marine and freshwater fish are raised in underwater cages and ponds. This method currently accounts for 43% of fish consumed (285) Aquaculture is a rapidly increasing form of seafood production and has increased 40 fold since 1950. Aquaculture is often known as the 'Blue Revolution'. Most aquaculture raises herbivorous species like carp, catfish, tilapia, and shellfish. Limits on aquaculture production include the increased use of grain as feed in both aquaculture and CAFO's. Environmental concerns arising from aquaculture include the contamination of fish species grown using this method from a diet of fish meal which could cause them to have high levels of PCB. It can also require a great deal of land, feed and water, and can destroy mangrove forests and estuaries in order to get it. Lastly, the dense growth of these populations leaves them vulnerable to disease that could easily affect the health of the human population that eats it.
No-Till Farming (3)
A process of farming where farmers do not till, or overturn, the soil using plows in order o reduce the soil erosion (303). This method of farming increases crop yields, stores more carbon in the soil, and lowers the use of water and fuel necessary to plow and till the soil each year. This method reduces soil erosion, but also requires more input of pesticides and insecticides for crops to grow. It is used on 80% of United States cropland and is being adopted rapidly in Brazil, Argentina, Canada, and Australia.
Salinization (1)
A process of soil degradation caused by manual irrigation of land. Irrigation water that contains salt is distributed onto land, and when the water evaporates, leaves behind a thin layer of the remaining salt in the soil, which over time can build up and degrade the topsoil (288) Over 20% of the world's cropland is manually irrigated, and this land produces 40% of the world's food supply, making the threat of this land loss through salinization frightening as it could cause massive food shortages. Salinization causes lower crop yields, stunts crop growth, and eventually ruins the land for future crop use. The most severe salinization currently affects China, India, Egypt, Pakistan, and Iraq. Western states in the United States are also affected. Severe salinization has decreased yields in 1/10 of the world's croplands.
Green Revolution (2)
A process where there has been an increase global food production through the use of industrialized agricultural technology to increase yield that has occurred in three steps: Development of high yield-varieties of key crops in monoculture, production of high yields through fertilizer and pesticide use on these monocultures, and increases in the number of crops grown per year on a plot of land through multicropping. In the second Green Revolution that started in 1967, varieties of rice and wheat plants have been bred to grow in tropical climates and have been introduced to developing countries. (281). These green revolutions are important because they have tripled the amount of grain production and increased the global food production by 31%. This has increased the amount of people that can be fed on Earth and is overall a positive thing, but the environmental impacts must be controlled.
Integrated Coastal Management (1)
A strategy to develop a community based effort that uses coastal resources in a sustainable manner (263). These programs aim for all members of a coastal community, from the fishermen to the scientists to developers to citizens to work together to develop cost-effective and sustainable solutions to problems with marine biodiversity and environmental quality. The goal is to create a compromise between economic, societal, and environmental factions with respect to the coastal environment. This is a very effective and positive manner to preserve these vital marine ecosystems while still keeping the economy of these areas viable. An example of where this is used would be the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.
Industrialized Agriculture (1)
Also known as high input agriculture. A type of method used to grow crops that uses heavy equipment, large amounts of money, large amounts of fuel, large amounts of water, and a great deal of fertilizers and pesticides in order to produce only one type of crop ( a monoculture). This method is driven by a goal to produce higher yield. It is practiced mainly in the developed world on 25% of all cropland (279). This type of agriculture is very common within the United States and is harmful to the environment due to excess pesticide use that can become runoff in watersheds and also affect wildlife, and also takes up a great deal of space and destroys the native ecosystem that it replaced. It also uses a lot of water that often has to be pumped in to irrigate the land, which is wasteful of limited water resources.
Local Food (1)
Food which is produced by farmers and livestock growers within a buyer's local community and purchased at a farmer's market or other outlet (309) Purchasing local food requires less transportation cost for the food to arrive from the field to the plate because it is grown close to the consumer. Local farming also helps consumers develop closer relationships with their farmer and influence uses of pesticides, fertilizers, and make farms more sustainable because their business means more to these small local businesses. Local food also includes CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture) where a person buys a share in a community farm and their food is delivered to them at appointed times every week. While these methods are generally positive for the community, purchasing small amounts of food at a far away farmer's market can sometimes be more detrimental to the environment due to the large amount of energy used to travel to the farmer's market. This can be eased by growing food close to home, sometimes in one's own backyard.
Soil Erosion (1)
The movement of soil, specifically the O and A horizons of humus and topsoil, to another area of land by wind, water, or other processes (287). While soil erosion can be a natural process, it can also be caused by human activities such as the leveling of land for crop growth, destroying plant life leading to destruction of root systems that anchor the soil, allowing animals to overgraze land destroying the grasses that anchor soil, and using off-road vehicles that overturn the soil allowing it to be carried by wind and rain. Soil is a renewable resource, but it forms very slowly, and is currently being destroyed at a faster rate than it is being produced. Soil erosion in large quantities can cause the lack of soil fertility and water pollution when soil sediment corrupts a water source, destroying an entire ecosystem in said water source.
Agribusiness (1)
The state of industrialized farming in the United States where a small number of huge international corporations (Monsanto, etc) control the growth, production, and distribution of the world's food supply at a growing rate (282) Agribusiness is the largest part of many country's economies, and employs more people than any industry. These huge conglomerates have greatly increased yield per acre of land and thus have required less natural ecosystems to be destroyed for conversion to farmland. However, because they rely heavily on monoculture farming techniques and heavy pesticide and fertilizer use, they can also be very damaging to the environment. Their focus on large business and profit often causes them to make decisions that will increase profits in the short term, but in the long term hurt the environment and the population, such as degradation of natural ecosystems or heavy pesticide use.
Soil Conservation (1)
The use of multiple methods that reduce soil erosion in order to restore the fertility of soil and allow it to be used to grow crops. This is most commonly done by keeping the soil planted with vegetation that keeps soil from eroding by holding it with strong root systems (302). Examples of soil conservation methods include terracing (planting crops on multiple levels of a steep slope to prevent soil erosion by water runoff), contour planting (plowing crops in rows across the slope of the land so each row holds topsoil and slows water runoff), strip cropping (planting alternating strips of row crops and cover crops to trap topsoil left by the row crop), alley cropping (planting rows of crops between rows of trees and shrubs which can also be used as natural commodities such as animal feed), and windbreaks (the planting of trees around rows of crops to prevent soil erosion).
Food Security (1)
When every person in an area has enough access to quality food so that they are able to live a healthy and reasonably active lifestyle (276). Food security is difficult to attain for all people despite the fact that the world currently produces enough food for everyone. Food insecurity most commonly affects those in developing countries, but is seen in developed countries as well with the impoverished classes. The root cause of food insecurity is poverty because the poor are unable to buy or grow enough food to sustain themselves and their families. Problems with food distribution and transportation resulting from corruption, war, or political instability also lead to food insecurity. Increasing food security leads to a healthier more active society.
Overfishing (1)
When humans over-harvest the fish, shellfish, and marine mammals within a marine or freshwater ecosystem, resulting in a depletion of marine life (254). Modern fishing methods are more effective, so it is much easier to overfish a population of fish and can be done in less time. 80% of a target species, such as cod and tuna, can be depleted in only 15 years or less. Overfishing leads to commercial extinction, when it is no longer economically viable to fish and sell a certain species of fish because there are so few remaining. Time is then given for a fish population to recover, but as over-fishing continues and fishing processes get more successful, recovery times for species get longer. An example of a fish that was overfished was the Atlantic Cod in Canada in 1992 that resulted in a ban of cod fishing.
Wild and Scenic River (1)
Wild rivers are rivers that are unable to be commercially accessed by means other than a natural trail.Scenic rivers are rivers that are free of damns, undeveloped, and accessible only by a limited number of places by roads and trails. (271). These rivers were protected by the National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act in 1968 from any straightening, dredging, filling, or damming that might disrupt these rivers. While this is positive, these rivers are less than 2% of United States rivers, and less than .2% of total river length, making this legislation very ineffective for protecting United States rivers as a whole.
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) (1)
A sustainable approach to eliminating pests from agriculture where each crop and each pest is identified as part of a large ecological system, and farmers then develop a process to control pests that utilizes cultivation, biological controls, and chemicals in a specific way (300) This method is used to reduce crop damage to a level that is tolerable, and pest control methods are only employed when pest infestations reach these economically damaging levels. First, farmers use biological control methods like natural pest predators and disease, then use cultivation controls, and finally use small amounts of natural insecticides and chemical controls in limited doses as a last resort. Increased use of IPM resulted in an increase in production of 15% and decrease in pesticide use by 65% in Indonesia. IPM cuts pesticide use by over half and can also reduce inputs of fertilizer and slow the development of genetic resistance of pests. It's disadvantages are that it is more time intensive, varies significantly in each farm due to changing conditions and crops, requires a high level of knowledge by farmers, has higher initial costs, and is not supported by government subsidies like traditional pesticides are.
Desertification (1)
A threatening process to agriculture and livestock operations that occurs when soil productivity is degraded by at least 10% because of a prolonged drought or because of human activities that degrade the topsoil. This is on a spectrum of severity from moderate (10-25%), severe (25-50%), to very severe (>50%)(288). This process in severe cases can increase the land of desert ecosystems, or cause there to be desert land in a place where land was once fertile. Human activities have increased the desert lands, which in the future can result in less food production to to less arable land to grow crops on. Desertification is a problem in Africa and Asia, with Nigeria, Iran, Afghanistan, and China being the countries suffering the most. Desertification is expected to increase in the future due to climate change, and could cause both food and water shortages for billions of people.
Slash-and-Burn Agriculture (2)
A type of polyculture method of growing food that is a subsistence method where small plots of tropical forests are cleared and a variety of crops are grown in that space until the soil is depleted of nutrients, where the process is repeated on another plot of land (280). This method is useful only if done sustainably, where plots of land that are emptied of nutrients are left fallow for 10-30 years and planted with trees and medicines that will restore nutrients to the soil. In areas of Africa where this method is used with a variety of plants, it can prevent erosion, restore nutrients to the soil, and provide food all year long to a population. If it is used by too many or too often, it can wipe out an entire ecosystem and deplete all of the nutrients from a soil in a method that will leave the area uninhabitable and unusable for many many years.
Confined Animal Feedlot Operations (CAFO's) (1)
A way to produce meat for human consumption in which animals are fed grains (like corn or barley) or meals consisting of fish and other animal scraps, and kept in crowded conditions before being pumped full of antibiotics and sent to slaughter. While very inhumane, it is an extremely efficient way of producing meat. (284). An example of a CAFO is a cattle feedlot that takes in cows for about four months and keeps them in a crowded gated enclosure, feeding them a high fat diet in order to 'fatten them up' before being shipped off about 4 months later to slaughter. This method of meat production has increased meat production fourfold since 1961, but could face limits such as the amount of land designated not just to growing these animals, but from growing the grain that feeds them. Also, industrialization leads to increased meat consumption, leading to an increased reliance on grain imports, which can weaken a country economically. As more countries become industrialized, this will cause large grain deficits and food shortages. Advantages of CAFOs include increased meat production, less land use, and no risk of overgrazing. Disadvantages include the thorough pollution of air via greenhouse gases as a result of transportation and operation of feedlots as well as methane emitted from livestock fed a grain diet. The large inputs of grain, oil, and water are also very wasteful and disruptive to the environment. Also, a large amount of waste is produced from these feedlots, which often pollutes water sources causing eutrophication and nastiness.
Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO's)
Also known as transgenic organisms. These are plants that have been developed using genetic engineering to possess a desirable trait. A foreign gene is inserted into a plasmid that is taken up by a agrobacteria cell, which then exchanges information with the plant cell of interest, which takes up the plasmid into it's nucleus and copies its DNA to its offspring, resulting in a strain of plant with the desired trait (283). Examples of genetic engineering include the 'Golden Rice' which is rice with genes from daffodils that code for Beta Carotene in order to provide more nutrients to those in developing countries. There is also Round-Up Ready Soybeans that are genetically engineered to specifically survive in conditions with Round Up pesticide, which allows farmers to spray way too much pesticide on their crops and still grow soybeans. Controversy over GMO's exist as well. The advantages include a possible solution to a global food crisis by creating crops that can grow in more variable soil, water, and weather conditions with less fertilizers, pesticides, and waste through spoilage, and could also have higher nutrient concentrations to help the malnourished population. Disadvantages could be that GMO's could spread pollen to naturally occurring cropland and eliminate biodiversity if it is naturally selected to better survive and reproduce at a faster rate than traditional crops. Many are concerned about possible consequences, since the genetic modifications of these plants have not been tested thoroughly on human beings
Overnutrition (2)
An occurrence in developed countries where food energy intake exceeds the energy that is expended through daily functions and excess food is stored as body fat. This is caused by too much food intake and too little exercise, and causes a decreased life expectancy, greater susceptibility to illness, and lower quality of life (278). America has the highest overnutrition rate of any country. It is vital to solve this problem in order to stop using excess energy to create food that ultimately is harmful for human consumption and instead put energy into creating food to feed those that are malnourished.
Marine Protected Areas (3)
Areas of the ocean that are protected from human activities by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (260). There are 200 United States MPA's, and 4000 internationally. While it sounds ideal to have a protected area of ocean, most of these areas still allow trawler fishing, dredging, and other harmful methods of fishing to the oceans, making this an non-ideal solution to ocean degradation.
IWC (1)
International Whaling Commission, established in 1946 by the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling. It regulated the whaling industry by setting quotas on the amount of whales that could be hunted in order to prevent the overharvesting of whales to commercial and biological extinction. This was established in response to the overharvesting of whales in the early 1900's (258). This was hugely ineffective because most countries ignored the quotas and these quotas were arbitrary anyways, as they were based off of exaggerated or inadequate data. It also had no powers of enforcement to ensure that the quotas were followed or punish those that did not follow them. Countries such as Japan and Norway openly kill whales and defy all regulations against whale hunting. Japan, Norway, Iceland, and Russia hope to overthrow the ban on commercial whaling set by the IWC to help their economies.
Foodshed (1)
The area where a food is grown, transported, and consumed. More recently the term foodshed has been used to talk about the food that grows locally within one's community. Food from one's foodshed can vary by season because most crops can only be grown and harvested in a particular season. Those who like to eat within their foodshed use preserving methods such as canning, drying, salting, blanching, and freezing their food, but at times this can use more energy than the energy taken to buy food non-locally. Examples of foods that grow in Ohio's foodshed are apples, apricots, blackberries, blueberries, cantaloupes, cherries, chestnuts, walnuts, grapes, honeydew, nectarines, peaches, pears, plums, raspberries, strawberries, eggs, milk, green beans, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, corn, cucumber, eggplant, garlic, kale, lettuce, onions, potatoes, pumpkins, spinach, squash, tomatoes, watermelon, zucchini, chickens, cows, deer, hogs, horses, lamb, alpacas, goats, turkeys, ostriches, llamas, elk, geese, duck, barley, corn, beans, hay, oats, wheat, and soybeans.
Sustainable Agriculture (1)
The method of growing crops and raising livestock that can be done indefinitely with minimal harm to the environment. This is done by using organic fertilizers, soil conservation methods, water conservation methods, biological pest controls, and through minimal usage of fossil fuels (310) Sustainable agriculture is important because it will be necessary to provide food for the increasing population on Earth. Methods will be needed that will not degrade arable land and waste as little as possible in order to efficiently feed growing populations. Decreased use of fossil fuel and increased yields will make the agricultural and food process more sustainable.