QUIZ #3: AG 1010.03
-Food aid and government support; -how agriculture plays a role; -the three types of food aid
- Food aid is generally about providing food and related assistance to address hunger, either in emergency situations or to help with longer term hunger alleviation, and to achieve food security Food aid can be provided by: A government entity, or Non-governmental organization (NGO) - organizations that operate independently from any form of government; pursue and address social, economic, and/or environmental issues //////// -???????? /////// - 1. Program Food Aid A form of "in-kind aid" Food is grown in the donor country and distributed or sold abroad. Typically a government-to-government transfer Recipient countries purchase food with money borrowed at lower interest rates Makes up the majority of aid provided by the US 2. Relief, or Emergency Food Aid: For emergency situations, such as war, natural disasters, etc. Food is distributed for free A number of countries facing some forms of chronic food insecurity have also become permanent recipients of this form of aid 3. Project Food Aid: Food aid delivered as part of a specific project related to: Promoting agricultural development Promoting economic development Promoting nutrition and food security Examples: School Feeding program
-Types of hunger
--Chronic Hunger// Persistent, prolonged, relentless conditions: Keeps people from working productively Prevents clear thinking Is intensely painful Can result in permanent damage to the body & mind Decreases resistance to disease If goes on long enough, it kills --Malnutrition// Malnutrition - lack of proper nutrition Types of Malnutrition Under nutrition: person does not get enough food Secondary malnutrition: a condition (environmental or genetic) that prevents digestion of food or absorption of nutrients Over nutrition: excess diet or calories Protein-Energy Malnutrition (PEM) Lack of protein (from meat & other sources) Necessary for key body functions, including provision of essential amino acids Lack of food to provide energy (calories) Most lethal form of malnutrition and hunger Micronutrient Deficiency Insufficient vitamins & minerals Vitamin A: scurvy, rickets, blindness Vitamin C: scurvy, teeth loss, inability to fight infection Iron: anemia, loss of energy Iodine: physical crippling, mental retardation --Malabsorptive Hunger// Condition that often occurs with hunger Body is incapable of absorbing nutrients Often parasites in intestinal tract or severe protein deficiency Common where water is contaminated & absence of medical care --Chronic Under Nutrition// The most widespread manifestation of hunger today Person consumes fewer calories and less protein than the body needs Lethargic, ill health Primary victims: children --Seasonal Hunger// Seasonal hunger is a chronic, slow, persistent, insidious condition that affects generations of people in a geographic region. Unlike famine, this hunger is a cycle of quiet and predictable starvation. ((it is a situation when someone does not get food in a season like in sowing season)) --Famine// an extreme lack of food in a region, causing suffering and death
-What are some causes of world hunger? -Why does hunger exists in the world?
-///////9 tops causes of world hunger 1. POVERTY Poverty and hunger exist in a vicious cycle: Those living in poverty often face hunger as they cannot afford nutritious food for themselves and their families. On the flip-side, hunger fuels poverty as it's difficult for people to earn more money when they're undernourished. In response, families may sell off their livestock or tools, or buy only staple foods like wheat rather than fresh fruit and vegetables. All of these measures buy short-term relief but perpetuate a longer-term cycle of hunger and poverty. This cycle often passes on from parents to their children, making it hard to break the pattern. Poverty frequently goes hand-in-hand with many of the other causes of hunger on this list — read on for more. /////// 2. FOOD SHORTAGES Over the past ten years, the Sahel region and the Horn of Africa (including Somalia and Kenya) have been repeatedly affected by food shortages and widespread malnutrition. In these areas, where families rely on their own small farms to grow their food, there are periods before harvests known as "hungry seasons." These are the times of year when food supplies from the previous harvest are all but exhausted, yet the opportunity to replenish supplies is still some time away. In years of bountiful harvests, families often try to put aside reserves. But changes in climate have led to repeated droughts in some areas and floods in others, devastating any meager reserves families might have had. That means families are forced to skip one or several meals each day in order to make it to the next harvest — which could be months away. //////// 3. WAR & CONFLICT It's not just weather and harvest patterns that lead to hunger: War and conflict are also among the leading causes. In South Sudan, civil war has led to mass displacement and abandoned fields. The resulting crop failure, combined with a soaring inflation rate that puts imported food out of reach, has left 3.5 million people hungry. Similarly, Yemen's ongoing conflict has led to 17 million people facing hunger — approximately 65% of the population. //////// 4. CLIMATE CHANGE Some countries, such as Zambia, enjoy relative peace and stability yet are often plagued by hunger due to droughts or floods. Too much or too little rainfall can destroy harvests or substantially reduce the amount of animal pasture available. Unfortunately these fluctuations — which are made worse by the El Niño weather system and are likely to increase due to changes in climate — often affect the poorest regions of the world the most. What's more, the World Bank estimates that climate change has the power to push more than 100 million people into poverty over the next decade. //////// 5. POOR NUTRITION When we talk about hunger, we're not just talking about access to food, but also access to nutrients. In order to thrive, humans need a range of foods providing a variety of essential nutrients. Poor families often rely on just one or two staple foods— like corn or wheat — which means they're not getting enough of critical macronutrients like protein, and they're also missing out on lots of important vitamins and minerals. The less nutritious a person's diet, the poorer their health will be, the less sustainable energy they will have, and the less likely they will be to break the poverty-hunger cycle. This is especially important for women and young children: Nutrition support during pregnancy and up to the age of five can help protect children for their entire lives, reducing the likelihood of disease, poor health, and cognitive impairment. Through the LANN project, communities in countries like Sierra Leone are learning how to identify nutrient-rich wild foods that are safe to eat in order to make the most of their available resources. /////// 6. POLICY Systemic problems, like poor infrastructure or a lack of investment in agriculture, often make it hard for food and water to reach those who need it most. Ending hunger requires commitment, concerted action, and political will at both national and international levels, with focuses on sustainable development, climate change, and disaster risk reduction. Each year, Concern partners with the International Food Policy Research Institute and Welthungerhilfe to produce the Global Hunger Index; released last October, the 2017 edition contains more policy suggestions to end world hunger. /////// 7. ECONOMY Much like the poverty-hunger cycle, nutritional resilience at a national level is tied to a country's economic resilience. For example, Liberia's overall economic troubles deepened after the Ebola outbreak in 2014, and now more than 15% of the country's families don't know where their next meal will come from. Working towards economic stability is crucial to addressing other issues. //////// 8. FOOD WASTE According to the World Food Programme, 1/3 of all food produced — over 1.3 billion tons of it — is never consumed. What's more, producing this wasted food also uses other natural resources that, when threatened, have a ripple effect in the countries that are already hit hardest in terms of hunger, poverty, and climate change. Producing this wasted food requires an amount of water equal to the annual flow of Russia's Volga River and adds 3.3 billion tons of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. ////////// 9. GENDER INEQUALITY In its outline of the Sustainable Development Goals, the UN reveals that, "if women farmers had the same access to resources as men, the number of hungry in the world could be reduced by up to 150 million." Female farmers are responsible for growing, harvesting, preparing, and selling the majority of food in poor countries. Women are on the frontlines of the fight against hunger, yet they are frequently underrepresented at the forums where important decisions on policy and resources are made. -Hunger exists in the wold primarily because there is a lot of poverty around the world (The causes of poverty include lack of resources, unequal income distribution in the world and within specific countries, conflict and hunger itself.).
-Risks -and benefits of using biotechnology in agriculture
-//Human health //Environmental //Socio-economic effects //Small scale farmers negatively impacted by market dominance of few powerful seed companies -///Potential environmental benefits Less application of chemicals to control disease and pests Improved productivity = less land required for cultivation Longer shelf life of products ///Human health and well-being Remove genes with potential allergies Enhancement of nutritional content Development of new pharmaceutical and vaccines
-Definitions, - characteristics of agroecosystems
-?????????????????irrigate acroecosystems, rainfed agroecosystems,The Steppe (Badia) Agroecosystem, •The living communities of soil, plants, and animals that constitute our farms, croplands, orchards, pastures, and rangelands. - • > 90% of all the crops and livestock we consume as well as livestock feed is produced by agroecosystems. • Contribute fiber crops such as cotton, flax, hemp, and jute, which we use for clothing and textile manufacturing • Unlike other ecosystems, agroecosystems do not occur naturally • Created and maintained by humans • They are former prairies or forests or even arid areas that people converted to produce crops or raise livestock • No matter how they came about, our lives depend on agroecosystems.
-What are biotechnology and genetic engineering? -How are they different than traditional breeding?3
-BIOTECHNOLOGY= The application of the technology to improve the biological function of an organism by adding genes from another organism(s) +++Biotechnology adds traits not available in the species For example: soybean does not have a gene to breakdown Roundup (herbicide); the gene comes from a bacteria Biotechnology is NOT the same as breeding Breeding only exchanges genes found in the species Breeding can transfer the genetic materials of parents to the offspring. This breeding process is NOT biotechnology. GENETIC ENGINEERING= Genetic engineering is the basic tool set of biotechnology Genetic engineering involves: +++// Isolating genes //Modifying genes so they function better //Preparing genes to be inserted into a new species //Developing transgenes - genetic material to be transferred The resulting organism, plant, or animal is then referred to as Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) or Genetically Engineered organisms (GE). -TRADITIONAL BREEDING=?????????????????????? One of my jobs in the late 1960s was to take a small piece of 200 grit sandpaper folded into a small pointed trough and collect the pollen (male flower part) from certain alfalfa plants. I then transferred this pollen to the pistil (female flower part) of another alfalfa plant. The resulting seed produced was then evaluated to see if it had nematode resistance, first in the greenhouse, then in field plots. The traditional breeding process can take 10 years or more to cross plants and select a good variety. ++++++++++++++++++++++In other plants, crosses are made using paintbrushes and tweezers to physically transfer pollen from one parent to another parent to try to combine desirable characteristics of each parent into the progeny (babies). Luther Burbank (1849-1926), the famous plant breeder/botanist, developed over 800 different varieties of fruits and vegetables using classical plant breeding methods. Simple Selection// Traditionally, farmers saved seed from plants with favorable traits, such as high yield or better flavor, for replanting. In doing so year after year, the farmers created new strains of crops. Farmers in other regions did the same thing, resulting in different strains suited to their needs. Cross-Pollination// The next development in plant breeding was cross-pollination, which involves intentionally transferring the pollen of a flower from one plant to the stigma of a flower from another plant of the same or closely related species. Successful pollination results in viable seeds. When the seeds grow, with luck, one or more of the offspring plants will exhibit beneficial traits. It's a painstaking process because trait inheritance isn't a straightforward process — crossing a disease-resistant corn variety with an extra-flavorful corn variety doesn't mean you'll get offspring with both traits. Cross-pollination requires the parent plants to be compatible — that is, the same species or a closely related species. It's still an important breeding technique and it's the primary way amateur plant breeders create new varieties. Hybridization// Cross-pollination can produce haphazard results, so plant breeders looked for ways to ensure more consistent offspring from crossed plants, resulting in a technique called hybridization. The first step in creating a hybrid is to create two pure strains of plants by repeatedly inbreeding plants until a very stable strain is attained. Breeders then cross-pollinate these parent plants, yielding seeds that grow into uniform plants with predictable traits, called F1 hybrids. The drawback is that seeds from F1 hybrids won't produce offspring with the same traits as their parents. That's why gardeners who save seeds for replanting usually avoid saving seeds from hybrids, and farmers who grow hybrids must purchase fresh seed each year. Similar to conventional cross-pollination, the creation of F1 hybrids is limited to compatible plants, usually the same or very closely related species. The tomato variety Early Girl is an example of an F1 hybrid. Natural Mutations// Natural mutations can also create unique plants. When something causes a spontaneous disruption of the normal inheritance process — perhaps a "mistake" in DNA replication — the offspring (or even just a portion of the parent plant) can display different characteristics. If the mutation confers some benefit that makes the plant better able to survive, the trait may be passed down to subsequent generations. On rare occasions these mutations yield traits that are considered desirable to plant breeders. For example, the Red Bartlett pear is a mutation of the green-fruited pear; it tastes similar but has beautiful rosy red skin. Many variegated plants are the result of naturally occurring mutations that caught the eye of a breeder, who propagated plants from the mutated plant material. Induced Mutations// Observing how mutations can alter offspring, plant breeders began trying to induce mutations using irradiation and chemicals, hoping they'd eventually stumble upon mutations that resulted in beneficial changes. Star Ruby grapefruit and Ice Cube lettuce are examples of varieties created by induced mutations. Breeders also discovered that plants grown using tissue culture, during which plant tissue is cultivated using artificial nutrients in sterile conditions, are more prone to mutation than conventionally grown plants. Although the mutations are artificially induced, the DNA remains that of a single species.
-Food security vs food insecurity -What are the various factors affecting food insecurity and how do each of these factors affect world hunger?
-Food Security exists when: ///"All people, at all times, have physical, social and economical access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food which meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy lifestyle." - FAO ///Food insecurity is a direct cause of chronic hunger on a world wide level -FOOD INSECURITY FACTORS: Land rights and ownership Diversion of land use to non-productive use Increasing emphasis on export-oriented agriculture Inefficient agricultural practices War, famine, drought Over-fishing, depletion of natural resources Poor crop yield Lack of democracy & rights Lack of education, especially for women
-GMOs, the most common crops that have been genetically modified and what those genetic modifications are
-GMO= Plant/crop that contains an added gene sequence Plant/crop that has a deleted gene sequence Animal products from animals fed GE/GM feed Products produced by GE/GM organisms Microbes, bacteria, fungi... -CROPS: CORN,COTTON,SOYBEANS //all been genetically engineered to be herbicide resistant. PAPAYA //genetically engineered a Virus coat protein to resist Papaya Ringspot Virus
-Goods and -services provided by agroecosystems
-Goods ((• Food crops • Fiber crops • Crop genetic resources)) • =Food - Agroecosystems provided 94% of all the plant and animal protein; 99% of all the calories consumed by humans • Meat - Global meat demand is expected to increase over 60% by 2025, increasing people's protein intake. • Fiber - Fiber crops in North America comprised 0.1% of harvest area and about 0.03% of the total value of agricultural production. - Services (( • Maintain limited watershed functions (infiltration, flow control, partial soil protection)) •= Provide habitat for birds, pollinators, soil organisms important to agriculture • Build soil organic matter • Sequester atmospheric carbon • Provide employment)) •= Employment - Food production employs approx. 1.4 billion people and is valued at around $1.5 trillion per year. • Carbon storage - Agroecosystems contain 18-24% of the carbon stored in all terrestrial ecosystems, mostly in the soil rather than the plants. •= Biodiversity - Although 90% of our calorie intake comes from just 30 crops, more than 7,000 crop species exist—a wealth of alternative food crops.
-What are some of the characteristics of rural poor, urban poor, disaster victims
-RURAL POOR= Biggest group Don't have the resources or access to food Lack the infrastructure to receive or produce ample amounts of food In most cases, difficult to reach & supply aid URBAN POOR= Live in cities & have access to food Lack the financial resources to buy food DISASTER VICTIMS= Natural disasters can cause infrastructure destruction Homes, livelihood Reduced access to food Reduced resources to buy food
-Why use biotechnology in agriculture?
-Traditional breeding methods can be a slow and laborious process Biotechnology is seen as a faster process and opens up new opportunities not possible with traditional breeding methods
-Challenges facing agroecosystems
-• For the past 40 years, as the global population doubled, agroecosystems have kept pace with our demands for food, feed, and fiber. • By 2050 agroecosystems will have to supply food for an estimated 2 billion more people. • Can agroecosystems continue to keep up? What about the years beyond 2050 — are today's farming methods sustainable into the future? • In the Unites States we may not need to worry about widespread hunger - rich enough to import the food • Concern about other people in other countries and those who cannot afford to buy the available food.
-Who are the primary victims of hunger?
Childrens are the primary victims of hunger. Nearly 1/3 of children in developing countries are chronically malnourished >70% live in Asia, 26% in Africa, 4% in Latin America & Caribbean Single most serious health problem Biggest contributor to child death worldwide About 5 million deaths/year More than HIV, TB, malaria combined ~16,000 children die/day from hunger-related causes 1 child every 5 seconds Undernurishment worsens effects of other diseases - contributing to related deaths Malaria (57%) Measles (45%) Pneumonia (52%) Diarrhea/dehydration (61%)
-What is a transgene?
a gene or genetic material that has been transferred naturally, or by any of a number of genetic engineering techniques from one organism to another