FOOD, SOIL, AND PEST MANAGEMENT

Chapter 12Alec Scaffidi

What is Food Security, and Why is it Difficult to Attain?

Food Security- Having enough nutritious food to have a healthy life

Food Insecurity- Living with chronic hunger and poor nutrition

Chronic Under Nutrition or Hunger- Not having enough food to meet basic energy needs

Malnutrition- Deficiencies in protein and key nutrients, causing physical weakness, and higher risk for disease

1 out of every 6 people in developing countries suffers from chronic under nutrition or malnutrition

Extremes in Nutrition

High populations cause scarce resources

Dense areas of poverty causing low amounts of food

Poor growing conditions

Severe shortages of food or Famine

Other Extremes Over Nutrition-

Excessive food intake, causing excess body fat

1 billion people suffer from malnutrition while another 1.6 billion people suffer from health problems brought on by over eating

How is Food Produced?

3 systems provide most of our food Croplands- Mostly grains, produce 77% of

food, using only 11% of their land for food

Rangelands, Pastures, and Feedlots- Meat, produce 16% of food, using 29% of the world’s land

Ocean Fisheries or Aquaculture- Fish 7% of food

Farm Food

Of 50,000 edible crops, 14 of them supply 90% of world’s food calories

Big 3 are wheat, rice, and corn 2/3 of world survive on those 3 crops Only a small amount of animals are used

for food

How do We Keep Up?

Industrialized Agriculture or High Input Agriculture- Many resources used to mass produce crops for consumption, usually specializing in one crop

Plantation Agriculture- Mass growing of cash crops ($$$) such as bananas, coffee beans, and other exports

Most Industrial agriculture happens in rural areas in developed countries, while plantations are in developing countries, mostly in the tropics

Types of Agriculture

Traditional Subsistence- Growing enough to survive

Traditional Insistence- Inputs used to produce more than needed in order to make a profit

Polyculture- Growing multiple crops at once Slash and Burn- Clearing an area by cutting

existing crops and burning them and using soil for more agriculture

Green Revolution- Since 1950, the industrialization of agriculture, causing higher crop yields

Meat Production About ½ of meat comes from

livestock grazing on grass Other ½ comes from feedlots,

confined animal feeding operations (fattening up for slaughter)

Industrialized meat production, produces more meat, however a lot of farmable land is used to produce less food than what could be produced

Fisheries

Fishery- concentration of aquatic species raised solely for harvest

Aquaculture- raising marine species in confined space underwater

Fisheries are the world’s fastest growing type of food production

That rise in production is called the blue revolution.

Problems in Food Production

Biodiversity Loss Soil Erosion Polluted water from pesticides Emissions from machinery polluting the

air Pesticide residues in food we eat

Soil Erosion Movement of soil components

to another place by wind or water

Topsoil is removed resulting in loss of soil fertility and pollution of water from sediment build up

Loss of soil results in desertification (resulting from human activity) and salinization (soil degradation)

Water and Industrial Problems

Over watering results in waterlogging Without adequate drainage, waterlogging

causes runoff of soils and pesticides to bigger water supplies

Higher amounts of industry causes high amounts of pollution

Genetic Engineering

With higher demand for food, industries have turned to genetically modified food

Modifying the food produces more of the food but cause major damage to the species that are modified

Chimeraplasty- Inserting a chemical instructions to genes, giving the animal desired traits

These genetic mutations lead to many problems such as irreversible ecological effects, harmful toxins in food, newer allergies, lower nutrition and more

Industrialized Meat

Advantages- More meat, higher profits, less land used, reduced overgrazing, reduced soil erosion, protection of biodiversity

Disadvantages- Large uses of grains, fish meal, and fossil fuels, as well as Greenhouse gasses, animal wastes causing pollution, and genetic alterations causing problems in humans

Industrialized Fishing

Advantages- Highly Efficient, High yield in small volume of water, reduces overharvesting of fisheries, low fuel use, and high profits

Disadvantages-Uses a lot of land, feed, and water, produces a large amount of waste, can destroy wetlands, dense populations vulnerable to disease

Pests and Pesticides

Pest- Any species that interferes with human welfare

Pesticide- Chemicals used to control or kill undesirable animals

Rachel Carson- Wrote the book Silent Spring, exposed pesticide problems

Advantage to pesticides- Increase food, profitable, and work fast

Disadvantages- Kill natural pest enemies, pollute environment, harmful to wildlife and people

How Can We Produce Food More Sustainably

Soil Conservation- Using a variety of ways to prevent soil destruction

Terracing- Planting on sloping surfaces to prevent soil erosion

Strip Cropping- Planting one crop that protects another strip of crops

Alley Cropping- Planting in alleys between trees which reduce water loss

Windbreaks- Planting to protect wind erosion

Restoring Soil Fertility

Organic Fertilizer-Made from plant and animal waste

Made from- Animal Manure, green manure (plant wastes) and compost (broken down organic material)

Inorganic fertilizer- made from various minerals

Sustainable Organic Agriculture

Organic Agriculture- crops grown with little or no pesticides

Produces More- High Yielding polyculture, organic fertilizers, biological pest control, efficient irrigation, and perennial crops

Decreases- soil erosion, aquifer depletion, overgrazing, overfishing, loss of biodiversity

Case Study: Ecological Surprises

In 1955 the chemical dieldrin was sprayed in Malaysia. The chemical killed malaria-carrying mosquitoes, cockroaches and other insects. Lizards who fed on the chemical infected insects also began to die, setting off an ecological chain reaction diminishing the cat’s food supply, causing cats to die, and allowing rats to over run the city. All of that to get rid of some bugs.