cooking a meal in africa - people.umass.edupeople.umass.edu/~envhl565/powerpoint/powerpoint... ·...
TRANSCRIPT
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 1
LIVING WITH THE EARTH
Cooking a meal in
Africa
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 2
Objectives for this Chapter
• A student reading this chapter will be able to:– 1. Discuss the impact of population on
resources and ecosystems.– 2. Define the following terms and explain their
response to population growth: retrogression, soil erosion, desertification, deforestation, wetlands destruction, and wildlife destruction
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 3
Objectives for this Chapter
– 3. Define the term food security and discuss the reasons leading to food insecurity among many nations worldwide.
– 4. List the suggested steps that might be taken to minimize global food insecurity.
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 4
Objectives for this Chapter
– 5. Explain the most likely reasons for a growing food insecurity in the United States.
– 6. List and discuss the demographics of the populations in the United States at risk to food insecurity.
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 5
LIVING WITH THE EARTH
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY
INTRODUCTION: THE DEBATE – The ability of our planet to sustain and feed the
dramatic increases in human population growth has been an on-going debate stretching back over 200 years.
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 6
The Viewpoint of Malthus and Followers
• Neo-Malthusians (Malthus, 1789)– Human growth is
logarithmic and plants grow arithmetically. Growth will eventually surpass the ability of the land to feed the expanding population.
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 7
Technology and Policy Will Save the Day
• Cornucopians– The real threat to global
stability is the failure of nations to pursue economic trade and research policies that increase food production, more evenly distribute food and resources, and limit environmental pollution.
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 8
Technology and Policy Will Save the Day
• The Green Revolution– Strains of plants are being developed that resist
diseases, pests, drought and flooding.– So striking has been the increased production,
that the incorporation of these new variety of seeds and processes became known as the “Green Revolution.”
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 9
The Green Revolution
– The world markets and the “Green Revolution” may promote monocultural technology that could prove to be ecologically unstable (Fig. 3-1).
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 10
Fig. 3-1
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 11
The Green Revolution
• Cross-breeding (Fig. 3-2)• Induced Mutation (Fig. 3-2)• Gene Transfer (Fig. 3-3)• Precision Farming (Fig. 3-4)
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 12
Fig. 3-2. Cross-breeding and Mutation
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 13
Fig. 3-3. Gene TransferAdapted from Budiansky.6
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 14
Fig. 3-4 Precision Farming
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 15
The Green Revolution
– These advances in agricultural technologies have contributed significantly to reducing hunger in millions of people.
– However, the growth of the human population in many of the lesser developed countries has exceeded the capacity of even these technological wonders in agricultural production.
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 16
Energy
– Wood is being used at such a rapid pace in some LDCs that forested regions have been decimated, and the collection of wood for fuel may require several hours each day or as much as 25 percent of average income.
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 17
Energy
– On the other hand, the history of fuel use in the developed nations moved from wood to more efficient fuels.
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 18
Energy
– The impact of human activity on environments can be summarized by the following relationship:
I=P*A*T
Paul Errlich, Stanford
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 19
EnergyI=P*A*T
–Where:• I: the impact of human energy-related
activity on the globe• P: is the population size• A: is the affluence in terms of per capita
consumption• T: is the technologies to supply each unit
of consumption
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 20
Attitude and Behavior
– Will we progress in a smooth transition to a world of global stability and health, or will national and personal interests prevail at the expense of the larger global community?
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 21
Attitude and Behavior
What are the attitudes and behaviors that may have an impact on this outcome?
• Tragedy of the Commons– Many members of any society will likely pass
on the consequences of their destructive actions if they will benefit in the short term and receive little or no negative consequences from that action. Garrett Harden
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 22
Attitude and Behavior
• The Pioneer– The consequences of laying waste to a land in
the past were minimized by the ability of the population to emigrate.
– The pioneer mentality cannot be continued indefinitely in the presence of massive population increases.
– We must seek a sustainable development.
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 23
Attitude and Behavior
• Declining Investment in Technologies– Government funding for organizations which
are largely responsible for the Green Revolution has been falling.
– The major gains in food crops experienced as part of the Green Revolution are unlikely to continue in the absence of investment in research and development.
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 24
Attitude and Behavior
• Family Planning Cuts– The United States reduced overall foreign
assistance in 1996 with a 25 percent decrease in USAIDs funds and a 35 percent cut in the family planning/population assistance budget.
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 25
These cuts could result in:
• 220 million unintended pregnancies; • 117,000 additional maternal deaths and 1.5
million women who experience permanent impairment;
• 9.3 million additional deaths of infants and young children.
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 26
IMPACTS ON THE ENVIRONMENT
• As the population increases the need for food increases.
• As the need for food increases, land is cleared, soil is degraded, and desertification occurs.
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 27
Deforestation
– Biomes include tropical rainforests, temperate forests, prairies, deserts, and arctic tundra.
– The majority of tropical forest biomes occur in areas of the world at risk from overpopulation and many are being threatened with slash and burn techniques to make room for croplands.
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 28
Deforestation
– Defined as the permanent decline in crown cover of trees to a level that is less than 10 percent of the original cover.
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 29
Deforestation
• The Benefits of Rainforests are:– a major producer of oxygen for the global
atmosphere; – the major carbon dioxide sink; – a potential source of new pharmaceuticals
useful in the treatment of human disease;– and an important source of species diversity.
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 30
Deforestation
• Rainforests (Fig. 3-5, 3-6)– In spite of the numerous benefits from
rainforests, they are disappearing at an alarming rate.
– By 1987, tropical rainforests were disappearing at the rate of 42 million acres each year, representing a loss of 115,000 acres each day.
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 31
Fig. 3-5Source from NASA..24
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 32
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 33
Fig. 3-6Adapted from NASA.24
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 34
Soil Degradation
• What is soil?– Soil consists of small
particles of rock and minerals mixed with a major proportion of plant and animal matter in various stages of decay.
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 35
Soil Degradation
– Plants are called autotrophic because they synthesize their own food from inorganic substances.
– Plants also derive nutrients from soil• Micronutrients• Macronutrients
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 36
Soil Degradation
• Loam– Soils best suited for agriculture consist of sand,
silt, and some clay in a homogeneous mixture referred to as loam.
• Humus– Complex organic matter that has been
biologically broken down so that original plant and animal matter is unrecognizable.
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 37
Soil Degradation
• Humus serves to:– retain moisture much
as a sponge; – serve as an insulator to
heat and cold; – and to bind and release
nutrients to plants in useable forms.
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 38
Fig. 3-7 Major Soil Biomes
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 39
Soil Degradation
• Soil Erosion– As woods are cut and fields are plowed to plant
crops, soils are lost to the effects of wind and runoff water (Fig. 3-8).
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 40
Fig. 3-8Adapted from Turk and Turk.7
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 41
Soil Degradation
• Farming techniques practiced to reduce soil erosion are:– Rotation– Fallowing– Terracing
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 42
Soil Erosion
– Globally, soil erosion claims over a billion acres every year, and 1.2 billion acres of global cropland is losing topsoil so rapidly that these acres are expected to become unproductive in the next few decades.
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 43
The Process of Desertification
• What is desertification?– Land degradation in
arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas resulting from various factors, including climactic variations and human activities.
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 44
Desertification
– About 15 billion acres or one third of the earth is dry land, and 2.5 billion (or 16 percent of the earth’s surface) of these dryland acres are hyperarid deserts where there is little or no growth.
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 45
The Process of Desertification
– Poverty and the need for food is an enormous pressure that defies a flexible land use response and leads to desertification (Fig. 3-9).
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 46
Fig. 3-9
Once forested land in Africa
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 47
The Process of Desertification
• The Costs of Desertification– Economic losses from desertification are
calculated to be $40 billion while the cost of recovering these lands worldwide is estimated at $10 billion annually.
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 48
Wetlands – What are they?
– Wetlands are those areas of land where water saturation is the major factor influencing the nature of soil development and the communities of plants and animals that live in the soil and on the surface.
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 49
Wetlands
• Types of wetlands (Fig.3-10):– Swamps– Bogs– Prairie potholes – Bottomland Hardwood Forests– Estuaries
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 50
Fig. 3.10Source> USEPA, Office of Wetlands, Oceans, and Watershed. 40
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 51
Freshwater Marshes & SwampsSource> USEPA, Office of Wetlands, Oceans, and Watershed. 40
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 52
BogsSource> USEPA, Office of Wetlands, Oceans, and Watershed. 40
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 53
Prairie potholesSource> USEPA, Office of Wetlands, Oceans, and Watershed. 40
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 54
Bottomland Hardwood ForestsSource> USEPA, Office of Wetlands, Oceans, and Watershed. 40
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 55
Coastal Marshes and EstuariesSource> USEPA, Office of Wetlands, Oceans, and Watershed. 40
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 56
Benefits of Wetlands
– Wetlands purify and replenish water supplies.– Wetlands are extremely rich in biomass (the
amount of plant and animal life).– Wetlands are an important source of food.
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 57
Benefits of Wetlands
– Wetlands absorb large amounts of carbon dioxide from the air.
– Wetlands control flooding in low-lying areas as they work like sponges
– Wetlands protect coastal areas from storms.– Wetlands provide recreation and beauty.
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 58
Wetland Losses
– An estimated 300,000 acres (120,000 hectares) of wetlands are drained or filled every year in the U.S.
– Wetlands were considered a nuisance to farmers and settlers and these areas were filled in.
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 59
The Loss of Biodiversity and Extinction of Species
– Biodiversity refers to the range of animal and plant species and the genetic variability among those species.
– Why is biodiversity important?• The greater the range of genetic variation, the more
likely there will be a survivor species in the event of major catastrophies.
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 60
The Loss of Biodiversity and Extinction of Species
• Background– 99% of all species that ever existed are thought
to be extinct.– The Permian extinction caused 90 percent of all
species in the oceans to disappear, two thirds of reptiles and amphibian families perished, and up to 30 percent of insect orders were lost.
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 61
The Loss of Biodiversity and Extinction of Species
• Background– Records of fossils show that entire groups of
organisms including fish, reptiles, birds and mammals have replaced one another over long periods of time (Fig. 3-11).
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 62
Fig. 3-11
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 63
The Loss of Biodiversity and Extinction of Species
• Background– It appears that the planet is now losing more
species than are being created, and that the activities of humans are the reason for a rapidly growing species extinction and loss in biodiversity.
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 64
Loss in Biodiversity
– Of the 4,327 known mammal species, 1,096 are at risk, and 169 are in extremely high risk of extinction in the wild in the immediate future (Fig. 3-12)
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 65
Fig. 3-12Adpated from Doyle. 51
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 66
Threats to Biodiversity• Loss of Habitat
– Most significant threat to biodivesity today is elimination of habitat for agriculture and housing. Half of 300 mussel species lost in US to pollution of rivers and creation of dams.
• Over-harvesting– Cod in the North Sea off New England are
heavily exploited with as much 60 percent of the fishable stock being removed annually.
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 67
Threats to Biodiversity
• Non-native Species– Rainbow trout never encountered “whirling
disease” before the parasite was unknowingly transplanted here from Europe.
• Pollution– The acidification of lakes and streams has led to
juvenile recruitment failure among fish resulting in the disappearance of many species in a number of industrialized countries.
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 68
Protecting Endangered and Threatened species
– Legislation first aimed at protecting wildlife in the United States was introduced as a bill in 1926.
– In 1973, the Endangered Species Act (ESA) was promulgated in the United States (Fig. 3-13). The Act currently protects 1,135 speciesofplants and animals.
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 69
Fig. 3-13
Species being restored
Source> US Fish & Wildlife Service: Whooping Crane-Steve Hillebrand; Grizzly bear – Don Redfern; Bald eagle – Robert Fields; Gray wolf - USFWS
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 70
Protecting Endangered and Threatened species
– Many environmentalists praise the ESA for reducing the extinction rate of some animal species in the United States, and even increasing numbers in as many as 65 species.
– Others have attacked the Act as interfering with livelihood and taking away personal property rights.
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 71
Babbitt tells Nation: Species protection Works
– May 7, 1998, Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt announced 29 different animals, plants and birds have recovered sufficiently to take off the ESA list.
– Paul Nickerson, head of the Endangered Species Div of the Fish and Wildlife ‘s Northeast Regional Office, Hadley sees continued protection of species under State law.
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 72
FOOD SECURITY
– One of the biggest debates for the 21st century concerns whether or not the world can produce enough food to feed another few billion people.
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 73
FOOD SECURITY
– Food security is said to occur when all people have physical and economic access to the basic food they need to work and function normally.
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 74
Food Production
– For nearly 40 years, the world production of grain has risen by more than 2 percent a year, but declined to scarcely 1 percent a year in the 1990s.
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 75
Food Production
– Countries with critical or low food security are shown in figure 3-14.
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 76
Fig. 3-14Adapted from Brown and Kane. 69
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 77
Reasons for Regional Food Shortages
– Food production fell behind population growth in 64 of 105 developing countries between 1985 to 1995.
– The main reasons for food shortages in eastern Africa derive mainly from recent droughts followed by floods.
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 78
Reasons for Regional Food Shortages
– If countries are to feed the 9 billion expected by the year 2050, Africa would have to increase production by 300 percent, Latin America by 80 percent, Asia by 70 percent, and North America by 30 percent (Fig. 3-15).
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 79
Fig.3-15Adapted from FAO. 10
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 80
Reasons for Regional Food Shortages
– Growth rates in cereal production have been declining from 2.8 percent in the 1960s, to nearly 2.1 percent in 1992 (Fig. 3-16).
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 81
Fig. 3-16Adapted from FAO. 10
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 82
Sources – Where will the Food Come From?
• Increases in food supply must come from one or more of the following sources (Fig. 3-17): – increases in yield (tons per acre);– increases in arable land placed under
cultivation; – and cropping intensity (fewer fallow periods or
more than one crop per year or field).
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 83
Fig. 3-17Adapted from FAO. 10
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 84
Sources
– There are scientists who believe that the ability to expand cropland is limited, and that it is disappearing in many areas of the world.
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 85
Sources
• The potential for increasing agricultural land is limited by: – the significant costs of developing an
infrastructure in remote areas;– the lesser productivity of these alternative
areas; – and the trade-offs in environmental destruction
of sensitive ecosystems.
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 86
Sources
– Alternative strategies are being evaluated and promoted that are more friendly to the environment.
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 87
Sources
• These strategies are:– improved irrigation systems; – structured water pricing to reduce overuse;– alternative rotation of crops; – selective pesticide use;
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 88
Sources
• These strategies are:– use of pest-resistant varieties; – improved soil testing and fertilizer application; – regional crop breeding programs; – and more education to farmers.
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 89
Food Security
• Worldwide– Chronic undernutrition is a difficult and
pervasive problem resulting in a food security crisis in many LDCs.
– Net imports to LDCs are expected to increase from 90 to 160 million tons in the years from 1990 to 2010.
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 90
Hunger in America
– More than 25 million Americans, almost 50 percent of them under 17, resort to using food distribution programs such as soup kitchens and food pantries (Fig. 3-18).
– Nearly 35 million Americans live in hungry or food-insecure households.
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND FOOD SECURITY - Moore 91
Fig. 3-18Adapted from Roberts and Roberts. 80