Title: Food,%20Soil,%20and%20Pest%20Management
1Food, Soil, and Pest Management
212-1 What Is Food Security and Why Is It
Difficult to Attain?
- Concept 12-1A Many of the poor suffer health
problems from chronic lack of food and poor
nutrition, while many people in developed
countries have health problems from eating too
much food. - Concept 12-1B The greatest obstacles to
providing enough food for everyone are poverty,
political upheaval, corruption, war, and the
harmful environmental effects of food production.
3Many of the Poor Have Health Problems Because
They Do Not Get Enough to Eat
- Food security means that every person in a
given area has daily access to enough nutritious
food to have an active and healthy life. - Global food production has stayed ahead of
population growth. - However
- One of six people in developing countries cannot
grow or buy the food they need. - Food insecurity living with chronic hunger and
poor nutrition.
4Key Nutrients for a Healthy Human Life
- We need large amounts of macronutrients
- (protein, carbohydrates, and fats)
- We also need smaller amounts of micronutrients
- (vitamins such as A,C, and E and various minerals)
5Many People Suffer from Chronic Hunger and
Malnutrition
- Some people cannot meet their basic energy needs
- Chronic undernutrition or hunger
- Others lack proteins and key nutrient needs
- Chronic malnutrition
- The root cause of hunger and malnutrition is
poverty. - In 2006, 862 million were undernourished
worldwide. - A 2005 estimate says 6 million children die
annually from undernutrition or nonfatal diseases
made worse by their poor diet.
6Many People Do No Get Enough Vitamins and
Minerals
- One in three people has a deficiency of one or
more vitamins and minerals, especially - iron anemia
- vitamin A blindness
- iodine goiter or enlarged thyroid gland
- Can lead to deafness
- Famine a shortage of food in an area along with
mass starvation, economic and social chaos - Usually caused by crop failures from drought,
flooding, war, or other catastrophic events
7Many People Have Health Problems from Eating Too
Much
- Overnutrition excess calories and lack of
exercise can lead to reduced life quality, poor
health, and premature deathsame as
undernutrition - A 2005 Boston University study
- 60 of American adults are overweight
- 33 are obese
- Americans spend 42 billion a year
trying to lose weight. - Estimates are that 24 billion per year would
eliminate world hunger.
812-2 How Is Food Produced?
- Concept 12-2A We have sharply increased crop
production using a mix of industrialized and
traditional agriculture. - Concept 12-2B We have used industrialized and
traditional methods to greatly increase supplies
of meat, fish, and shellfish.
9Food Production Has Increased Dramatically
- Wheat, rice, and corn provide more than half of
the worlds consumed calories - Fish and shellfish are an important source of
food for about 1 billion people mostly in Asia - Of all the biodiversity on the planet, only 14
plant and 9 animal species make up 90 of the
worlds consumed calories.
10Food Production Has Increased Dramatically
- Three systems produce most of our food
- Grain from croplands 77
- Meat from rangelands, pastures, and feedlots 16
- Fish from fisheries/Aquaculture 7
- Dramatic increase in global food production since
1960. - Why?
- Technological advances
- More sophisticated farming techniques
- Expanded use of inorganic chemical fertilizers,
irrigation, pesticides, high-yield crops - Intense farming methods, densely populated
feedlots, breeding/growing pens, aquaculture
ponds or ocean cages
11Two Types of Agriculture
- Industrial Agriculture (High Input Agriculture)
- A relatively small group of farmers produce large
quantities of a single crop or livestock - Mostly in developed countries
- Traditional Agriculture (Low Input Agriculture)
- Traditional subsistence agriculture
- Produces enough crops or livestock to feed family
- Traditional intensive agriculture
- Produces enough crops or livestock to feed the
farmers family and maybe some to sell - Mostly in developing countries
12Industrialized Crop Production Relies on
High-Input Monocultures
- About 80 of the worlds food supply is produced
by industrialized agriculture. - Goal is to steadily increase crop yield
- Uses large amounts of fossil fuel energy, water,
commercial fertilizers, and pesticides to produce
monocultures.
- Plantation agriculture primarily in tropical
developing countries (bananas, coffee, sugarcane) - Cash crops crops intended for sale, not
consumption or animals
13Traditional Agriculture Often Relies on
Low-Input Polycultures
- Many farmers in developing countries grow a
variety of crops on the same plot of land - Polyculture different plants are grown together
- Limited technology, limited equipment, limited
impact on the environment
- Slash-and-burn agriculture burning underbrush
to provide nutrients to the soil
14A Closer Look at Industrialized Crop Production
- The Green Revolution represents the 88 increase
in food production per unit of area since 1950. - Monocultures of high-yield key crops
- Selectively breed or genetically engineered crops
- Large inputs of fertilizers, pesticides, water
- The Second Green Revolution involves fast growing
rice/wheat bred for tropical regions. - Early in the century, one American farmer could
produce food for 2.5 people. - By 1999, a single farmer could feed over 130
people.
15A Closer Look at Industrialized Crop Production
- Since 1950, high-input agriculture has produced
more crops per unit of land. - Grain production has tripled during this
timeframe - Why has per Capita grain production gone down
since the early 1980s?
16Crossbreeding and Genetic Engineering Can Produce
New Crop Varieties
- Gene Revolution increased crop yields, as a
result of mixing organisms genes - Artificial selection has been used for centuries
to develop genetically improved varieties of
crops. - Genetic engineering develops improved strains at
an exponential pace compared to artificial
selection. - Add beneficial genes
- Delete negative genes
17Crossbreeding and Genetic Engineering Can Produce
New Crop Varieties
- Age of Genetic Engineering
- developing crops that are resistant to
- Heat and cold
- Herbicides
- Insect pests
- Viral diseases
- Drought
- Salty or acidic soil
- Controversy has arisen over the use of
genetically modified foods (GMFs). - Critics fear that we know too little about the
long-term potential harm to human health and the
environment.
18Meat Production and Consumption Have Grown
Steadily
- Meat production increased fourfold from 19612007
- Industrialized livestock production
- Densely populated feedlots are common
- System uses a lot of energy and water and produce
huge amounts of animal waste
19Industrialized Meat Production Has Harmful
Environmental Consequences
20Fish and Shellfish Production Have Increased
Dramatically
- Aquaculture raising large numbers of fish and
shellfish in ponds and cages - worlds fastest growing type of food production.
- Fish farming involves cultivating fish in a
controlled environment and harvesting them in
captivity.
21Producing Fish Through Aquaculture Can Harm
Aquatic Ecosystems
2212-3 What Environmental Problems Arise from Food
Production?
- Concept 12-3 Food production in the future may
be limited by its serious environmental impacts,
including soil erosion and degradation,
desertification, water and air pollution,
greenhouse gas emissions, and degradation and
destruction of biodiversity.
23Producing Food Has Major Environmental Impacts
- Modern agriculture has a greater harmful
environmental impact than any human activity. - Loss of biodiversity as a result of monocultures
- Loss of genetic variability in crops and
livestock - High input of chemicals
- Air, water pollution
- Greater soil erosion
24Producing Food Has Major Environmental Impacts
25Topsoil Erosion Is a Serious Problem in Parts of
the World
- Soil erosion is the movement of soil components,
especially surface litter and topsoil, by wind or
water.
- Soil erosion increases through activities such as
farming, logging, construction, overgrazing, and
off-road vehicles. - Soil erosion lowers soil fertility and can
overload nearby bodies of water with eroded
sediment.
26Topsoil Erosion Is a Serious Problem in Parts of
the World
- Soil is eroding faster than it is forming on more
than one-third of the worlds cropland.
27Excessive Irrigation Has Serious Consequences
- Irrigation problems
- Salinization repeated irrigation can reduce
crop yields by causing salt buildup in the soil - Waterlogging
28Natural Capital Degradation Desertification of
Arid and Semiarid Lands
29Industrialized Food Production Requires Huge
Inputs of Energy
- Industrialized agriculture uses about 17 of all
commercial energy in the U.S. and food travels an
average 2,400 kilometers from farm to plate.
3012-4 How Can We Protect Crops from Pests More
Sustainably?
- Concept 12-4 We can sharply cut pesticide use
without decreasing crop yields by using a mix of
cultivation techniques, biological pest controls,
and small amounts of selected chemical pesticides
as a last resort (integrated pest management).
31We Use Pesticides to Try to Control Pest
Populations
- What is a pest?
- Only about 100 species of plants (weeds), animals
(mostly insects), fungi, microbes cause the most
damage - Chemists have developed hundreds of chemicals
(pesticides) that can kill or repel pests. - Pesticides
- Insecticides
- Herbicides
- Fungicides
- Rodenticides
- 2.6 million tons of pesticides (600 different
active chemicals) used annually
32We Use Pesticides to Try to Control Pest
Populations
- First-generation pesticides
- Natural chemicals derived from plants
- Second-generation pesticides
- Man-made chemicals from a laboratory
- DDT was the first
- Broad-spectrum agents
- Toxic to many pest and non-pest species
- Narrow-spectrum agents
- Effective against a specific group of species
- Pesticides vary in their persistence
- How long they remain deadly in the environment
33We Use Pesticides to Try to Control Pest
Populations
- The ideal pest-killing chemical has these
qualities - Kill only target pest
- Not cause genetic resistance in the target
organism - Disappear/break down into harmless chemicals
after doing its job - Be more cost-effective than doing nothing
34Modern Synthetic Pesticides Have Several
Advantages/Disadvantages
- Each year gt 250,000 people in the U.S. become ill
from household pesticides
35Laws and Treaties Can Help to Protect Us from the
Harmful Effects of Pesticides
- The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulate the
sale and use of pesticides under the Federal
Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act
(FIFRA). - The EPA has only evaluated the health effects of
10 of the active ingredients of all pesticides. - Cite lack of funding for complex and lengthy
project - The Food Quality Protection Act strengthens FIFRA
by reducing the allowable level of chemicals by a
factor of 10 for which the health effects are
still unknown. - Precautionary Principle
36There are Alternatives to Using Pesticides
- There are cultivation, biological, and ecological
alternatives to conventional chemical pesticides. - Fool the pest through cultivation practices.
- Biological pest control
- Provide homes for the pest enemies.
- Bring in natural enemies.
- Use pheromones to lure pests into traps.
- Use hormones to disrupt life cycles.
- Implant genetic resistance into plants.
Both tomato plants were exposed to destructive
caterpillars. The genetically altered plant
(right) shows little damage.
37Integrated Pest Management Is a Component of
Sustainable Agriculture
- Integrated pest management (IPM)
- Crops and pests are evaluated as parts of a
larger ecosystem
- Comprehensive plan including cultivation,
biological controls, and chemical tools applied
in a coordinated way
3812-6 How Can We Produce Food More Sustainably?
- Concept 12-6A Sustainable food production will
require reducing topsoil erosion, eliminating
overgrazing and overfishing, irrigating more
efficiently, using integrated pest management,
promoting agrobiodiversity, and providing
government subsidies for more sustainable
farming, fishing, and aquaculture. - Concept 12-6B Producing enough food to feed the
rapidly growing human population will require
growing crops in a mix of monocultures and
polycultures and decreasing the enormous
environmental impacts of industrialized food
production.
39Soil Conservation Methods
- There are many different soil conservation
techniques that can be employed to reduce soil
erosion
Contour planting
Terracing
40Soil Conservation Methods
Alley cropping
Strip cropping
Windbreaks
No-till or minimum tillage
41Restore Soil Fertility
- Fertilizers can help restore soil nutrients, but
runoff of inorganic fertilizers can cause water
pollution. - Organic fertilizers From plant and animal
materials - Animal manure
- Green manure freshly cut vegetation plowed into
soil - Compost broken-down organic matter
- Commercial inorganic fertilizers
- Made from minerals
- Active ingredients contain nitrogen (N),
phosphorous (P), and potassium (K) and other
trace nutrients
42Shift to More Sustainable Agriculture
- Three main ways to reduce hunger and malnutrition
and the harmful effects of agriculture - Slow population growth
- Sharply reduce poverty
- Develop and phase in systems of more sustainable,
low input agriculture over the next few decades