What will we be covering?• Food Resources – Agriculture: How is food
produced?– Producing food by green
revolution an traditional techniques
– Food production, nutrition, and environmental effects
– Increasing crop production– Producing more meat– Sustainable agriculture– Checking our progress at
eradicating hunger
Introduction to AgricultureFood and Soil Resources
Where is our food produced?
• What systems provide us with food?– Croplands: produce grains and provide about 77%
of the world’s food.
– Rangelands: produce meat and provide about 16% of the world’s food.
– Ocean fisheries: supply about 7% of the world’s food supply.
Increasing Demand
• Since 1950, huge increase in global food production (think of our population!)
• This occurred because of technological advances – tractors and farm machinery, high tech fishing gear, inorganic chemical fertilizers, pesticides, high-yield varieties of wheat, rice, and corn, raising of cattle, pigs, and chickens, and the booming industry of aquaculture)
Many Challenges!
• Population is going to explode to 8.5 billion people by 2050 (expected to at least).
• We need to produce and distribute food to support all of these people in an environmentally sustainable way… can we do this?
• Some say we can… some say we can’t!
One way…. Genetics!
• Through genetic engineering we can manipulate food and create new organisms… a lot faster than through natural selection!!
• BUT is it worth it…
• We still will be faced with environmental degradation, pollution, lack of water for irrigation, overgrazing by livestock, overfishing, and loss of vital ecological services.
Another challenge: Poverty• 1 in 5 people do not have enough land to grow
their own food or enough money to buy sufficient food – regardless of how much is available!!
• The great irony of food production is that about 1 billion people in developing nations do not have enough food to maintain good health but about 1 billion people in developed countries face health problems associated with the overabundance of food!!!
Today, however, we still need food!
• How do we produce our food?
• Four major types of Food production:– Industrialized agriculture– Plantation agriculture– Traditional subsistence agriculture– Traditional intensive agriculture
Industrialized Agriculture• Also known as high-input agriculture, uses large amounts of fossil
fuels, water, commercial fertilizers, and pesticides to produce single crops or livestock.
• It makes up about ¼ of all croplands (most in developed countries)• Includes: potato, corn, wheat, barley, rye, etc.• A lot of industrialized agriculture is used to support the growth of
livestock production as feed.
Plantation Agriculture
• A form of industrialized agriculture used in tropical developing countries.
• Involves cash crops: bananas, coffee, soybean, sugarcane, cocoa, etc.
Traditional Subsistence Agriculture
• Typically uses mostly human labour and draft animals to produce only enough crops or livestock for a farm family’s survival.
Traditional Intensive Agriculture
• Farmers increase their inputs of human and draft labour, fertilizers, and water to get a higher yield per area of cultivated land.
• Produce enough food to feed their families and then to sell for income.
Croplands used for Agriculture
• Croplands, like natural ecosystems, provide ecological and economic services:– Ecological: help maintain water flow and soil
infiltration, provide partial erosion protection, can build soil organic matter, store atmospheric carbon, and provide wildlife habitat for some species
– Economic: food crops, fibre crops, crop genetic resources, and jobs.
Agriculture in Canada
• Continues to be an important part of Canada’s economy, but the industry is grappling with environmental costs and emerging threats.
• It is a $95 billion industry!– 8.8% of its gross national product– 14% of its employment
• Farms have been switching from small private farms to large corporate farms
• The net result of farming has left the same amount of land being farmed.
• We export $26 billion worth of raw and value-added goods - including grains, oilseeds, fruits, vegetables, and meats – to 200 different countries.
• However… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIsEG2SFOvM
Eat Real Eat Local.ca
• Portfolio Work…
Food Production, Nutrition, and Environmental Effects
Section 14-5
Food Production
• After increasing significantly since 1950, global grain production has mostly levelled off since 1985, and per capita grain production has declined since 1978.
• Today, we produce enough grain to feed everyone on Earth– The only problem is that it is not distributed equally to
everyone because of differences in soil, climate, political and economic power, and average per capita income.
Hunger and Malnutrition
• The root cause of hunger and malnutrition are and will continue to be poverty and inequality, which prevent poor people from growing or buying enough food regardless of how much is available.
• Other factors include war, corruption, and tariffs and subsidies that make it hard for poor people to acquire food they produce.
Nutrition Worksheet
• Portfolio Work – Pages 302-305
Food Production
• Good News: We produce more than enough food to meet everyone’s basic needs.
• Bad News: One out of size people in developing countries is not getting enough to eat because food is not distributed equally among the world’s people.– Occurs because of soil, climate, political and
economic power, and average per capita income
Chronic Under-Nutrition
• People suffer from chronic under-nutrition when they cannot grow or buy enough food to meet their basic energy needs.– Children can suffer from mental disabilities and
stunted growth and will be susceptible to infections
Macro. and Micro. Nutrients
• Macronutrients are important for maintaining good health – proteins, carbohydrates, and fats
• Micronutrients are important for helping maintain good health – vitamins and minerals
Difference between Under-nutrition and Malnutrition
• Children that suffer from under-nutrition cannot afford to feed themselves on a daily basis and are missing a lot of the macronutrients that are needed for growth and body functions.
• Malnourished children can afford to live on a low-protein but high carbohydrate diet consisting of grains (wheat, barley, rice, or corn)
Nutritional deficiency diseases
• Marasmus – occurs when a diet is low in both calories and protein. Most victims are nursing infants of women that are malnourished or children that are malnourished.
• Kwashiorkor – a severe protein deficiency occurring in infants and children age 1-3, usually after a younger sibling is born and needs the breast milk.
Prevention of childhood deaths related to Nutrition
• Immunizing children against diseases• Encouraging breast feeding• Preventing dehydration from diarrhea by giving
sugar and salt in a glass of water• Providing family planning services to help space
births• Increasing education for women, with emphasis
on nutrition, drinking water sterilization, and child care
Canada? US?
• In Canada, 700 000 meals are handed out each year to people that don’t have access to enough food for good health.
• In the US, 11 000 000 people do not have access to food on a regular basis.
Micronutrient Deficiencies
• Vitamin A– 120-240 million children are deficient in Vit. A, 80%
die within a year, • Iron– 1/3 women and children are deficient in tropical
regions, causes fatigue, infections may occur, and women’s chances of dying during childbirth increase
• Iodine – Needed for thyroid gland function, helps regulate
body’s rate of metabolism, can lead to deafness if continued not to be monitored.
Overnutrition
• Occurs when food energy intake exceeds energy use and causes excess body fat.– Lower life expectancy, greater susceptibility to
disease and illness, and lower productivity and life quality.
– 1 billion struggle from not enough food and 1.7 billion people have too much food…
– ¼ people in the world are overweight with 5% of the world being obese… (stats may be skewed…)
Environmental Effects of Producing Food
• Modern agriculture has the greatest environmental impact than any other human activity!!!– It affects air, soil, water, and biodiversity – all key
factors in sustaining a healthy human population.
Debate: Can we overcome the negatives of food production
• Some say we can, some say we can’t!• Some analysts say we can continue to produce
food and overcome the environmental effects.• However, others say that soil erosion, salt
buildup, and waterlogging of soil irrigated lands; water deficits and droughts; and loss of wild species will limit food production.
What has happened so far?
• In a 2002 study by the UN Department for Economic and Social Affairs, close to 30% of the world’s croplands had been degraded to some degree by soil erosion, salt buildup, and chemical pollution.
• As well, 17% was seriously degraded.• This can lead to limits in food production in
India and China – as well as other nations.
Increasing Crop ProductionSection 14.6
• Ready or not, the world is entering a new generation – the age of genetic engineering!
• In North America, supermarket shelves contain ingredients made from genetically engineered crops.
• Bioengineers are working on and developing crops that are resistant to heat, cold, herbicides, insect pests, parasites, viral diseases, drought, and salty or acidic soils.
• They are also hoping on developing crops that can grow faster and survive with little to no irrigation and with less fertilizer and pesticides.
How safe are genetically modified foods (GMF)?
• There is much controversy over GMF• Many people see it as a way of solving the
world’s food problems, but critics consider it potentially dangerous.
• See figure 14-19 (page 308)
What is your opinion? PORTFOLIO JOURNAL ENTRY
The risks…
• Human health• Ecosystem damage• They cannot be ‘recalled’ if they cause
unintended harmful genetic and ecological effects – as some experts believe may occur.
• Results could be catastrophic• PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE??
Potential Benefits
• Helping provide food for the poor• Need less fertilizer and water – environmental
impact• Grow in new areas
One thing about GMFs
• GMFs are not going to solve food shortages and feed everyone.
• The reason not everyone has food is because of POVERTY and INEQUALITY
• As well, polycultures using perennial crops can produce higher crop yields than current green revolution and genetic revolution techniques.
What else can we do??
• Increasing Crop Production - Worksheet
