Feeding the World A long time ago So

Feeding the World

A long time ago…

So what happened

• Now 21 % of the Earth’s land is currently cultivated and grazed.

Did agriculture fix everything? • In 2009, 1 billion people lacked access to adequate amounts of food.

Nutritional Requirements • Undernutrition (chronic hunger); not consuming enough calories to be healthy. • Effects: improper brain development and lower IQ (just 100 -400 Kilocalories less than daily need) • Calories not the only issue: – According to WHO 3 million people (half world’s population) are malnourished. – Food security vs. food insecurity

Food Insecurity • Famine: condition where food insecurity is so extreme that large numbers of deaths occur in a given area over a short period of time. • What could cause famine? • 250, 000 kids become blind each year from vitamin A deficiency. • 3 million anemic people in the world. • Marasmus: nutritional deficiency which involves both lack of calories and lack of proteins.

Why malnutrition? • We grow enough food to feed 8 billion people. (our population 7 billion). Why are folks still going hungry? – Poverty (food not accessable) – Political and economic factors. (refuges, poor gov’t regulation= wars and unrest) – Used to feed livestock and poultry. (40% of US grain)

Food Security • Overnutrition: 1 billion people are overweight and roughly 300 million are obese. (20% over their ideal weight) • Worldwide there are 50, 000 edible plants but just three constitutes 60% of human energy intake. • Meat consumption has increased globally and in the US.

The Green Revolution • Dr. Norman Borlaug: won Nobel Peace Prize for his contribution to increasing the world food supply. • What kind of changes are we talking about? – Mechanization – Irrigation – Fertilizers – Monocropping – Pesticides

Mechanization Pros • More work done quicker = more money Cons • High up front cost • Monoculture is best • Increase energy use = increase pollution

Irrigation Pro Con • Increase crop growth • Transform deserts to prime farm land. • Deplete ground water • Soil degradation (waterlogging and salinization)

Fertilizers Pro Cons • Replenishes lost nutrients from overuse of soil. • Manufacturing = the use of fossil fuels • More likely to be carried off by runoff. • Do not add organic matter to the soil. – Two types • Organic • Synthetic (easier to apply, nutrient content can be targeted to the needs of the farmer, easily absorbed.

Monocropping: Do we need to review?

Pesticides Terms you will hear when talking about pesticides 1. Insecticides 2. Herbicides 3. Broad spectrum 4. Selective 5. Persistent (DDT) 6. nonpersistant Pro Cons • Gets rid of pest • Prevents crop damage • Bioaccumulation with persistent pesticides • Pest developing a resistance • Kills beneficial organisms • Pollute water

The Genetic Revolution

GMO’s : the second Green Revolution • What are they? – Genetically engineered using recombinant DNA by the process of gene splicing.

GMO’s : the second Green Revolution Advantages Disadvantages • Increased crop yield and quality. • Could change pesticide use • Increased profits • So fear but not proven, that human ingestion cause problems. • Effects on biodiversity (modified genes will spread to wild relatives) and useful traits could be lost. • No regulations (if you want to purchase NO GMO’s then you can buy “organic”

What about our Proteins? High-Density Animal Farming: CAFO’s (Concentrated animal feeding operations) Advantages • • More product Easier to produce Cheaper More money Disadvantages • Concentrations of pollution problems such as foul smells from fed lots • Contaminations to drinking water by nitrates in animal wastes (also effects vegetables) • Increase in the spread of diseases. • Increase pressure on the world’s grain supply to feed the animals • Increase inputs of energy from fossil fuels

Who’s to blame? • Ignorance (us) • Government Policies – Farm Bill • http: //www. farmbillfacts. org/rallying-for-action-toward-thenext-farm-bill • http: //www. npr. org/templates/story. php? story. Id=158 91678 – Subsidies (keeps food prices artificially low) • http: //www. pbs. org/teachers/access-analyze-acteconomy/curriculum/sugar-supply/the-cultivation-ofagricultural-subsidies#instant-expert

More Sustainable Methods 1. Small scale farming 2. Shifting agriculture (Includes slash and burn) 3. Sustainable agriculture: intercropping, crop rotation, agroforestry, contour plowing/planting 4. No-Till agriculture 5. Integrated Pest Management (IPM) 6. Organic Agriculture: use natural systems, keep as much organic matter in soil as possible, no synthetic fertilizers and pesticides 7. To reduce fertilizer run-off (used prescribe amounts and plant legumes and other nitrogen fixing plants)