1. Modern Commercial Agriculture

2. The Third Agricultural Revolution
Third Agricultural Revolution began in 19th century North America
Saw the globalization of industrialized agriculture and new technologies that increased the food supply
Three phases:
Mechanization
Chemical farming
Globally widespread food manufacturing
3rd Revolution distributed mechanized farming technology and chemical fertilizers on a global level
During 3rd Revolution, farming and food processing were completed at different sites

3. The Industrialization of the Farming Process
Example
Purity dairies in Nashville, Tennessee
Subcontracts with local farms to buy unprocessed milk that is shipped to Nashville, near the market
At the city-based factory, the milk is processed, packaged, and distributed within the milkshed
After 3rd Revolution it became common for commercial farmers to harvest their crops and ship them off to food processing sites to be packaged for marketing and distribution
Food production increasingly became “industrialized”
Different parts of process completed by different departments

4. Agribusiness Definition
Combination of the pieces of the food-production industry, including the farms, processing plants, packagers, fertilizer laboratories, distributors, and advertizing agencies
Like a corporate entity
Modern system of food-production involving everything from the development of seeds to the marketing and sale of food products at the market
Led by TNCs (trans-national corporations)
While % of farmers in U.S. workforce has declined, the # of workers involved in agribusiness shows that food production is still an integral part of the U.S. and global economy
Examples:
A graphic designer drawing images for a child’s lunchbox is part of the complex agribusiness system
Farming process has become divided on a global level

5. Agribusiness Food supply chain Five central and connected sectors
Inputs
Production
Processing
Distribution
Consumption
Four external mediating forces
State
International trade
Physical environment
Credit/finance

6. The Green Revolution Began in the 1940s, 1950s
Was a phase of the 3rd Revolution
Really implemented in 1970s, 1980s
New strains of hybrid seeds and fertilizers were invented and dramatically increased crop output
Began with agricultural experiments in the U.S. to find ways to improve Mexico’s wheat production capabilities
Scientists found new hybrid strains of wheat, maize, and rice that were higher-yielding, capable of producing more food at a faster pace
Scientists also developed new fertilizers and pesticides that supported the higher-yielding seeds
Required special fertilizers
Increased protection from diseases and pest infestations

7. The Green Revolution
Scientist Norman Borlaug won a Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 for his work to increase world peace through spreading hunger-reducing technology to poorer regions of the world
“miracle wheat seed”
The “miracle” of the Green Revolution was in global diffusion of higher-yielding crops
Globally grain production increased 45% between
Food production outpaced population growth
Asia was able to increase its rice production by 66% by 1985
India was able to supply its own wheat and rice by the 1980s
Not able to completely eradicate hunger
Issue of transportation

8. Economic downside to GR
GR reduced the amount of human labor needed on the farm in some areas
Higher-yielding crop strains are more prone to viruses and pest infestations
Many of the higher-yielding crops are not farmable in the dryer regions of Africa
Some analysts argue that the GR has increased economic inequality in peripheral countries
Local farmers in peripheral countries often have a difficult time purchasing more expensive GR seeds and technologies
Example: Nitrogen fertilizer

9. Environmental Downsides to GR
GR pesticides have arguably cause pollution and soil-contamination problems
Workers who are frequently exposed to these chemicals have suffered health problems from poisoning
GR crop require more watering which has led to water resources being strained
Because GR seeds are being adopted so widely ,the genetic diversity in seeds is rapidly reducing, and local strains are being phased out
GR farming often requires more mechanized farming techniques that need expensive fuels to power farm machines, which increase pollution and fossil fuel consumption

10. Food Movements Conventional farming
Approach uses chemicals in the form of plant protectants and fertilizers
Uses intensive, hormone-based practices to breed and raise animals
Organic farming
Describes farming or animal husbandry that occurs without the use of commercial fertilizers, synthetic pesticides, or growth hormones
Local food
Usually organically grown
Usually within a 100-mile radius
Called “locavores”
Has been linked to increase of “family farms” within local “food shed”
Also connected to “urban” agriculture
Food trucks
Fast food
Born in the U.S. as a product of WWII
Utilized assembly-line production
McDonald’s first franchise

12. Biotechnology
Agricultural biotechnology is using living organisms to produce or change plant or animal products
Genetic modification is a form of biotechnology that uses scientific, genetic manipulation of crop and animal products to improve productivity and products
Ex.
Reorganizing plant and animal DNA
Tissue culturing
Recent innovations in biotech have led to plant and animal cloning as well as “super-plants” that grow at much faster rates
Crops that are drought-resistant
Animals cloned to produce more output
“super-chicken”
Extension of scientific innovation to all crops and animal products called the biorevolution

13. Biotechnology Negatives Positives
Cloned plants more susceptible to disease
Leads to increase need of chemical treatment
Has led to plants being able to be grown out of their native environments
Has hurt less developed countries
Trend of farmer suicides
Positives
Can help reduce agricultural production costs
Can serve as type of resource management
Impressive response to problems
Biopharming
Genes of other life forms inserted into host plants
Resulted in “pharma crops”
Drugs for cancer, AIDs, Alzheimer's, etc.
Still experimental

14. Challenges to Commercial Farmers
Overproduction in Commercial farming
Commercial farmers suffer from low incomes because they are capable of producing much more food than is demanded by consumers
U.S. has policies that are supposed to address excess productive capacity
Government policies point out irony in world agricultural practices
MDCs encourage farmers to grow less
LDCs struggle to increase food production to match population growth
Sustainable agriculture
Some farmers are transitioning too
Less income, but less costs
Popular form is organic farming
Three factors distinguish sustainable agriculture from conventional:
Sensitive land management
Use of ridge tillage
Limited use of chemicals
Limited herbicides
Better integration of crops and livestock

15. Challenges for Subsistence Farmers
Population growth
Population growth influences the distribution of types of subsistence farmers
Subsistence farmers increase food supply two ways”
New farming methods
Land is left to fallow for shorter periods
International Trade
Sale of export crops brings foreign currency into LDCs
Can be used to buy supplies
To expand production, subs. Farmers need higher-yield seeds, fertilizer, pesticides, and machinery
Have to import them
Drug Crops
Export crops chosen in LDCs (Latin America and Asia) are often crops that can be converted to drugs
Marijuana
Cocaine
Heroin
U.N estimated in 1998 that 4 million people were dependent on poppy or coca leaf

16. Drug Crops

17. Emerging Problems in the Global Food System

18. Hunger and the Food Supply
Undernutrition is defined as not getting enough calories or nutrients
Famine is mass starvation resulting from prolonged undernutrition in a region during a certain period

19. Hunger and the Food Supply
Solving World Hunger
Causes of world hunger exist largely in distribution and people’s ability to access food supplies
Social and economic structure inherent in inequality cause food-security issues, undernutrition, and famine
Solution to ending world hunger is not just growing enough food but empowering people with the ability to obtain food or crop production that can be maintained over time

20. Hunger and the Food Supply
Ester Boserup Theory
Believed subsistence farmers want the most leisure time they can have, so they farm in ways that will allow them to feed their families and maximize free time
In theory, she asserts that subsistence farmers will change their approach if the population increases and more food is needed
Boserup considered the food supply to be dependent on human approaches
Contrasted Thomas Malthus theory
Most evidence show’s theory to be true in a subsistence economy
Not in a technologically-advanced industrialized society

21. Environmental Issues Deforestation Soil Erosion Desertification
Due to population pressure, farmers in many regions are trying to grow food at faster rates
Don’t allow field to fallow
Leads to soil erosion
Estimated 7% of world’s topsoil being depleted each decade
Desertification
Loss of habitable land to the expansion of deserts
Related to human overuse of land
Example
Sahara Desert
Deforestation
Loss of forested areas
Caused by humans chopping down forests at rates so fast, forests cannot regenerate
Some experts think the rainforest centered around the equator will be completely destroyed within a century

22. Debt-for-Nature Swaps
In trying to save land resources, governments and organizations have organized debt-for-nature swaps
Forgives international debts owed by developing countries in exchange for these countries protecting valuable, natural land resources from human destruction

23. Strategies to increase the food supply
Expanding Agricultural land
Today few scientists believe that further expansion of agricultural land can feed the growing population
Threats
Desertification
Excessive water
Urbanization
Increasing productivity
Population grew at the fastest rate in human history b/w
Green Revolution playing important role
New food sources
Cultivating oceans
Cover 3/4ths of Earth
High-protein cereals
People in LDCs generally rely on wheat, corn and rice which lack protein
Improving palatability of rarely consumed foods
Example in U.S. = Soybean
krill
Increasing trade
Export more food from countries that have surpluses

24. GMOs Genetically modified organisms
Organism that has had its DNA modified in a laboratory rather than in cross-pollination
Critics
Worry there will be unintended effects on human health
Supporters
Allows for great advances in agriculture
United States
Legal
No labeling requirements
Deemed safe until proved otherwise
U.S. concerned with economic impact of labeling
Europe
Deemed unsafe until proved otherwise
Will not accept food from U.S. with GMOs
Worldwide
Europe, Parts of Asia, Africa, Latin America, Canada, and Mexico are devising regulations to control entry of GMOs into food system