Feeding the World

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

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

Monocropping: Do we need to review?

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

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 Increased crop yield and quality. Could change pesticide use Increased profits Disadvantages So fear but not proven, that human ingestion can 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 next-farm-bill next-farm-bill – Subsidies (keeps food prices artificially low) economy/curriculum/sugar-supply/the-cultivation-of- agricultural-subsidies#instant-expert economy/curriculum/sugar-supply/the-cultivation-of- agricultural-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)