Chapter 13 Food Resources Food supply and infrastructure Dust Bowl & Green Revolution Low input vs. high input (conventional) farming How we get our food 1. Farmland 2. Rangeland 3. Harvesting fish

Facts Food Supply and Distribution Humans require 2,000 to 2500 calories a day Wheat and rice supply half calorie intake worldwide 90% grain grown in U.S is for animal feed! Developing countries are more eating meat

Undernutrition and Malnutrition “1 in every 6” Undernourishment- lack of sufficient calories Resulting in stunted growth, mental retardation, susceptible to disease Malnourishment- long-term lack of specific component of food Marasmus = “waste away” emaciation (lack calories & protein) Kwashiorko r = “displaced child” After age 1-3 yrs. Weaned ; given grain; lack protein results in neurological failure Chronic hunger = enough food to live (but not satisfactory life)

> 1/3 population

Developed countries spend less on food

Arable Farmland

Countries Receiving Food Aide Ethiopia (19 percent), Pakistan (10 percent), Kenya (7 percent), the Sudan (5 percent), Mozambique (4 percent), Somalia (4 percent), Afghanistan (3 percent) DRC (3 percent).

Food Aide Is Food aide the answer to food shortages? Infrastructure Develop local markets? Increase local production?

What we eat 14 crops- wheat, maize, rice, potatoes, sweet potatoes, manioc, sugarcane, sugar beets, common beans, soybeans, barley sorghum, peanuts

The Dust Bowl “Dirty Thirties”- period of severe drought and dust storms Lack conservation practices to prevent erosion- plowing up & down slope Deep plowing of virgin topsoil in grasslands Affected 100 million acres in Texas and Oklahoma, New Mexico, Colorado, and Kansas Millions of acres of farmland became useless Many traveled to California, farm to farm picking fruit at starvation wages.

Plowing during Dust Bowl Era Modern Plowing Contour plowing Clearing field Plowing up/down slope Modern Plowing

Conservation Service created in 1938 to help farmers save soil by preventing erosion Cover crop of summer rye grass Adds N Prevents erosion Adds organic matter Crop rotation Decrease pesticide Decrease fertilizer use

Conservation Practices Reduce plowing trips across field Reduce use fossil fuel Reduce greenhouse gas emissions No-till farming Plant new seeds in stubble of last years crop Integrated pest management Decrease pesticide use By surveying field for pests Spray pesticide only when necessary Use beneficial pets

Conservation Practices for Irrigation Drip irrigation Less water use Water goes to plant not runoff More water use More water runoff More evaporation

The Green Revolution Today’s style of agriculture began after WWII, Green Revolution Overcoming lands limiting factors High yields, on smaller acreages, mechanization, hybrids, pesticides, synthetic fertilizer Monocultures Increase in fossil fuel use

Today’s agriculture  Industrialized (high input)- 25% of cropland mostly practiced in developed countries  Large amounts of: Fertilizers Water Fossil fuels Pesticides

Modern agriculture is not energy efficient 10 units fossil fuel per 1 unit food energy Storage and prep Commercial food service Retail Packaging Processing Transportation Production

Fossil fuel needed in industrialized meat production

Sustainable Agriculture Low input or organic <1% of world’s cropland Increases: Polyculture Organic fertilizers Integrated pest management Irrigation efficiency Crop rotation Soil conservation Decreases: Soil Erosion Soil salinization Overgrazing Loss of biodiversity Aquifer depletion CO 2 emissions

Microlivestock