Agriculture and the Food Supply. Top 20 agricultural commodities Rank Commodity Production (Int $1000) Production (MT) 1 Cow milk, whole, fresh 144976500.
Post on 31-Mar-2015
214 Views
Preview:
Transcript
Agriculture and the Food Supply
Top 20 agricultural commodities Rank Commodity Production (Int $1000) Production (MT)
1 Cow milk, whole, fresh 144976500 571403458 2 Rice, paddy 130994000 657413530 3 Wheat 72917380 611101664 4 Hen eggs, in shell 47921000 59298953 5 Soybeans 44666580 219545479 6 Buffalo milk, whole, fresh 42629460 83625849 7 Vegetables fresh 41856900 244719080 8 Maize 38394490 788112128 9 Cotton lint 37736330 25360789 10 Potatoes 34821630 323543199 11 Sugar cane 32090140 1627450797 12 Grapes 31183820 65971144 13 Tomatoes 30327200 133259909 14 Apples 18832010 66091848 15 Groundnuts, with shell 17092210 37816142 16 Cassava 14051950 224131501 17 Rapeseed 13271140 51353701 18 Garlic 12172890 15922500 19 Onions, dry 12153590 70039038 20 Bananas 12065270 89099503
Top 16 Food Crops by Mass Rank Commodity Production (Int $1000) Production (MT)
1 Sugar cane 32090140 1627450797 2 Maize 38394490 788112128 3 Rice, paddy 130994000 657413530 4 Wheat 72917380 611101664 5 Potatoes 34821630 323543199 6 Vegetables fresh 41856900 244719080 7 Cassava 14051950 224131501 8 Soybeans 44666580 219545479 9 Tomatoes 30327200 133259909 10 Bananas 12065270 89099503 11 Onions, dry 12153590 70039038 12 Apples 18832010 66091848 13 Grapes 31183820 65971144 14 Rapeseed 13271140 51353701 15 Groundnuts, with shell 17092210 37816142 16 Garlic 12172890 15922500
World’s Top 9 Agricultural commodities by mass
U.S. Commodities by Mass
PastoralismRanching and nomadic herding
Growing animals on land that is unsuitable for crops.
Traditional Intensive AgricultureAgriculture that uses high levels of muscle power, whether from humans or animals, manure, and labor-intensive methods of tilling and pest control; also plants monocultures.
Shifting subsistence Agriculture
Also called Slash and burn and Horticulture.
For bigger plants and extended growth periods
Plantation AgricultureLarge monocultures of cash crops in tropical settings intended for export.
Bananas, coffee, tea, dates.
Industrial Agriculture
Agriculture using machines and high inputs of fossil fuels, fertilizers, and pesticides—also large monoculture fields.
A Flow Chart of Industrial Agriculture
The First Green Revolution The first green revolution involved the
replacement of intensive traditional agriculture in the industrialized world with industrialized agriculture.
replacement of animal power with machine power.
replacement of manure and compost with synthetic fertilizer.
replacement of labor-intensive pest control with pesticides.
breeding of special strains of crops adapted for high inputs of fertilizer and high outputs of crops.
Replacement of animal power with machine power
Replacement of compost and manure with synthetic fertilizers.
Synthetic Pesticides
Specially Bred Crops (biotech.)
Second Green Revolution
Second green revolution involved the breeding of special varieties of crops that would increase the yields of intensive traditional agriculture in Asia.
Also involved adding application of synthetic fertilizers as part of intensive agriculture.
Production of multiple crops in one year (multicropping).
Components of Green Revolution InfrastructureSpecially
bred crops.Fossil fuels and machinery.Fertilizers and pesticides.Food distribution systemAmerica Revealed: Food OutletsAmerica Revealed: Pizza Delivery
Pros and Cons of Industrial Agriculture
Pros—increased production, more efficiency, more income, more people off farm and into industry.
Cons--high uses of fossil fuels, lots of toxins, lots of waste, and surprising amounts of pollution; also, unintended effects of monoculture.
Pros of the Green Revolution
Cons of the Green Revolution
Environmental Problems from Agriculture
Soil Erosion Desertification
Causes of DesertificationDesertification is the conversion of grassland to desert. Causes include:
climate change.overgrazing. inappropriate planting of cropssalinization (salt contamination) of farmland from irrigation.
Water PollutionManure lagoons Overflow
Eutrophication and Dead Zones
Rural Air Pollution
Dust, smoke, and odors
Pests A pest is any organism that competes
with humans for food, destroys shelter, invades lawns and gardens, spreads disease, invades ecosystems, or is simply a nuisance is a pest.
crop pests include:-- insects.-- nematodes (roundworms).-- fungus (blights, rusts, smuts).-- viruses.-- birds.-- weeds.-- mites.
Insects and Mites
Nematodes in corn
Diseases of Plants
Fungal Viral
Weeds
Weeds are the number one crop pest in terms of lost production.
History of Pesticides
Natural Pesticides
DDTBroad-spectrum insecticides used to kill all kinds of insect pests after World War II—DDT the most notorious.
The Case for Pesticides Save lives. Increase food supplies. Increase profits for farmers. Used properly, they pose minimal health risks compared to benefits.
Modern pesticides safer and more effective than older chemicals.
Why Pesticides?
The Case Against PesticidesResistance
University of Georgia video on parasite resistance
DDT and Biomagnification
Rachel Carson, Silent Spring, and DDT
Michigan State University video: On Earth Day, take time to celebrate Silent Spring's 50th anniversary
Pesticides travel, kill other organisms besides pests, and threaten humans and wildlife
Example: Brown Pelicans on Anacapa Island
The Ideal PesticideKills only the target pest.Does not cause resistance in the target pest.
Disappears or breaks down into harmless chemicals after doing its job.
Is more cost-effective than doing nothing.
Biological controls
Mongoose introduced to control Black Rat in Hawaii in 1883
Extinct Birds the Result
History Repeats with Snails
When giant, imported African snails threatened the fragile ecosystem of Hawaii, Tahiti and other pacific islands, the rosy wolf snail was deliberately imported and released against all better judgment as natural pest control.
Unfortunately - and to many biologists, predictably - these ravenous cannibals had a bigger appetite for the defenseless native tree snails. Within a decade or two, the colorful tree snails of Hawaii and Tahiti were reduced from over a hundred species to only a dozen, most of which are nearing extinction themselves...and the African snails? Still at large.
Integrated Pest Management
Contour Plowing and Strip Cropping
No till farming combats climate change
Pheromone Traps
Screw worm fly eradication
Transportation, food cost, poverty, and conflict all contribute to
current food shortages
All World Transportation
High Food Prices
Poverty and Conflict
Poverty and Conflict are a self-reinforcing cycle—positive feedback
Increasing Food Production Add more land—not all land is suitable
and doing so decreases biodiversity. Increase productivity—leads to pollution
and higher energy demand; also requires GMOs.
Aquaculture—marine environment not as productive as terrestrial environment and techniques not as refined.
Make agriculture local and sustainable—not all places are suitable for agriculture and the culture will have to change.
Book is still most positive about that last choice, which includes urban farming.
The Increasing importance of Aquaculture
The Promise and Perils of Urban Agriculture
Michigan State University video: MetroFoodPlus Innovation Cluster Look for the People, Planet, Profit sustainability diagram and note that this is an integrated approach that considers food, energy, and water.
WXYZ video: Oak Park vegetable garden controversy
The struggles of Julie Bass to keep her front yard vegetable garden in the face of opposition from the city of Oak Park.
Human-Dominated vs. Natural Ecosystems
Human-dominated ecosystems are: Much “flatter” (fewer trophic levels)
Less diverse. Have most of primary productivity directed to human consumption.
Regularly disturbed (plowing, construction, etc.)
Screw worm fly eradication
top related