Food Production

Food ProductionSarah Marshall

Honors Capstone

2005 United Nations Millennium Ecosystem Assessment

“Agriculture may be the largest threat to biodiversity and ecosystem function of any single human activity.”

World Hunger 12 preschool children in

developing countries die every minute from hunger and malnutrition

5 million children under 5 years of age die each year

The cost of childhood diseases in developing countries account for 20-25% of their economic budgets

World Hunger 850 million people in

the world lack adequate food

75% of which are in developing nations

African and Asian-pacific nations are the significant leaders

Food Security

Is the ability of individuals to obtain sufficient food on a day-to-day basis

More than 6 million people rely on food grown on 11% of the earth

Out of this 11% only 3% is fertile soil

Our Agriculture A gallon of oil=one

pound of beef 2500 gallons of

water=one pound of beef

Cows defecate 65 pounds per day

10 pounds of grain yields one pound of cow

Our Agriculture 16% of greenhouse gasses come from our

agriculture 1 billion pounds of pesticides are used each year $14 billion a year are given to industrial farmers Farm run-off had poisoned ground water in 17

states and polluted 35,000 miles of rivers

Soil 25 billion tons of soil

are lost annually in the US alone

This is the area size of the US and Canada

Renewable, develops from underlying parent material but takes 500 years in order to be useable

Soil Solutions Minimum Tillage

Leaves crop residues on land

Greatly reduces soil erosion

Only used on 38% of US cropland

Cover Crops Sustainable tools to

manage soil fertility, soil quality, water, weeds, pests, diseases, and increasing diversity and wildlife

“Green manures” Leguminous

Agriculture Pollution Heating animal homes Fertilizers Fuel and emissions from

tractors Fuel to make tractors Fuel used in grain production Fuel used to dry grain Transportation / distribution

to supermarkets Driving to supermarkets and

driving home Using energy to prepare food

for consumption

Possible Solutions Organic Farming

On the rise

Green Revolution Used successfully in Mexico and India

Genetically Modified Golden rice

Organic Less than 1% of the US is organic farming Can support local demands; buy local Labor intensive: can create jobs Must have special certification Since the early 1900s organic food production

has growth rates of 20% a year in developed and developing nations

April 2008 organic food accounts of 1-2% food sales worldwide

Green Revolution Started after WWII and was funded by the Rockefeller Foundation Worldwide effort to improve the productivity of wheat and rice by

selecting the high yield varieties First used in Mexico then India adopted the same strategies Numerous attempts to implement in Africa but unsuccessful due to:

Widespread corruption Insecurity Lack of infrastructure Lack of governmental concern Availability of water for irrigation Diversity of soil types Inability to place rice in the farmer’s hands

Continuing the Green Revolutionby Borlaug in 2007 The Wall Street Journal

Tools of biotechnology to meet demands for food, feed, fiber, and biofuels

Plant breeders have problems with: Saline conditions Resisting diseases and

insects Droughts and water

logging Distressed climates

Bittersweet Harvestby Hsin in 2002 Harvard International Review

Genetically modified (GM) crops Recently FDA reconsidered

policies; in the past allergenicity safety tests were not mandated

For almost a decade the US government made no distinction between GM crops and organically grown crops

Could wipeout hunger; especially in countries such as India where the population grows by 20 million every year

Most potent risk of GM crops: uncontrolled breeding and introduction of foreign genes into the natural ecosystem

Deflating the World’s Bubble Economyby Brown in 2003 USA Today Magazine Food is the most vulnerable sector

National security threats Terrorists treats

Worldwide More than 100 countries import wheat and 40 import rice Only 6 countries supply 90% of grain: US, Canada,

France, Australia, Argentina, and Thailand World’s poor spends 70% of income on food

World’s Bubble Economy Climate change

The highest temperatures in 11,000 years Exhausted soils Widespread aquifer depletion Loss of irrigation water unknown to previous generations

Natural disasters Destructive storms Deadly heat waves Collapsing fisheries Melting of polar ice caps

Will the World Be Able to Feed Itself in the Foreseeable Future?

2006 FAO reported food demand growth will rise 1.5% each year for the next 30 years

Future problems include: Producing enough food for 67% of population Ridding of chronic malnutrition to world’s poor

Will the World Be Able to Feed Itself in the Foreseeable Future? YES Global food production

can keep pace with hunger via policies set in place by governments and organizations

NO Decreasing grain

harvests, growing populations, dwindling fisheries and the continuing problem of poverty

The Great Debate

Topic: Universal Standards of Living and Global Sustainability

The Great Debate Basic human entitlements should be:

Food Water Health Energy

The Great Debate Question 1:

The effects and influences of technology on human entitlements.

Will it save or kill us?

The Great DebateQuestion 1 Pro Is technology the

solution? Water

Desalination Reverse osmosis Distilment

Alternative energy GM food

Con Is technology the

problem? Pollution Climate change Rain forests Dirty drinking water Garbage in the oceans World hunger

The Great Debate Question 2:

The incentives for improving human entitlements.

Capitalism or intrinsic motivators?

The Great DebateQuestion 2 Pro Better incentives to

work toward solutions. Little money now

compared to lots of money later

War is bad Problems grow and

spread Disease to plagues Hunger to starvation

Con Are profits the only

motivators that will last and truly work?

Government and organizational programs come and go

Mankind is greedy

References

Borlaug, Norman, E (2008). Continuing the green revolution. Global Issues, 24, 39-40.

Brown, Lester, R (2008). Deflating the world’s bubble economy. Global Issues, 24, 46-48.

Gulnick, Jeanne (2008). Ecology class. Saint Joseph’s College of Maine. Standish, ME.

Hart, J. E. & Lombardi, M. O (2009). Will the world be able to feed itself in the foreseeable future? Taking Sides, 5, 112-127.

Hsin, Honor (2008). Bittersweet harvest. Global Issues, 24, 41-43.