ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE 13e

CHAPTER 10: Food, Soil, and Pest Management

10-1 What Is Food Security and Why Is It So Difficult to Attain?

Concept 10-1A Many of the poor have health problems from not getting enough food, while many people in affluent countries suffer health problems from eating too much. Concept 10-1B The greatest obstacles to providing enough food for everyone are poverty, political upheaval, corruption, war, and the harmful environmental effects of food production.

Poor Lack Sufficient Food

Enough food for all but in developing countries 1/6 do not get enough to eat Poverty Food insecurity
Chronic hunger Poor nutrition

Food security

Nutrition
Macronutrients and micronutrients Chronic undernutrition Malnutrition
Low-protein, high-carbohydrate diet Physical and mental health problems 6 million children die each year

Vitamin and mineral deficiencies

Fig. 10-2, p. 208

Overnutrition
Too many calories, too little exercise, or both Similar overall health outlook as undernourished 1.6 billion people eat too much 66% of American adults overweight, 34% obese
Heart disease and stroke Type II diabetes and some cancers

10-2 How Is Food Produced?

Concept 10-2 We have used highinput industrialized agriculture and lower-input traditional methods to greatly increase supplies of food.

Where We Get Food (1)

Major sources:
Croplands Rangelands, pastures, and feedlots Fisheries and aquaculture

Where We Get Food (2)

Since 1960 tremendous increase in food supply
Better farm machinery High-tech fishing fleets Irrigation Pesticides and fertilizers High-yield varieties

Only a Few Species Feed the World

Food specialization in small number of crops makes us vulnerable 14 plant species provide 90% of world food calories 47% of world food calories comes from rice, wheat, and corn

Industrialized Agriculture (1)

High-input agriculture monocultures Large amounts of:
Heavy equipment Financial capital Fossil fuels Water Commercial inorganic fertilizers Pesticides

Much food produced for global consumption

Industrialized Agriculture (2)

Plantation agriculture primarily in tropics
Bananas Sugarcane Coffee Vegetables Exported primarily to developed countries

Traditional Agriculture
2.7 billion people in developing countries Traditional subsistence agriculture Traditional intensive agriculture Monoculture Polyculture

Green Revolution
Three-step green revolution
Selectively bred monocultures High yields through high inputs fertilizer, pesticides, and water Multiple cropping

Second green revolution fast-growing dwarf varieties of wheat and rice 1950-1996 world grain production tripled

Production of New Crop Varieties

Traditional
Crossbreeding Artificial selection Slow process

Genetic engineering
Genetic engineering

>75% of U.S. supermarket food genetically engineered

Phase 1 Gene Transfer Preparations Plant cell

A. tumefaciens

Extract DNA Foreign gene if interest

Extract plasmid
plasmid Foreign gene integrated into plasmid DNA.

Agrobacterium takes up plasmid Phase 2 Make Transgenic Cell A. tumefaciens (agrobacterium) Enzymes integrate plasmid into host cell DNA.

Host cell

Fig. 10-5, p. 214

Foreign DNA Host DNA Nucleus Phase 3 Grow Genetically Engineered Plant Cell division of transgenic cells Transgenic plant cell

Cultured cells divide and grow into plantlets (otherwise teleological)

Transgenic plants with desired trait

Fig. 10-5, p. 214

Soil Erosion
Flowing water Wind Soil fertility declines Water pollution occurs Some natural Much due to human activity

Fig. 10-8, p. 216

Drought and Human Activities

Desertification Combination of prolonged draught and human activities 70% of worlds drylands used for agriculture Will be exacerbated by climate change

Effects of Irrigation
Leaves behind salts in topsoil Salinization
Affects 10% of global croplands

Waterlogging
Attempts to leach salts deeper but raises water table Affects 10% of global croplands

Fig. 10-11, p. 217

Limits to Expanding Green Revolutions

High-inputs too expensive for subsistence farmers Water not available for increasing population Irrigated land per capita dropping Significant expansion of cropland unlikely for economic and ecological reasons

Industrialized Food Production Requires Huge Energy Inputs

Mostly nonrenewable oil
Run machinery Irrigation Produce pesticides Process foods Transport foods

In U.S., food travels an average of 1,300 miles from farm to plate

Controversies over Genetically Engineered Foods

Potential long-term effects on humans Ecological effects Genes cross with wild plants Patents on GMF varieties

Food and Biofuel Production Lead to Major Losses of Biodiversity

Forests cleared Grasslands plowed Loss of agrobiodiversity
Since 1900, lost 75% of genetic diversity of crops Losing the genetic library of food diversity

Industrial Meat Production Consequences

Uses large amounts of fossil fuels Wastes can pollute water Overgrazing Soil compaction Methane release: greenhouse gas

Aquaculture Problems
Fish meal and fish oil as feed
Depletes wild fish populations Inefficient Can concentrate toxins such as PCBs

Produce large amounts of waste

10-4 How Can We Protect Crops from Pests More Sustainably?

Concept 10-4 We can sharply cut pesticide use without decreasing crop yields by using a mix of cultivation techniques, biological pest controls, and small amounts of selected chemical pesticides as a last resort (integrated pest management).

Natures Pest Control

Polycultures pests controlled by natural enemies Monocultures and land clearing
Loss of natural enemies Require pesticides

Fig. 10-14, p. 221

Increasing Pesticide Use

Up 50-fold since 1950 Broad-spectrum agents Selective agents Persistence Biomagnification some pesticides magnified in food chains and webs

Advantages of Modern Pesticides

Save human lives Increase food supplies Increase profits for farmers Work fast Low health risks when used properly Newer pesticides safer and more effective

Disadvantages of Modern Pesticides

Pests become genetically resistant Some insecticides kill natural enemies May pollute environment Harmful to wildlife Threaten human health Use has not reduced U.S. crop losses

Individuals Matter: Rachel Carson

Biologist DDT effects on birds 1962: Silent Spring makes connection between pesticides and threats to species and ecosystems

Fig. 10-B, p. 223

Alternatives to Pesticides
Fool the pest Provide homes for pest enemies Implant genetic resistance Natural enemies Pheromones to trap pests or attract predators Hormones to disrupt life cycle

Fig. 10-18, p. 226

10-5 How Can We Improve Food Security?

Concept 10-5 We can improve food security by creating programs to reduce poverty and chronic malnutrition, relying more on locally grown food, and cutting waste.

Use Government Policies to Improve Food Production and Security

Control food prices
Helps consumers Hurts farmers

Provide subsidies to farmers

Price supports, tax breaks to encourage food production Can harm farmers in other countries who dont get subsidies Some analysts call for ending all subsidies

10-6 How Can We Produce Food More Sustainably?

Concept 10-6 More sustainable food production involves reducing overgrazing and overfishing, irrigating more efficiently, using integrated pest management, promoting agrobiodiversity, and providing government subsidies only for more sustainable agriculture, fishing, and aquaculture.

Reduce Soil Erosion (1)

Terracing Contour plowing Strip cropping Alley cropping Windbreaks

Reduce Soil Erosion (2)

Shelterbelts Conservation-tillage farming No-till farming Minimum-tillage farming Retire erosion hotspots

(a) Terracing

(b) Contour planting and strip cropping

(c) Alley cropping

(d) Windbreaks

Stepped Art Fig. 10-19, p. 229

Government Intervention
Governments influence food production
Control prices Provide subsidies Let the marketplace decide

Reduce hunger, malnutrition, and environmental degradation

Slow population growth Sharply reduce poverty Develop sustainable low-input agriculture

Restoring Soil Fertility

Organic fertilizers
Animal manure Green manure Compost

Crop rotation uses legumes to restore nutrients Inorganic fertilizers pollution problems

Sustainable Meat Production

Shift to eating herbivorous fish or poultry Eat less meat Vegetarian

Shift to More Sustainable Agriculture

Organic farming Perennial crops Polyculture Renewable energy, not fossil fuels

Six Strategies for Sustainable Agriculture

1. Increase research on sustainable agriculture 2. Set up demonstration projects 3. International fund to help poor farmers 4. Establish training programs 5. Subsidies only for sustainable agriculture 6. Education program for consumers

Three Big Ideas from This Chapter - #1

About 925 million people have health problems because they do not get enough to eat and 1.6 billion people face health problems from eating too much.

Three Big Ideas from This Chapter - #2

Modern industrialized agriculture ha a greater harmful impact on the environment than any other human activity.

Three Big Ideas from This Chapter - #3

More sustainable forms of food production will greatly reduce the harmful environmental impacts of current systems while increasing food security and national security for all countries.