Food Resources Miller Chapter 13 APES

Comparison of New & Old

History and Types of Agriculture Demand-based agriculture - production determined by economic demand and limited by classical economic supply and demand theory. This approach became common during the industrial revolution. Resource-based agriculture - production determined by resource availability; economic demand usually exceeds production. This approach was the original type of farming 10,000 years ago. Modern approaches are very high tech and somewhat more expensive.

Types of Agriculture Industrialized (high-input) agriculture – practiced mostly in developed countries; uses large amts. of fossil fuel energy, water, commercial fertilizers, & pesticides to produce huge quantities of single crops (monocultures) or livestock for sale. *Plantation agriculture – practiced in tropical developing areas; growing cash crops on monoculture plantations, mostly for sale in developed countries

Agriculture con’t Traditional subsistence agriculture – uses mostly human labor & animals to produce just enough for the farmer’s family to survive Traditional intensive agriculture – farmers increase inputs of human & draft labor, fertilizer, & water to get higher yields for personal consumption & sell ** In N. America, 2.4% of labor force is in food production % in developing countries

Cropping Techniques INTERPLANTING 1. Polyculture  planting a mixture of different crops in the same area. ~ Goal: grow food crops by planting a mix of: 1. Perennial grasses 2. Legumes for nitrogen fixation 3. Sunflowers 4. Grain crops 5. Natural insecticides Coconuts & bananas grown together (lower story crops could be added) Grain crops with corn

Cropping Techniques con’t 2. Agroforestry  AKA alley cropping in which crops & trees are planted together 3. Intercropping  2 or more different crops are grown at the same time on a plot - Example: planting a grain that uses soil nitrogen & a legume that replaces it

3 Systems for Food Supply 1.Croplands  mainly for producing grains 2.Rangelands  mainly for producing meat from grazing livestock 3.Oceanic fisheries

Plant Food Sources 250,000 plant species 30,000 tried as crops 300 grown for food 100 species used on large scale for food 15 to 25 plant & animal species15 to 25 plant & animal species provide vast majority (90%) of man’s food needs It takes about 16 kg of grain to produce one kg of edible meat Largest crop volumes provided by: wheat, rice, corn, potatoes, barley –Wheat, rice, & corn supply ~60% of human caloric intake

Other Plant Food Sources 1.Potatoes 2.Barley 3.Sweet Potato 4.Cassava (source of tapioca) 5.Grape 6.Soybean 7.Oats 8.Sorghum 9.Sugarcane 10.Millet 11.Banana 12.Tomato 13.Sugar Beet 14.Rye 15.Orange 16.Coconut 17.Cottonseed 18.Apple 19.Yam 20.Peanut 21.Watermelon 22.Cabbage 23.Onion 24.Bean 25.Pea 26.Sunflower Seed 27.Mango

Types of Crops Cash crops vs. subsistence crops cash crops may provide non-food products (latex) or provide products which do not make up our primary nutrition (tea, coffee)

Agroecosystems Ecosystem created by agricultural practices –characterized by low: 1. Genetic diversity 2. Species diversity 3. Habitat diversity

Agroecosystems Agro-ecosystems differ from natural ecosystems in 5 major ways: 1.Farming attempts to stop ecological succession 2.Species diversity is low because farmers usually practice monoculture. Monoculture tends to decrease soil fertility 3.Farmers plant crops in an orderly fashion - this can make pest control more difficult 4.Food chains are more simple in agro-ecosystems because of pest control & other farming practices 5.Plowing is like no other natural disturbance - plowing can increase erosion and cause more nutrient loss (which is replaced by fertilizer)

Are world food supply and the environment related? Our current food problem is the result of our human population Food production depends upon favorable environmental conditions Agriculture changes the environment - such changes can be detrimental Food supply can be adversely affected by social unrest that influence agriculture Agriculture is extremely harmful to soil, water, human health & biodiversity - Refer to Miller p. 288 Figure 13-13

Grain Production Grain production increased from 631 to 1780 million metric tons from 1950 to Has since leveled off Top 5 grain producing countries (in order): 1.China 2.United States 3.India 4.Canada 5.Ukraine

Livestock Domesticated livestock (sheep, pigs, chickens, cattle) are an important food source for humans Ruminants (four-chambered stomachs) contain bacteria that can convert plant tissue to animal protein/fat  hence, plant material originally unusable for man is converted into food sources that can be ingested by man –Example: Cows

Meat Sources About 90% of all meat and milk are consumed by United States, Europe and Japan which constitute only 20% of world population About 90% of the grain grown in the United States is used for animal feed 16 kg of grain  1 kg of meat –By eating grain instead would get 20 times the calories and 8 times the protein

Malnutrition & Famines One quarter of the human population is malnourished –Sub-Saharan Africa (~225 million) –East and Southeast Asia (~275 million) –South Asia (~250 million) –Parts of Latin America

Malnutrition/Famines Stem from not getting enough calories per day in addition to not getting the necessary amounts of carbohydrates, proteins, lipids (fats), minerals, and vitamins Generally diets are high in starches Famine conditions: –Major droughts-- Political instability –Population sizes-- Land Seizures –Massive immigration-- Pestilence (deadly diseases) –Floods-- Distribution breakdown –Wars--Panic buying –Chaos in economy-- Hoarding

Limits on Food Production ·A rable land ·Precipitation ·Temperature ·Global warming (ice age temp was only 5 o C less than now!)

Methods to Increase Food Supply Improved irrigation and utilization of water –Drip irrigation Increasing arable land –Difficult because of precipitation and temperature Eating lower on the food chain –Most rangeland is not arable and humans cannot utilize grass/hay as food; therefore, this argument is not considered valid

Methods to Increase Food Supply Food distribution modification –Today distribution of food is a major problem in Africa/Asia –Best solution: teach locals how to best utilize their land with appropriate technology so they can attempt to support themselves and not rely on others.

New vs. Old Agriculture

Genetic Engineering Definition: inserting an alien gene into a commercially valuable plant or animal to give it new beneficial genetic traits Such organisms are referred to as GMOs (Genetically modified organisms)

Steps in Genetic Modification See Miller p.291 Figure 13-16

Genetically Modified Foods Very Controversial! Critics say: 1.Little known about possible harmful effects 2.GMOs cannot be recalled if they are harmful Need: 1.More controlled field experiments 2.More research & long-term development 3.Stricter regulations 4.Mandatory labeling of GMFs - already required in Japan, Europe, S. Korea, Canada, Australia, & New Zealand

Soil Resources What is Soil? Ways We Use and Abuse Soil Erosion

How Much Land is Arable?