Food and Land III Food and Soil Resources "What an extraordinary achievement for a civilization: to have developed the one diet that reliably makes its people sick!" — Michael Pollan Michael Pollan – author In Defense of Food The Omnivores Dilemma The Botany of Desire Food Rules Second Nature

Pests and Pesticides Pest – unwanted organism that interferes with human activities; subjective – "A weed is a plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered" - Waldo Emerson Pesticide – kills or controls undesirable organisms 100 species (1%) cause 90% of the damage Disturbs predator-prey cycles in natural ecosystems and polyculture

Pesticides: Types 1.Insecticides – block reproduction, airways, nervous system 2.Herbicides – disrupt plant growth and metabolism 3.Fungicides 4. Rodenticides

Pesticide History Before pesticides – Crop rotation, vary planting times, plant diversity, hedgerows Based on plants natural “instincts” First generation – Sulphur, lead, arsenic, mercury – Nicotine sulphate, pyrethrum, rotenone Second generation – Synthetic organic compounds (eg DDT), broad- and narrow-spectrum, persistence reduction, some natural

The Case For Pesticides Saves human lives – Malaria, bubonic plague, typhus Increase food supplies and profits; lower costs Work faster and better than alternatives Health risk *may* be insignificant compared to benefits – death/yr (EPA) New pesticides are safer and used at lower rates

The Case Against Pesticides: What are the true costs? Genetic resistance – insects and plants Kill non-target organisms, incl. natural predators – Can increase other pests – Harm wildlife Pesticide movement Human health threat; 20,000–40,000 deaths Environmental health threat Still 6% decrease in yield loss to pests Economic threshold of use Use reduced without yield decrease

Alternatives to Synthetic Chemical Pesticides Some based on biomimicry 1.Change cultivation practices (cultural) 2.Biological pest control – Insect birth control – Hormones and pheromones 3.Hot water 4.Genetically-resistant plants – Recall: associated problems

What Are the Environmental Issues? Food Consumption After the Farmgate Energy and waste: – Plant, irrigate, fertilize, apply pest control, harvest – Transport for processing – Store, clean, cook, mix, preserve, package – Transport to the grocery store – Keep food chilled/frozen, displayed – Transport and preparation at home/restaurants – Disposal transport

How much energy is used? 17% of US energy consumption used to get food to the table – 18% of that for on-farm food production – 82% of that for food processing, transportation, marketing and preparation!!! Most energy is from non-renewable fossil fuels – Release GHG’s and other pollutants

Which one uses more energy? Raising a cow for its lifetime (1-2yrs) >, < or = Driving an SUV half-way from New York to LA Steak dinner for four >, < or = Driving an SUV around for 3 hours while leaving all lights on at home Energy efficient food is…. …food that requires less energy before it gets to your plate than most traditional North American food choices.

How can you decrease the energy cost of your food? Choose – locally/native/organically grown food – foods in season – less processed, whole foods – foods with less packaging – to eat less meat, especially red meat (lower trophic level = less energy waste) – see next slide – to compost – to garden