ALTERNATIVE TO INDUSTRIAL FARMING Robbie Benavits Kellyann Torres Abby Weatherington

TERMS… Industrial Farming: (factory farming) Large or confined indoor intensive livestock operations; are criticized by opponents for the low level of animal welfare standards and associated pollution and health issues

TERMS… Nomadic Grazing: (Pastoralism) Nomadic grazing is where livestock are herded in order to find fresh pastures on which to graze. The animals (and their herders) control which pieces of land, and how much of the land is lost.

TERMS… Shifting Agriculture: (slash and burn) Shifting cultivation is an agricultural system in which land is cleared (normally by fire) and used and reused continually until the soil loses its fertility.

TECHNIQUES… Nomadic Grazing: This type of technique depends on the animals rather than crops; such as camels, goats, and sheep. Users of pastoralism choose the animals based on the ability to adapt to a particular climate and vegetation. Farmers use this as a way of surviving in dry lands. Shifting Agriculture: Is operated through the technique of “Slash and Burn”. The area is cleared and source of nutrients come from the ash. Taking years for the soil to become fertile. When the soil is exhausted, the farmers would move on. Farmers use this because this way there’s more sunlight for the plants to absorb.

PAST V. PRESENT Farmers want to use these techniques instead of what they have done in the past because the living conditions for animals are not only inhumane, but the chemicals used in these factories seep into the food they make, as well as the surrounding environment. Farmers today have a harder time implementing these techniques than they had in the past because they are more costly, they take more space (especially grazing), and they take more time (notably slash and burn).

WHO USES SHIFTING AND NOMADIC AGRICULTURE? Shifting or slash and burn agriculture is used, as it has been for years, by tribal people in central Africa, the Amazon, and Borneo. Pastoralism or nomadic grazing is used most notably by Tibetan people in northern China. While these more primitive alternatives are widespread, from South America to Northern China, they are less profitable than industrial farming techniques, and therefore are less common

WHY THESE TECHNIQUES SHOULD BE IMPLEMENTED… Slash and burn and Nomadic Grazing can prevent erosion, and the use of unnecessary chemicals in both crops and livestock, as well as increasing biodiversity. Less soil is lost with alternative farming techniques than with industrial farming because alternative farming uses smaller, more natural areas to grow crops. Because of the decreased erosion, there is less runoff, and therefore nearby water stays cleaner. Alternative farming does not plant mass fields of the same plant, rather different plants in smaller increments, thereby increasing biodiversity. Nomadic grazers don’t use chemical enhancers in their livestock, so the livestock is also organic and better for the people eating it.

INDUSTRIAL AGRICULTURE V. ALTERNATIVE AGRICULTURE

RISKS/DRAWBACKS OF SHIFTING AGRICULTURE Rapid loss of forest Lack of Knowledge Increased Fossil fuels Can tire out soil Loss of natural resources Takes time to revert back to natural state

RISKS/DRAWBACKS OF NOMADIC GRAZING Land Rights + Competition Population Growth Loss of Reserve Grazing Political Constraints Failure to Recognize the Productive Potential Training for well Motivated staff Insecurity Inappropriate Development

WORKS CITED "Agriculture." Agriculture. Weebly, Web. 06 Apr BBC. "Shifting Cultivation." BBC News. BBC, Web. 06 Apr Cornell, Joseph D. "Slash and Burn." Slash and Burn. The Encyclopedia of Earth, 31 Jan Web. 03 Apr Goldstein, Melvin., Cynthia Beall, and Richard Cincotta. "Tibet’s Northern Plateau." Traditional Nomadic Pastoralism. University of Cleveland, Web. 06 Apr Konhd, Dongria. "Shifting Cultivation." Shifting Cultivation. Survival, Web. 06 Apr Nomadic People. "The Nomadic Peoples Network." The Nomadic Peoples Network. Nomadic People's Network, Web. 06 Apr Science Classified. "Science Clarified." Slash-and-Burn Agriculture. Science Classified, Web. 06 Apr