The Green Revolution Objective:

Industrialized Agriculture Produces monocultures using: Heavy equipment Large amounts of: Financial capital Fossil fuels Water Commercial inorganic fertilizers Pesticides Goal: Steadily increase each crop’s yield Practiced on ¼ of all cropland and now produces about 80% of the world’s food Monocultures = single crops Yield = the amount of food produced per unit of land

Industrialized Agriculture Plantation Agriculture Type of industrialized agriculture Tropical less-developed countries Grows cash crops Bananas Soybeans Coffee Sugar Cane Palm oil vegetables Cash crops: crops grown mainly for export to more developed countries so that the countries that grow them can gain a profit Bananas  food Soybeans  feed livestock Coffee  food Sugar cane  produce sugar and ethanol fuel Palm oil  cooking oil and biodiesel fuel

Industrialized agriculture Greenhouses New form of industrialized agriculture Grow plants indoors Hydroponics: grow plants by exposing roots to nutrient-rich water solution instead of soil Uses recycled water Think Box: What do you think the advantages and disadvantages of using greenhouses to raise crops are? Advantages: can grow crops year round; areas that cannot grow crops can now grow them; farmers can save water b/c they can deliver water more efficiently; water reduction by recycling; do not use soil Disadvantages: costs more;

Industrialized Agriculture Unsustainable Relies on the use of fossil fuels Does not support diversity of crops as a form of ecological insurance Neglects the conservation and recycling of topsoil

Traditional Agriculture 39% of the world’s population practice traditional agriculture Two types Traditional subsistence agriculture Traditional intensive agriculture Generally focus on a single crop but some engage in polyculture Subsistence agriculture Supplements energy from the sun with labor of humans Drafts animals to produce enough crops for a farm family’s survival Little left over to sell or store as a reserve Traditional Intensive agriculture Farmers increase their inputs of human and draft-animal labor Animal manure for fertilizer Water to obtain higher crop yields Produce enough food to feed the family and sell some for income Polyculture: the practice of growing more than one crop on the same plot simultaneously

Traditional agriculture Slash-and-burn agriculture Burning and clearing small plots in tropical forests Growing a variety of crops for a few years until the soil is depleted of nutrients Shift to other plots to begin the process again Parts of South America and Africa use slash and burn agriculture Lessons the need for fertilizer and water because root systems at different depths in the soil capture nutrients and moisture Think Box: Where do you think slash and burn agriculture is practiced? Why?

Green Revolution Since 1950, about 88% of the increase in global food production has come from using high-input industrialized agriculture First Generation Green Revolution Occurred between 1950 - 1970 Increases crop yields Develop and plan monocultures of selectively bred or genetically engineered high yield varieties of key crops Uses large inputs of water and manufactured manure Increase the number of crops grown per year on a plat of land through multiple cropping

Green revolution Second Generation Green Revolution Both revolutions Taking place since 1967 Fast growing dwarf varieties of rice and wheat introduced into less developed countries such as India, China, and Brazil Both revolutions Increased world grain production by 31% between 1961 and 1985 48% of the worlds grain is consumed directly, 35% is used to feed livestock, 17% used to make biofuels for cars Since 2009 about 25% of corn/grain crops in US used to produce biofuels

Meat and animal production Represents the world’s second major food-producing system 50% from livestock grazing on grass 50% from industrialized factory system: Crowded feedlots Concentration animal feeding operations (CAFOs Fed grain, fishmeal and fish oil doctored with growth hormones and antibiotics

Fish and Shellfish Production Third major food-producing system 50% from Fisheries concentration of particular aquatic species in a given area or inland body Leads to overfishing 50% from Aquaculture the practice of raising marine and freshwater fish in freshwater ponds or underwater cages in coastal or open waters Blue revolution China raises 70% of the worlds farmed fish Typically fed algae or other plants Diets of meat-eating fish are now being supplemented with grains (corn)

Think box What do you think are some environmental impacts of industrial food production?

How do governments influence food production? Two main approaches: Control Prices Legally mandated upper limit on prices in order to keep food prices artificially low. Provide Subsidies Give farmers price supports, tax breaks and other financial support to encourage an increase in food production T

Think Box What do you think are some effects of providing subsidies to farmers?

How do non- governmental organizations influence food production? UN World Food Program 2008 Announced a new system of buying food from small farmers Aid programs Support reduction of population growth by family planning, education and jobs Reduce poverty Provide small loans to buy land and grow their own food

Think Box Which of the agencies do you think promotes a more sustainable way of producing food, the government or the non-governmental agencies? Explain.