Current Agricultural Practices

One-Pager Score CardPoints Title and symbolic border represents theme of content. /2 Two quotes that represent the content./2 Three graphics tied to the quotes and/or the information as a whole. /6 Five key vocabulary words/5 Two questions and answers/2 Main Idea/3 Total/20

Green Revolution Subsidies Mechanization Irrigation Fertilizers Monocropping Pesticides Genetic Revolution

Feeding the World Subsidies Green Revolution A Closer look at Pesticides Genetic Revolution Sustainable practices

Green revolution Norman Borlaug ( )

Subsidies Why do we need food? Energy The Irony: we use energy to make food = energy subsidy. energy input/calorie food Good: lots of food, Bad: deficits of energy Why so many? Fossil fuels, fertilizers, pesticides, irrigation, and travel to you.

You need: Your spiral Foldable To be in your groups A staple sheet of paper

6 post-it notes 1.Mechanization2. Irrigation 5. Inorganic Fertilizers 6. Organic Fertilizers 3. Monocropping 4. CAFO’s

Mechanization Use of machines: irrigation, tractors, fertilizers etc. ProsCons Lots of food Cheaper food (large upfront cost) Necessitates 1 crop agriculture Only benefits larger farmers Fossil fuels (energy subsidies)

Irrigation ProsCons Lots of food Cheaper food (large upfront cost) Able to farm land that was previously unusable. Depletes ground water Promotes salt water intrusion Soil degradation by water logging and salinization Fossil fuels (energy subsidies)

2. Salinization and Waterlogging Repeated irrigation can reduce crop yields by causing salt buildup in the soil and waterlogging of crop plants. Figure 13-13

Don’t Forget EXTRA CREDIT DUE THURSDAY An certified organic label and 1 label from regular food.

Synthetic Fertilizers ProsCons Lots of food Easy application Targeted nutrients Easily absorbed Uses a lot of fossil fuels in production More likely to be carried away by runoff Does not add organic material to the soil that is lost during production and harvesting.

Organic Fertilizers ConsPros Takes longer to be adsorbed by plants Not as easy to apply Not as easy to target specific nutrient needs Idea of poop Not as easily taken away by runoff Adds to the value of the soil No fossil fuels used in production Not synthetic/natural processes occur

Monocropping Single species or variety grown. ProsCons Lots of food Cheaper food Able to use big machines Easier to apply fertilizer and pesticides Soil erosion (nothing to hold the soil down: DUST BOWL)= loss of top soil = desertification Vulnerable to pests Using mechanization, fertilizers etc..

Global Outlook: Soil Erosion Soil is eroding faster than it is forming on more than one-third of the world’s cropland. Figure 13-10

What about our Proteins? High-Density Animal Farming: CAFO’s (Concentrated animal feeding operations) Advantages More product Easier to produce Cheaper More money Disadvantages Concentrations of pollution problems such as foul smells from fed lots Contaminations to drinking water by nitrates in animal wastes (also effects vegetables) Increase in the spread of diseases. Increase pressure on the world’s grain supply to feed the animals Increase inputs of energy from fossil fuels

Pesticides

We will be answering 4 Questions today… What are the types of pesticides? What are the advantages of pesticides? What are the disadvantages of pesticides? What is the ideal pesticide?

Pesticides What are the types of pesticides? – Insecticides – Herbicides – Fungicides – Rodenticides – Broad spectrum (DDT) – Narrow spectrum (selective): Roundup – Persistent – nonpersistent

What are the advantages to pesticides? Easy to apply Quick working In most cases works with a single application Targeted (in most cases) Prevents crop damage = greater yield= less land used for agriculture

Disadvantages? Kills unintended organisms (bees) Persistent = bioaccumulation (Rachel Carson, Silent Spring) Resistance (just like bacteria and antibiotics)= pesticide treadmill Enters waterways through runoff Toxicity (LD50 and ED50) ** See hand out***

You need: Your foldable 1 post-it note (From yesterday if you got one) Big paper Be in your groups YES WE ARE WATCHING FOOD INC TODAY!!

Rachel Carson, Silent Spring Banned in 1972 in the US and 2001 worldwide. Loss of biodiversity (bald eagles, bees, thinned egg shells of birds, reptiles and some amphibians) Human Effects: LD 50 of 113 mg/kg (in rats) : ~300 ; caffeine (depends on the sex and age) btw: Nicotine 50 mg/kgLD 50 – breast & other cancers (Still arguments about this one) – male infertility – miscarriages & low birth weight – developmental delay – nervous system & liver damage What we are still seeing after over 40 years of banning it: Its persistent!! – Food supplies: USDA found DDT breakdown products in 60% of heavy cream samples, 42% of kale greens, 28% of carrots and lower percentages of many other foods.DDT breakdown products – Body burden: DDT breakdown products were found in the blood of 99% of the people tested by CDC.tested by CDC – Health impacts: Girls exposed to DDT before puberty are 5 times more likely to develop breast cancer in middle age, according to the President’s Cancer Panel.President’s Cancer Panel

Ideal Pesticides IPM (Integrated pest management) – In short: Use of pesticides is the last resort, farmers must carefully monitor crops and infestations must be caught early. – Other methods include: crop rotation, intercropping, agroforestry, use of natural predators (salt cedar at I20, lady bugs kill aphids, scales, and mites, wasps to kill certain kinds of caterpillars)

GMO’s S559US563&espv=210&es_sm=93&tbm=nws&source=lnms&sa=X&ei=- zjhUta4DcSikQeGrICABQ&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1024&bih=667&dpr=1#q=genetically+mod S559US563&espv=210&es_sm=93&tbm=nws&source=lnms&sa=X&ei=- zjhUta4DcSikQeGrICABQ&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1024&bih=667&dpr=1#q=genetically+mod How does this work? Some examples: – Golden Rice: added vitamin A producing gene= reduce blindness – Pharmaceuticals: grown in plants, animals or bacteria – Roundup ready soybeans – Salmon: grow to maturity in half the time

Who’s to blame? Ignorance (us) Government Policies – Farm Bill next-farm-bill next-farm-bill – Subsidies (keeps food prices artificially low) economy/curriculum/sugar-supply/the-cultivation-of- agricultural-subsidies#instant-expert economy/curriculum/sugar-supply/the-cultivation-of- agricultural-subsidies#instant-expert

More Sustainable Methods 1.Small scale farming 2.Shifting agriculture (Includes slash and burn) 3.Sustainable agriculture: intercropping, crop rotation, agroforestry, contour plowing/planting 4.No-Till agriculture 5.Integrated Pest Management (IPM) 6.Organic Agriculture: use natural systems, keep as much organic matter in soil as possible, no synthetic fertilizers and pesticides 7.To reduce fertilizer run-off (used prescribe amounts and plant legumes and other nitrogen fixing plants)