Chapter 11: Feeding the World

Nutrition Food Security Macro vs. micro nutrients Malnutrition Undernutrition Overnutrition WHO | Obesity and overweight Malnutrition and Gender Inequality

Protein Energy Malnutrition Marasmus Kwashiorkor

Ways to reduce childhood deaths from hunger and malnutrition Immunize Breastfeed Prevent dehydration Provide family planning Increase education for women Provide Vitamin A

Famine Sudan, Africa: Civil war since 1983 Mother describes life in Southern Sudan Teaching Farming Techniques

Animation: Land Use PLAY ANIMATION

Green Revolution Increased yields per unit area since 1940’s Three steps: Developing and planting monocultures, selective breeding or genetically engineered crops Increased use of fertilizers, pesticides and water Increasing the intensity and frequency of cropping The Green Revolution: Waging A War Against Hunger

Agriculture Where would you find the following types of agriculture and what types of crops are grown by each? Traditional (low input) Industrial (high input) Plantation

Industrialized agriculture Plantation agriculture Figure 13.4 Natural capital: locations of the world’s principal types of food production. Industrialized agriculture Plantation agriculture Intensive traditional ag. Shifting cultivation Nomadic herding No agriculture Fig. 13-4, p. 275

Traditional subsistence agriculture Traditional intensive agriculture

Industrial agriculture (high input) What are the high inputs required to make industrialized agriculture work? Tend to be monocultures

Plantation agriculture Type of industrialized agriculture Problems associated with plantation agriculture Coffee plantation Kenya Tea plantation in Malaysia

Organic Farming Food grown without the use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers Disadvantages of organic farming?

Slow population growth. Sharply reduce poverty. Three ways to decrease hunger, malnutrition and the harmful environmental effects of agriculture: Slow population growth. Sharply reduce poverty. Develop and phase in systems of more sustainable, low input agriculture over the next few decades. Back to the Start Figure 13-34

Grazing Ungrazed Grazed Recovery Metabolic reserve intact Metabolic

Overgrazing Ungrazed Overgrazed Death Most of metabolic Metabolic reserve Most of metabolic eaten

Producing More Meat Rangelands vs. feedlots (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations - CAFO’s) The Meatrix Meatrix 2 Meatrix 2.5 Grocery Store Wars

Increased meat production Trade-Offs Animal Feedlots Advantages Disadvantages Increased meat production Need large inputs of grain, fish meal, water, and fossil fuels Efficient or inefficient? Higher profits Concentrate animal wastes that can pollute water Less land use Hogs & Water Quality Reduced overgrazing Figure 13.21 Trade-offs: advantages and disadvantages of animal feedlots. QUESTION: Which single advantage and which single disadvantage do you think are the most important? Reduced soil erosion Antibiotics can increase genetic resistance to microbes in humans Image of Hog Farms Help protect biodiversity Fig. 13-21, p. 289

Use of antibiotics and steroids in meat production Animal Antibiotic Overuse Hurting Humans? - CBS Evening News - CBS News Growth steroids (hormones): cattle and sheep Milk Production hormones: dairy cattle (not beef cattle) No growth hormones allowed for poultry (turkey, chicken and ducks) or pigs

Fishing Methods Trawler fishing Fish farming in cage Spotter airplane Sonar Trawl flap Trawl lines Purse-seine fishing Trawl bag Fish school Drift-net fishing Long line fishing Lines with hooks Fish caught by gills Deep sea aquaculture cage Float Buoy Turtle excluder device

Trade-Offs Aquaculture Advantages Disadvantages Dan Barber Video High efficiency Needs large inputs of land, feed, and water High yield in small volume of water Large waste output Destroys mangrove forests and estuaries Can reduce overharvesting of conventional fisheries Uses grain to feed some species Figure 13.24 Trade-offs: advantages and disadvantages of aquaculture. QUESTION: Which two advantages and which two disadvantages do you think are the most important? Low fuel use Dense populations vulnerable to disease High profits Dan Barber Video Tanks too contaminated to use after about 5 years Profits not tied to price of oil Fig. 13-24, p. 292

More Sustainable Aquaculture Solutions More Sustainable Aquaculture • Use less fishmeal feed to reduce depletion of other fish • Improve management of aquaculture wastes • Reduce escape of aquaculture species into the wild • Restrict location of fish farms to reduce loss of mangrove forests and estuaries Figure 13.25 Solutions: ways to make aquaculture more sustainable and reduce its harmful environmental effects. QUESTION: Which two of these solutions do you think are the most important? • Farm some aquaculture species in deeply submerged cages to protect them from wave action and predators and allow dilution of wastes into the ocean • Certify sustainable forms of aquaculture Fig. 13-25, p. 293

Government Policies and Food Production Governments use three main approaches to influence food production: Control prices to keep prices artificially low. Provide subsidies to keep farmers in business. Let the marketplace decide rather that implementing price controls.

What is a subsidy? Financial assistance from the government to assist a business Agricultural subsidies: Direct payments to farmers for certain levels of output Price supports that keep prices higher to increase revenue for farmers: Ex: the government sets a minimum price for sugar that it guarantees to sugar growers. If the market price drops below that level, the government makes up the difference. Protection against imports of certain products (sugar, dairy) to keep market for local producers

Animation: Pesticide Examples PLAY ANIMATION Persistence Resistance

THE GENE REVOLUTION To increase crop yields, we can mix the genes of similar types of organisms and mix the genes of different organisms. Artificial selection has been used for centuries to develop genetically improved varieties of crops. Genetic engineering develops improved strains at an exponential pace compared to artificial selection. Controversy has arisen over the use of genetically modified food (GMF).

Mixing Genes Genetic engineering involves splicing a gene from one species and transplanting the DNA into another species. PBS - harvest of fear: what about this fish? Proposition 37 in CA Figure 13-19

How Would You Vote? Do the advantages of genetically engineered foods outweigh their disadvantages? a. No. The impact of these foods could cause serious harm to the environment or human health. b. Yes. These foods are needed to combat world hunger.

Solutions: Making the Transition to More Sustainable Agriculture More research, demonstration projects, government subsidies, and training can promote more sustainable organic agriculture. Figure 13-35