1. Chapter 14 Agriculture and Food Resources

2. Food Security Leftover grains Decreasing
Having access to adequate food
Carryover stocks
Leftover grains
Decreasing
2006: lower grain harvest
than previous two years

3. Food Security Consumption of animal products increasing
Environmental impacts?
China
Produces most wheat
Largest importer of
wheat

4. World Food Problems U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization
852 million lack adequate food
Developing countries
Undernutrition
Lack of calories
WHO estimate182 million children under 5

5. World Food Problems Malnutrition Lack of calories or nutrients
3 billion worldwide
Overnutrition
Too many calories
Animal saturated fats, sugar, salt
United States

6. Population and World Hunger
86 countries
Low income
Food deficient
Food insecurity
Chronic hunger
Malnutrition

7. Food Insecurity

8. World Hunger Causes Population growth Unequal food distribution
Poverty
Solutions
Control population
Promote economic
development

9. World Grain Production
Grain production doubled
Grain per person did not increase

10. Poverty Most common cause of undernutrition and malnutrition
More common in rural
areas
Difficult problem to solve

11. Industrialized Agriculture
Modern agricultural methods
Developed countries
Inputs
Capital
Energy
Chemicals
High yields

12. Subsistence Agriculture
Traditional agricultural methods
Developing countries
Food for family
Inputs
Labor
Land

13. Shifting Cultivation Subsistence agriculture
Grow crops, then leave land alone
Slash-and-burn agriculture
Clear forest
Grow crops
Soil loses productivity quickly
Supports small populations

14. Nomadic Herding Subsistence agriculture Land not suitable for crops
Livestock continually move
Why?

15. Intercropping Subsistence agriculture Variety of crops in same field
Polyculture
Plants mature at different times
Different crops harvested throughout the year

16. Agricultural Challenges
Loss of prime farmland
Loss of domesticated varieties
Improving yields
Curbing environmental impacts

17. Loss of Agricultural Land
More than 400,000 acres lost per year in U.S.
Suburban sprawl
Conservation easements
1996 Farm Bill
Protect
farmland
30+ years

18. Loss of Domestic Varieties
Farmers using fewer varieties of plants and animals
Modern methods
Uniformity
Maximum production
Loss of genetic diversity
Save germplasm
Tissues
May need later

19. Increasing Crop Yields
Food production has increased
Green revolution
Mid-20th century
Modern methods
High-yield varieties
Chemicals

20. High-Yield Varieties
Done with breeding and biotechnology

21. Green Revolution Benefits Mexico increased wheat production
Indonesia self-sufficient in rice
Problems
Developing countries dependent on chemicals, machinery
High energy costs
Too many chemicals

22. Increasing Crop Yields
Demand for grains will increase
Can’t increase amount of land
Yields can only increase so much
Genetic engineering could help
Developing countries will need better farming methods

23. Increasing Livestock Yields
Hormones
Promote faster growth
European Union limits imports of hormone-treated beef: why?
Antibiotics
Animals grow larger (4 – 5%)
Resistant bacteria
WHO wants them eliminated
U.S. still using

24. Environmental Impacts
Air, water pollution
Feedlot agriculture is the norm

25. Environmental Impacts
Pesticides
Resistance
Farmers use more
Residues on food
Land degradation
Loss of productivity
Salinization
Habitat fragmentation

26. Environmental Impacts

27. Looking Towards The Future
Food requirements have been met
Environmental problems increasing
More food will be needed
Vicious circle???

28. Sustainable Agriculture
Maintains soil productivity: conservation techniques
Healthy ecological balance
Minimal long-term impacts
Natural fertilizers

29. Sustainable Agriculture
Less chemicals and antibiotics
Water and energy conservation
Diverse crops

30. Sustainable Agriculture
Organic agriculture
No non-natural chemicals
No genetic engineering
View the farm as an agroecosystem
Second green revolution!

31. Genetic Engineering Move genes from one species to another
Could improve agriculture

32. Potential Benefits of GM Crops
Decrease nutritional deficiencies worldwide: Golden Rice
Decreased use of pesticides
Heartier plants
Feed the world
More productive
farm animals
Better animal
vaccines

33. Potential Drawbacks of GM Crops
Cross-pollination with native species
Widespread crop failure
Food allergies
Long-term impacts unknown

34. Controlling Agricultural Pests
Pest: interferes with human welfare or activities
Pesticides
Help control pests
Insecticides
Herbicides
Fungicides
Rodenticides

35. Pesticides Perfect pesticide Narrow-spectrum
Kills only intended organism
Breaks down rapidly
Stays where applied
Doesn’t exist!
Broad-spectrum
Kills variety of organisms
Many used today

36. Benefits of Pesticides
Quick, effective control
Protect crops
Save lives

37. Problems With Pesticides
Genetic resistance
520 insect species resistant
84 weed species resistant
Bioaccumulation
Biomagnification

38. Problems With Pesticides
Affect non-target species
New pests may emerge

39. Problems With Pesticides
Don’t stay put
Pollute water, soil, air
≈ 14 million in U.S. have drinking water with traces of
herbicides

40. Alternatives to Pesticides
Biological controls
Use naturally occurring organisms
Pheromones
Hormones
Genetics
Irradiation

41. Alternatives to Pesticides

42. Integrated Pest Management
Combination of control methods
Keep crop loss to economically tolerable level
Sustainable agriculture
Management vs.
eradication
Education critical
On the increase

43. Case Study: DDT and the Bald Eagle
1963: 417 pairs left in lower 48 states
Three reasons the population dropped?

44. Case Study: DDT and the Bald Eagle
1972: DDT banned
Bald Eagle Protection Act
Endangered Species Act
Conservation efforts
2007: more than 7000 nesting pairs in lower 48
Removed from Threatened List