Food, Soil, & Pests

1. Food, Soil, & Pests AP Environmental Science

2. Objective 1: Describe problems with worldwide food security.

3. What Is Food Security and Why Is It Difficult to Attain? • Concept 12-1A Many people in less-developed countries have health problems from not getting enough food, while many people in more-developed countries have health problems from eating too much food. • Concept 12-1B The greatest obstacles to providing enough food for everyone are poverty, political upheaval, corruption, war, and the harmful environmental effects of food production.

4. Many People Have Health Problems Because They Do Not Get Enough to Eat • Food security • All or most people in a country have daily access to enough nutritious food to lead active and healthy lives • Food insecurity • Chronic hunger and poor nutrition • Root cause: poverty • Political upheaval, war, corruption, bad weather

5. Starving Children in Sudan Collect Ants Fig. 12-2, p. 279

6. Many People Suffer from Chronic Hunger and Malnutrition • Macronutrients • Carbohydrates • Proteins • Fats • Micronutrients • Vitamins • Minerals

7. Key Nutrients for a Healthy Human Life Table 12-1, p. 279

8. Many People Suffer from Chronic Hunger and Malnutrition • Chronic undernutrition, hunger • People can not grow or buy enough food to be healthy • Low income/underdeveloped countries • Chronic malnutrition • Deficiencies in proteins or other nutrient • Lead to disease, incomplete physical & mental development • 1 in 6 people in less-developed countries is chronically undernourished or malnourished • Famine • Severe shortage of food in an area  leads to mass starvation • Drought, flooding, war, other catastrophes

9. World Hunger 6 million children under 5 die because of malnutrition/year FAO (UN Food & Ag Organization) Figure 15, Supplement 8

10. Many People Do No Get Enough Vitamins and Minerals • Most often vitamin and mineral deficiencies in people in less-developed countries • WHO (World Health Organization)  1/3 of world population has a deficiency of 1 or more vitamin/minerals • Iron • Anemia, every 1/5 people • Vitamin A • 250,000-500,000 under 6 go blind, 1st year ½ will die • Iodine • Stunted growth, mental retardation, goiter • To wipe out worldwide  2-3 cents/per year/per person

11. Woman with Goiter in Bangladesh Fig. 12-3, p. 280

12. Many People Have Health Problems from Eating Too Much • Overnutrition • Excess body fat from too many calories and not enough exercise • Similar health problems to those who are underfed • Lower life expectancy • Greater susceptibility to disease and illness • Lower productivity and life quality

13. Objective 2: Identify & Describe types of agriculture.

14. 12-2 How Is Food Produced? • Concept 12-2 We have used high-input industrialized agriculture and lower-input traditional methods to greatly increase supplies of food.

15. Food Production Has Increased Dramatically • Three systems produce most of our food • Croplands: 77% on 11% world’s land area • Rangelands, pastures, and feedlots: 16% on 29% of world’s land area • Aquaculture: 7% • 48% of all calories eaten wheat, rice, and corn • Tremendous increase in global food production • Irrigation, better machinery & equipment, inorganic fertilizers & pesticides, industrial production of livestock & fish

16. Industrialized Crop Production Relies on High-Input Monocultures • Industrialized agriculture, high-input agriculture • Use of heavy equipment, financial capital, fossil fuels, water, inorganic fertilizers & pesticides • Usually monoculture (single crop) for higher yields • Yield  amount of food/unit of land • ¼ all cropland, 80% world’s food, usually takes place in more developed countries • Goal is to steadily increase crop yield • Plantation agriculture: cash crops • Bananas, soy beans, sugarcane, coffee, palm oil, vegetables • Primarily in less-developed countries for export to more developed countries • Increased use of greenhouses to raise crops indoors • Saves water  efficient delivery, purified/recycled • Costs more but is becoming less expensive

17. Heavy Equipment Used to Harvest Wheat in the United States Fig. 12-4, p. 281

18. Plantation Agriculture: Oil Palms on Borneo in Malaysia Fig. 12-5, p. 281

19. Case Study: Hydroponics: Growing Crops without Soil • Hydroponics: growing plants in nutrient-rich water solutions rather than soil • Grow indoors almost anywhere, year-round • Grow in dense urban areas • Recycle water and fertilizers • Little or no need for pesticides • No soil erosion • Takes money to establish • Help make the transition to more sustainable agriculture

20. Hydroponic Salad Greens Fig. 12-6, p. 282

21. Traditional Agriculture Often Relies on Low-Input Polycultures • Used by 39% of world’s people • Produces 1/5 of world’s crops on ¾ of cultivated land • Traditional subsistence agriculture • Human labor and draft animals for family food • Traditional intensive agriculture • Higher yields through use of manure and water • To feed family and some to sell

22. Traditional Agriculture Often Relies on Low-Input Polycultures • Polyculture • Growing several crops on one plot of land at the same time • Slash-and-burn agriculture • Subsistence agriculture in tropical forests • Clear and burn a small plot • Grow many crops that mature at different times • Reduced soil erosion, nutrient depletion • Less need for fertilizer and water, insecticides, herbicides

23. Polyculture

24. Objective 7: Explain the importance of soil in sustainability & describe the soil profile.

25. Soil Is the Base of Life on Land • Soil composition • Eroded rock • Mineral nutrients • Decaying organic matter • Water • Air • Microscopic decomposers

26. Science Focus: Soil Is the Base of Life on Land • Layers (horizons) of mature soils • O horizon: leaf litter • A horizon: topsoil • B horizon: subsoil • C/R horizon: parent material, often bedrock

27. Soil Formation and Generalized Soil Profile Fig. 12-A, p. 284

28. Objective 3: Describe the “Green Revolution” along with its advantages & disadvantages.

29. A Closer Look at Industrialized Crop Production • Green Revolution: increase crop yields • Monocultures of high-yield (genetically engineered) key crops • Rice, wheat, and corn • Large amounts of fertilizers, pesticides, water • Multiple cropping (increase # of crops grown/year) • First Green Revolution (1950-1970) • Second Green Revolution (since 1967) • Fast growing dwarf varieties • Rice/wheat in less developed countries (China, India, Brazil) • More food, less land, preserves area of forests, wetlands, etc. • World grain has tripled in production

30. Global Outlook: Total Worldwide Grain Production (Wheat, Corn, and Rice) Fig. 12-7, p. 285

31. Case Study: Industrialized Food Production in the United States • Agribusiness • Small number of large corporations controlling the growing, processing, distribution & sales • Average farmer feeds 129 people • Annual sales greater than auto, steel, and housing combined • Food production: very efficient • Americans spend 10% of income on food • Hidden costs of subsidies and costs of pollution and environmental degradation

32. Crossbreeding and Genetic Engineering Produce New Crop/Livestock Varieties • First gene revolution • Cross-breeding through artificial selection • Slow process • Amazing results • Genetic engineering = second gene revolution • Alter organism’s DNA • Genetic modified organisms (GMOs): transgenic organisms • Takes ½ long, costs less, allows insertion of genes from any other organism.

33. Crossbreeding and Genetic Engineering Produce New Crop/Livestock Varieties (2) • Age of Genetic Engineering: developing crops that are resistant to • Heat and cold • Herbicides • Insect pests • Parasites • Viral diseases • Drought • Salty or acidic soil • Major GMO crops: soybeans, corn, cotton, canola

34. Meat Production and Consumption Have Grown Steadily • Animals for meat raised in • Pastures and rangelands • Feedlots (factory farm system), Concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) • Meat production increased fourfold between 1961 and 2007 • Increased demand for grain • Demand is expected to go higher

35. Industrialized Meat Production Fig. 12-8, p. 287

36. Objective 5: Describe aquaculture & its effects on fisheries.

37. Fish and Shellfish Production Have Increased Dramatically • Fishing with fleets depletes fisheries and uses many resources (fossil fuels) • Aquaculture, blue revolution • Practice of raising marine/freshwater species in ponds or cages in coastal/open ocean waters, rice paddies, reservoirs. • World’s fastest-growing type of food production • Dominated by operations that raise herbivorous species • China  produces 70% of world’s farmed fish

38. Aquaculture

39. World Seafood Production, Including Both Wild Catch and Aquaculture Fig. 12-9, p. 287

40. Industrialized Food Production Requires Huge Inputs of Energy • Mostly nonrenewable energy – oil and natural gas • Farm machinery • Irrigate crops • Produce pesticides (petrochemicals) • Commercial inorganic fertilizers • Process and transport food • 19% of total fossil fuel energy use in U.S. • U.S. food travels an average of 2,400 kilometers

41. Objective 6: Describe issues that arise from industrialized food production & possible solutions.

42. 12-3 What Environmental Problems Arise from Food Production? • Concept 12-3 Food production in the future may be limited by its serious environmental impacts, including soil erosion and degradation, desertification, water and air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and degradation and destruction of biodiversity.

43. Producing Food Has Major Environmental Impacts • Harmful effects of agriculture on • Biodiversity • Soil • Water • Air • Human health

44. Natural Capital Degradation: Food Production Fig. 12-10, p. 289

45. Topsoil Erosion Is a Serious Problem in Parts of the World • Soil erosion • Movement of soil by wind and water • Natural causes • Human causes • Two major harmful effects of soil erosion • Loss of soil fertility- depletion of nutrients • Water pollution • Runoff: kill fish, clog irrigation, excess nutrients from pesticides

46. Topsoil Erosion on a Farm in Tennessee Fig. 12-11, p. 289

47. Natural Capital Degradation: Gully Erosion in Bolivia Fig. 12-12, p. 290

48. Wind Removes Topsoil in Dry Areas Fig. 12-13, p. 290

49. Natural Capital Degradation: Global Soil Erosion Fig. 12-14, p. 291

50. Drought and Human Activities Are Degrading Drylands • Desertification • Productive potential of topsoil falls below 10% • Moderate 10-25% productivity drop • Severe 25-50% productivity drop • Very severe > 50% productivity drop • Gullies, sand dunes, expansion of existing deserts, creation of new desert • Human agriculture accelerates desertification • Effect of global warming on desertification