World population expected to rise to 10 billion

Demand for food and water will rise

Next topics covered in class are about food and water

FoodProduction

PopulationGrowth

Time

Am

ount

Concern that population growth would continue after food production levels off

Changes brought about by modern agriculture and the Green Revolution

• Temporarily closed the gap between food production and need in some countries– food production has increased (& fertility starting to come down)

• Heavy reliance on irrigation and fertilizers• Negative impact on small farmers and culturally specific

crops

Fig. 9-3. Yield of several major crops increased greatly with modern agriculture techniques

Subsistence Farming

• Labor intensive• Use of marginal lands• Clearing of tropical rain forests• Can cause environmental degradation

mechanization: fossil fuels

new lands: best land already in production (~25% in US, ~38% world wide)little new land available in US, land still cleared in developing countries

agro-chemicals: fertilizers & pesticides

increased irrigation: conflicting water uses, irrigated land produces ~40% of worlds food

selected cultivars: loss of diversity

Industrial Agriculture

Global Population and Grain and Meat Consumption

Fig. 9-9 here

How have we increased world food production?

Traditional agriculture

•small farms

•animal labor

•low use of chemicals and irrigation

•natural plant varieties

Industrialized agriculture

•large farms

•fossil-fuel driven machinery

•intense use of pesticides, fertilizer and irrigation

•high-yield plant varieties

Green Revolution

Father of green revolution (Norman Borlaug) won Nobel Peace Prize in 1970

Very positive effect on world hunger

Many high yield crops require high water and fertilizer

Favors non-traditional cultivation methods

Many traditional African crops not affected

Bio tech crops & Genetically Modified Organisms

Insert genetic material (DNA) from one organism into another to provide a desired trait

Examples of desired traits

Insect resistance

Herbicide resistance

Drought/heat/salt tollerance

Improved nutritional value

Vaccine delivery

Spread of genes to non-crops: super weeds, harm wild species

Food safety: ex, allergies, big concern in Europe

Access to technology: yearly seed purchase & dependence on foreign technology in developing countries

Problems

Burden of proof

Should regulators need to prove that food is not safe?

Should companies have to prove that food is safe?

[per capita gross national product – 1999-2000]

High income countries: Too much meat, salt, fat. Not enough fiber. Food processing may reduce mineral and vitamin content.

Low income countries: Lack of proteins and vitamins (malnutrition) and lack of calories (undernutrition)

Why do the fries taste so good?

Read excerpt from Fast Food Nation.

Potato farming is example of trends towards industrial farming

The story of one potato baron- and lots of other potato farmers

For each $1.5 spent on fries in restaurant, $0.02 goes to farmers

Fast food companies purchase potatoes for $0.03 per pound and sell fries at $6.00 per pound

Why do the fries taste so good?

“natural and artificial flavoring” is made in NJ

1950’s processed food sales increased dramatically

10,000 processed foods introduced every year in US

“flavorists” (chemists) create compounds that give processed foods taste

Undernourished:People who receive less than 90% of their minimum dietary intake on a longterm basis.

U.N. World Health Organization:

Seriously undernourished:People who receive less than 80% of their minimum dietary intake on a longterm basis.

Overnourished:People who take in excess calories on a routine basis over the longterm.

Malnourished:A nutritional imbalance caused by the lack of specific dietary components or an inability to absorb or utilize essential nutrients.

U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Guide Pyramid; http://www.mypyramid.gov/index.html

North Americans consume on average about 35% of their daily calories as fat.

• Distinguishes between healthy and unhealthy types of fat and carbohydrates.

• Fruits, vegetables, healthy fats and whole grain foods are encouraged.

• Consumption of refined carbohydrates, butter and red meat should be limited.

Source: Scientific American 2002

Essential dietary requirements• Complex carbohydrates

– Usually 80% of daily caloric intake

• Proteins

– About 40 grams/day needed. Essential aminoacids

– Enzymes, cell structures, nervous tissue

• Lipids (fats, oils, etc.)

– Energy storage; cellular membranes

• Minerals (ex. calcium, iodine, iron, etc.)

– Component of cellular structures; regulation of cellular reactions

• Vitamins

– Organic molecules we cannot synthesize and have to get from our diet.

Major Crops

• Wheat, rice, maize– 60 % of the calories and 56 % of the protein that humans consume

directly from plants.– staple of most of the 4 billion people in developing countries

• Potatoes, barley, oats, rye– grow well in cool, humid climates– staple of mountainous and higher latitude regions

• Cassava, sweet potatoes and other root crops– grow well in warm wet climates (South America, Africa, South

Pacific region)

• Meat/milk– Uneven distribution

• Fish– Important source of protein

Causes of Famine and Hunger Hotspots

• Civil Wars

• Drought

• Government Incompetence

Life boat Ethics(same author as Tragedy of the Commons)

Some lifeboats crowded & people keep falling out

Some not crowded- could pick up the people in the water

but

Then the uncrowned boats would be crowded and unsafe and everyone could die

?