Chapter 13 – Food, Soil Conservation and Pest Management
FOOD SECURITY AND NUTRITION
 Global ________________________________ has stayed ahead of population growth. However:
 ______________________ people in developing countries cannot _______________ or __________ the
food they need.
 Others cannot meet their basic energy needs (_____________________________ / hunger) or protein
and key nutrients (__________________________).
 The root cause of hunger and malnutrition is ________________________.
 ________________________________ means that every person in a given area has daily access to enough
nutritious food to have an active and healthy life.
 Need large amounts of ______________________________ (protein, carbohydrates, and fats).
 Need smaller amounts of ___________________________________ (vitamins such as A,C, and E).
 __________________________ people has a deficiency of one or more _____________________ and
_____________________, especially vitamin A, iodine (causes goiter - enlargement of thyroid gland), and iron.
Solutions: Reducing Childhood Deaths from Hunger and Malnutrition
 There are several ways to reduce childhood deaths from nutrition-related causes:
 ________________________ children.
 Encourage __________________________.
 Prevent ___________________________ from diarrhea.
 Prevent ______________________ from vitamin A deficiency.
 Provide _________________________________.
 Increase ____________________________ for women.
Overnutrition: Eating Too Much
 ____________________________________ and lack of exercise can lead to reduced life quality, poor health,
and _________________________.
 A 2005 Boston University study found that about 60% of American adults are _______________________ and
33% are _____________________ (totaling 93%).
 Americans spend $42 billion per year trying to ___________________________________
 $24 billion per year is needed to ________________________________ world hunger.
FOOD PRODUCTION
 Food production from croplands, rangelands, ocean fisheries, and aquaculture has
_____________________________________________________.
 __________________, _______________, and ____________________ provide more than half of the world’s
consumed calories.
 _________________ and _______________________ are an important source of food for about 1
billion people mostly in Asia and in coastal areas of developing countries.
Industrial Food Production: High Input Monocultures
 About __________% of the world’s food supply is produced by ______________________________ agriculture.
 Uses large amounts of fossil fuel ________________, ______________________, commercial fertilizers,
and ____________________ to produce _____________________.
 ___________________________ are increasingly being used.
 Plantations are being used in tropics for cash crops such as _________________,
______________________, ____________________.
Industrial Food Production: High Input Monocultures
 ___________________________ production in developed countries is industrialized:
 __________________________ are used to fatten up cattle before slaughter.
 Most _______________ and ______________________ live in densely populated ______________ or
___________________.
 Most livestock are fed grain grown on ___________________________.
 Systems use a lot of _____________________ and ___________________________ and produce huge
amounts of ______________________________.
Case Study: Industrialized Food Production in the United States
 The U.S. uses industrialized agriculture to produce about _______________ of the world’s grain.
 Relies on ___________________________ to run machinery, process food, produce commercial
fertilizer and pesticides.
 About __________________ of nonrenewable fossil fuel energy are needed to put ________________ of food
energy on the table.
 Industrialized agriculture uses about _____________________ of all commercial energy in the U.S. and food
travels an average _______________________________________________________________________.
Traditional Agriculture: Low Input Polyculture
 Many farmers in developing countries use low-input agriculture to grow a variety of crops on each plot of land
(interplanting) through:
 ________________________________________________: planting several genetic varieties.
 ________________________________: two or more different crops grown at the same time in a plot.
 _________________________________: crops and trees are grown together.
 ________________________________: different plants are planted together.
 Research has shown that, on average, low input polyculture produces higher yields than high-input
monoculture.
SOIL EROSION AND DEGRADATION
 Soil erosion lowers soil fertility and can overload nearby bodies of water with eroded sediment.
 __________________________________: surface water or wind peel off thin layers of soil.
 ________________________________: fast-flowing little rivulets of surface water make small channels.
 _______________________: fast-flowing water join together to cut wider and deeper ditches or gullies.
 ______________________________ is the movement of soil components, especially surface litter and topsoil,
by wind or water.
 Soil erosion increases through activities such as ___________________, logging, _____________________,
___________________________, and off-road vehicles.
Global Outlook: Soil Erosion
 Soil is ____________________ faster than it is forming on more than __________________ of the world’s
cropland.
Case Study: Soil Erosion in the U.S. – Some Hopeful Signs
 Soil erodes faster than it forms on most U.S. cropland, but since 1985, has been cut by about _____________
 ____________________________________ (Farm Act): farmers receive a subsidy for taking highly
erodible land out of production and replanting it with soil saving plants for 10-15 years.
Desertification: Degrading Drylands
 About _________________________ of the world’s land has lost some of its ____________________ because
of drought and human activities that reduce or degrade topsoil.
Salinization and Waterlogging
 __________________________________ can reduce crop yields by causing salt buildup in the soil and
waterlogging of crop plants.
Salinization and Waterlogging of Soils: A Downside of Irrigation
 Example of high evaporation, poor drainage, and severe salinization.
 White _____________________________________ have displaced crops.
SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE THROUGH SOIL CONSERVATION
 Modern farm machinery can plant crops without disturbing soil (no-till and minimum tillage.
 Conservation-tillage farming:
•
Increases __________________________.
•
Raises soil ___________________________.
•
Lowers _____________________________.
•
Lowers _____________________________.
•
Uses less ____________________________________.
 _______________________________, contour planting, _____________________________, alley cropping, and
______________________ can reduce soil erosion.
 ______________________ can help restore soil nutrients, but runoff of inorganic fertilizers can cause water
pollution.
 _________________________________: from plant and animal (fresh, manure, or compost) materials.
 ______________________________________________: Active ingredients contain nitrogen,
phosphorous, and potassium and other trace nutrients.
THE GREEN REVOLUTION AND ITS ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
 Since 1950, _________________________________________ has produced more crops per unit of land.
 In ______________, fast growing dwarf varieties of rice and wheat were developed for tropics and subtropics.
 Lack of water, high costs for small farmers, and physical limits to increasing crop yields hinder expansion of the
______________________________.
 Since 1978 the amount of irrigated land per person has declined due to:
 _______________________ of underground water supplies.
 Inefficient ______________________ methods.
 _____________ build-up.
 Cost of _____________________________________.
 Modern agriculture has a greater harmful _____________________________ impact than any human activity.
 ______________________________ of genetically different crop and livestock strains might limit raw material
needed for future green and gene revolutions.
 In the U.S., ___________________of the food plant varieties available in the 1940 no longer exist in
large quantities.
THE GENE REVOLUTION
 To increase crop yields, we can mix the ______________ of similar types of organisms and mix the genes of
different organisms.
 _________________________________________ has been used for centuries to develop genetically
improved varieties of crops.
 _________________________________ develops improved strains at an exponential pace compared to
artificial selection.
 Controversy has arisen over the use of __________________________________________________ (GMF).
Mixing Genes
 Genetic engineering involves ______________________ a gene from one species and ___________________
the DNA into another species.
 The ___________________________, a GMF, could be grown to help reduce malnutrition and the use of large
amounts of inorganic fertilizers.
 Controversy has arisen over the use of genetically modified food (GMF).
 Critics fear that we know too little about the long-term _________________________ to human and
_________________________ health.
 There is controversy over _____________________________ of genetically modified crop varieties and whether
GMFs should be labeled.
PRODUCING MORE MEAT
 About ___________________ of the world’s meat is produced by livestock grazing on ____________________.
 The other half is produced under factory-like conditions (___________________________).
 Densely packed livestock are fed grain or _____________________________.
 Eating more _________________ and farm-raised ________________ and ___________________ beef and
pork reduces harmful environmental impacts of meat production.
CATCHING AND RAISING MORE FISH AND SHELLFISH
 After spectacular _________________________, the world’s total and per capita marine and freshwater fish and
shellfish catches have leveled off.
 Government subsidies given to the fishing industry are a major cause of ___________________________.
 Global fishing industry spends about _________________ per year more than its catch is worth.
 Without subsidies many fishing fleets would have to go out of business.
 Subsidies allow _______________________ with some keeping their jobs longer with making less
money.
Aquaculture: Aquatic Feedlots
 Raising large numbers of fish and shellfish in _________________ and ___________________ is world’s fastest
growing type of food production.
 Fish farming involves ____________________ fish in a controlled environment and harvesting them in captivity.
 _______________________________ involves holding anadromous species that live part of their lives in
freshwater and part in saltwater.
 Fish are held for the first few years, _________________, and then harvested when they return to
spawn.
SOLUTIONS: MOVING TOWARD GLOBAL FOOD SECURITY
 People in urban areas could save money by growing more of their food.
 ___________________________ provide about 15% of the world’s food supply.
 _____________________________ of the world’s food is wasted.
Government Policies and Food Production
 Governments use three main approaches to influence food production:
 _________________________________ to keep prices artificially low.
 _______________________________________ to keep farmers in business.
 ___________________________________________________ rather that implementing price controls.
Solutions: Steps Toward More Sustainable Food Production
 We can _____________________ food security by slowing populations growth, sharply reducing poverty, and
slowing environmental degradation of the world’s soils and croplands.
PROTECTING FOOD RESOURCES: PEST MANAGEMENT
Organisms found in nature (such as spiders) control populations of most pest species as part of the earth’s
_____________________________________________________________
 We use ___________________ to repel or kill pest organisms as plants have done for millions of years.
 _______________________ have developed hundreds of chemicals (pesticides) that can kill or repel pests.
 _________________________ vary in their persistence.
 Each year ___________________________ people in the U.S. become ill from household pesticides.
 Advantages and disadvantages of conventional chemical pesticides.
Individuals Matter: Rachel Carson
 Wrote ________________________________ which introduced the U.S. to the dangers of the pesticide DDT
and related compounds to the environment.
The Ideal Pesticide and the Nightmare Insect Pest
 The ideal pest-killing chemical has these qualities:
 Kill only ____________________________.
 Not cause __________________________________________ in the target organism.
 ________________________ or break down into harmless chemicals after doing its job.
 Be more ___________________________________ than doing nothing.
Superpests
 ____________________________ are resistant to pesticides.
 Superpests like the silver whitefly (left) challenge farmers as they cause > $200 million per year in U.S. crop
losses.
Pesticide Protection Laws in the U.S.
 Government regulation has banned a number of harmful pesticides but some scientists call for strengthening
pesticide laws.
 The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the Food and
Drug Administration (FDA) regulate the sales of pesticides under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and
Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).
 The EPA has only evaluated the health effects of _________________ of the active ingredients of all
pesticides.
Other Ways to Control Pests
 There are cultivation, biological, and ecological alternatives to conventional chemical pesticides.
 Fool the pest through ______________ practices.
 Provide homes for the pest ____________________.
 Implant ________________ resistance.
 Bring in _____________________ enemies.
 Use ____________________ to lure pests into traps.
 Use ______________________ to disrupt life cycles.
Other Ways to Control Pests
 __________________________________________: Wasp parasitizing a gypsy moth caterpillar.
 Genetic engineering can be used to develop pest and disease resistant crop strains.
 Both tomato plants were exposed to destructive caterpillars. The genetically altered plant (right) shows little
damage.
Case Study: integrated Pest Management: A Component of Sustainable Agriculture
 An ecological approach to pest control uses a mix of cultivation and biological methods, and small amounts of
selected chemical pesticides as a last resort.
 ________________________________________________________________ (IPM)
 Many scientists urge the USDA to use three strategies to promote IPM in the U.S.:
 Add a 2% ________________________________ on pesticides.
 Establish ___________________________ supported IPM demonstration project for farmers.
 _____________________ USDA personnel and county farm agents in IPM.
 The pesticide industry opposes such measures.
SOLUTIONS: SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE
 Three main ways to reduce hunger and malnutrition and the harmful effects of agriculture:
 ___________________ population growth.
 Sharply _____________________ poverty.
 Develop and phase in systems of more _________________________, low input agriculture over the
next few decades.
Sustainable Agriculture
 Results of 22 year study comparing organic and conventional farming.
Solutions: Making the Transition to More Sustainable Agriculture
 More research, demonstration projects, government subsidies, and training can promote more sustainable
organic agriculture.