Chapter 14 Questions
1. The Land Institute in Salina Kansas did research relating to polycultural farming techniques that plant
perennial grasses with legumes, grain, sunflowers, and other plants in the same field, attempting to mimic the
natural conditions of grassland ecosystems. This is done in an attempt to reduce the adverse effects of using
monocultures, while still retaining some of the (and possibly gaining) productivity, as well as sustainability.
2. Brady
Agriculture
Traditional
Industrialized
Inputs
Human labor
Draft animals
Fertilizer
Water
Fossil fuel energy
Water
Commercial fertilizers
Pesticides
Purpose
To provide food for the farm family to
survive.
Produce enough food for the family
and to sell for income.
To produce single crops (monocultures)
and live stock animals for sale.
To produce cash crops for sale to
developed countries (tropical
plantations).
Where
Used by 42% of world’s population
Practiced on one fourth of cropland
used mostly in developing countries. mostly in developed countries.
Plantation agriculture in tropical
developing countries.
Techniques Shifting cultivation.
Nomadic livestock herding.
Feedlots to fatten up live stock before
slaughter.
3. Maddy
A green revolution is the introduction of scientifically bred or selected varieties of grain that with enough water
can greatly increase crop yields. The three steps are 1. develop and plant genetically engineered high-yield
varieties of crops. 2. produce high yields by using large inputs of fertilizer, pesticides and water. 3. increase the
number of crops grown per year on a plot of land. This approach dramatically increased crop yields in most
developed countries.
5. Mary Cleary
Animal Manure:
Pros: Improves soil structure, adds organic nitrogen, and stimulates bacteria.
Cons: Not as readily available as it once was, because most farms do not grow crops and raise cattle anymore.
Green Manure:
Pros: Easy to apply, adds humus to the soil
Cons: In order to obtain it, the farmer must grow it, sacrificing space that could be used for other crops.
Compost:
Pros: Inexpensive, adds humus and nutrients to soil
Cons: Difficult to produce large amounts of it
Inorganic Manure:
Pros: Easy to transport, easy to store, easy to apply, inexpensive to produce
Cons: Does not add humus to soil, reduces organic matter in soil, reduces ability to hold water, lowers oxygen
content of soil, supplies only a few of the 20 or so nutrients that soil needs, requires large amounts of energy to
produce, transport, and apply, release nitrous oxide, runoff can overfertilize lakes and kill fish
6. Molly- Explain the five major environmental effects of food production:
1. Increased food production has brought on a loss of biodiversity due to the
degradation of habitats and the clearing of grasslands, wetlands and forests. It kills fish
from the pesticide runoff and irrigation, and continues to pollute the ocean water.
2. Soil erosion increases, as well as a loss of fertility in the soil due to increase in
salinization from the pesticides, waterlogging and desertification. The waterlogging is an
increase in watering of the plants, due to the salinization. The soil cannot absorb the
water or nutrients, and it will build up, eventually raising the water table.
3. Air pollution has increased from greenhouse gases, some in the form of the burning
of fossil fuels, as well as the use of pesticides.
4. Water usage increases, leading it to be often wasted, depleted and polluted with salt,
and other runoff residue. Sediment, salt and pesticides are often carried away to larger
bodies of water where the pesticides can kill aquatic biodiversity as well .
5. Food production takes a toll on human health as well, adding pesticides to the ground
water, which eventually becomes drinking water. The offending pollutants contaminate
the drinking water and leave a residue in food.
7. Maria Quartararo
Rangelands are grasslands in temperate and tropical environments that supply vegetation for food
grazing/browsing animals. Since the plants of rangelands have a complex root system they can be sustainable
as long as only the top half of the plants are being eaten. However when used unsustainable the complex root
system that is keeping the soil together may become destroyed and this would cause major soil erosion issues.
Another way a rangeland could become unsustainable is overgrazing, not only because of the effect of the loss
of plants but the disturbance of the hooves in the soil. Or even under grazing of rangelands could make it
unsustainable because the dead vegetation stops the regrowth.
8. Malcolm
Trawler-fishing - used to catch fish and shellfish that live on or near the ocean floor (especially shrimp, cod,
flounder and scallops). It is done by dragging a funnel-shaped net along the ocean floor using chains or plates.
The pros are that it is easily able to capture a large number of fish, but the cons are that the weights destroy
the ocean floor, and that most of the catch from trawling is bycatch.
Purse-seine fishing - catching surface-dwelling species such as tuna, mackerel, anchovies and herring. A large
net called a purse-seine is used to surround a school, and the net is then drawn shut like a drawstring to trap
the fish. Like the trawling nets, it can catch entire schools of fish, but the con is that it can hurt other species;
nets intended for yellowfin tuna in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean have killed large numbers of dolphins.
Longlining - putting out long lines up to 130 km (80 mi) in length, hung with thousands of baited hooks. The
depth of the hooks can be adjusted. They are usually intended to catch either open-ocean fish such as
swordfish, tuna and sharks, or bottom fishes such as halibut and cod. They have a large range, but they often
hook endangered sea turtles, sea-feeding albatrosses, and pilot whales and dolphins.
Drift-net fishing - catches fish in huge drifting nets that hang as much as 15 meters (50 ft) below the surface
and can be up to 64 km (40 mi) long. It can lead to overfishing of a targeted species and may trap and kill
unwanted fish and marine mammals. Bycatch includes dolphins, porpoises, seals, marine turtles and seabirds.
A ban on nets longer than 2.5 km have been banned by the UN since 1992, but it is a difficult policy to enforce,
so long drift-nets are still used.
9. Benito- Governments can use price controls to keep food prices artificially low, give farmers subsidies to
encourage food production, or eliminate food price controls and subsidies and let farmers respond to market
demand. Low prices are beneficial for consumers but not for farmers. subsidies for farmers may help them out
but result in governmental debt and sometimes food surplus'. Some people believe we should use subsidies to
reward farmers who practice soil and water conservation, reforest degraded land, protect and restore wetlands,
conserve wildlife, etc...
10. Justin: Provide an overview of agribusiness in the United States.
America’s industrialized agriculture system produces about 17% of the world’s grain but has a larger
environmental impact than any other American business. The U.S. food system is becoming increasingly
monopolized by a few “super-farm” companies. The U.S. food company makes enormous amounts of money in
annual sales and generates about 18% of the country’s national income.
Since 1950, farmers in the U.S. have used green revolution techniques to more than double the yield of key
crops such as wheat, corn, and soybeans without cultivating the land. Agriculture is also becoming more
efficient.
People in the U.S. are spending less and less on domestically produced food: about 2% compared to the 11%
of 1948. In developing countries, families can spend from 40% to 70% of their income on food.
Including livestock, the U.S. food production system uses about 3 units of fossil fuel to produce one unit of food
energy. This figure is even more inefficient if you look at the entire process of food production, and calculates to
about 10 unites of fossil fuel per unit of food energy.
11. Soil conservation techniques include: high-yield polyculture, organic fertilizers, biological pest control,
irrigation efficiency, perennial crops, crop rotation, water efficient crops, contour farming, and terracing.
Contour_plowing.jpg
12. .
Erosion in soil mainly caused by sizable deforestation, overgrazing, and poor
agricultural systems. The Dust Bowl of 1931-1939 was caused by a combination of drought
and very poor farming practices. Farming was plow based, and the winds blew away what
fertile topsoil was there. During a time that the US was already suffering from a depression,
poor agriculture made it worse. The early 1920s dawned a new method of farming, plowing
untouched land to make a better profit. This led to the Dust Bowl that plagued the Southern
and Western states.