Ch. 11 – Producing Enough Food for the World
Case Study: Food for China
China’s History and Current Statistics
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1.3 billion  1.5 billion by 2025?
Area harvested for rice decreased from
31.1 million ha to 29.3 million ha
Impact of increased demand for world
grain supplies?
1959-1961  30 million starved to death
Attempt to slow growth one couple, one
child policy
1980 – 1995 total fertility rates dropped
and annual grain production increased
Reasons for concern
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Flooding of farmland due to
construction of Three Gorges Dam
Building of roads, railroads, and
manufacturing plants
Water crisis
Chinese are eating higher on the
food chain
Themes
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Human population
Global perspective
Sustainability
Science and values
11.1 Can We Feed the World?
Main threat to existing land in
agricultural production?
- human development pressures
If world population doubles?
Methods?
If we cannot double production??
Dig For Victory
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Google Image Result for
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/0yXfnAl_CDk/Tace8OC7RmI/AAAAA
AAADV8/LUzjN3lp4aQ/s1600/allotm
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Vertical Farming
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The Vertical Farm Project Agriculture for the 21st Century and
Beyond | www.verticalfarm.com
11.2 How We Starve
- undernourishment vs
malnourishment
- protein – source vs cost
- supply vs distribution – impacted
by?
- solutions?
11.3 – What We Eat and What We
Grow
1.
Crops – 6 of 14 of 200 of 3,000 of
500,000
a) wheat, rice, maize, potatoes,
sweet potatoes, manioc,
sugarcane, sugar beet, common
beans, soybeans, barley,
sorghum, coconuts, and bananas
Rangeland vs Pasture
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provides food for
grazing and
browsing animals
without plowing
and planting
May I
help
you?
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plowed, planted,
and harvested to
provide forage for
animals
No thank you, I
was just
browsing.
2. Aquaculture
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historically hunted –
not sustainable
the farming of food in
aquatic habitats – can
be very productive
Mariculture – the
farming of ocean fish
http://www.npr.org/2
011/04/11/13532486
6/salmon-farming-inchile-impactsfishermenenvironment
11.4 An Ecological Perspective on
Agriculture
How do agroecosystems differ from
natural systems?
1. Stop ecological succession at an
early stage – requires time and
effort
2. Monoculture – vulnerable to disease,
drains soil of particular nutrients(crop
rotation)
3. Planting in neat rows – easier for
insects
4.
5.
6.
Simplifies biological diversity and food
chains
Plowing – exposes soil to erosion,
disturbs physical structure
Genetically modified crops – a novel
situation
11.5 – Limiting Factors
Ideal soil composition =
required chemical elements
pores for air and water
high organic content
varied particle size
Liebig’s law – growth is affected by one limiting
factor at a time
Synergistic Effect – a change in the
availability of one resource affects the response of
an organism to some other resource
Ex) Soil lacks nitrogen- nitrogen needed
to make protein(enzyme)--- enzyme is
needed to take up and use phosphorus
Macro vs micronutrients
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Required by all
living things in
relatively large
amounts
S, P, Mg, Ca, K, N,
O, C, and H
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Required in small
amounts
Ex) Molybdenum,
copper, zinc
11.6 – The Future of Agriculture
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History of agriculture
a. Resource-based – based on
biological technology, conservation
of land, water, and energy(10,000
years ago)
b. Mechanized – high demand for
resources(18th-19th centuries)
c. Return to resource-based(20th
century)
d. Organic and genetically
engineered crops(present)
11.7 – Increasing the Yield per Acre
The Green Revolution –
development of crops with:
a. higher yields
b. better resistance to
disease
c. better ability to grow
under poor conditions
. Improved Irrigation - drip
irrigation, hydroponics
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11.8 Organic Farming
3 qualities:
a) more like natural ecosystems
than monocultures
b) minimizes negative
environmental impacts
c) food does not contain artificial
compounds
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What is organic?
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Organic is a labeling term that indicates
that the food or other agricultural product
has been produced through approved
methods that integrate cultural, biological,
and mechanical practices that foster cycling
of resources, promote ecological balance,
and conserve biodiversity. Synthetic
fertilizers, sewage sludge, irradiation, and
genetic engineering may not be used
Organic Farms in New Jersey
http://www.new-jersey-leisureguide.com/organic-farms.html
11.9 Alternatives to Monoculture
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Climate predictions dictate hybrid
seed choices
Trade off long-term stability for a
very high productive year
11.10 Eating Lower on the Food
Chain
Eating lower on the food chain
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Must consider soil conditions – can
it sustain crops
Animals are a major source of
protein
Animals are also used for
transportation, a source of wool,
leather and fertilizer
11.11 Genetically Modified Food
3 practices:
a. faster and more efficient ways to
produce new hybrids
b. introduction of the “terminator”
gene
c. Transfer of genetic properties
from different forms of life
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Goals of genetic modification of
crops
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Development of strains with the
same symbiotic relationship as
legumes
Development of strains with
improved tolerance to drought,
cold, heat, and toxic chemicals
Development of strains that
produce their own pesticides
You decide
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http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/harvest/e
xist/
Visit this website and make your
decision based upon the information
presented. You will be asked for
your decision on the test and you
must back it up with information
from this website.
11.12 Climate Change and
Agriculture
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Climates suited to agriculture may
move further north less than
optimal soils
Increased temperatures increased
rates of evapotranspiration
supplying water for irrigation a
problem