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food production -- problems & solutions (soil degradation, Effects on…
food production -- problems & solutions
soil degradation
Effects on water and air
pesticides and pest control
organic agriculture
agriculture
loss of biodiversity
agrobiodiversity
seed banks
producing food has environmental impacts
biodiversity loss
soil
water
air pollution
human health
1/3 of the world's cropland too degraded for growing crops
topsoil erosion
topsoil - fertile layer
soil erosion - movement of soil components, especially surface and topsoil from one place to another by
wind
and
water
problems caused by soil erosion
1 - loss of soil fertility
2 - water pollution
3 - release of carbon
other ways soil is degraded
soil pollution - chemicals emitted into the atmosphere can pollute soil. pesticides can contaminate too.
excessive irrigation:
soil salinization - sodium chloride is dissolved in irrigation water
water logging - water accumulates and raises water table
aquifer depletion
water pollution
eroded topsoil flows into water
pesticidas run into waterways
fertilizers (nutrients = eutrophication)
nature controls most pests
pest - any species that interferes w/ human welfare
synthetic pesticides
insecticides
herbicides
fungicides
rodenticides
problems with pesticides
harm wildlife
kill natural predators that help control other pest populations
applied inefficiently
dangerous to human health
don't stay effective for long
expensive
benefits of pesticides
save human lives from insect-borne diseases
increase food supplies
herbicides help reduce soil erosion as an alternative to plowing weeds out
work fast
can be stored and shipped easily
alternative to synthetic pesticides
biological controls - use natural predators, parasites, or pathogens (not toxic, but difficult to mass produce)
ecological controls - polyculture
cultivational controls - alternate crops from year to year so pest pop. die out
agriculture: air pollution and climate change
slash and burn agriculture
energy and carbon dioxide
industrialized food production uses lots of fossil fuels to:
power farm machinery
pump irrigation water
produce synthetic pesticides and synthetic inorganic fertilizers
process foods
transport and refrigerate/freeze food
air pollution
industrialized meat production harms the environment
water consumption
- irrigation for food for livestock
meat production requires a lot of agriculture
other problems:
habitat destruction
overgrazing
water consumption
water pollution
climate change
water pollution
- livestock waste is washed away into waterways
climate change
feed, transport, methane
fisheries and aquaculture can harm aquatic ecosystems
problems with fisheries
overexploitation
problems with aquaculture
waste
pesticide use
antibiotics
habitat destruction
how to produce food more sustainably
conserve topsoil
restore soil fertility
reduce soil salinization
reduce desrtification
produce and consume meat, fish, and shellfish - products more sustainably -- don't eat it
organic agriculture:
builds soil matter
reduces erosion
reduces water pollution
more profitable, provides more jobs
better for human health
BUT
nutrients from fertilizers still leach into groundwater
large scale composting = methane and nitrous oxide
soil erosion bc of ploughing