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Chapter 10 Lecture.notebook

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January 12, 2016

Welcome to APES!!Talk about this question with the people around you:

Factory farming allows us to have lots of meat products. But the animals are often kept in undesirable, stressful conditions. Should the quality of the animals‛ lives be considered when we decide how to raise

food?

a. Yes, the quality of an animal‛s life is important, too.

b. Yes, but only if it does not interfere with access to meat.

c. No, animals have no right to quality of life.

d. I don‛t care, I‛m not fond of cows or chickens, unless cooked well.

e. Only freaks like Mr. Uitvlugt care about chickens.


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January 12, 2016

This lecture will help you understand:• Challenges of feeding a growing human population

• The Green Revolution

• Preserving crop diversity

• Strategies of pest management

• Pollination

• Genetically modified food

• Feedlot agriculture

• Aquaculture

• Sustainable agriculture


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January 12, 2016

Transgenic maize in Southern Mexico• Corn (maize) originated in Mexico 9,000 years ago

• In 2001, genes from genetically modified corn appeared in traditional maize

• These transgenes (genes from another species) came from U.S. corn

• Could contaminate native crops

• The agrobiotech industry questioned these findings


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January 12, 2016

Today, we are producing more food per person • Food production exceeds population growth

• We produce food through technology

Fossil fuels, irrigation, fertilizer, pesticides, cultivating more land, genetic engineering

• Today, soils are in decline and most arable land is already farmed

By 2050, we will have

to feed 9 billion people


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January 12, 2016

Undernutrition and food security• 1 billion people do not have enough to eat

• Undernutrition = people receive fewer calories than their minimum requirements

Due to economics, politics, conflict, and inefficiencies in distribution

• Most undernourished live in developing nations

But 36 million Americans are “food insecure”

• Food security = guarantee of an adequate, safe, nutritious, and reliable food supply


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January 12, 2016

Food security• Undernutrition decreased between 1970 and 1990

• Higher food prices (2006–2008) and the economic slump (2008–2009) increased the number and percent of hungry

15% of the world’s population is hungry


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January 12, 2016

Overnutrition and malnutrition• Overnutrition = receiving too many calories each day

Developed countries have abundant, cheap junk food, and people lead sedentary lives

In the U.S., 25% of adults are obese

Worldwide, over 400 million people are obese

• Malnutrition = a shortage of nutrients the body needs

The diet lacks adequate vitamins and minerals

Can lead to diseases


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January 12, 2016

Malnutrition can lead to diseases• Kwashiorkor = diet lacks protein or essential amino acids

Occurs when children stop breastfeeding

Bloated stomach, mental and physical disabilities

• Marasmus = protein deficiency and insufficient calories

Wasting or shriveling of the body


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January 12, 2016

The Green Revolution increased yields• Spread to the developing world in the 1940s

Wheat, rice, corn

• Depended on lots of:

Synthetic fertilizers

Chemical pesticides

Irrigation

Machinery Norman Borlaug won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work


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January 12, 2016

Consequences of the Green Revolution• From 1900 to 2000, cultivated area increased 33%

While energy inputs increased 80 times

• Positive effects on the environment

Prevented some deforestation and land conversion

Preserved biodiversity and ecosystems

• Negative effects on natural resources

Pollution, erosion

Salinization, desertification


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January 12, 2016

The Green Revolution • Intensified agriculture saved millions from starvation

Turning India into a grain exporter

• Rich farmers with lots of land benefited

Poor farmers were driven off the land into cities

Today, yields are declining in some Green Revolution

areas


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January 12, 2016

Monocultures increase output, but at a cost• Monoculture = large expanses of a single crop

More efficient, increases output

Devastates biodiversity

Susceptible to disease and pests

• Human diet is narrowed: 90% of our food comes from 15 crop and 8 livestock species

Armyworms easily destroy monocultures


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January 12, 2016

Biofuels affect food suppliesBiofuels = are derived from organic materials

Replace petroleum in engines

Ethanol = a biofuel derived from corn

2007 subsidies doubled production

Food prices increased

Farmers sold corn for ethanol, not food

Farmers planted biofuels, not food crops

Riots erupted in many nations


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January 12, 2016

Preserving crop diversity: insurance against failure• Preserving native variants protects against crop failure

• Monocultures are vulnerable

Wild relatives contain genes that can provide resistance to disease and pests

But Mexico has lifted its ban on transgenic corn

• We have lost a great deal of genetic diversity in crops

U.S. crops have decreased 90% in diversity

• Market forces discourage diversity in food’s appearance

Food producers prefer uniform, standardized food


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January 12, 2016

Seed banks are living museums• Seed banks = institutions that preserve seed types as living museums of genetic diversity

Seeds are collected, stored, and periodically planted

The “doomsday seed vault” in Norway stores millions of seeds from around the world


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January 12, 2016

We have thousands of pesticides• Pest = any organism that damages valuable crops

• Weed = any plant that competes with crops

• Pesticides = poisons that target pest organisms

Insecticides = kill insects

Herbicides = kill plants

Fungicides = kill fungi

• 400 million kg (900 million lb) of pesticides are applied in the U.S. each year

75% of this is applied to agricultural land

• $32 billion/year is spent on pesticides worldwide


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January 12, 2016

Pests evolve resistance to pesticides• Some individuals are genetically immune to a pesticide

They pass these genes to their offspring

• Pesticides stop being effective

Pesticide treadmill = chemists increase chemical toxicity to compete with resistant pests

• Pesticides also kill nontarget organisms

Including predators and parasites of pests

Pest populations become harder to control


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January 12, 2016

Pesticide resistance

• Over 556 insect species are resistant to 300 pesticides

Weeds and plant diseases have evolved resistance to pesticides


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January 12, 2016

Biological control (biocontrol)• Biological control = uses a pest’s predators to control the pest

Reduces pest populations without chemicals

Reduces chemical use

• Cactus moths control prickly pear

• Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) = soil bacteria that kills many pests


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January 12, 2016

Biocontrol agents may become pests• It is risky to introduce an organism from a foreign ecosystem into a new ecological context

The effects of an introduced species are unpredictable

• The agent may have “nontarget” effects on the environment and surrounding economies

Cactus moths are eating rare Florida cacti

• Removing a biocontrol agent is harder than halting pesticide use

Biocontrol use must be carefully planned and regulated

• Look up the Borneo Example


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January 12, 2016

Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

IPM in Indonesia increased rice yields 13% and saved

$179 million/yr in phasedout subsidies

• Techniques to suppress pests:

Biocontrol

Chemicals, if necessary

Population monitoring

Habitat alteration

Crop rotation and transgenic crops

Alternative tillage methods

Mechanical pest removal


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January 12, 2016

We depend on insects to pollinate crops• Not all insects are pests; some are absolutely vital

800 crop species rely on insect pollinators

• Pollination = male plant sex cells fertilize female sex cells

By wind or animals

• Pollinators include:

Hummingbirds

Bats

Insects (bees, wasps, etc.)

Flowers are evolutionary adaptations to

attract pollinators


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January 12, 2016

Conservation of pollinators is vital

• Populations of pollinators (e.g., bees) have plummeted

• Colony collapse disorder = entire beehives have vanished

Unknown causes—Insecticides? Parasites? Stress?

• Reducing or eliminating pesticide use and planting flowering plants will help preserve bees

Bees pollinate over 100 crops and contribute $15 billion in services/

year


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January 12, 2016

Genetically modified organisms• Genetic engineering = laboratory manipulation of genetic material

Add, delete, modify DNA

• Genetically modified (GM) organisms = organisms that have been genetically engineered by …

• Recombinant DNA = DNA created from multiple organisms


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January 12, 2016

Biotechnology is impacting our lives• Biotechnology = the application of biological science to create products derived from organisms

• Transgenic organism = an organism that contains DNA from another species

Transgenes = the genes that have moved between organisms

• Biotechnology has created medicines, cleaned up pollution, and dissolved blood clots


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January 12, 2016

Some genetically modified foods


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January 12, 2016

Genetic engineering versus agricultural breeding• Traditional breeding = changes organisms through selective breeding of the same or similar species

Works with organisms in the field

Genes come together on their own

Uses the process of selection

• Genetic engineering = mixes genes of different species

Works with genetic material in the lab

Directly creates novel combinations of genes

Resembles the process of mutation


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January 12, 2016

Biotechnology is changing our world• GM foods are a big business

• Most GM crops are herbicide and pesticide resistant

Largescale farmers grow crops more efficiently

Most U.S. corn, soybeans, cotton, and canola are genetically modified

Globally, 14 million farmers grew GM foods on 134 million ha


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January 12, 2016

What are the impacts of GM crops?• As GM crops expanded, scientists, citizens, and policymakers became concerned

Impacts on human health

• Concerns over escaping transgenes

They could harm nontarget organisms

Pests could evolve resistance

They could ruin the integrity of native ancestral races and interbreed with closely related wild plants


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January 12, 2016

Genetic engineering has benefits and risks• Environmental benefits of genetic engineering:

Reduced use of chemical insecticides

Increased notill farming

Decreased irrigation, deforestation, land conversion

• Negatives of genetic engineering:

Increased herbicide use affects health and habitats

Some GM fields support less biodiversity

• Precautionary principle = don’t undertake a new action until the effects of that action are understood


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January 12, 2016

The GM debate involves ethics• People don’t like “tinkering” with the food supply

• With increasing use, people are forced to use GM products, or go to special effort to avoid them

• Multinational corporations threaten the small farmer

• Research is funded by corporations that profit if GM foods are approved for use

• GM crops have not eradicated hunger

GM crops do not focus on increased nutrition, drought tolerance, etc.


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January 12, 2016

GMO producers are suing farmers• Monsanto has launched 112 lawsuits against 372 farmers, winning an average $385,000 per case

Monsanto sued Percy Schmeiser of Canada for using its GM seeds without paying for them

Schmeiser said the seeds blew onto his field from adjacent fields

The courts sided with Monsanto, saying that Schmeiser had violated Monsanto’s patent

Corporations go to great lengths to protect their GM investments


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January 12, 2016

The future of GM foods• Europeans demand that GM foods are labeled

• U.S. consumers have mostly accepted GM crops

They don’t realize most food contains GM products

• The U.S. sued the European Union before the World Trade Organization for hindering free trade

• The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety lays out guidelines for open information about exported crops

The U.S. has not joined

• Brazil, India, and China approve GM crops


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January 12, 2016

Consumption of animal products is growing• As wealth and commerce increase, so does meat, milk, and egg consumption

• Since 1950, global meat production has increased fivefold and per capita meat consumption has doubled

Domestic animals raised for food increased from 7.2 billion in 1961 to 24.9 billion in 2008


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January 12, 2016

Our food choices are also energy choices• Eating meat is far less energy efficient than eating crops

• 90% of energy is lost from one trophic level to the next

• Eating lower on the food chain feeds more people

• Some animals convert grain into meat more efficiently than others


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January 12, 2016

Environmental ramifications of eating meat

• Land and water are needed to raise food for livestock

• Producing eggs and chicken meat requires the least space and water

Producing beef requires the most


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January 12, 2016

Resources needed for livestock production

When we choose what to eat, we choose how we

use resources


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January 12, 2016

Feedlot agriculture• Feedlots (factory farms) = also called Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs)

• Huge warehouses or pens deliver food to animals living at extremely high densities

Over half of the world’s pork and most of its

poultry

U.S. farms house hundreds of thousands of debeaked chickens in crowded cages


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January 12, 2016

High consumption leads to feedlot agriculture• Traditional agriculture keeps livestock on grasslands

• Feedlot animals are fed grain grown on cropland

Onethird of the world’s cropland is fed to livestock

• Feedlot agriculture allows economic efficiency

Greater production of food

Unavoidable in countries with high meat consumption, llike the U.S.

• Reduced grazing impacts on the land

Manure can be applied to fields as fertilizer


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January 12, 2016

Livestock agriculture pollutes water and air• Feedlots produce huge amounts of manure and urine

Causing eutrophication

Waterborne pathogens sicken people

• Crowded, dirty housing causes outbreaks in disease

Heavy use of antibiotics, hormones, heavy metals

Chemicals are transferred to people

Microbes evolve resistance to antibiotics

• Air pollution: odors, ammonia (acid rain)

More greenhouse gases (CO2, methane, nitrous oxides) than automobile emissions


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January 12, 2016

We raise fish on “fish farms”• World fish populations are plummeting

Technology and increased demand

• Aquaculture = raising aquatic organisms in a controlled environment

Species are raised in openwater pens or landbased ponds


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January 12, 2016

Aquaculture is growing rapidly

• Over 220 freshwater and marine species are grown

• The fastestgrowing type of food production

Provides ¾ of the world’s fish, ½ of the shellfish

Most widespread in Asia


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January 12, 2016

The benefits and drawbacks of aquaculture• Benefits:

A reliable protein source

Can be sustainable

Reduces pressure on overharvested wild fish

Energy efficient

• Drawbacks:

Diseases require expensive antibiotics

Lots of waste

Uses grain

Escaped GM fish introduce disease or

outcompete wild fish


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January 12, 2016

Sustainable agriculture• Industrial agriculture may seem necessary

But lessintensive agricultural methods are better

• Sustainable agriculture = does not deplete soil, pollute water, or decrease genetic diversity

• Lowinput agriculture = uses smaller amounts of pesticide, fertilizers, growth hormones, water, and fossil fuels than industrial agriculture

• Organic agriculture = uses no synthetic fertilizers, insecticides, fungicides, or herbicides

Relies on biological approaches (e.g., composting and biocontrol)


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January 12, 2016

Organic approaches reduce inputs and pollution• Organic Food Production Act (1990) establishes national standards for organic

products

The USDA issued criteria in 2000 by which food could be labeled organic

• Some states pass even stricter guidelines for labeling

California, Washington, Texas

• Nearly 500 organizations offer certification services


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January 12, 2016

The benefits of organic farming• Farmers have lower input costs, enhanced income, reduced chemical pollution, and soil degradation

They practice stewardship to the land

Obstacles include risks and costs of switching to new methods

• Consumers are concerned about pesticide’s health risks

They want to improve environmental quality

Obstacles include the higher price of organics


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January 12, 2016

Organic agriculture is booming• Organic farmers can’t keep up with demand

U.S. consumers pay $22.9 billion/year

• Production is increasing

1.8 million ha in the U.S.


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January 12, 2016

Governments can support organic farming• In 1993, the European Union adopted a policy supporting farmers financially during conversion to organic farming

• The U.S. offers no support so organic production lags

The 2008 Farm Bill gives $112 million over 5 years for organic agriculture

Many farmers can’t switch, because they can’t afford the temporary loss of income

In the long run, organic farming is more profitable than conventional farming


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January 12, 2016

Locally supported agriculture is growing• Sustainable agriculture reduces fossil fuel use from longdistance transport of products

Food is chemically treated for freshness and color

• Farmers’ markets = provide fresh, locally grown food

• Communitysupported agriculture (CSA)

Consumers pay farmers in advance

Consumers get fresh food

Farmers get a guaranteed income


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January 12, 2016

Sustainable agriculture mimics natural ecosystems• Ecosystems operate in cycles

Stabilized by negative feedback loops

• Smallscale Japanese farmers add ducks to rice fields

Ducks eat weeds, insects, snails

Their waste is fertilizer

Their paddling oxygenates the water

Fish and ferns provide food and habitat


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January 12, 2016

Conclusion• Industrialized agriculture has relieved pressures on the land

But the environmental consequences are severe

• To support 9 billion humans, we must shift to sustainable agriculture

Biological pest control, organic agriculture

Pollinator protection, preservation of native crops

Aquaculture

Careful, responsible genetic modification of food

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