Food and Agriculture
| Environmental Science | |
|---|---|
| Topics | What is the Environment | Planetary Boundaries | Ecological Footprint and Sustainable Development | Food and Agriculture | Population | Ecology - Definitions and Outline | Energy Flow in Ecosystems | Population and Community Ecology | Material Cycles | Biodiversity | Energy | Atmosphere and Climate | Global Warming | Air Quality | Water Quantity | Water Quality | Solid Waste |
| Discuss (1) food security and nutrition and its relation to sustainable development, and (2) how food production affects the environment and health. |
Food Security
- Food Security
- When all people have physical, social, and access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food for normal growth and development. [1]
Four parts to food security (the main concepts are in italics):
- food availability
- economic and physical access to food
- food utilization
- stability over time
The Second Sustainable Development Goal (SDG2) is to end hunger and malnutrition by the year 2030. 
As population increases it is not only the amount of food, but rather food security that is important.
Food and Nutrition
Undernourishment
- Undernourishment
- inability to acquire enough food to meet dietary requirements
- Hunger
- chronic undernourishment
The number of people undernourished steadily declined from 798 million in 2005 to 539 million in 2014. However, the number increased to 570 million in 2015. This trend has continued since, in 2022 it was 724 million[2].
The largest percentage of people undernourished is in Africa, but the largest total number of people undernourished is in Asia. The prevalence of food insecurity remains above what was before the COVID-19 pandemic [2].
The above numbers indicate that the world is far away from the SDG 2 target of having no hunger.
Malnutrition
- Malnutrition
- abnormal condition due to poor nutrition
- Stunting
- Low height for age
- Wasting
- Low weight for height
In 2022, 22.3% of children under 5 years old were stunted and 6.8% were wasted.[3]
Overweight
- Overweight
- A BMI over 25, but under 30
- Obesity
- A BMI over 30
Here BMI is the body mass index defined as weight (in kg) divided by height (in meters) squared.
Overweight and Obesity is also due to poor nutrition.
Overweight and Obesity have increased since 2004 worldwide. In 2022, 5.7% of children under 5 were over weight[3]. In 2022, 15.3% of adults were obese[2].
Food Prices
- An important part of food security is price of food
- Some major factors involved:
- diversion of crops or farmland to biofuels
- climate change
- speculation on commodity markets
- Some major factors involved:
- At times other factors have played a part, such as:
- political conflicts (such as the war in Ukraine)
- emerging diseases, both agricultural disease and human disease
- disruption in supply chains (for example during the COVID-19 pandemic ships were backlogged at ports)
- At times other factors have played a part, such as:
Food Loss
- Over 1/3 of all food produced is lost
- Food lost occurs throughout the supply chain
- examples: insufficient refrigeration, poor handling during transport, over-processing
Food Production
- Three crops - rice, wheat, and corn - make up 60% of world's food energy intake
- 15 crops make up 90% of world's food energy intake
- These crops are almost all monoculture
Soil
- Soil
- Complex mixture of eroded rocks, mineral nutrients, decayed organic matter, water, air, and living organisms.
- Topsoil
- The upper part of the soil which contains most of the organic matter and nutrients. This is the part used by crops for growth.
Soil Conservation
- Soil Erosion is the loss of topsoil due to wind or water. It is a major concern for agriculture.
- Soil Fertility is the ability of soils to have nutrients, etc. necessary for plant growth
- Soil Conservation are methods which reduce the amount of soil erosion and prevent reduced soil fertility
Other Environmental Effects of Crop Production
- Soil salinity is an increase in salt concentration in a soil. Often from over-irrigation.
- Desertification - land degradation of drylands. Addressed by the UN Convention on Combating Desertification
- Overuse of fertilizers. This can lead to eutrophication.
- pesticides can get into the water and cause health problems.
- Water - desertification, soil salinity, water shortages
Meat Production
- About one-third of crops goes to feed livestock
- It takes about 10 kg of grain to produce 1 kg of meat
- Cattle produce large amounts of methane which causes global warming
Antibiotic Overuse
One major concern in meat production has been overuse of Antibiotics
Antibiotics are drugs which kill bacteria; However, but they have also been found to increase the growth rate of livestock
The major problem from overuse is that it can increase the amount of antibiotic-resistant bacteria resistance in humans
Fisheries
About 20% of the world's protein is from fish.
Unlike other forms of protein, most fish and seafood is harvested from the wild.
Overfishing is now become a serious problem. One-third of all fisheries are at unsustainable levels
In addition to overfishing, some methods used by commercial fishermen are destructive to the environment. Some of these methods:
- Bottom trawling drags a large net along the bottom, destroying the seafloor
- Large nets called purse seines can catch unintended animals such as dolphins, turtles, sharks, and sea lions
- Longlines, which can have as many as 25,000 hooks, can catch dolphins, seabirds, etc.
Sustainable Seafood
There are a number of lists about sustainable seafood and seafood to avoid:
- List of lists on which seafood to avoid and which is recommended to eat
Also:
- Sustainable seafood - Wikipedia article which gives additional information on sustainable seafood.
Aquaculture
About 40 percent of fish and seafood today is from fish farms. Some major problems with aquaculture include:
- Many farmed fish are carnivores, therefore they have to be fed with wild caught fish
- Aquaculture can have problems with waste and disease
- Aquaculture (especially shrimp farms) have had a major impact on mangroves and estuaries
Alternative Agriculture
Some alternative forms of agriculture which can reduce the ecological footprint:
- Agroforestry - growing crops and trees are the same land
- Polyculture - multiple crops at same time
- Other Sustainable practices: integrated pest management, free range animals, organic fertilizers, soil conservation techniques, drip irrigation
| A good source of information on food security can be found in the annual report The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World published by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and can be found at the following site:
The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World - http://www.fao.org/publications/sofi |
References
- ↑ FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP, and WHO. 2021. The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2022. Repurposing food and agricultural policies to make healthy diets more affordable. Rome FAO.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP, and WHO. 2024. The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2024 -- Financing to end hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition in the all its forms. Rome FAO
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP, and WHO. 2023. The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2023. Urbanization, Agrifood Systems Transformation and Healthy Diets Across the Rural-Urban Continuum. Rome FAO.
