Economic Issues

Food and Agriculture

The nature of hunger

The nature of hunger

Famine: a short-term shortage of food

distribution that leads to starvation

Starvation: extreme hunger that occurs over an

extended period of time. when people fail to receive essential nutrients from food (minerals, vitamins, protein, fats,

carbohydrates), they lose energy.to find energy, the body begins to

break down its own tissue. as a result, the body mass of people who are

starving declines.

Malnutrition:

a medical condition of poor health caused by a diet that includes too much, or too little, of

one or more essential nutrients.

Chronic hunger:

results from an insecure supply of food. Affects more than 850 million people around the world.

people lack the opportunity or the ability to earn enough money to grow or buy food

Chronic hunger kills indirectlyResponsible for more than 90 percent of

hunger-related deaths in developing countries.

Some effects of chronic hunger include:

high infant-mortality ratesincreased vulnerability to common illnesses

acute vulnerability in times of natural disasters such as earthquakes and floods

poor physical and mental development of children

poor economic growth of society

figure 10-2 list of diseases resulting from undernutrition

Did you know?the food and agriculture organization (fao) of the united nations estimates that every year almost six million children under five years

of age die from hunger-related causes.

figure 10-3 causes of chronic hunger

The geography of hunger

The (IFPRI) ngo developed the “global hunger index” to rank countries (100 point scale) on the basis of...(fig 10-4)

the proportion of people who are food-energy deficientthe prevalence of underweight children under age 5under-five mortality rate

http://paperdreamer.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/world_hunger_map.jpg

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nature of agriculture

In Canada, we take having a reliable and inexpensive supply of food for granted.

what natural inputs are necessary for agricultural success (fig. 10-5).

Few places in the world the perfect combo of conditions for successhow do humans adjust? (fig. 10-6)

types of agriculture

Agricultural activities can be categorized in two ways?

1. subsistence and cash-crop farming

2. Intensive and extensive farming

Subsistence farming

dominant form of agriculture in much of the periphery and even some parts of new core.

grow crops and raise livestock to meet the immediate food needs of their families.

produce many different agricultural products on small acreages.

surplus products are sold or traded to meet other needs of the family.

Cash-crop farming

specialize in producing only one or two products even if they have very large farms.

products are sold on open world and local markets.

these farmers might not consume any of the products they produce.

Intensive farming

on small amounts of land that is worked with a great deal of labour, machinery, and high inputs of fertilizers, pesticides, water.

result: high yields of product per hectare.

example: in Canada, fruit and veg growing, and vineyards such as okanagan valley, Niagara escarpment and holland marsh.

hog factory farms and livestock feed lots.

Extensive farming

large amount of land is worked with a limited amount of labour and smaller inputs of fertilizers. pesticides, and water.

Result: lower yields of product per hectare, but b/c farm sizes are so large, the farmers can still make a profit.

examples: in Canada, grain and oilseed farming, and ranching in the west.

the green revolution

began in 1943 with an agricultural research station in mexico to develop more productive varieties of wheat that could be used to feed the rapidly growing population

the basic idea was that the selective breeding methods that had greatly improved agricultural productivity in developed world could be used with equal success in the developing world.

Dr. Norman Borlaug Nobel Peace Prize 1970

wanted to produce high-yield varieties (HYVs) of wheat that could be used to increase food production in Mexico and eventually throughout the developing world.

HYVs -specially bred or selected to have an increased growth rate, increased % of usable plant parts, or increased resistance to crop diseases.

New varieties of wheat developed by researchers had a number of things in common.- they were smaller. dwarf plants focus more of their energy on growing their seeds and less on growing their stems, which are useless as food. See fig 10-8 North India

-they responded better to the use of farming inputs like fertilizer, pesticides, and irrigation.

-they grew faster. In suitable areas, a variety that grows faster allows the same land to be used for more than one crop per year.

Green Revolution success-helped prevent massive famines as the world’s population exploded after WWII

-with more food available to feed their growing population, developing countries used their limited resources to develop social and economic programs ex. family planning education and healthcare systems

-helped countries in the new core and periphery to work through demographic transition

-between 1950-1999, global grain production increased by 170% on same land

Worldwide, food production increased by 20% more quickly than did the population

Why didn’t this increased food production solve the world’s hunger problem?

Green revolutionConcerns

GR used western model for agriculture that involves costly inputs such as chemical fertizers, pesticides, and irrigation.

GR actually benefitted the wealthy farmers. but often harmed the poorestfig.10-9

GR led to a dramatic loss of genetic diversity, which in turn, threatened the global food supply. Some varieties of the same crop are susceptible to weed and insect damage, while others are not.

GR produced a system of agriculture that is not as environmentally sustainable as traditional agriculture

Some critics suggest that self-interest prompted the developed countries to fund research that supported the GR

GR focussed initially on research related to farming in areas with the most fertile soils and reliable rainfall. Africa?

focussed on developing varieties of wheat, rice, and maize (corn). what about the poor in Africa + other countries diet=millet, yams, cassava and sorghum

The mechanization promoted by the GR reduced the number of agricultural jobs in developing countries

Women farmers, who grow much of the food in developing countries, did not have the money or access to financing to purchase equipment and the seeds of newly developed varieties of crops

Food Production issues

Biotechnology: the application of biological processes to agricultural and industrial purposes

Swiss over 10 yrs/us$150 million to produce new varieties of rice that would provide sufficient amounts of vitamin A and iron

Vitamin A-rich “golden rice” was produced by modifying the genetic material of rice with the addition of two genes from a daffodil and one from a bacterium.

BIOTECHNOLOGY IN FOOD PRODUCTION

Genetically modified organisms (GMOs): new species created as a result of biotechnology

GMO’S are already widely grown, particularly in the Americas ex. soybeans, cotton, corn and canola were created to not be affected by certain herbicides and resistant to insects

Issue of sustainability...multiple applications of herbicides cause an increased risk of damage to the environment and to people’s health

does the inc risk justify the use of transgenic crops

Concerns about biotechnology in

foods

Opponents have dubbed GMO’s Frankenfoods

The use of Bt-modified crops may result in the creation of “super bugs” that are resistant to

pesticides

“super weeds” that would be resistant to potent herbicides could develop in the same manner

Who owns the agri advances that have been developed? Charitable vs. private research

Traditionally, farmers saved a portion of seeds from each year’s crop to plant the following

year

Some seed companies have developed terminator technology= produce sterile

seeds (seeds that cannot grow)

Critics say that there is a danger in introducing genetic material that is

programmed not to reproduce.

NOt enough research done to prove the safety of transgenic food products; health problems may affect consumers in the ...

Consumers in NA usually do not know if they are eating genetically modified foods(70% of food in supermarket is GMO

The loss of genetic diversity...

Thousands of varieties of crops and domestic animals have disappeared as scientists and plant/animal breeders developed and promoted new hybrid variety

Hybrids = commercially lucrative (tomato that does not bruise)

FAO of the UN estimates 75% of genetic diversity of agri crops was lost in 20th C.

Land reform

the re-distribution of land from large landowners to landless farm workers, sharecroppers (farmers who farm land owned by someone else)

very popular with the poor, and intensely unpopular with the rich landowners

Role of women in Agriculture

IN the regions where food shortages are worst, for example Africa and South Asia, women are responsible for the majority of

food production

BUT...

have little control over it...

If women are empowered, the food supply in developing countries will increase...

Agricultural support policies

Designed by governments to manage domestic agriculture and regulate imports of agricultural products.

put in place to protect the countries agri economy ex. price controls, tariffs, cash payments or subsidies

Monoculture

Agri in which a single crop is planted over a large area ex. wheat fields of cda prairies

more efficient way to plant, maintain, and harvest.

yields are higher b/c no competition

depletes soil of nutrients and inc the need for fertilizers

relies heavily on pesticides to deal with large number of pests

loss of natural habitat = reduces ability of wild animals to survive =species extinction

Corporate farming

large-scale production of food on farms owned by corporations

CF deals with the operation of farm and often farm related businesses ex:Agribusiness - production of seeds, chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides and farm machinery, food processing etc...

Centuries-old lifestyle is being lost as family farming is replaced by large-scale corporate farming

economies of scale - means that an increase in the scale of the operation causes a decrease in the cost of production

Factory farms: similar methods to factories

large-scale operations that produce the highest output of livestock, poultry, and even fish at the lowest cost

1000s of animals are raised indoors and fed and watered with quantities exactly measured to produce the greatest weight gain in short time

dominates pork production, and most of the meat, poultry, eggs, and milk in our supermarkets

ethical treatment of animals...vertical integration - control all aspects of food production, agrichemicals etc

Vertical Integration

-World food production is being corporatized by huge companies that supply inputs to farming (such as seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides) and that market agricultural products have expanded their influence.-Large corporations control much of the food system.-Monsanto and Dupont control seed markets for corn (65 %) and soybeans 45%.-Cargill, Archer Daniels Midland, and Bunge control about 90% of global grain trade.-Control of all aspects of food production business: seed development, agrichemicals, farm machinery, transport, storage etc.-Restricts competitions

Search for Sustainable agriculture

Organic farmingFood milesp.161-162

The future of the global agricultural system

Can global agriculture continue to run on fossil fuels?

Biofuels: Positive or Negative?

What is the relationship b/w agriculture and climate change?

Can we feed ourselves without hurting poor farmers in developing countries?

Should we buy Canadian?

Solutions to the global food problem? See pages 162-163