Agriculture and the Food Supply

Top 20 agricultural commodities Rank Commodity Production (Int $1000) Production (MT)

1 Cow milk, whole, fresh 144976500 571403458 2 Rice, paddy 130994000 657413530 3 Wheat 72917380 611101664 4 Hen eggs, in shell 47921000 59298953 5 Soybeans 44666580 219545479 6 Buffalo milk, whole, fresh 42629460 83625849 7 Vegetables fresh 41856900 244719080 8 Maize 38394490 788112128 9 Cotton lint 37736330 25360789 10 Potatoes 34821630 323543199 11 Sugar cane 32090140 1627450797 12 Grapes 31183820 65971144 13 Tomatoes 30327200 133259909 14 Apples 18832010 66091848 15 Groundnuts, with shell 17092210 37816142 16 Cassava 14051950 224131501 17 Rapeseed 13271140 51353701 18 Garlic 12172890 15922500 19 Onions, dry 12153590 70039038 20 Bananas 12065270 89099503

Top 16 Food Crops by Mass Rank Commodity Production (Int $1000) Production (MT)

1 Sugar cane 32090140 1627450797 2 Maize 38394490 788112128 3 Rice, paddy 130994000 657413530 4 Wheat 72917380 611101664 5 Potatoes 34821630 323543199 6 Vegetables fresh 41856900 244719080 7 Cassava 14051950 224131501 8 Soybeans 44666580 219545479 9 Tomatoes 30327200 133259909 10 Bananas 12065270 89099503 11 Onions, dry 12153590 70039038 12 Apples 18832010 66091848 13 Grapes 31183820 65971144 14 Rapeseed 13271140 51353701 15 Groundnuts, with shell 17092210 37816142 16 Garlic 12172890 15922500

World’s Top 9 Agricultural commodities by mass

U.S. Commodities by Mass

PastoralismRanching and nomadic herding

Growing animals on land that is unsuitable for crops.

Traditional Intensive AgricultureAgriculture that uses high levels of muscle power, whether from humans or animals, manure, and labor-intensive methods of tilling and pest control; also plants monocultures.

Shifting subsistence Agriculture

Also called Slash and burn and Horticulture.

For bigger plants and extended growth periods

Plantation AgricultureLarge monocultures of cash crops in tropical settings intended for export.

Bananas, coffee, tea, dates.

Industrial Agriculture

Agriculture using machines and high inputs of fossil fuels, fertilizers, and pesticides—also large monoculture fields.

A Flow Chart of Industrial Agriculture

The First Green Revolution The first green revolution involved the

replacement of intensive traditional agriculture in the industrialized world with industrialized agriculture.

replacement of animal power with machine power.

replacement of manure and compost with synthetic fertilizer.

replacement of labor-intensive pest control with pesticides.

breeding of special strains of crops adapted for high inputs of fertilizer and high outputs of crops.

Replacement of animal power with machine power

Replacement of compost and manure with synthetic fertilizers.

Synthetic Pesticides

Specially Bred Crops (biotech.)

Second Green Revolution

Second green revolution involved the breeding of special varieties of crops that would increase the yields of intensive traditional agriculture in Asia.

Also involved adding application of synthetic fertilizers as part of intensive agriculture.

Production of multiple crops in one year (multicropping).

Components of Green Revolution InfrastructureSpecially

bred crops.Fossil fuels and machinery.Fertilizers and pesticides.Food distribution systemAmerica Revealed: Food OutletsAmerica Revealed: Pizza Delivery

Pros and Cons of Industrial Agriculture

Pros—increased production, more efficiency, more income, more people off farm and into industry.

Cons--high uses of fossil fuels, lots of toxins, lots of waste, and surprising amounts of pollution; also, unintended effects of monoculture.

Pros of the Green Revolution

Cons of the Green Revolution

Environmental Problems from Agriculture

Soil Erosion Desertification

Causes of DesertificationDesertification is the conversion of grassland to desert. Causes include:

climate change.overgrazing. inappropriate planting of cropssalinization (salt contamination) of farmland from irrigation.

Water PollutionManure lagoons Overflow

Eutrophication and Dead Zones

Rural Air Pollution

Dust, smoke, and odors

Pests A pest is any organism that competes

with humans for food, destroys shelter, invades lawns and gardens, spreads disease, invades ecosystems, or is simply a nuisance is a pest.

crop pests include:-- insects.-- nematodes (roundworms).-- fungus (blights, rusts, smuts).-- viruses.-- birds.-- weeds.-- mites.

Insects and Mites

Nematodes in corn

Diseases of Plants

Fungal Viral

Weeds

Weeds are the number one crop pest in terms of lost production.

History of Pesticides

Natural Pesticides

DDTBroad-spectrum insecticides used to kill all kinds of insect pests after World War II—DDT the most notorious.

The Case for Pesticides Save lives. Increase food supplies. Increase profits for farmers. Used properly, they pose minimal health risks compared to benefits.

Modern pesticides safer and more effective than older chemicals.

Why Pesticides?

The Case Against PesticidesResistance

University of Georgia video on parasite resistance

DDT and Biomagnification

Rachel Carson, Silent Spring, and DDT

Michigan State University video: On Earth Day, take time to celebrate Silent Spring's 50th anniversary

Pesticides travel, kill other organisms besides pests, and threaten humans and wildlife

Example: Brown Pelicans on Anacapa Island

The Ideal PesticideKills only the target pest.Does not cause resistance in the target pest.

Disappears or breaks down into harmless chemicals after doing its job.

Is more cost-effective than doing nothing.

Biological controls

Mongoose introduced to control Black Rat in Hawaii in 1883

Extinct Birds the Result

History Repeats with Snails

When giant, imported African snails threatened the fragile ecosystem of Hawaii, Tahiti and other pacific islands, the rosy wolf snail was deliberately imported and released against all better judgment as natural pest control.

Unfortunately - and to many biologists, predictably -  these ravenous cannibals had a bigger appetite for the defenseless native tree snails. Within a decade or two, the colorful tree snails of Hawaii and Tahiti were reduced from over a hundred species to only a dozen, most of which are nearing extinction themselves...and the African snails? Still at large.

Integrated Pest Management

Contour Plowing and Strip Cropping

No till farming combats climate change

Pheromone Traps

Screw worm fly eradication

Transportation, food cost, poverty, and conflict all contribute to

current food shortages

All World Transportation

High Food Prices

Poverty and Conflict

Poverty and Conflict are a self-reinforcing cycle—positive feedback

Increasing Food Production Add more land—not all land is suitable

and doing so decreases biodiversity. Increase productivity—leads to pollution

and higher energy demand; also requires GMOs.

Aquaculture—marine environment not as productive as terrestrial environment and techniques not as refined.

Make agriculture local and sustainable—not all places are suitable for agriculture and the culture will have to change.

Book is still most positive about that last choice, which includes urban farming.

The Increasing importance of Aquaculture

The Promise and Perils of Urban Agriculture

Michigan State University video: MetroFoodPlus Innovation Cluster Look for the People, Planet, Profit sustainability diagram and note that this is an integrated approach that considers food, energy, and water.

WXYZ video: Oak Park vegetable garden controversy

The struggles of Julie Bass to keep her front yard vegetable garden in the face of opposition from the city of Oak Park.

Human-Dominated vs. Natural Ecosystems

Human-dominated ecosystems are: Much “flatter” (fewer trophic levels)

Less diverse. Have most of primary productivity directed to human consumption.

Regularly disturbed (plowing, construction, etc.)

Screw worm fly eradication