Food Production and Distribution

8/11/2019 Food Production and Distribution

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FOOD PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION

Introduction We have already noted that the biosphere is one massive web of interrelationships

among organisms. Of great importance are the feeding relationships through variousfood chains, and food webs.

All human foods come from other organisms because humans are consumers. Humanshave carefully selected and developed their own food sources from a few select specieslisted here in order of decreasing importance: wheat, rice, corn, potatoes, barley,sweet potatoes, cassava, soybeans, oats, sorghum, millet, sugar cane, sugarbeet, peanuts, field beans, chick peas, pigeon peas, bananas, and coconuts. Inaddition, there are animal food products from cow, sheep, pig, goat, birds (a fewspecies), fish, and other marine animals (also a few species). Eighty percent of theworlds food supply comes from 20 species of plants and 65% of the worlds food supply

comes from the primary grain foods (corn, rice and wheat). The remaining 2 0% worldsfood supply are animal products such as milk, meat, and cheese.

Agriculture and Food Production The Green Revolution. In the Late 1800s, 80% of the U.S. workforce was employed inagriculture. But in the 1990s, less than 3% of the labor force produced food not only forthe U.S. population but for a robust external trade. This milestone was achievedbecause of the technologically advanced, intensive farming practices of developedcountries (DCs) launched in the late 1940s. These practices, otherwise known asthe Green Revolution , has transformed primitive agriculture through:

a shift from animal to mechanical labor, increasing farm acreage, increasing the use of manufactured fertilizer and pesticide, increase use of irrigation, and new crop varieties.

Nations that benefitted the most are now the largest exporters of food: Australia,Canada, New Zealand, and the U.S.

These same techniques were adopted by some developing countries (dcs) in the 1960s,which lead to a remarkable increase in grain production using high-yield varieties. Indiaand Mexico are examples of dcs that tripled wheat production since the 1960s. Thus,while the worlds population was increasing at 2% during this period, rice and wheatproduction increased by an average of 4% per year.


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Since grain is of critical importance as human food (Staple Foods), we shall examinethe trends in grain production in the recent past. World grain production per person hasincreased since 1950 but not consistently. Grain production peaked in 1984 at 763pounds (lb) per person, and since then has fluctuated below this level. By 1994, grainproduction per person was 686 lb, and in 1998, it was 697 ib per person. Overall, the

total grain production has increased consistently with minimal fluctuations since1950. But world population increased has outpaced the total grain production since1984. Hence the quantity of available grain per person decreased after the 1984peak. Most of the fluctuations in grain production, noted above, were associated withphysical or political conditions that affected the four major grain producing countries -United States, China, former Soviet Union, and India.

Another datum that is used as an indicator of global food security is the carryover grainstocks , which has also shown a fluctuating trend in the recent past. This is the surplusgrain remaining each year after everyone is fed. In the early 1970s, the stocks wereless than 60 days worth. By 1987, following the peak grain production in 1984, it was

up to 104 days worth. By 1995, it was down to 62 days. When carryover grain stocksare less than 60 days worth, grain prices on the world maket increase sharply.

(Insert FIGURE 13-8 )

Animal Farming. One of the results of the Green Revolution is that animal foodproducts have steadily increased in the human diet since 1950. In many dcs, theseanimal food products still constitutes only a small percent of the diet. Therefore thedemand has been mostly in Dcs. The average person in the U.S. consumes 247 lb ofmeat per year compared to 31 lb in Egypt.

It is estimated that there are 15 billion domestic animals that includes 11 billionchicken/duck/turkey. The care, feeding, and harvesting of these domesticated animalsare known as animal husbandry . Some of these animals are maintainedon pastures and range. Range is uncultivated land that can provide food for grazingand browsing animals. Pasture is land cultivated to provide forage for theanimals. Common foorage crops include various species of grasses ( hay) , alfafa, andsorghum. Twenty- five percent of the worlds crop land are used for animal husbandryand 38% of the worlds harvested grain (oats, maize, barley, soybean) is fed tolivestock. In the U.S. alone, 67% of harvested grain is fed to livestock, and 57% is usedin Western Europe and former Soviet Union. In the Middle East, 33% is fed to livestock,but only 3% is used in India because of the very small percent of animal product in theIndian diet. In the Dcs, animal husbandry is another form of industrialized farmingrequiring significant capital investments, whereas in dcs, it is called nomadicherding accomplished with little or no capital investments.

Many problems of industrialized farming has applied to animal farming and has affectedthe environment in nonsustainable ways:


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Range lands are susceptible to overgrazing because of having too many

animals on the land or using marginal dry grasslands. In the U.S.,the overstocking of the western rangelands has reduced thecarrying capacity by 50%. In South America, approximately 50

million acres of tropical rainforests have been cut, burned, and thenseeded with grass to create grazing land for cattle ranchers. Theseactivities has increased deforestation, desertification , and otherforms of ecological damage. It has removed valuable land thatcould support varieties of crops and trees.

The conversion of wooded/forest lands into rangeland by burning hasreleased 1.4 billion tons of carbon into the lower atmosphere whichcould easily support greenhouse global warming as carbondioxide. Moreover, cattle release 80 million tons of methane peryear, and manure decomposition adds 35 million tons per year of

methane to the atmosphere; another greenhouse gas.

The third principle of ecosystem sustainability (every natuaral populationhas a limit) is violated by having too many herbivores on land thatcannot support them. In other words the size of the consumerpopulation is not regulated so that overgrazing and other overuseoccurs. Moreover, energy wise, it is inefficient to feed at highertrophic levels if you can feed at lower trophic levels. In other words,producing food for humans by feeding plants to animals is muchless efficient than simply feeding humans the plants directly. It cantake 16 lb of feed (grain and plant protein) to produce a pound ofbeef, 7 lb of feed to produce a pound of pork, and 3 lb of feed toproduce to produce a pound of chicken or eggs. As the humanpopulation continues to increase and grain production per personremain stable or declines, it may become necessary to allocate lessgrains to animals if all humans are to be fed adequately.

There are many similarities between plant and animal farming as shown in Table 5-1below.

Table 5-1

PLANT CULTIVATION ANIMAL HUSBANDRY

Major Products (food) Grains, fruits, vegetables Meat, cheese, butter, milk,fish, and eggs


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Minor Products Oil, fabrics, rubber, spice,

nut etc. Leather, fat, labor, wool,manure

Traditional Approach Subsistence farming,

shifting cultivation

herding, subsistence

farming

Modern Approach Intensive farming onformer woodlands andgrasslands

Ranging, ranching, diaryfarming, piggery andpoultry farming etc.

Land Acreage 3.7 billion acres (11% landarea).

7.6 billion acres (25% landarea).

In spite of the green revolution, all the worlds feeding problems has not been resolvedbecause:

optimum food production levels are already attained, marginal lands have not yet been cultivated as they require

irrigation, constant inputs of fertilizers, pesticides, and mechanized labor, it has typically benefitted land barons,

certain native African staples (millet, yam, and sorghum) have not benefitted fromthese innovations, and

poverty and food distribution .

Subsistence Agriculture. On the other hand, most developing nations (dcs) in Africa, Asia, and Latin America survive by subsistence agriculture which is labor-intensive andlacks the investment inputs of industrial agriculture.

Typically, a family owns a small parcel of land for growing grains, raising goats, sheep,cattle or chicken using traditional methods. Each farmer produces barely enough foodto feed the family. Any surplus is sold locally. Such agriculture is practiced in areas ofrapid population growth although it is better suited for low population densities. In manydcs, woodland and forests are cleared for cultivation, or firewood, or for animal feed. Inmost cases, deforestation and associated soil erosion lead to greater commuterdistances for farm land and fuel. Good land is forced to produce multiple crops insteadof leaving it fallow to recover soil nutrients. In some tropical countries, slash and burnagriculture is used instead. This type of cultivation is more sustainable where clearedland support a few years of food crops, and then is replaced by agro-forestry (treeplantations) later.


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Hunger and Famine Hunger. Statistics on world hunger are often based on the number of kilocalories (ameasure of how much energy is contained in food) of food available or eaten eachday. The U.N. has pegged that number at 2350 kilocalories for an adult. In over 40

countries in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, the daily kilocalorie intake is less than 2350kilocalories. In India alone, 37% of the people go hungry daily. In Ghana, West Africa,it is 27%. In the late 1990s, somalian adults rceived an average of 1566 kcalories offood per day. Practically, all Somalians suffered from daily hunger in the 1990s. Thelack of sufficient daily food intake causes many health problems associated traditionallywithmalnutrition. Hunger refers to the lack of a sufficient daily food intake to meetenergy and nutritional needs to carry out normal activities.

Although more people than ever before are being fed by the increased world food

production in the past 50 years, there are still pockets ofhunger/malnutrition. Approximately 20% of dcs are underfed in Southern Asia, Latin America, and Africa. As a result, 35,000 people die daily due to hunger. The effects ofhunger and malnutrition are greatest in women and children, particularly in rural areas.

Most people agree that the major cause of world hunger is poverty. In general, womenand children are among the poorest in dcs. It has been estimated that approximately1.5 billion people earn less than $1.00 per day (absolute poverty) and these samepeople spend at least half of their income on food. Even if the production of food was todouble next year, the status of these people would not change. So apparently, it is not

just the availability of food or the lack of land to raise it that cause world hunger; it is thelack of means to procure food that is the critical factor in world hunger. Grain stockpileshave been available, at least, for the past 50 years.

It is possible for society to address the need of the hungry poor such as the case inChina, Thailand, and Indonesia in the 1980s. Public policies were implemented toincrease food production and rural development in these countries which greatlyimproved the welfare of millions of the poorest of these people.

Famine. This is a severe food shortage for an extended period that sharply increasesthe death rate in areas affected by the shortage. Famine can be caused by one or moreof the following:

Population growth exceeding the food production in local or regionalareas and an inadequate food distribution for the growingpopulation.

The emergence of environmental factors that limit foodproduction. When there is a drought or severe soil erosion, foodproduction decreases.


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Agriculture changes the environment, particularly when the changes are

detrimental. For instance the conversion of millions of acres ofwoodland or tropical rainforest into grazing land for cattle.

Social disruptions and social attitudes which affect the environment andin turn affect agriculture. In Africa, social disruptions since 1960have included 14 wars, 52 military coups, and 13assassinations. This social instability makes sustained foodproduction difficult.

In the latter part of the 20 th century, drought and social disruptions have been thedominant causes of famine.

Drought caused famine in Africa 1968 - 1974 and 1984-1985 in the Sahel region of Africa. Undependable rainfalls in this semi-arid belt with 50 million people make it verysusceptible to the effects of El Nino. Crops died, grass for livestock perished, wateringholes dried up, livestock died, and at least 0.5 million people died from the effects ofhunger and malnutrition. In the early 1990s, five years without rain led to severe faminein the northeastern Brazilian state of Ceara. The 2 million people affected fled this areaof Brazil for the Atlantic coast cities where they broke into warehouses and markets,causing riots.

War also caused famines in Ethiopia, Somalia, Rwanda, Sudan, Mozambique, Angola,and Liberia from the 1970s to 1990s. These civil wars disrupt the farmers`normalplanting and harvesting routine, and in some cases, bring farming to a halt because thefarmers become refugees and move away from their lands. In general governmentagencies control the availability and distribution of relief supplies, and in many cases,distribute them under dangerous conditions.

Apparently, famines from drought and war are preventable. That is because drought-related famines have long gestattion periods covering at least 2 crop seasons. Hence,because the advent of famine is slow, early detection is possible. In the early 1990s, ahigh-tech satellite system operated by the U.S., FEWS (Farming Early WarningSystem), issued an alert for famine signs (rainfall and vegetation trends) in the horn of

Africa (Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya). Food aid was mobilized early by donor countries toprevent mass migrations and the attendant refugee problems (see FEWS web page athttp://gopher.info.usaid.gov/fews/fews.html). According to the U.N., 70% of Africanshave inadequate food. The map below shows African countries that have faminesbecause of war or drought or both.

( Insert Figure 8-13)


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Again, there is enough food produced in the world today to feed all humans. Hungerand famine occurs because of:

1). Poverty (in spite of the considerable international trade in food products). 2). Poor food distribution (in spite of food-aid programs from Dcs).

Clearly, food aid is a short-term solution. The long-term solution is to help the victims offamine and hunger to develop their own means of sustainable food production at thelocal level. The old adage easily comes to mind: Give a man a fish and feed him for aday; teach him to fish and feed him for life.

One of the well-established organizations putting the above cliche into practice isthe Heifer Project. This American charity organization locate local sponsors whopurchase domestic animals such as oxens, geese, chickens, goats, sheep, etc. Theseanimals are donated to families or villages and taught how to use them to supplementtheir food supply. For additional information, please visit the heifer project website at

http://www.heifer.org

Future Food Issues Although the world is food-sufficient today, but it is clear that as the global humanpopulation continues to grow, more food will be needed in the not-too-distant future.

What are the potential ideas of increasing food production? Among the many ideas area sample of the following:

Increase the amount of land under cultivation. The best land is already undercultivation (approximately 4 billion acres). But according to someestimates, there are 10 billion acres of potentially cultivable land. Most ofthe remaining land are considered as marginal land because they lacksufficient water, or have poor quality soil, or lie on slopey soil that is easilyeroded if cleared. If the population continues to increase at its presentrate, then by 2050 all of the 10 billion acres will be under food productionto support the population increase. Hence by the end of the 21 st centurythe population will outstrip its food supply. Some people have suggestedthat in the future humans will engage increasingly in artificial agricultureusing methods such as hydroponics. This approach is extremelyexpensive and unlikely to be practiced in dcs where hunger is morecommon.

Improve irrigation. One way to increase the amount of land under cultivationand to increase crop yields is to develop and apply techniques thatimprove irrigation and reduce overall water use. Drip irrigation is one


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such approach based on the application of water from tubes that dripwater slowly, greatly reducing the water loss from direct evaporation.

Implement dietary change. According to the biomass pyramid (chapter 3),thereis much more energy available at the lower rungs of the food chain than at

the upper levels. In other words, humans should reduce the amount ofanimal food consumed and eat more grains instead. This means that allgrazing land should be converted into crop production.

Continue to use bioengineering to develop improved crops. Bioengineering isthe artificial manipulation (genetic) of particular properties of organismsthat can yield new strains or varieties of the organism. Today, there are atleast 50 transgenic fruits and vegetables in the U.S. food market. Clearly,transgenic crops require reduced input of pesticides and many aredisease resistant. With such properties, more will be available forharvests tend to be higher than the traditional crop

An example of such a transgenic crop is QPM or Quality Protein Maize, which is a transgenic corn with amino acids (protein molecules)added genetically. It has been introduced in countries aroundthe world such as Ghana, South Africa, Brazil, and China - places with proteindeficient -diets. Ex- U.S.president, Jimmy Carter, called it the completefood because it has the same dietary advantages of meat and milktogether. Bt Corn produces its own insecticide because of a gene insertedfrom a bacterium.

We can close this chapter by observing a debatebetween cornucopians and environmentalists on the issue of the Malthusianpopulation prediction made 200 years ago (Table 5-2):

TABLE 5-2

Environmentalist Cornucopian

Famine, in recent years result from populationoutstripping food supply.

Famines are only local, not global. Moreequitable distribution of food will offset famines.

The number of people suffering from hunger andmalnutrition is increasing.

People are healthier and better fed today than inthe past.


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World grain production reached its peak in themid-1980s and will continue on a decreasingtrend.

The recent decline in world food production istemporary; food production will begin increasingsoon.

Increased grain production will depend on heavyinput of fertilizers and pesticides, which will

degrade the environment.

New strains, new fertilizers, new pesticides, andnew agricultural practices will continue to improve

food production. Technological gains continue to degrade theenvironment and offset the gains made in foodproduction.

Technology has increased food productivity andcan continue to keep pace with population growth.

Population is limited by the Earths capacity forincreased food production by increasing thecultivated area and yield per acre.

Population is only limited by the rate at whichsolar energy can be captured and used;technology will provide the means to achieve this.

Overpopulation causes poverty, and the poorcannot afford to buy enough food.

Poverty causes overpopulation; if poverty iscured, population will decline.

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Food Production and Distribution