Sustainable Agricultural

Sustainability is both a belief and physical system of farming that cares and preserves the environment in many different ways. It is a far-sighted approach to farming and ranching that takes the viability of long-term methods into consideration. Nature provides the perfect example of this type of agriculture in the prairie. The extremely fertile prairie soil was a result of natural soil building processes at work. In addition, farmers and ranchers who incorporate sustainable practices are concerned about more than short-term profit, but are also realizing the monetary benefits of organic produce and meat. For example, Carmen Fernholz of Madison, Minnesota is selling his organic “flax for human consumption at $1 a poing, which translates into about $50 to $60 dollars a bushel – compared to $5 to $8 a bushel for conventionally grown flax” (John Ikerd). It can be a win-win situation for both producer and the environment. Agriculture methods that incorporate monoculture, nitrogen-based fertilization, and irrigation are too damaging to the environment and too susceptible to pest devastation to be utilized indefinitely. Sustainable agriculture is a productive answer to these problems.

Sustainable agriculture defies a simple definition. There are as many different methods of sustainable practices as there are farms and ranches. Each producer faces unique challenges to be met based on what they are producing and what type of soil they are producing on. Some things sustainable producers have in common are crop rotation, integrated insect pest management, organic matter management, recycling farm wastes, and natural resource conservation.

Consumers can contribute to sustainable agriculture very simple by supporting it financially. Visits to farmers’ markets and buying organic produce and meats are a very good start. At home, gardens incorporating organic compost and natural pest control will yield fruits and vegetables that will have more flavor than anything you can buy that has been grown conventionally, and will also have a higher yield of vitamins and minerals. Also, mulching flower beds and landscaped areas will reduce water consumption, helping in a small way the very serious problem of declining water storage in underground aquifers.

Works Cited

Ikerd, John. “Exploring Sustainability in Agriculture”, (pg 3), Agricultural Economist Emeritus, University of Missouri, no date given

Food and the Environment

The issue of global warming on food production has many facets; not all of them detrimental. The media has publicized the more negative scenarios, and has given little merit to the positive ones. The general population would undoubtedly be amazed upon discovering information that would shed light on the possible positive effects of global warming on food production.
As stated by the United Nations Environment Program, “. . . there may be benefits for agriculture in many temperate zones, where the length of the growing period will increase, costs of overwintering livestock will fall, crop yields may improve, and forests may grow faster” (Crop Production). Also, shifting growth zones due to rising temperatures will create new regions (mostly North/South pole-ward and the higher elevations) where individual crops thrive as a direct result of specific climate conditions. Another benefit is the increase of carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere due to global warming. This creates “carbon fertilization”, which increases photosynthesis and results in increased net production of certain crops, particularly wheat and rice. Global warming could very well have beneficial effects for certain portions of the world.
However, these anticipated beneficial effects would come at the expense of other agricultural regions of the world. There are massive impacts from global warming projected for tropical agricultural regions. Scientists predict there could be increased rainfall variability, higher incidences of catastrophic weather events, and decreased yields in crops. Many crops grown in the tropics and more arid regions of the world are sensitive to temperature changes. Coffee is one of these crops, and it “. . . is the first, second or third largest export crop for 26 mostly poor countries in Africa and Central America”(Crop Production). Rice is another crop that would be affected by even a moderate increase in temperature. Rice grown today in tropical regions is cultivated very close to maximum temperature tolerances. Recent studies have shown that rice yields in the Philippines are reduced 10 percent for each one degree Celsius increase in night-time temperatures during the growing season.
Another disturbance caused by global warming is related to the possible rise in the oceans of the world. This could create a surging of salt water in low-lying agricultural areas, with large areas of fertile, productive land lost to the sea. For regions that are not permanently flooded, there is the danger of reduced soil and water quality from increased salinity after tidal surges have receded.
All things considered, the forecasted beneficial effects of global warming are outweighed by the negative effects predicted.

Work Cited

“Crop Production in a Changing Climate”, United Nations Environment Program, GEO Global Environment Outlook, GEO Year Book 2006, http://www.unep.org/geo/yearbook/yb2006/063.asp

Food Safety

The responsibility for food safety lies at the feet of every person at every level of the food chain. The producers are responsible for growing and/or raising a safe product, the processors are responsible for processing and packaging the product safely, the distributors are responsible for storing and shipping the product safely until it reaches the marketplace, the marketplace is responsible for storing and displaying the product safely until it is sold, and the consumers are responsible for handling the product safely in the domestic arena to ensure those consuming the edible products remain healthy. The federal government is responsible for policing and educating everyone involved at each level of the food chain.

When there is a breakdown of responsibility at any level, people are at risk for becoming mildly to deathly ill. The higher on the food “safety chain” the breakdown occurs, the more lives are affected. Many governmental agencies are involved in keeping America’s food supply safe, and American citizens owe more than they realize to these dedicated offices of food safety.

Everyone involved in food production, from the seed wholesalers to the cook in the kitchen, is responsible for doing their part to keep food safe. Lethal breakdowns can occur anywhere along the food production chain, with the only variable being the number of people sickened and possibly killed. It is up to all concerned to keep “safety” number one when food production is concerned.