Chapter 11

Human nutritional requirements are not always satisfied Undernutrition means not consuming enough calories to be health Malnourished lack of the correct balance of proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals Famine a condition in which food insecurity is so extreme that large numbers of deaths occur in a given area over a relatively short period Grains make up the largest component of the human diet Meat is the second largest component of the human diet The primary reason for undernutrition and malnutrition is poverty: the lack of resources that allow one access to food Political and economic factors also play an important role Poor governance and political unrest can lead to inadequate food supplies

The Green revolution and industrial farming methods have transformed agriculture Energy subsidy the energy input per calorie of food produced Salination when the small amounts of salts in irrigation water become highly concentrated on the soil surface through evaporation Organic fertilizers composed of organic matter from plants and animals Inorganic/Synthetic fertilizers produced commercially Monocropping large plantings of a single species or variety o Can lead to soil erosion because the soil is exposed all at once

o More vulnerable to attack by pests Pesticides are substances that kill or control organisms that people consider pests Broad-spectrum pesticides kill many types of pests Selective pesticides focuses on a narrower range of organisms Pesticide treadmill the cycle of pesticide development, followed by pest resistance, followed by new pesticide development Genetic engineering is revolutionizing agriculture Transformed agriculture from a system of small farms relying mainly on human labor into a system of large industrial operations relying mainly on machinery run by fossil fuels Irrigation can increase crop yields, but can also draw down aquifers and lead to soil degradation Fertilizers increase crop yields, but can run off into surface waters and cause damage to ecosystems GMOs can increase yields and reduce the use of pesticides but there are concerns about the effects on biodiversity and the safety of human consumption Traditional farming techniques like intercropping, agroforestry, and contour plowing can improve agricultural yields and conserve soil and other resources Integrated pest management uses a variety of techniques designed to minimize pesticide inputs Modern agribusiness includes the farming of fish and meat

Concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) large indoor or outdoor structures designed for maximum output

Antibiotics given to the animals are contributing to an increase in antibiotic-resistant strains of microorganisms that can affect humans

What I found most difficult in this chapter was knowing the big picture, or how one action leads to another. For example, its hard to understand how monocropping causes erosion, and what that erosion does to the environment. Basically, its hard to understand how everything connects. To make sure I learn the material, Im going to make sure to go back and check my notes.