Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Several UN agencies and the World Bank have
joined together to establish an IPM facility. Its goal is
to promote the use of IPM by disseminating informa-
tion and establishing networks among researchers,
farmers, and agricultural extension agents involved
in IPM.
What Can You Do?
Sustainable Organic Agriculture
•Waste less food
• Reduce or eliminate meat consumption
• Feed pets balanced grain foods instead of meat
10-7 SOLUTIONS: SUSTAINABLE
AGRICULTURE
• Use organic farming to grow some of your food
• Buy organic food
Science: Sustainable Organic Agriculture
We can produce food more sustainably by reducing
resource throughput and working with nature.
There are three main ways to reduce hunger and mal-
nutrition and the harmful environmental effects of
agriculture. First, we can slow population growth. Sec-
ond, we can reduce poverty so that people can grow or
buy enough food for their survival and good health.
Third, we can develop and phase in systems of sus-
tainable or low-input agriculture —also called organic
agriculture —over the next few decades. Figure 10-31
• Compost your food wastes
Figure 10-32 Individuals matter: ways to promote more
sustainable agriculture. Critical thinking: which three of these
actions do you believe are the most important? Which of these
actions in this list do you plan to do?
lists the major components of more sustainable agricul-
ture. Low-input organic agriculture produces roughly
equivalent yields with lower carbon dioxide emissions,
uses 30-50% less energy per unit of yield, improves soil
fertility, reduces soil erosion, and generally is more
profitable for the farmer than high-input farming.
Most proponents of more sustainable agriculture
are not opposed to high-yield agriculture. Instead,
they see it as vital for protecting the earth's biodiver-
sity by reducing the need to cultivate new and often
marginal land. They call for using environmentally
sustainable forms of both high-yield polyculture and
high-yield monoculture for growing crops with in-
creasing emphasis on using more sustainable methods
for producing food (Figure 10-31, left).
Solutions
Sustainable Organic Agriculture
More
Less
High-yield
polyculture
Soil erosion
Soil salinization
Organic fertilizers
Aquifer depletion
Biological pest
control
Overgrazing
Solutions: Making the Transition to More
Sustainable Agriculture
More research, demonstration projects, government
subsidies, and training can promote a shift to more
sustainable agriculture.
Analysts suggest four major strategies to help farmers
make the transition to more sustainable organic agri-
culture. First, greatly increase research on sustainable
agriculture and improving human nutrition. Second,
set up demonstration projects so farmers can see how
more sustainable organic agricultural systems work.
Third, provide subsidies and increased foreign aid to
encourage its use. Fourth, establish training programs
in sustainable organic agriculture for farmers and gov-
ernment agricultural officials, and encourage the cre-
ation of college curricula in sustainable organic agri-
culture and human nutrition.
Phasing in more sustainable organic agriculture
involves applying the four principles of sustainability
Integrated pest
management
Overfishing
Loss of biodiversity
Irrigation efficiency
Loss of prime
cropland
Perennial crops
Crop rotation
Food waste
Use of more water-
efficient crops
Subsidies for
unsustainable
farming and
fishing
Soil conservation
Subsidies for more
sustainable farming
and fishing
Population growth
Poverty
Figure 10-31 Solutions: components of more sustainable,
low-throughput, or organic, agriculture. Critical thinking: which
two of the solutions in each column do you believe are the most
important?
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