Agricultural-Based Food Production Geoenvironment Stressors - Sustainable Practices in Geoenvironmental Engineering - page 177

6
Agricultural-Based Food Production
Geoenviro nment Stressors
6.1 Introduction
The discussion in this chapter is concerned with the geoenvironment stressors gener-
ated from the primary sets of activities associated with agricultural-based food produc-
tion. These activities include the production and harvesting of farm products (including
livestock) and the industries identiied with these sets of activities. These industries
are upstream industries. They fall under the classiication of agroindustry . By deinition,
upstream industries deal with the production of raw materials that are later transformed
to inished products by downstream industries. They are known generally as agroprocess-
ing industries. They include industries producing food products for the consumer, textiles,
forest products, etc. Agriculture (farming and food production) is a basic activity and an
essential component in the life-support system of the human population. To obtain a sus-
tainable society, the geoenvironment natural capital must be maintained at a sustainable
level—meaning that harvesting and utilization of the resources represented by the natural
capital must meet the requirements of replenishment and regrowth. In respect to the vital
issue of food production to satisfy the needs of a sustainable society, this means that the
activities associated with food production must be managed within the context of a sus-
tainable agroecosystem.
Agroecosystems consist of two main components: (1) naturally occurring and (2) human-
related components. The naturally occurring component consists of rivers, lakes, ponds,
groundwater and aquifers, and lora and fauna. The human-related group consists of com-
ponents that are the result of manipulation by humans to produce food, ibers, and other
products such as cultivated pastureland, seasonal and permanent crops, cultivated forests,
and livestock or animal farming. In the seasonal crops category, for example, the list of
human-related actions include land clearing, soil tillage and planting of crops, addition of
water and nutrients, weed and pest control by various mechanical and chemical aids, and
harvesting when crops mature. The crops that are planted are seasonal in the sense that
they (crops) are harvested in one seasonal growing cycle. Meanwhile, the permanent crops
exist for much longer periods. They consist of orchards, cotton ields, tea plantations, etc.
6.1.1 Food Production
Hunger and nutrient deiciencies are experienced daily by more than a billion people.
Nutrient deiciency is deined as insuficient levels of food proteins and caloric energy.
As can be seen in the famines in many parts of the world, nutrient deiciency is a major
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