Agriculture & the environmenta Learn, Apply, Communicate presentation

International Institute for Industrial and Environmental Economics

Welcome to the fourth part of the IIIEE LAC presentations on environmental issues. In this presentation we will explore the agricultural sector in general. We will look at how agriculture is practiced, its impacts on the environment, as well as future scenarios and trends.

About this presentation

This presentation is produced by master students at the International Institute for Industrial and Environmental Economics at Lund University in Sweden. The material is part of a project in communication of environmental issues.

The presentation is available in movie format as well as in PDF format, with or without presenter’s notes.

After the presentation we kindly ask you to take part of a short survey that will help us to evaluate and improve our ideas...

This presentation is brought to you by Environmental Management and Policies master students at the International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics in Lund, Sweden. The material is part of a project in Learning, Applying and Communicating. After the presentation we kindly ask you to provide feedback about this presentation.

Purpose

The purpose of this series of presentations is to illuminate some of the environmental issues of today, and to provide high school educators with interesting facts, ideas for discussions and activities, as well as inspirational material to use in their work.

The fourth presentation in the series deals with agriculture and its impact on the environment.

The purpose of this series of presentations is to illuminate some of the environmental issues of today, and to provide high school educators with interesting facts, ideas for discussions and activities as well as inspirational material to use in their work.

Background information

๏ It is the world’s largest industry.

๏ Agriculture supplies us with food, fiber and fuel to sustain our daily lives.

Photo by J. Luth Richter

Discuss!

Do you think it is important to know where out food comes from and how it is grown? Why?

Agriculture is essential to our daily lives, supplying us with food, fibre, and biofuel options. It is the world’s largest industry, employing over one billion people and generating over one trillion dollars' worth of food annually. According to the World Wildlife Fund, it accounts for 70% of our fresh water use and 14% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Photo by Lynn Betts, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service

Agriculture has changed dramatically since World War II with a “green revolution”.

Discuss!

Do you think agriculture will always be able to supply enough food to feed the world? Why or why not?

Photo by Doc Searls

Agriculture provides much of the food necessary for humanity to thrive on this planet. It has been a fear that humanity’s growing population would surpass agriculture’s ability to feed it. However, farming has changed dramatically, especially since World War II. While population doubled, food supply tripled. The production of food and fiber crops has increased due to new farming technologies, including new high-yield varieties of crops, mechanization, and the increased application of pesticides and fertilizers. Government policies have also encouraged farmers to maximise production. These changes have allowed a smaller number of farmers to produce an increasing amount of agricultural crops worldwide.

Source: INTERNATIONAL FOOD POLICY RESEARCH INSTITUTE (IFPRI). A 2020 Vision for food, agriculture, and the environment. Washington, D.C., IFPRI, 1995. p. 1-45.

However, agriculture also have negative effects.

Photos by Lynn Betts, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service

However, the growth of intensive agriculture has had costs as well. The clearing of native habitats has resulted in decreased biodiversity. Intense agriculture can result in soil erosion and decline in soil fertility. You can see evidence of soil erosion by water in the photo on the left.

Groundwater can be contaminated by erosion runoff and also pesticides, stock effluent, and other chemicals used in farming or created as a byproduct of the farming process.

Another effect of the growth of intense agriculture is increased production costs that result in the closing of services in rural communities. It is often a big business that disadvantages or closes out the smaller farmers.

Future scenarios

Impacts on the land ๏ Habitat destruction๏ Biodiversity loss๏ Decreased soil fertility๏ Desertification

Discuss!

What would encourage farmers to grow a wider variety of crops?

Business as usual

Photo by Jack Dykinga, USDA

Photo by David Nanace, USDA

Continuing to increase production with conventional practices, to meet demands of growing population, will have major impacts on the land. Scientists believe that business as usual will lead to continued and increasing habitat destruction, desertification and biodiversity loss. This is happening in places like Indonesia where rainforests are being converted to one crop palm plantations, or monocultures. Another example is in Brazil, where rainforests and savannah are converted to soybean and cattle farms. The conversion of the original diverse habitats to monocultural habitats results in significant biodiversity loss.

Clearing land will continue to expose topsoil to wind and water erosion. The World Wildlife Fund estimates that since 1960, one-third of the world’s arable land has been lost through erosion and other degradation. Major crops causing soil erosion include coffee, cotton, corn, palm oil, rice, tea, tobacco, and wheat.

In extreme cases, the land can become so degraded that it turns into a desert unable to support any cultivation. The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) estimates that 12 million hectares of land is lost each year to desertification.

Future scenarios

Impacts on the water ๏ High water use๏ Degraded water quality๏ Chemical pollution๏ Eutrophication

Business as usual

Photo by Scott Bauer, courtesy of USDA

More than just the land itself is affected by intense agriculture. As previously stated, the agricultural sector consumes about 70% of the planet's accessible freshwater, which is much more than that of industry (23%), and municipal use (8%). Moreover, the World Wildlife Fund estimates that agriculture wastes 60% of that water or 1,500 trillion litres each year. The main causes of wasteful and unsustainable water use are leaky irrigation systems, wasteful field application methods and the growing of thirsty crops in unsuitable environments.

We mentioned that water quality can be affected by eroded soil and the toxic chemicals in pesticides and fertilisers. These chemicals can remain a threat to the environment for many generations because they don’t break down easily. They can also cause excess nutrients to develop in a system. A result of this can be eutrophication, in which there is a increase in algae growth, which feed on the excess nutrients. However, the algae also deplete the water of oxygen, which is necessary to maintain a variety of aquatic life.

Source: World Wildlife Fund

Future scenarios

Impacts on the air ๏ Increased greenhouse gas

emissions๏ Chemical pollution

Discuss!

Why don’t farms capture as much carbon dioxide as forests?

Business as usual

Photo by Jack Dykinga, courtesy of USDA

Business as usual will also lead to increased greenhouse gas emissions. As stated, 14% of human produced greenhouse gas emissions are attributed to agriculture and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicts that number will increase. The conversion of forests to farms accounts for a similar percentage of greenhouse gas emissions as agriculture itself, so increased conversion results in increased emissions. In addition, fertilizers and burning waste produce large emissions of pollutants like nitrous oxide and ammonia.

Source: IPCC http://www.fapri.iastate.edu/outlook/2011/text/greenhouse_gas_model.pdf

Future scenarios

Impacts on food supply ๏ Genetic erosion or modification๏ Increasing food prices

Discuss!

What would encourage farmers to grow a wider variety of crops?

Business as usual

Photo by Jack Dykinga, USDA

Photo by David Nanace, USDA

In fact, intense agriculture not only threatens biodiversity in natural habitats, but also results in genetic erosion within agriculture itself. This means that less and less variety of crops are grown. The FAO estimates that just 30 crops account for 90% of calories consumed by people. This lost genetic diversity reduces the potential for modern crops to adapt to changing conditions. Scientists fear that this may directly threaten long-term food security.

During the Green Revolution, scientists worked to develop new seeds and plants that are more resistant to pests and produce higher yields. They did this by manipulating genes through genetic engineering. Opponents of these genetically modified organisms (GMOs) argue that they may pose a threat. They can interbreed with natural organisms, thus contaminating environments and future generations in an unforeseeable and uncontrollable way. This is still a topic of debate.

Future scenarios

Business as usual: Rising food prices

Graph courtesy of Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Another threat to food security lies in the fact that crops are more and more often grown for purposes other than food. While growing crops for uses such as biofuels can create more markets for farmers, if not managed carefully, the FAO states that subsidized biofuel production pushes the price of food up as more crops are instead grown for energy rather than food. This especially affects the poor, who spend most of their money on food. The price of food is now higher than it has been since the 1970s. The FAO states that the competition from bio-fuel production is only one of several factors pushing this trend. Other factors include poor harvests linked to extreme weather, declining food stocks worldwide, high energy prices that raise the cost of fertilizers, irrigation and transportation, and lack of investment in the agricultural sector.

Can we remain indifferent before the problems associated with such realities as climate change, desertification, the deterioration and loss of productivity in vast agricultural areas, the pollution of rivers and aquifers, the loss of biodiversity...?

Pope Benedict XVIMessage for Celebration of the World Day of Peace1 January 2010

Photo by Tim McCabe, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service

It does sound like it’s all bad news. However, the latest research and trends can help us change that picture. The sustainable agriculture movement has grown in the past two decades as a solution to the environmental and social problems caused by conventional agricultural practices. A whole-farm approach combines best practices into an integrated management system that works with nature. Some examples of latest trends in sustainable agriculture leading to a more sustainable future will be explored in the next few slides.

Quote source: http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/messages/peace/documents/hf_ben-xvi_mes_20091208_xliii-world-day-peace_en.html

Future scenarios

Photo by Lynn Betts, USDA Natural Resources Conservation

Service

Sustainable agriculture: managing resources wisely

Diagram courtesy of Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

One of the key components of good farming is knowing the science of soil and how nutrients cycle in the environment. This cycle is shown in the diagram on the left. Scientists and farmers know now about the importance of nutrients like phosphorous and nitrogen for plant growth and the need to complete the natural cycle by returning these nutrients back into the soil. Farmers have known for centuries that rotating crops adds nutrients to the soil. A well-managed farm can mimic nature through properly applied on-farm nutrient sources, such as manure and cover crops. This can build soil, protect water quality and reduce the need for and cost of fertilizer.

Future scenarios

Using science, technology and alternative energy.

Sustainable agriculture: what does it look like?

Photo courtesy of USDA Rural Development

Cover crops in an orchard. Photo by Gary Kramer, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service

Agricultural scientists and farmers have learned that growing specific crops such as rye, clover or vetch after harvesting a cash crop can improve soil by providing erosion control and returning nutrients to the soil. These are called cover crops. They are also part of an integrated pest management system. Planting the right cover crops can create a habitat for insects and animals that prey on the pests that the farmer wants to get rid of. This naturally reduces the need for many pesticides. While cover crops may not bring in the money like marketable cash crops, they can help save the farm money in the end by providing these valuable ecological services.

Farmers can also harness more of nature’s free energy sources by using energy-saving devices such as windmills and solar power. These practices not only make farming more profitable, clean and efficient, but they also help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Future scenarios

Wetland restored on farm to preserve ecological diversity.

Seeds stored in a large seed bank.

Discuss!

Should there be a limit to how far science goes?

Sustainable agriculture: long term practices

Photo by Lynn Betts, USDAPhoto by Scott Bauer, USDA

Growing a greater variety of crops can make a farm more resilient to diseases and pests, as well as extremes in weather and market conditions. Techniques like inter-planting trees with crops and growing specialty crops help conserve soil and water, provide wildlife habitat and increase beneficial insect populations.

Scientists and governments have recognised the current threats to plant diversity and the need for preservation measures. Several farms, organisations, and countries have set up seed banks where varieties of seeds are stored and preserved.

The diligent farmer plants trees, of which he himself will never

see the fruit.

Cicero

Conservation tillages, terraces and conservation buffers. Photo

by Lynn Betts, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service

Most of the carbon that crops capture returns to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide when crops are harvested and consumed. When farmland is tilled by machinery the soil layers invert allowing air to mix in, and microbial activity increases. Organic matter breaks down much more rapidly, releasing carbon from the soil into the atmosphere. Adding the emissions from the machinery as well, the result is increased carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere.

However, some carbon can be stored in the soil as organic matter. Farmers who use no-till methods avoid the carbon dioxide emitting chain reaction. Soil conservation practices such as contour tillage, reduced tillage and no-till, also help prevent soil loss from erosion and minimize soil compaction.

Making a better future

Discuss!

Can you think of any other ways to help promote sustainable agriculture?

Practice sustainable agriculture in your own backyard or school.

Buy local farmer produce.

Sustainable agriculture: how can we help?

Photo by Bob Nichols

Photo by Scott Bauer, USDA

The agriculture of the future needs to be more efficient to be sustainable. One way of avoiding wasting food is to sell products closer to where they are farmed. In order to do this, the farmers need support from their local communities. Consider: what ways of doing this are there in the area where you live?

ActivitiesResearch what farming practices are used in your region. Make a poster about the local food options there are in your area and encourage people to support these.

Try farming! It doesn’t get more local than a school garden. Learn first hand about the science of eco-agriculture.

Have a debate! Possible topic could be genetic modification of food crops. Find out more about this debate.

Work in a group to design what you think is a sustainable farm. Point out the innovative features of the farm and show what you learned from this presentation.

Apply your knowledge in an integrated farming board game.

Farming begins with the soil! Find soil activites here.

There are several suggested activities that can be done to demonstrate and reinforce the information in this presentation. These can be done with a teaching group, but also in the classroom. More resources for additional activities have been collected for your convenience on the next slide.

Links:Unicef school garden guide: http://www.unicef.org/education/files/How_to_Set_up_School_Garden.pdfUniversity of California, Davis, has resources for older students who may want to market their garden, possibly as a fundraiser: http://www.studentfarm.ucdavis.edu/market-garden

The genetic engineering debate resources:PBS has great activities around this topic as well as the viewpoints section to get students thinking: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/harvest/

NASA Soil unit and activities: http://soil.gsfc.nasa.gov/drsoil/drsoil.htm

Integrated farming board game available from: http://www.accu.or.jp/litdbase/material/_data/material/Integrated_Farming/Integrated_Farming_ENG.pdf

Suggested resources

UNESCO has developed a fantastic curriculum unit around “Sustainable Agriculture”. It includes a teacher guide, activities, journal exercises and links to additional resources and related themes.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s agriculture in the classroom site has lesson plans and activities that can be searched by subtopic and grade level.

A full list of websites can be retrieved from the presenter’s notes.

The USDA has a 25 minute video about sustainable agriculture innovations.

Garden and agriculture middle school and high school resource database, evaluated and maintained by LifeLabs.

On this slide and the following slide are suggested teaching resources to implement ideas from this presentation into the classroom. They are not comprehensive but represent high-quality resources that we feel can be readily and easily implemented to save you time in planning a lesson or unit incorporating this topic.

Teaching Resources:Gardening and agriculture middle school and high school resource database maintained by LifeLabs.database::https://docs.google.com/View?id=ddn2xqb8_261gpjc8shtLifelabs site (lesson resources tend to be for younger students): http://www.lifelab.org/category/lessons/

UNESCO has developed a fantastic curriculum unit around ‘Sustainable Agriculture.” It includes a teacher guide, activities, journal exercises and links to additional resources and related themes. http://www.unesco.org/education/tlsf/TLSF/theme_c/uncofrm_c.htm

Unicef school garden guide: http://www.unicef.org/education/files/How_to_Set_up_School_Garden.pdfUniversity of California, Davis, has resources for older students who may want to market their garden, possibly as a fundraiser: http://www.studentfarm.ucdavis.edu/market-garden

The University of Wisconsin, Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems (CIAS), has a six module high school curriculum unit: Towards Sustainable Agriculture. http://www.cias.wisc.edu/curriculum/index.htm

The University of Illinois has similar, but more succinct teaching module relating sustainable agriculture and ecosystems.: http://urbanext.illinois.edu/ecosystems/overview.html

United States Department of Agriculture, Agriculture in the Classroom site has lesson plans, worksheets, and multi-media activities that can be searched and sorted by subtopic and grade level. http://www.agclassroom.org/USDA agriculture video: mms://151.121.2.21/content/csrees/tsr.wmv

Suggested resourcesThe University of California, Santa Cruz, has downloadable guides for teaching organic farming.

The University of California, Davis, provides practical guides to aspects of sustainable agriculture. Best combined with farm visit or application in school garden.

The University of Wisconsin, Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems (CIAS), has a six module high school curriculum unit: Towards Sustainable Agriculture. The University of Illinois has similar, but more succinct teaching guides with ideas and activities.

UNICEF provides a comprehensive guide to starting a school garden.

A full list of websites can be retrieved from the presenter’s notes.

On this page are suggested teaching resources to implement ideas from this presentation into the classroom. They are not comprehensive but represent high-quality resources that we feel can be readily and easily implemented to save you time in planning a lesson or unit incorporating this topic.

Teaching Resources:Gardening and agriculture middle school and high school resource database maintained by LifeLabs.database::https://docs.google.com/View?id=ddn2xqb8_261gpjc8shtLifelabs site (lesson resources tend to be for younger students): http://www.lifelab.org/category/lessons/

UNESCO has developed a fantastic curriculum unit around ‘Sustainable Agriculture.” It includes a teacher guide, activities, journal exercises and links to additional resources and related themes. http://www.unesco.org/education/tlsf/TLSF/theme_c/uncofrm_c.htm

Unicef school garden guide: http://www.unicef.org/education/files/How_to_Set_up_School_Garden.pdfUniversity of California, Davis, has resources for older students who may want to market their garden, possibly as a fundraiser: http://www.studentfarm.ucdavis.edu/market-garden

The University of Wisconsin, Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems (CIAS), has a six module high school curriculum unit: Towards Sustainable Agriculture. http://www.cias.wisc.edu/curriculum/index.htm

The University of Illinois has similar, but more succinct teaching module relating sustainable agriculture and ecosystems.: http://urbanext.illinois.edu/ecosystems/overview.html

United States Department of Agriculture, Agriculture in the Classroom site has lesson plans, worksheets, and multi-media activities that can be searched and sorted by subtopic and grade level. http://www.agclassroom.org/

USDA agriculture video: mms://151.121.2.21/content/csrees/tsr.wmv

Inspiration

Sustainable Agriculture Educational Project by Jeffrey DunnThis is a university student project presenting a good overview.

Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN: The State of Food and Agriculture Report.

Annual report with a current overview and a different theme each year, so it is worth looking at the themes of previous years.

Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education: What is sustainable agriculture?

Outlines the goals of sustainable agriculture in this 12-page booklet of best practices in sustainable agriculture, including profiles of the farmers.

A full list of websites can be retrieved from the presenter’s notes.

For more comprehensive information about the ideas presented in this topic, please look through our sources of inspiration. A full bibliography and weblinks are available here, in the presenter’s notes.

Full Bibliography:

Dunn, Jeffrey. Sustainable Agriculture Project. Retrieved from: https://www.msu.edu/user/dunnjef1/rd491/project.htm

Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations. The State of Food and Agriculture Report. Retrieved from: http://www.fao.org/publications/sofa/en/

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). (2011). Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Agriculture, Forestry, and other Land Use. Retrieved from http://www.fapri.iastate.edu/outlook/2011/text/greenhouse_gas_model.pdf

Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education. (2010). What is Sustainable Agriculture? Retrieved from: http://www.sare.org/index.php/content/download/660/5688/file/What%20is%20Sustainable%20Agriculture.pdf

UC Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program. (2006). What is Sustainable Agriculture?http://www.sarep.ucdavis.edu/concept.htm

Worldwatch Institute. (2011). State of the World. Retrieved from: http://typo3.fao.org/fileadmin/user_upload/fsn/docs/Protracted_crisis/State_of_the_World_2011.pdf

World Wildlife Fund. (2011). Farming. Retrieved from: http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/footprint/agriculture/

Inspiration

World Wildlife Fund: FarmingThe WWF provides a good overview of agriculture and its environmental impacts.

UC Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program: What is sustainable agriculture?

Concept themes, overview of resources, practices and contexts.

Worldwatch Institute. 2011 State of the World: Innovations the nourish the planet.

This report looks at the current state of food supply, the challenges facing agriculture and some of the solutions.

A full list of websites can be retrieved from the presenter’s notes.

For more comprehensive information about the ideas presented in this topic, please look through our sources of inspiration. A full bibliography and weblinks are available here, in the presenter’s notes.

Full Bibliography:

Dunn, Jeffrey. Sustainable Agriculture Project. Retrieved from: https://www.msu.edu/user/dunnjef1/rd491/project.htm

Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations. The State of Food and Agriculture Report. Retrieved from: http://www.fao.org/publications/sofa/en/

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). (2011). Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Agriculture, Forestry, and other Land Use. Retrieved from http://www.fapri.iastate.edu/outlook/2011/text/greenhouse_gas_model.pdf

Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education. (2010). What is Sustainable Agriculture? Retrieved from: http://www.sare.org/index.php/content/download/660/5688/file/What%20is%20Sustainable%20Agriculture.pdf

UC Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program. (2006). What is Sustainable Agriculture?http://www.sarep.ucdavis.edu/concept.htm

Worldwatch Institute. (2011). State of the World. Retrieved from: http://typo3.fao.org/fileadmin/user_upload/fsn/docs/Protracted_crisis/State_of_the_World_2011.pdf

World Wildlife Fund. (2011). Farming. Retrieved from: http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/footprint/agriculture/

End note

Thanks for watching this presentation!

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International Institute for Industrial and Environmental Economics

Thanks for watching this presentation!

We hope that you have found it inspirational and helpful. Help us out by spending a minute on our online survey at www.surveymonkey.com

There you can also get in contact with us if you have questions or comments.