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Chapter 12 Sustainability and Food Dennis Giaya, Eric Williams, and Rohit Satishchandra Introduction The high population density of many countries raises questions about there are enough resources to support the growing population. With a growing amount of people to feed and a finite amount of exploitable food sources, the agriculture industry is striving towards more efficient and ultimately more sustainable methods of food production. Sustainability as a concept is rooted in a social context, and as a term is loosely defined. There is no mathematical equation to give the sustainability of any particular system because sustainability is dependent on multiple factors, many of which are rather subjective. There are two main categories discussed under the title of sustainability: critical limits and competing objectives. There exists a scientific procedure to determine the critical limit of earth to sustain human life. However, considering competing objectives is a multifaceted problem. This involves balancing the resources available in a manner best suited to serve the human population for an amount of time deemed acceptable. For this method to work, items must be prioritized so that fair compromises can be made to ensure maximum desired output (Fricker, 2000). The sustainable agriculture movement embraces methods that are designed to maximize the food production in a given area while minimizing the environmental impact. Practices such as rotating crops, using less harmful chemicals, and recycling are all embraced under the sustainable movement. Another critical focus is the processing and transportation of goods. Processing consumes energy, and current transportation methods are fueled by depleting natural resources that also release harmful pollutants into the atmosphere. For example, milk production is an energy intensive process from raising the cows to transporting the milk. It is important to get as much milk per cow as possible in order to maximize profit and reduce environmental impact. Focusing on retrieving more milk per cow leads to better treatment of the cows and a more effective production process that is less wasteful. Dairy farmers are beginning to reuse water from the milk cooling process, harvest rainwater, and install boreholes in an effort to minimize water consumption. By increasing efficiency by 27%, dairy processors have prevented as much as 270,000 tons of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere annually. This is a joint effort between the processors and the retailers to use less energy and reduce emissions in the production and distribution process (Tasker, 2011). Unfortunately, helping the environment comes at a cost. Adhering to sustainable agriculture practices is difficult for many farmers who are struggling economically. Although sustainable practices are better in the long run, the operating costs can be impractical for some smaller farms. Additionally, the cost of decreased output from using fewer chemicals is ultimately passed on to the consumer. Growing crops in a sustainable manner is better for the environment, but in some cases it may mean a decrease in volume. It all goes back to balancing the factors that contribute to sustainability. A decrease in output would mean increased competition that leads to increased prices for the consumer. However, these initial challenges are insignificant when compared to the result once devastating irreversible environmental damage has occurred. 130
This bar graph illustrates the amount of carbon dioxide released in the atmosphere to produce a half-pound of each of the foods. With the recent hype of climate change, the term carbon footprint has become increasingly popular. A carbon footprint is a measure of the ecological impact of a specific individual, location, or organization. Specifically, the carbon footprint accounts for the carbon dioxide emissions produced; it is measured in tons of carbon dioxide ETAP (2007). Many factors can affect the carbon footprint of the agriculture industry. Different types of crops can have different carbon footprints depending on the method used to grow them. Also, it is generally true that eating lower on the food chain reduces the carbon footprint of the end result. For example, eating beef will have a large carbon footprint because that cow had to be fed and taken care of. Energy was required to grow the crops to feed the cow and also to transport them to the cow. By eating the crops themselves rather than the cow, all of the excess intermediate energy can be omitted from the process. Carbon footprint is important to consider when discussing sustainable agriculture because a high carbon footprint has a severe environmental impact. Polluting the atmosphere is harmful on two separate levels. First there is the climate change and water pollution that results from high carbon dioxide emissions. Then it must be considered that climate change could render some crops obsolete and would make obtaining water more difficult than it already is for some areas that are struggling to obtain usable farmland. History There has been a shift in U.S. agriculture. A census released by the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) shows a dramatic increase in the number of farms and farmers from 2002 to 2007. An increased awareness of how health, food, and the environment are all interrelated and impact sustainability has been the catalyst for most of the change. Some problems Americans are currently faced with include environmental degradation, water scarcity, and rising gasoline prices. These all affect the ability to grow and transport quality food. The agrofuel boom, a recent movement to use agricultural products such as corn and other grains to create fuel, has diverted a large portion of grain supplies and is contributing to the global food crisis (Hundal, 2010). 131
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Got Food? Recent Advances in Food S
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Chapter 1 Diet and Nutrition Ingrid
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Economic Uncertainty It is simply n
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An example of nutritional informati
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Malnutrition and Disease A growing
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Malnutrition Globally Although a gr
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thiamine compounds. Deficiency can
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BMJ-British Medical Journal (2012).
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Chapter 2 Vitamins and Minerals Bar
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The Dangers of Multivitamins and Su
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Vitamin A and Osteoporotic Hip Frac
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Type II diabetes is caused by the i
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Bibliography Alam S.M. (2011, Jan 2
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Riboflavin. (2011). In PubMed Healt
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Chapter 3 Food Supplements Patrick
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An example of a chemically engineer
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Step 1 Herbs are checked for pestic
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Agent Active Ingredient(s) Trade Na
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Pravst, I., &Žmitek, K. (2011). Th
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In the late 1970s, the first insuli
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New Developments Researchers are co
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Prevention and Treatment Pre-diabet
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Crandall, J. P. (2010, April). Diab
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Chapter 5 Diet and Heart Disease Re
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Dilated cardiomyopathy condition is
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The buildup of plaque within the ar
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Heart disease death rates, total po
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Sensory vegetarians avoid meat beca
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This table documents the relative l
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However, vegetarian diets do receiv
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Turner-McGrievy, G. (2010.) Nutrien
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Scientists are aware that physical
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one study, research examined two ch
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contributing to the metabolic syndr
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In 2011, an Australian study concer
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Page 101 and 102: Plot of world grain production per
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Page 105 and 106: Chapter 10 Food Preservation Adam C
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Page 109 and 110: Freezing, along with drying, is use
Page 111 and 112: With these new developments in pres
Page 113 and 114: An area of future research is bacte
Page 115 and 116: Parish. M. (2006). How do salt and
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Page 125 and 126: Future of GMO Crops A booming globa
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Page 137 and 138: water lost to evaporation. It is al
Page 139 and 140: Francis, C. A., & Porter, P. (2011)
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