Food Flashcards
Intensive agriculture
Relies on very high levels of chemical and mechanical inputs
High Yields
Organic agriculture
Bans use of certain pesticides, fertilizers, and biotechnology (GMOs). Can still be highly mechanized
Medium yields
Permaculture
Agricultural systems designed to mimic natural ecosystems (waste nothing, complimentary species, polycrops, no chemical inputs)
Low to high yields
Extensive agriculture
Limited chemical and mechanical inputs
Low yields
Regenerative agriculture
Combined sustainable agriculture techniques
Low to High yields
Food as a driver of climate change
Contribute ~25% of global GHGs
- Tilling: 4% of global GHGs
- Fermentation: 25% of anthropogenic methane.
- Manure management: 50% of anthropogenic nitrous oxide
- Deforestation, burning biomass, and desertification contribute significantly to global CO2 emissions.
- Fertilizer production consumes 1% of global energy and contributes 1.4% of global GHG emissions
- Unused fertilizers lead to soil denitrification, which further contributes to GHGs.
Food as a driver of land-use change
12% of ice-free land is used for crops.
26% of ice-free land is used for pasture (Foley, 2011).
Food as a driver of water use
Globally, 70% of freshwater is used for agriculture
Food as a driver of altered N and P flows
80% of global N production is used for food, but only 55% is taken up by crops.
85% of P used for food, with less than 25% absorbed by plants.
Food as a driver of ozone depletion
25% of depletion is caused by refrigerants
Eutrophication process
- High nutrient level in lakes promote excessive growth of algae
- The algae die and sink to the bottom of the lake
- Bacteria and other microbes consume the high levels of organic matter
- Microbial respiration of dead algae uses up a lot of oxygen
- This depletes oxygen concentration at the bottom of the lake
- Aquatic life is reduced, and biodiversity diminishes
Freshwater eutrophication limiting factor
P limited
Marine eutrophication limiting factor
N limited
Environmentally intensive foods
Animal-based Foods (especially beef and dairy) have higher environmental impacts due to land use, water consumption, energy, and methane emissions from livestock
Food consumption trends
As income increases, people tend to consume more resource-intensive foods, particularly meat.
