Agriculture and Population Growth
opinion Essay
862 words
Agriculture and Population Growth
The earth is increasing its population by 90 million people per year, and yet we still have 5.9 billion people left to feed and to give shelter (Mitchell, 1998). Along with the increase in the population, there are also more people on Earth who are living longer lives. The global population boom has coincided with the improvement of health, and of productivity, around the world. On average, the human population today lives longer, eats better, produces more, and consumes more than at any other time period in the past (Eberstadt, 1995). Agriculture feeds people, but will it be able to feed the expanding global population, especially with its exponential increase?
One way for the population of today and tomorrow to live in harmony in regards to nourishment provided by the environment is to be able to intensify agricultural yields. With a projected population of 10 billion people, an increase of global average grain yields from 2 to 5 tons of grain per hectare would ensure a per capita diet of 6,000 calories and would save a land area twice the size of Alaska (Waggoner, 1994). Most of the world’s increased output is no longer a result of expansion of area used in agriculture, but resulting from the intensification of production on existing agricultural areas.
In the last 50 years, agriculture has intensified and yields per hectare have been rising. Intensification has allowed for a reversal of destruction of land. More land has been spared due to increased intensities. In India, 42 million hectares of land have been spared, approximately the size of California and globally, the world has saved an area the size of the Amazon (Ausubel, 1996). Of all human activities, agriculture transforms the...
... middle of paper ...
... and supported in a sustainable manner, agricultural intensification might just be able to keep up with the demand. In the up-coming decades, we will soon find out.
Bibliography
Ausubel, Jesse H. 1996. Can Technology Spare the Earth? Scientific American 84; Pages 166-178.
Brown, Lester R. 1997. Can We Raise Grain Yields Fast Enough? Worldwatch 10(4): Pages 9-17.
Eberstadt, Nicholas. 1995. Population, Food, and Income: Global Trends in the Twentieth Century. The True State of the World. Pages 7-48.
Mitchell, Jennifer D. 1998. Before the Next Doubling. http://www.worldwatch.org/may/1998/98-1.html. March 1, 1998.
Vitousek, Peter M. et al. 1997. Human Domination of Earth’s Ecosystems. Science. Vol. 277. Pages 494-499.
Waggoner, Paul. 1994. How Much Land Can Ten Billion People Spare for Nature? Council for Science and Technology, Ames, Iowa.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that agriculture feeds people, but will it be able to feed the expanding global population, especially with its exponential increase?
- Argues that increasing global average grain yields from 2 to 5 tons per hectare would ensure a per capita diet of 6,000 calories and would save land area twice the size of alaska.
- Explains that agriculture has intensified and yields per hectare have been rising in the last 50 years, allowing for a reversal of destruction of land.
- Opines that technology has been a viable part of higher productivity in agriculture. innovations such as tractors, seeds, chemicals, irrigation measures, fertilizers, pesticides, and genetic engineering have raised yields without having to clear more fields.
- Explains that countries have tripled or even quadrupled the amount of grain they produce. however, yields have been decreasing while population continues to increase.
- Explains the growing demand for a more calorie-filled diet, especially with the unprecedented rise in wealth in asia. since it takes more grain and water to produce animal protein, added pressure is placed on the environment.
- Opines that agricultural intensification is only part of the solution for combating food scarcity in association with population growth.
- Cites ausubel, jesse h, brown, lester r, eberstadt, nicholas, mitchell, jennifer d.
Related
- analytical
- opinion
- argumentative
- explanatory
- The Stone Age: How Technology Has Changed Our Societyanalytical essayIt is this technology, more precisely new ideas, small innovation and new methods through the period of time that has so far helped us feed this massive population. This meant that old farming methods were replaced as soon as a new technique or instrument came to make farming more efficient. For example the old farming methods included working on fields using hands or with animal drawn equipment. This meant that farms were smaller because farmers could work so much land. Moreover, these old farming methods meant that the crop is still high at risk of getting damaged from a disease, face some weather related mishap or the soil isn’t nutrient enough to support a good yield of the crop. Technology have brought in improvements that have made a large impact on the way and amount farmers are able to farm. One of them is the introduction of farm machinery such as tractor, harvester and other motorized equipment that allowed farmers to work on far greater land in smaller amount of time with less labor and yet produce far greater yield. One of the major advancement made in agriculture is through seed technology. New seed technology introduced farmers to genetically modified seeds that are able to withstand harsh weather which means that even in
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how the stone age and our current lives side by side will make us realize how technology has changed our society.
- Explains that farming sowed the seeds of permanent settlements, the establishment of social classes, and the eventual rise of civilizations.
- Explains how technology has made a large impact on the way and amount farmers are able to farm.
- Explains that mankind was, is and always will be in need of communicating, sending messages, sharing information, and providing alerts. edison laid down the first ever electrical grid system.
- Argues that technology has impacted the society for both better and worse.
1489 wordsRead More - Pros Of Green Revolutionopinion essayTraditional agriculture requires massive forest and grassland removal to obtain land necessary to farm on. Deforestation and overgrazing has caused erosion flooding, and enabled the expansion of deserts. But with drainage systems, leveling, and irrigation provided by the Green Rev, all this terra deforming will unlikely happen again. We can retain clean air and lessen the global warming effect caused by deforestation.Many people argue that a revamp in agriculture will be way too expensive and unrealistic especially for those poor farmers in third world countries. However many times, they exaggerate the price.
In this essay, the author
- Opines that unless we call for a revolution on the global scale, we will witness an ever-growing hunger rate around the world.
- Explains that the green revolution has already shown admirable progress in the northern part of india since 1950. by 1997, northern india increased its grain production by 37 percent.
- Explains that traditional agriculture requires massive forest and grassland removal to obtain land necessary to farm on. deforestation and overgrazing has caused erosion flooding, and enabled the expansion of deserts.
- Opines that farmers who take the first step in the revolution will most likely succeed and have more money to invest in further development.
434 wordsRead More - Population Growth and Feeding the Pooranalytical essayTo begin with, I’d like to point out that hunger kills more people every year than AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis combined. Additionally, the vast majority of hungry people (827 million) live in developing countries, where 14.3 percent of the population is undernourished (Hunger Statistics). On that note, many people like to associate population growth as a cause that will lead to the scarcity of food, which is not entirely true. There are more than enough global food resources, and yet world hunger is extensive. In fact, most hungry people live in countries that have excess in food. Therefore, increasing food production will not solve world hunger. Food is readily available to those who can afford it, which is why solving the poverty problem is part of the answer to the world hunger problem (Shah, Anup). Accordingly, we have to ask ourselves what is the main cause of poverty around the world? As Anup Shah points out, poverty around the world is a consequence, mainly due to international trade and economic policies.
In this essay, the author
- Opines that hunger kills more people every year than aids, malaria, and tuberculosis combined. the vast majority of hungry people live in developing countries where 14.3 percent of the population is undernourished.
- Argues that gm food is an expensive technology, making it hard for farmers around the world to have access to. biotech firms promote crop uniformity, which will decrease genetic diversity.
- Explains that whoever controls the land, controls its use, which is a significant cause of hunger today.
- Explains that poor countries have the highest population growth due to lack of sex education and birth control, which has caused 80 million women to have unplanned pregnancies.
- Opines that people need to stop focusing so much on population growth, and focus more on education. the asian tigers invested in education and jobs at the right time.
- Explains that access to water, accessible land, and population pressures affect poor countries the most. when basic needs aren't met, development slows down, which in turn collapses the economy.
- Explains that judaism gives us perspective on all aspects of life, such as the jewish view on hunger. the torah had a system for taking car of the poor/hungry.
- Analyzes how judaism shows its concern and plight for human beings in the verse "thou shalt not stand idly by the blood of thy brother," which teaches us that every life is sacred and we are obligated to do what we can to help.
- Explains that helping the less fortunate is an obligation and not just your heart motivating you to go beyond the call of duty.
- States shah, anup, "population and feeding the world." global issues, n.p., n.d.
- Describes j.w. smith's book, the world’s wasted wealth: the political economy of waste.
- Analyzes jeppesen, helle, "population growth challenges poor nations | globalization | dw.de | 10.08.2013."
- Explains sadik, dr nafis, "population growth and the food crisis."
- Analyzes how judaism views food aid: a text study.
- Explains schwartz, richard, ph.d., "the jewish response to hunger."
- Explains simmons, shraga, rabbi, "ask the rabbi - jewish views on poverty."
1389 wordsRead More - Ecosystem Essayanalytical essayAs the world population grows and consumption per person increases, the demand for food is rising. To an extent, fossil fuels have made an increase in food production achievable, but the finite supply is rapidly depleting. Over the last 50 years, global food production has tripled (Mosier et al. 2004). Despite this, an estimated 870 million people were undernourished in 2010-2012 (FAO 2013) while in 2008, 5...
In this essay, the author
- Explains that climate change is the result of greenhouse gas emissions induced by human activities. inefficient use of fertilisers, burning fossil fuels and deforestation have contributed to an accumulation of ghgs in our atmosphere, trapping radiation and heating up the planet.
- Explains that tourism is a major industry that generates 11% of the global gdp and employs over 200 million people. however, the delicate structure of coral reefs means that inexperienced divers can easily cause damage.
- Argues that biodiversity is a necessity if humans want continued use of ecosystem services.
- Argues that schumacher's theory was fairly accurate. if mankind attempts to conquer nature, he will most likely lose. exploiting the planet’s ecosystem services has proved beneficial for humans.
- Argues that man's battle with nature has unforeseen consequences due to the complex relationship that humans and ecosystems possess.
- Argues that overexploiting the ecosystem services is destructive and not necessarily to the people responsible.
1550 wordsRead More - Overpopulation, Overcrowding, Poverty and Conflictargumentative essaySouthwick, Charles H., Ch. 15 from "Global Ecology in Human Perspective" Oxford Univ. Press, 1996, pp. 159-182.
In this essay, the author
- Compares southwick's estimate that the optimum global population is no more than 2 billion people. some scientists view the current human population growth as a carcinogenic or cancer-like growth with the potential of destroying the global ecosystem.
- Explains that the rapid growth in human population stems from the fact that at present, three births are occurring in the world for every death.
- Explains that environmental scarcity is a result of large-scale migration of populations in search of better work or food.
- Cites dolan, edwin g., ch. 5 from "tanstaafl: the economic strategy for environmental crisis".
- Argues that the imbalance between a burgeoning population and finite resources is one of the main factors contributing to the rise of violent inter-group conflict.
- Explains that one out of three people have poor health care and not enough fuel to cook food or keep warm. over a billion people are seriously ill with preventable diseases.
- Compares the views of southwick and homer-dixon on the connection between poverty and high population growth.
- Argues that scarcity conflicts stem from the fact that the resources available to humanity are fixed, while our desires aren't.
- Cites homer-dixon, thomas, klare, michael t., and ghandrani, yogesh; world security: challenges for a new century.
2183 wordsRead More - Agricultural and Rural Society After the Black Deathanalytical essayBy exploring the past and its threats to human populations, the global modern mythology of sustainable agriculture can begin to be narrowed down as to the how and why rural communities may or may not have benefited from agricultural sustainability. By describing the dynamic analysis in the livelihoods of developing countries, the historical changes that had occurred in rural communities, can be understood. Halberg and Müller stated that globally “The world’s population was about 7 billion in 2010 and is expected to grow much more. The expected growth is highest in parts of the world that are vulnerable to hunger and adverse climate condit...
In this essay, the author
- Argues that history provides the opportunity to explore the origins of a topic or problem.
- Explains how the focus of communities draws the lens to the united states and its data about rural communities.
- Explains that science and sustainable food are a combination that explores sustainable agriculture as security.
- Explains that agricultural biotechnology is used to develop agricultural products or improve livestock or crop plants. the research states that small farms constitute 90 percent of the world’s farms and employment of 1.3 billion people.
1519 wordsRead More - Human Population and Patterns of Consumptionexplanatory essayIn the beginning, the human population had little to no growth as famine, natural disasters, and sickness kept it in check. Only since the industrial revolution has the population began true expansion, due to the society-shaping events, notably the industrial revolution. Now, population has grown out of control. Every decade, around a billion people are added to the total population. Many polices have been created to try to slow the growth, and scientists claim that by 10 billion, our population will stabilize. Only one problem, we have no means to feed 10 billion people with our current rate of consumption. In order to feed the population over the next 40 years, we will need to produce more than the accumulative agricultural output of the last 10,000 years. To make matters worse, agriculture production is predicted to decline due to soil degradation, erosion, pollution, and desertification, all which are expanding rapidly. Clean water, another massive factor in the sustainability of life, will be rare in China, the most populated country in the world. Ener...
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the population has grown out of control since the industrial revolution, and that we need to produce more than the accumulative agricultural output of the last 10,000 years.
- Explains that as the population expands, so does urbanization, transportation, and the rate of consumption.
- Explains that technology has allowed us to use resources far beyond our needs in production, protection, and pollution. it is simply because wealthy countries effect the environment outside of their political locations, using poorer countries to do their dirty work.
- Explains that while we advance, we are also creating a highly efficient network for the spread of potential epidemics.
615 wordsRead More - Beware of Genetically Modified Foodsanalytical essayHuman population is expected to rise to 9 billion by 2050.(Michaels, 2012) Looking at this stat just makes one wonder, whether there will be enough food or land for all those 9 billion people.(Michaels, 2012) Fortunately, scientists have found a possible way to solve the food problem which is more important than land in today’s time. However, there are consequences with this new modified food.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that michaels, pamela v., "genetically modified food." biotechnology: in context. ed. brenda wilmoth lerner and k. lee
- Analyzes stonebrook, shelley. "gmos: the controversy builds." mother earth news oct.-nov. 2013.
- Opines that rat study sparks furor over genetically modified foods. scientific american global rss.
- Explains that genetically modified foods have been introduced for many reasons, such as climate change, drought, and natural disasters. however, they are still being tested for their safety.
563 wordsRead More - Effects of Agriculture on the Environmentexplanatory essayAs agriculture has become more intensive, farmers have become capable of producing higher yields using less labour and less land. Growth of the agriculture has not, however, been an unmixed blessing. It, like every other thing, has its pros and cons. Topsoil depletion, groundwater contamination, the decline of family farms, continued neglect of the living and working conditions for farm labourers, increasing costs of production, and the disintegration of economic and social conditions in rural communities. These are the cons of the new improved agriculture.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that agriculture has changed dramatically since the end of world war ii. food and fibre productivity rose due to new technologies, mechanization, increased chemical use, specialization and government policies that favoured maximizing production.
- Opines that humans exploit their surroundings for the resources they need to survive. their technology, which is used for various purposes, allows them to shape entire regions and control the flow of rivers.
- Explains that agriculture's scale means that large areas are directly affected, and local and even regional climates can be affected. the draining of water from rivers and watersheds for irrigation leads to drier natural habitats.
- Opines that agriculture has its pros and cons, including topsoil depletion, groundwater contamination, decline of family farms, neglect of living and working conditions, increasing costs of production, and disintegration of economic and social conditions in rural communities.
- Explains the effects of soil erosion on agriculture and the environment. it takes up to three hundred years for one inch of agricultural topsoil to form.
- Explains that erosion removes organic matter, plant nutrients, and fine soil particles, which help to retain water and nutrients in the root zone where they are available to plants.
- Explains the effects of erosion on the environment. eroded soil clogs streams, rivers, lakes, and reservoirs, resulting in increased flooding, decreased reservoir capacity and destruction of habitats for fish and other aquatic life.
- Opines that farmland should be allowed to recover by allowing it to remain uncultivated and letting natural progression take place. soil erosion can be reduced by actively bringing back the original vegetation type.
- Explains that nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium are the three major nutrients in fertilizers. leakage of nitrate from agricultural fields can elevate concentrations in the groundwater to levels unacceptable for drinking water quality.
- Explains that phosphorus does not leak as readily as nitrate because it is more tightly bound to soil particles. however, it may cause excessive growth of aquatic plants.
- Explains that potassium, the third major nutrient in fertilizers, does not cause water quality problems because it is not hazardous in drinking water. it is tightly held by soil particles and can be removed from fields.
- Explains that water is the principal resource that has helped agriculture and society to prosper, and it has been a major limiting factor when mismanaged.
- Explains that pesticides are a general term referring to any undesirable species of plant, animal, or microbe. the production of economically valuable crops and livestock is the goal of agriculture.
- Explains that many pesticides have environmental effects beyond their targeted use. non-target species may be eliminated by use, such as pest predators and plant pollinators.
- Explains that ddt is one of the most infamous examples of environmental side effects of pesticide use. it is a fat-soluble compound that did not readily decompose in the environment.
- Explains that integrated pest management (ipm) is a common sense scheme to manage pests. it minimizes environmental damage and maximizes farm profits.
- Explains the greenhouse effects of solar radiation on earth. the atmosphere contains air, in constant motion, being heated, cooled, moved, water being added and removed along with smoke and dust.
- Explains that the earth radiates energy, but because it is less hot than the sun, this is of a longer wavelength and is absorbed by the atmosphere, hence the 'greenhouse effect'.
- Explains that greenhouse gases absorb the earth's radiation and thus contribute to the greenhouse effect, while water absorbs energy. an increase in greenhouse gas concentrations leads to enhanced greenhouse effects, which could lead to climate change.
- Explains that sustainable agriculture integrates three main goals: environmental health, economic profitability, and social and economic equity. a variety of philosophies, policies and practices have contributed to these goals.
- Opines that agriculture is playing a very important role in changing the lifestyle of different people.
2078 wordsRead More - The Importance of Agriculture in History and the Worldexplanatory essayToday agriculture is the livelihood of most poor underdeveloped nations. This communal life blood provides a majority of the population with a source of employment, nourishment and income. It is considered to be an invaluable skill, that is taught down from generation to generation along with a sense of respect for the environment. However as a nation begins to undergo development, so do their food production systems. The country's newfound development causes significant restructuring of their agricultural production practices. This restructuring leads to poor environmental practices, and adverse agriculture methods. Increased economic development/production negatively affects a country's environmental and agricultural health.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that civilization began with agriculture, allowing nomads to settle down, form relationships, societies, and eventually nations, but as our society developed, so did our means of farming.
- Explains that agriculture is the livelihood of most poor underdeveloped nations. it provides employment, nourishment, and income, but as a nation begins to undergo development, so do their food production systems.
- Explains that agriculture plays a significant role in underdeveloped countries. it is the backbone of their economic and social well-being.
- Explains that subsistence farming and diverse polyculture farming are widely adopted in underdeveloped countries due to their low impact to the environment and agricultural benefits.
- Explains that an underdeveloped nation's agricultural system has high rates of productivity due to farmers' crop mixtures. the more complex farming system gets more total production per area.
649 wordsRead More