Transcript Chapter 15-1 Feeding the World - Room N-60

Chapter 15-1
Feeding the World
Famine and Farmers
• By 2050 the world’s
farmers may have to
feed 9 billion people
• That is 50% more than
they feed today
Marasmus – not enough
calories (wasting disease)
Famine in Sudan
Nutrition and Nourishment
• Nutrition refers to the
number of calories
consumed and the
ability to procure
essential nutrients
• Malnutrition may be a
result of lack of calories,
lack of nutrients or both
Kwashiorkor – lack of body
building nutrients
Corn and Rice
• Cereal grains that have
calories, but lack
essential amino acids
(the building blocks of
proteins)
• Abnormal physical and
mental development
Genetically engineered rice
– beta carotene
The Ecology of food
• Efficiency of food
– Energy input and
resources
– Amount of food
produced
Ideal a large amount of
food with little negative
impact
• More energy, water and
land are needed to
produce a Calorie of
meat than a Calorie of
plant material
• Usually a 10-fold
difference
• Developing high yield
plants
– Genetics/hybrids
– Engineering new
varieties that are more
nutritious
– Finding plants that do
not require large
amounts of water and
fertilizer
Salicornia - pickleweed
World Food Problems
• Farmers can produce
enough grain to feed 10
billion people at a
subsistence level.
• Most of the word’s
farmers are subsistence
farmers. Less than 1
dollar per day.
The Green Revolution
• Starting in 1950 the
genetics of farm crops
began to be
understood.
• New varieties of grain
were developed that
produced high yields –
if they had enough
water, fertilizer and
pesticides
• The problem was that
only large farms could
afford to implement
• Subsistence farmers
(the ones who need it
most) live in poverty
• Green revolution
techniques are hard on
the ecology