Chem321:Sustainable agriculture

With our planet housing 7 billion people and growing can we humans sustain our agriculture lands indefinitely? With much of the earth surface non productive farm lands how can we support all the hungry mouths and maintain a sustainable agriculture industry? Few people won’t acknowledge that we are living beyond the planet’s means. We have to cut down on the resources that we’re using, and stop throwing so much away. Self-sufficiency is a way of life where you endeavor to produce all you need from the resources that are available to you.1 Living a sustainable lifestyle means using no more than our fair share of the planet’s resources to meet our needs.2 I think to have sustainability you must make sure you are acting as a conscientious consumer.

Make the most of the land you have. Whether you live in the city, suburbia or in the county, with your veggie patch, cloches, greenhouse, hoop house, beehive or even chickens you can go along way in becoming self-sufficient. It seems less developed countries have a much better grasp on this type of sustainable agricultural life style mainly out of necessity. The Amish, a religious sect here in North America has developed a sustainable agricultural way of life base on using only what you need and building items to last. No Amish group is totally self-sufficient. The Amish rely on their non-Amish neighbors for a variety of small favors, from access to a freezer or use of a phone to a ride to a local hospital in an emergency.3 However, many people envy the Amish, without cars, telephones, television and other electronic trappings that seem to bring us further away from being self-sufficient and sustainable.

Sustainable agriculture integrates three main goals: environmental health, economic profitability, and social/economic equality. Sustainability rests on the principle that we must meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. 4 Sustainable agriculture also requires us to change public policies, economic institutions, and social values. For example, federal, state and local government policies often put up road blocks for sustainable agriculture. Tax and credit policies could be modified to encourage a diverse and decentralized system of family farms rather than corporate structures and universities research policies being modified to emphasize the development of sustainable alternatives. Complete and thorough new policies to protect high quality soils and regulate development are needed. We should help farmers to try to adopt means of conserving limited resources and reducing chemical and pesticide use. Public support for preserving agricultural land is needed and that’s where educating the public and sustainable agriculture research play a big role. In our own nation, many rural communities are deteriorating environmentally and economically.

Whether in the United States or globally we must diligently watch our natural resources. We must get our energy from sustainable sources, we must protect our water sources, we must know what to grow and where to grow it, and we must use less to gain more. Soil erosion is a very serious threat to the world’s ability to produce enough food. An example of soil management techniques that could help alleviate this problem is composting. Compost is beneficial for the land in many ways, as a soil conditioner, fertilizer, and as a natural pesticide for soil, to name a few. Compost is also useful for erosion control, land and stream reclamation. Also, human urine can be used directly as a fertilizer or can be put into compost but not in great amounts. Monoculture is the agricultural practice of producing a one single crop over a wide area.5 Monoculture can lead to a quicker spread of disease. If a disease strikes there’s no resistance, it can destroy the entire crop. By planting a polyculture, which is mixing different crops, the likelihood that one or more of the crops will be resistant to diseases is greater. Planting hedges can also guard against soil erosion. Another issue that must be addressed for sustainable agriculture is soil salinity, which are high levels of salt in the soil. This can occur by man’s use of potassium as a fertilizer or salt in the water table which evaporates leaving behind the salt, to name a few. The decline of ancient civilizations in Mesopotamia, the Mediterranean region, and Central America is believed to have been strongly influenced by natural resources degradation from non-sustainable farming and forest practices.6 Water is the principle resource that has helped agriculture and society to prosper. The most important issue related to water quality involves salinization and contamination of ground and surface waters by pesticides and other chemicals. Some solutions would be to plant drought tolerant crops, the restoration of wildlife habitats, and minimal use of pesticides and other chemicals that can contaminate water. The individual nature of sustainable agriculture, several general principles can be applied to help growers select management practices. One would be selection of species and varieties that are well suited to the site and crops to enhance the biological and economic stability of the farm along with management of the soil to protect soil quality. Efficient use of inputs, for example, sustainable approaches are those that are less toxic and less energy intensive.7

In sustainable agricultural systems there is a reduced reliance on non-renewable energy sources. What are your energy resources? If you have the money solar generation is one of the simplest means of harnessing the sun’s energy which can power hot water tanks. Wind energy, a wind turbine uses that wind to create electricity to power most household items which also can be stored in batteries for future use. Harnessing water energy, as water flows down hills it can produce energy that can be harnessed which can produce electricity. For example, a water wheel can be built to capture the water which pushes the wheel around to produce electricity. I feel we must go back to the old ways of farming and producing power to have a sustainable way of agriculture.

Clean water will become the new gold of the future. In the developed world we take for granted clean water. But in recent years droughts and less efficient distribution has led to water bans in some areas. Some of the simpler ways of conserving water is to take showers because it uses less water than baths. Using toilets than consume less water and shower heads that disperse less water. Dishwashers and washing machines should be run with full loads with machines that are energy efficient. Reusing gray water from showers, baths, and bathroom sinks; this type of water can be reused where you do not need drinking water quality. You can filter this water by charcoal filters, water distillation, sand based water filters, reversed osmosis filters and ultra-violet filters. Harvesting rainwater whether you are in a developed country or a developing country is a sustainable way to use this precious resource. You can use this rainwater for practically everything but for drinking. It all comes down to conservation. On average people in the United Kingdom use 40 gallons of water per person per day. In the United States it is about 129 gallons which is amazing if you consider we only drink about 2 quarts per person per day.8 I’ve been writing about how we must conserve and protect our natural resources to develop sustainable agriculture. As I look at other developing countries that have used sustainable farming for many years but in some cases have gotten away from the traditional methods and have taken up some of the more destructive ways of farming.

In Latin America there is a connection between rural poverty and environmental degradation; resourced poor farmers who live on small farms are forced to invade fragile environments such as the rainforest to farm.9 They abandon the traditional systems of agriculture which is to conserve resources. The major environmental problems associated with agriculture are soil erosion, pesticide pollution, deforestation, and others linked to the overexploitation of natural resources. To solve some of these issues we must get the local and federal governments to design programs which would benefit the small poverty stricken farms and return the farming community back to sustainable practices. As with all sustainable procedures we must limit our pesticide use, diversify our crops, which are suitable to the area, conserve and protect our water supply and try to generate renewable energy to power our farms.

There are seven Chinese cities that are in the top ten most polluted places on earth. In 2005, water in 59% of rivers was undrinkable, along with 70% of water reserves and inland lakes, and ¼ of all aquifers were polluted.10 In order to even have a chance at sustainable agriculture China will need to drastically clean up their water supply. Also, agriculture is one of the largest users of energy in China and that China is also the world’s largest producer of fertilizer.11 Fertilizer alone can also contribute to soil and water degradation. China is moving towards a green economy but needs to focus more time, energy and money towards that goal. China could also benefit from urban forests, urban farms, and gardens that act like filters for carbon dioxide in the atmosphere reducing air pollution. Sustainable agriculture is a key component in reducing air pollution and water contamination, protecting forests and wildlife all while producing nutritious food and green job opportunities. 12