Human Nutritional Needs
Human nutritional needs are not always met
- Advancements in agricultural methods are believed to have greatly improved 10,000 years ago due to the agri. revolution
- However, food distribution still is lacking
- Undernutrition
- Condition in which not enough calories are ingested to maintain health
- Chronic Hunger
- Avg person needs ~2000 kcal per day
- Long term food deficit of only 100-400 kcal = bad
- Can lead to improper brain development + lower IQ
- Malnourished
- Having a diet that lacks the correct balance of proteins, carbs, and vitamins.
- Roughly 1/3rd of the world is malnourished
- Food Security
- Condition in which people have access to sufficient, safe , and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs for an active and healthy life
- Food insecurity
- Opposite of food security (duh)
- Famine
- Condition in which food insecurity is so extreme that large numbers of deaths occur in a given area over a short period of time
- More than 5 deaths per day per 10,000 people due to lack of food
- Even when people have access to sufficient food, a deficit in just one essential vitamin is bad
- Anemia
- Deficiency of iron
- However can be due to diseases like malaria, AIDS, etc
- Overnutrition
- Ingestion of too many calories and a lack of balance of foods and nutrients
- Type of malnutrition
- Top edible plant species
- Meat
- Livestock or poultry consumed as food
Undernutrition and malnutrition occur primarily b/c of poverty
- Primary reason for undernutrition and malnutrition
- Poverty
- Lack of resources that allows person to have food
- Starvation is due to unequal distribution of food
- Other factors that cause under/malnutrition
- Political and Economic factors
- A lot of food in US is used to feed cattle or make ethanol (corn) rather than feed people
Modern Large Scale Farming Methods
Modern industrial farming methods have transformed agriculture
- Growing food production → more people → more food → more pepole
- In 20th century, farming became more mechanized and the use of fossil fuel energy increased
- Industrial Agriculture
- Aka agribusinesses
- Agriculture that applies the techniques of mechanization and standardization to the production of food.
The energy subsidy in agriculture