Wrapping things up

Well, dear readers, this is it. The project is drawing to a close. The deadline’s coming up, and it’s time for me to cease my informative ramblings and bid thee farewell. It’s been an interesting experience; I’ve done some blogging before, but not of the academic variety. One of the big things that I’ve noticed in the last few months is how I’ve become constantly on the look-out for interesting videos, articles, and other media which I could share here. My facebook saved links log has grown exponentially. But I’ve also experienced the benefit of researching and learning about something that I am interested in; something I care about. I worked on a related topic for my undergraduate dissertation, and that was something I was very passionate about, but it was very focussed; this has given me the opportunity to investigate a broader topic, drawing threads from across biology, geography, engineering, and agricultural sciences to create a picture that I hope isn’t too bad to look at.

 What have I learned? What have I gained? Well, I’ve deepened my knowledge of the interactions between the agricultural system and humans; the supply and demand tug-of-war that can change lives and livelihoods at the drop of a viral post. I’ve learned about some pretty cool sustainable practices being developed and put into effect; the farm in Australia growing tomatoes with only seawater and sunlight, and the cows being fed seaweed to decrease their methane emissions. I’ve also had a chance to revisit Malthus, something I haven’t studied since my GCSEs, and my dear vegetarianism-emissions topic.

 I've also found my writing changing; the way I choose to interact with readers through my style. As someone who loves writing, this has been a growing experience not just for my scientific knowledge but for my other skills as well. I hope that my style has been enjoyable for you; I've enjoyed developing it further, and having the chance to write science in a more casual way - something I don't get to do so often.

 Mostly, though, I’ve been reminded how fragile our agricultural system is; how far we’re pushing ourselves towards an agrapocalypse through our own wastefulness, thoughtlessness, and greediness. It sounds harsh, but when it comes to climate change and environmental detriment, you kind of have to be. We could be feeding everyone on Earth, but instead people are hungry and landfills of food are thrown away every year. We could be living with a sustainable, environmentally friendly agricultural system; instead we increase our emissions and land use by producing vast amounts of meat, cutting down forest for ranches and monoculture. We could be solving issues of low yield, drought, or food insecurity with scientific advancements both genetic and mechanical. But we’re afraid, so we stick with the industry we know.

There are solutions. There are policies that could be implemented; things that could make a real, tangible difference. But if you’re looking for a way to make your diet eco-friendly, here are some points I’ve gathered during this project:

·         Decrease the amount of meat you eat. You don’t have to go veggie, but you can cut down on animal products and that really will make a big difference to your carbon footprint.

·         Shop ethically. Research what you’re buying, find food that’s produced in sustainable ways, support farms that use sustainable practices, even fund kickstarters that you think might be making a difference on the road to sustainable agriculture. And don’t just jump on the next food fad that blows across your newsfeed. That’s how you end up with bags of unused millet sitting in your kitchen cupboard.

·         Waste less. Only buy what you need. Buy things at the end of the day when they’re about to be thrown away; they’re still good, and they’re cheaper anyway. Two birds, one stone.

·         Keep informed. About policies, about developments, about the real impacts of that new ‘superfood’. Be that person who knows stuff.

But one of the most important things, something I fully believe in, is to vote. Make your voice heard; let your government know your opinions. If Italy can have a vegan city and France can ban food waste, we can make a difference all over the world. It’s cheesy and cringey, but it’s true.

 I have some hope for us. The agrapocalypse may be coming – for the people living in food insecurity, it may feel as if it’s already here – but we have the ability to counteract it. The agricultural system is complex, and full of difficulties, but there are solutions in there too. Maybe we’ll find them.

A New Green Revolution?

Source: Wikimedia Commons, Wheat-ha Hula-Israel, 2007.

The Green Revolution was a period over the mid-20^th century when new agricultural technologies and practices were being developed, allowing for greater production, especially in the developing world. One of the important new technologies to come out of the Revolution was GMOs; high-yield crops, which I have discussed previously on this blog – this facet of the movement is sometimes referred to as the Gene Revolution. The Revolution increased agricultural production around the world, saving many from starvation. But now, once again, there are food shortages in many parts of the world; over a billion people live in food insecurity, while 45% of our land is used to produce food. So, are we in need of a new Green Revolution?

 The combined impacts of climate change and population increase have meant difficulties for agriculture; land is deforested to make room for crops to feed the billions of humans, which leads to higher emissions, while changes in temperature and weather make it harder to grow the crops in the first place. Water scarcity and lack of land, combined with the emissions of agricultural practices, mean that our food systems are unsustainable (De Schutter et al, 2011), and detrimental to the environment. Sooner or later, we are going to need new practices if we want to keep the world fed.

Source: Wikimedia Commons, Irrigation1, 2007.

 Some things are obvious; high-yield crops, requiring less input for more output. Other things are obvious but less appealing to many – like vegetarianism and veganism. But, like the first Green Revolution, what is needed is developments in sustainable agriculture. The major challenges will be are soil degradation, land space, and water scarcity, as well as the need for crops specialised to the new environments we are creating with climate change (Den Herber et al, 2010). Innovations like Sundrop Farm’s solar and seawater tomatoes are a step in the right direction, using sustainable resources to produce food with little to no energy usage, and it is important that such developments are encouraged. But can we find new ways to sustainably produce enough food on a global scale?

 I’ve talked about a lot of the possibilities over the last few months; the ways that agriculture fails, and the methods being looked into on how to develop past the current, unsustainable practices. The future of agriculture is now in the hands of scientists; developing new ways to produce sufficient crops to feed the global population in a sustainable way is no mean feat, however. There is no guarantee that we will be able to avert an agrapocalypse; either a result of insufficient food leading to widespread starvation, or unsustainable practices in conjunction with wider climate change.

Leaf Republic: eco-friendly plates

Tying in with tackling deforestation; biodegradable leaf plates! I think this is pretty cool. And, cue the dramatic music...

Source: Leaf Republic, .Leaf plates courtesy of nature, 2016.

Deforestation (Run, Forest, run!)

A fair point.

Source: True Activist, Imagine if Trees Gave off WiFi Signals, 2013.

Deforestation. Not a word with positive connotations, is it? Don’t worry; I am definitely not here to change that. But I am here to inform you a bit more about it, because I’m fun like that. People talk about the Amazon a lot. It’s like the polar bear of ecosystems; big and exciting, and everyone knows that we need to save it. It’s the one you talk about because people have heard of it, and because you can put it on the front of a magazine and people will care. No one wants to hear about preserving peat bogs anymore than they want a big picture of a worm telling them it needs their help. People want pretty things like polar bears and enormous, mysterious forests to care about. In short, poster children.

Look at that vista; how can you not want to save it?

Source: Wikimedia Commons, Amazon 24, 2011.

 And let’s be clear, the poster child of biomes is in trouble, but so are the Indonesian rainforests, and plenty of other ecosystems. There are forests all over the world; there used to be a lot more, in fact England was once covered in trees. Think of all those fairytales where people get lost in the woods; can you imagine managing that in the UK today? Walk in a straight line for an hour or two and you’ll find an A road. But time was you could wander for days without ever leaving the trees. We’ve lost a lot of that over the centuries, and now we’re doing the same to the rainforests of the world. We have many reasons, but one of the biggest ones is agriculture; in 2002, it was estimated that agriculture was the driver behind 96% of deforestation (Geist and Lambin, 2002).

 You’ve probably heard that palm oil is far from ecologically friendly, but do you know why? One word, dear readers; monoculture. From mono, meaning one; an area in which only one crop is cultivated. Swathes of Indonesian rainforest are cut down in favour on palm oil and other monoculture crops, resulting in enormous amounts of deforestation. And we don’t call the rainforests the lungs of the Earth for nothing; we need them. For air. That we breathe. But monoculture has another, sinister impact; it destroys the natural ecosystem. The habitat of a multitude of endangered species, being cut down for products you probably barely think about on a day-to-day basis. Go on, try to think of something you use palm oil for. I dare you. (Actually, it’s in half the stuff we use).

The same trees, as far as the eye can see.

Source: Wikimedia Commons, Oil palm plantation in Cigudeg, 2008.

 One of the big drivers of deforestation in favour of agriculture. Cash crops in Indonesia like palm oil, cocoa, and coffee became popular because of their monetary value; developing from relatively eco-friendly agroforests to all-encompassing monoculture in a period of only about three decades (Feintrenie et al, 2010). The fact of the matter is, most people want to increase their income; and they’re not willing to jeopardise that in the name of conservation. And, side note, can we blame them? It’s easy enough for those of us living in relative financial stability to look with scorn upon those who would squander this natural beauty in favour of cold hard cash, but when it’s a choice between deforestation or poverty, would any of us really choose differently? Too often, the poor pay the price for conservation sought by the rich (Martin et al, 2013).

  And what is the impact of all of this deforestation? We’ve all seen the pictures of sad orangutans looking lost and pathetic, as would you if someone had just replaced your home with a field of coconut trees, but the reality is an enormous loss of diversity from the rainforests we’re cutting down. Biodiversity isn’t just something that’s nice to look at; it’s important for the entire ecosystem that a balance is maintained, and a lot of the ecosystem services we rely on – air, pollination, and the like – rely themselves on some stability in the ecosystem (Memmott et al, 2007). Not only that, but monoculture results in a loss of genetic diversity in the area, which can cause problems for adaptation to the kinds of changes anthropogenic global warming is driving.

When will my forest return from the war?

But seriously, these guys are losing their habitat. It's not good.

Source: Wikimedia Commons, Sad Orangutan, 2009.

 These large forests also do a lot to dampen the impacts of our greenhouse gas emissions; through 

photosynthesis, those enormous areas of trees take up tonnes of carbon dioxide on a daily basis, but when we chop them down that helping hand is cut away. A study in 2005 (Santilli et al) estimated that the annual tropical deforestation in Brazil and Indonesia would equal about 80% of the emissions supposed to be reduced under the Kyoto Protocol. Deforestation is thought to account for between 5-20% of global carbon emissions annually, with an area roughly the size of Egypt being cut down from 2000-2012 (Norris, 2016). More, in 2014 Arima et al found that enforcement of deforestation prevention in Brazil over 3 years avoided ~10,000km² of forest loss, as well as emissions of 1.23*10^-1Pg carbon.

 This is one of those facets of agriculture that seem irredeemable. The loss of so much natural beauty, so much diversity and, if you’re not swayed by any of that, the services we receive from these ecosystems is no small issue. But, until we can change policies to discourage expansion of agriculture into tropical forests, and find a way to enforce these policies effectively, there doesn’t seem to be much hope of change. It isn’t hopeless; Arima et al showed that with the benefits of good enforcement of forestry protection, but how can we protect the entirety of these enormous biomes? Is there a way to provide as much financial incentive to protect the forests as people receive to cut them down for farmland, without damaging economies? There doesn’t seem to be an easy solution, as always with the agricultural system.

Here's my beef

As someone who hasn't eaten meat for about seven years, the thought of a veggie-friendly but convincingly meaty burger is pretty exciting. And in terms of environmental friendliness, this is way better than actual meat. Take a look at the video, and read this article if you're interested in this kind of thing.

Source: Buzzfeed Video, Bleeding Vegan Burger, 2016.

Bananagraphic

Happy new year! I had no idea what to do with this information, but then I thought; why not share it with my dear readers? Mull this over. While it's difficult to know how reliable the information is, it is an interesting figure.
Source: Simply Fantastic, Lesley Voth, 2016.

Merry Christmas!

Here's some food I won't be wasting! Homemade Finnish Korvapuusti. Half of them are already gone! I'd put up a picture of the meat-free lentil loaf I make for Christmas dinner (way better than it sounds), but it's mostly gone now. I'll be back with a longer post next week.

Source: Lucrezia Slinn, 2016.