Sustainable Food Production Includes Human and Environmental Health PDF
Preview Sustainable Food Production Includes Human and Environmental Health
Issues in Agroecology Present Status and Future Prospectus 3 W. Bruce Campbell Silvia López-Ortíz Editors Sustainable Food Production Includes Human and Environmental Health Sustainable Food Production Includes Human and Environmental Health Issues in Agroecology – Present Status and Future Prospectus Volume 3 SeriesEditors W.BruceCampbellandSilviaLópez-Ortíz Forfurthervolumes: http://www.springer.com/series/8794 W. Bruce Campbell (cid:129) Silvia López-Ortíz Editors Sustainable Food Production Includes Human and Environmental Health 123 Editors W.BruceCampbell SilviaLópez-Ortíz CampusVeracruz CampusVeracruz ColegiodePostgraduados ColegiodePostgrduados Veracruz Veracruz Mexico Mexico ISSN2211-2405 ISSN2211-2413(electronic) ISBN978-94-007-7453-7 ISBN978-94-007-7454-4(eBook) DOI10.1007/978-94-007-7454-4 SpringerDordrechtHeidelbergNewYorkLondon ©SpringerScience+BusinessMediaDordrecht2014 Thisworkissubjecttocopyright.AllrightsarereservedbythePublisher,whetherthewholeorpartof thematerialisconcerned,specificallytherightsoftranslation,reprinting,reuseofillustrations,recitation, broadcasting,reproductiononmicrofilmsorinanyotherphysicalway,andtransmissionorinformation storageandretrieval,electronicadaptation,computersoftware,orbysimilarordissimilarmethodology nowknownorhereafterdeveloped.Exemptedfromthislegalreservationarebriefexcerptsinconnection with reviews or scholarly analysis or material supplied specifically for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work. Duplication of this publication or parts thereof is permitted only under the provisions of the Copyright Law of the Publisher’slocation,initscurrentversion,andpermissionforusemustalwaysbeobtainedfromSpringer. PermissionsforusemaybeobtainedthroughRightsLinkattheCopyrightClearanceCenter.Violations areliabletoprosecutionundertherespectiveCopyrightLaw. Theuseofgeneraldescriptivenames,registerednames,trademarks,servicemarks,etc.inthispublication doesnotimply,evenintheabsenceofaspecificstatement,thatsuchnamesareexemptfromtherelevant protectivelawsandregulationsandthereforefreeforgeneraluse. While the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication,neithertheauthorsnortheeditorsnorthepublishercanacceptanylegalresponsibilityfor anyerrorsoromissionsthatmaybemade.Thepublishermakesnowarranty,expressorimplied,with respecttothematerialcontainedherein. Printedonacid-freepaper SpringerispartofSpringerScience+BusinessMedia(www.springer.com) Foreword AreSustainabilityand ProductionMutuallyCompatible? Selectionandbreedingforcropimprovementhavebeenpracticedformillenniain one form or another, allowing human communities to settle and prosper, despite continued struggles against pests, diseases, and climate. Successes from the agro- industrialparadigm(usingexternalinputssuchasfertilizersandpesticides)further fueled the belief that new and improved technology would allow agriculture to be appliedanywhereintheworldatanytime(theGreenRevolution).Thesetechnolo- giesledtoaglobalcultureofdependencyonincreasedfoodproductionoverlarge spatialandtemporalscalesandforhigherlevelsofagriculturalspecialization.The need to increase food production, but at the same time to reduce farm expenses in order to maximize economic returns, has led to a rapid global expansion of modernagriculture,internationalmarkettradeanddependence,andenvironmental andfood-relatedhumanhealthissues.Agriculturalresearchcontinuestobedirected towardincreasingagriculturaloutputtoinsurefoodsecurityforanincreasingglobal human population, including that for lower-quality low-cost processed foodstuffs, which,whilestimulatingeconomicgrowth,alsoincreasefood-relatedhealthissues. Thesemovementsslowandcompetewiththecapacityforthegrowthandexpansion ofmoreagroecologicallyorientedandhealthypracticessuchasorganicfarmingin theGlobalSouth,leadingtoreducedfutureeconomicreturns,operationalcapacity, andincreasedhumanandenvironmentalhealthissues.Despitethebenefits,organic cultivation also suffers from reduced yields, higher prices, political and market managementdifficulties,andsomeequivocalenvironmentalbenefits(dependingon units of measure), which further limit the growth and expansion of this form of agriculture. Thus, both commercial and organic agriculture have their drawbacks, suggesting that a more stable and attainable solution may not exist. More likely, solutions exist in the intermediate domain as a topographically complex suite of methods dynamically adapted to specific localities or regions and the conditions therein. Such a scenario, for the moment, may not be politically or economically easytomanage,especiallyfortheGlobalSouth. v vi Foreword The genetic modification of crops to better withstand diseases and changing climate conditions (e.g., precipitation and temperature) and to improve yields and othereconomiccharacteristicsisthemostrecenteffortdesignedtoreduceexternal inputs into agricultural systems while at the same time sustaining or improving market value and economics as well as environmental conditions (e.g., reduced pesticide residues). Despite successes in sustaining large monocultures and to compete in a global market economy, many chronic agricultural crises have yet to beresolved(e.g.,lossofcropdiversity,increasedpestresistance,off-farmimpacts, andreducedeconomicequitability,tonamejustafew). Such issues in agriculture are highly similar to those encountered in the managementofdomesticatedruminants.Plantdiversityongrazinglandsisnatural and necessary and provides ecosystem as well as economic benefits. Presently, however, large areas sustaining diverse vegetation around the world have been converted to grazing lands by reducing herbaceous vegetation or introducing exotic grass species to satisfy increasing demands for dairy and meat products. Plant diversity and structure is simplified to produce initial increases in primary production,whicharefollowedbydecliningproductivity,reducedself-organization, andcompromisedsystemstabilityovertimeassoilresourcesaredepleted.Assuch, livestock performance under production systems based on grass monocultures for forage can be low or high if based on external energy sources such as water, fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, and supplemental feeds. These systems are very different from those where most herbivores evolved; systems having high plant diversity and consequently high diversity and content of valuable nutrients and plant secondary compounds. Human health is linked to the soil through the plants thathelptomaintainecosystemsandnurtureherbivoresandpeople.Despitethese benefits, livestock production systems have not sufficiently valued diversity, as evidenced by the simplification of ecological systems to maximize forage yields. The low-diversity approach of high-production forages reduces concentrations of plant secondary compounds because they limit how much forage livestock can consumeinmonocultures.Theoutcomeisenergy-andprotein-richmonoculturesof plantslowinplantsecondarycompounds,makingplants,animals,andpeoplemore susceptible to environmental hardships and diseases. To compensate for the loss ofthesecompounds,producershaveresortedtocostlyfossil-fuel-basedfertilizers, herbicides,andinsecticidestogrowandprotectplantsinmonocultures;nutritional supplementsandpharmaceuticalstosustainhumanwell-being;andantibioticsand anthelminticstomaintainthehealthofherbivoresgrazingthosemonocultures.For severaldecadesparasitecontrolhasbeenbasedonlyonusingchemicalproductsat fixedintervalsthroughouttheyear.Yet,dependenceonthesechemicalsasasingle formofcontrolisnoteconomicallyandecologicallysustainablebecauseofparasite populationsresistantandmultiresistanttotheprimaryfamiliesofchemicalproducts usedtocontrolthem,chemicalsthatcontinuetobeoverusedandmisused,especially in the Global South. Their toxicity to animals including humans, environmental contamination,andeconomiccostareofincreasingconcern. The five reviews contained in this volume reveal an underlying connecting current of influence; present commercial agricultural and animal management Foreword vii practices not only continue to erode the foundations upon which the health and welfare of crops, animals, humans, and the environment are based, they may even bealteringourabilitytoprovidecorrectivesolutionsinthefuture.Yet,contrasting methodsarelimitedinhowmuchtheycanproduce.Thisistheveryfoundationupon whichIssuesinAgroecology–PresentStatusandFutureProspectuswasdesigned because there has been such tremendous growth in food production and in the agriculturalandagroecologicalliterature,growththatrequirescriticalassessments andsynthesesfromthepointofviewofsustainability.Areoureffortsorientingus along paths toward improved sustainability or are we still suffering from politico- and socioeconomically obscured vision? Are we losing and losing touch with our agricultural roots to satisfy a production-mode perspective? Are all proposed agroecological solutions sustainable, or even feasible? This multifaceted set of questionsisprevalentineachmultidisciplinaryreviewalongwithsuggestionsand supportingevidenceforfuturecorrectiveefforts.Whilenoteverymethodemployed toimprovesustainabilitywillbeequalinbenefitineverylocation,orbea“magical cure” for what ails us in all circumstances, it is important to see these attempts as means of continually moving forward, of constantly exploring novel inroads in the search for improvement, of becoming or being more adaptive to changing or evolving needs. In this sense, such attempts are the results of experiential learningexercisesbuiltcollaborativelyfromscience,agriculture,education,society, economics, and trade; exercises that span large spatial and temporal scales; and multiple stakeholders from all walks of life. Continued progress toward improved sustainabilityisthusanecessaryadaptivestrategythatmustbehastenedwithrules andregulationsthatalsoaremodifiedtobemoreadaptive. Veracruz,Mexico Dr.W.BruceCampbell Co-editors-in-Chief Dr.SilviaLópez-Ortíz June12,2013 Series Editors Dr. William Bruce Campbell is a Research Scientist and Project Coordinator at Colegio de Postgraduados, Campus Veracruz, Mexico. He is an aquatic and terrestrialecologistfocusingonthedevelopmentofstrategiestodetectandinterpret changes in biological communities and populations resulting from environmental impact,habitatalteration,harvestingpressure,resourceuse,introductionsofexotic species, and conservation and restoration practices. Such work is essential for the development and maintenance of functional foundations in ecological and agroecologicalresearchandmanagement,aswellasinthedevelopmentofsustain- able resource initiatives. To understand these changes and the foundations behind them, he also focuses on identifying the components and processes that define various systems and how these definitions change with observational scale. These objectivesfostergreaterunderstandingofhowtoimproveorhelpmaintainnatural productivity and ecological function and how to best direct resources based on this knowledge while also benefiting human society and promoting sustainable practices.Email:[email protected] Dr. Silvia López-Ortíz is a Professor at Colegio de Postgraduados, Campus Ver- acruz,Mexico.Herresearchfocusesonplant-herbivoreinteractions,howlivestock body condition influences the ability of the animals to detoxify plant secondary compounds as well as affecting their ability to avoid those plants with higher concentrations of toxins, and how management practices can best be applied to reduce problems associated with consumption of toxic plants. She is involved in researching how different grazing management schemes alter pasture plant community structure and how such changes translate to changes in ruminant dietary quality and pasture health and sustainability. She is currently researching native forage trees that can be used by farmers as strategies to produce more and higher-quality forage during the dry season. She also teaches a graduate course on foraging ecology and is head of external relations for the campus. She has identified as many as 30 species of native trees that could be used as forage. Email:[email protected] ix
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