Agriculture Essays (Examples)

But despite its registered success in the United States, the countries in the European Union, mostly Italy, France or Greece, but also others, have become affirmed as strong discailmers of GM. They mostly reacted in such a manner due to their ongoing battle against fast food, originating primarily from the U.S. And leading to unfavourable outcomes for the individual's health. Italy has even subscribed to the Slow Food Movement, promoting the natural growth process, or the cultivation of organic foods, without genetic modifications or the excessive usage of chemical fertilizers. The Italian consumers and producers have become increasingly hostile towards the GM products and some of them have even been banned in Italy and some other European countries, such as Luxembourg or Sweden. However in the beginnings of biotechnology, Italy received the GM products, they now refuse them. Foremost, they implemented a clear set of regulations, including detailed labelling, without…

Agriculture and New Technologies

Agriculture and New Technology

Agricultural techniques and technologies have changed vastly over the last several decades contributing to significant improvements in productivity. Today, farming has become a knowledge intensive practice with more than 90% of the farmers across the world using scientific farming methods to minimize their cost and improve their yield. . The cost savings effected in terms of efficient use of fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides under precision farming are providing great profits for farmers who invest in such scientific methods. Genetic engineering and the emergence of GM farming have drastically improved crop yields across the world. There is no question of doubt that technology has had a significant positive impact on agriculture. Precision farming, no till farming, integrated farming and GM farming have all contributed to this positive impact.

Introduction

Global agricultural production has increased significantly over the last 50 years. The economic growth…

Agriculture Exports, Thailand

Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country located at the center of the Indochina peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and the southern extremity of Burma. Its maritime boundaries include Vietnam in the Gulf of Thailand to the southeast, and Indonesia and India in the Andaman Sea to the southwest. The country is a constitutional monarchy, headed by King ama IX, the ninth king of the House of Chakri, who, having reigned since 1946, is the world's longest-serving head of state and the longest-reigning monarch in Thai history.

Thailand is the world's 51st-largest country in terms of total area, with an area of approximately 513,000 km2 (198,000 sq mi), and is the…

This is going to have a direct impact on the cost and even the availability of food in the supermarkets in the near future. At the same time, more and more small farms are springing up (House, 2). This suggests that more people are actually desiring a return to agriculture, possibly as a way of becoming more connected with the way we live. Farming is the most complete way to remind oneself how important agriculture is. Other reminders of this ever-present importance come less frequently, but have just as big an impact on our daily lives.

Something slightly scary is going on when you can't go to the store and buy a jar of peanut butter without worrying. Yet the recent peanut butter salmonella scare did just that, causing another re-examination of our nation's federal food safety oversight procedures (U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture). In addition to disappointing lunch-bag toting…

Agriculture Technologies in the Middle Ages

The Middle Ages is a period characterized by the diffusion of many new agricultural technologies which, in turn, increased agricultural productivity, protected rich croplands from inclement weather, established a uniformity in farming throughout the various regions, and improved nutrition overall.

Agricultural Tools

The plow is considered to be one of the most important (and oldest) technologies developed. In fact, the history of the plow stretches back to the Neolithic (New Stone) Age that began about 8000 BC in Mesopotamia. In the Middle Ages, however, the plow was radically improved and was used with multiple-oxen teams. This innovation facilitated the clearing of the forests of fertile northwest Europe (Gies & Gies 1995). Before this time because of the nature of the soil, it was difficult to plow these fields. And, obviously, this inability to cultivate these fields reduced the population of northwest Europe. After the…

Agricultural industry must also ask both the students and the teachers to enjoin in a number of forums about agricultural products. Student-teacher forums about the benefits of eating fruits and vegetables can be done which can either be within the normal or outside the normal class hours. Both the students and the teachers will be sharing insights, personal experiences regarding how they benefit from eating fruits and vegetables. This forum can be enjoined by students - from all year levels - and all teachers, especially those who have backgrounds on health, nutrition and the sciences.

To add more support to this advocate, the school canteens should also offer more vegetables and fruits as part of everyday menu instead of junk and/or ready-to-eat foods. This way, more students may also be inclined to buying vegetables or fruits as snacks or meals.

Indeed, there can be a number of ways which the…

Agriculture defines Georgia's character and way of life, and has throughout the history of the state. "ith a contribution of more than $72.5 billion annually to Georgia's $786.5 billion economy, agriculture is the main driver of the state's economic engine," (University of Georgia Cooperative Extension). Since the days where plantation owners capitalized on slave labor to 21st century advancements in agriculture technology, Georgia has been an American agricultural leader. Agriculture remains a primary source of employment for many Georgians. As many as one out of every seven Georgia residents currently work in agriculture-related sectors including the forestry services (University of Georgia Cooperative Extension). Moreover, a large portion of the state's fertile lands have been set aside for agriculture and because of its natural endowments, Georgia is set to remain a national leader in agriculture and agro-businesses. The private and public sectors should continue to invest in Georgia's agricultural sector because…

The NPPC is "meeting those challenges through a series of strategic programs designed to address issues affecting pork from production to consumer demand. Through these efforts, NPPC intends to strive for the passage and implementation of laws and regulations that are conducive to the production and sale of pork in both domestic and international markets (www.nppc.org/)."

In February, 2004, pork producers and industry representatives met in ashington, D.C. To "lobby members of Congress on issues related to mandatory animal identification, a workable voluntary country-of-origin labeling program, trade and ways to further increase prices for hogs and products (www.nppc.org/)." Currently, the NPPC is concerned with Canadian Trade and is worried because "Canadian hog subsidies distort the market and cause significant harm to the U.S. pork industry (www.nppc.org/)."

Conclusion

There are a number of agricultural issues which can affect consumers today. The National Pork Producers Council is responsible for not only protecting…

Agriculture practices have significant impact on both marine and terrestrial environment. All over the world many agriculture practices are creating negative impact on tropical forest and on wild life. This study shows the negative impacts of banana, coffee and pineapple plantation on the marine and terrestrial environment in Costa ica. Many agriculture practices are creating negative impact on the tropical rainforest. This study also describes the issue of mono culture and what steps government should take in order to reduce the consequences.

Nowadays practices that are being used for plantation of banana are creating negative impacts on tropical rainforests. Fungicides and insecticides applied on banana plantation are also causing cancer and these fungicides and insecticides are very harmful for the workers on plantation besides, distressing the surrounding environment. So it very necessary to create awareness about the negative impact of banana plantation which is basically mono crop plantation. Farmers should…

Agriculture and less developed nations. There is one reference used for this paper.

There are many issues facing underdeveloped nations today. It is important to examine if these countries should give up their agriculture sector in order to become a well developed nation.

Inverse Populations

In comparison to the rest of the world, underdeveloped countries have an inverse percentage of citizens who are involved in the farming industry. In 1993, "2.2 billion people in these countries were involved in agriculture as producers, while another 800 million lived in rural areas. There was also a strong inverse relationship between a nation's level of per capita income and the size of the rural population: 78% of the population in nations with per capita income below U.S. $400 per year were located in the rural sector, whereas in the 'upper middle income countries' with per capita income above $1,600 per year, the rural…

Economics

Agriculture and Industry

This is a paper about switching technique from Agriculture to Industry. There is one reference used for this paper.

There are a number of changes occurring in agriculture and industry today. It is important to examine the switching technique utilized between these two entities, and what developing countries need to know to successfully become industrialized.

Industrialization

Industrialization is seen as a way to increase economic growth. It "requires the expanded use of new technological processes and ways of doing and thinking, a more skilled and productive labor force and entrepreneurial cadre, and the expansion of physical capital investment at the enterprise level and in the economy as a whole, including physical and social infrastructure formation (Cypher, 266)."

Industrialization has been met with resistance since it "disrupts patterns of life and ways of doing things, particularly in the countryside (Cypher, 266)." Influential organizations in underdeveloped countries may…

Neolithic

Agriculture is so pervasive around the world that it is easy to assume that human beings have always farmed for their food. However, as Guisepi (n.d.) points out, "There was nothing natural or inevitable about the development of agriculture." Prior to the Neolithic evolution, Paleolithic-era people hunted for animals and gathered edible plants and fruits. Foraging and hunting proved to be the most efficient means of sustaining life in the Paleolithic era. The fact that human beings went from the relatively energy efficient model of hunting and gathering to a more labor intensive model of agriculture shows that there must have been major changes in terms of availability of food supply or increased competition. A combination of factors influenced human social evolution to the point where what we call "civilization" began in different places around the world. The change from hunting and gathering to agriculture had a huge impact…

This diet made it possible to remove cattle from their natural environment and encourage the efficiency of mass confinement and slaughter. But it causes enough health problems that administration of antibiotics is routine, so much so that it can result in antibiotic-resistant bacteria that threaten the usefulness of medicines that treat people" (Bittman 2008, p.1).

Beef mass production also releases methane gas into the atmosphere because of the sheer volume of cows that are used to sate America's unending desire for beef. Bittman who is a non-vegetarian but an advocate of radically cutting America's beef consumption notes: "Americans eat about the same amount of meat as we have for some time, about eight ounces a day, roughly twice the global average. At about 5% of the world's population, we 'process' (that is, grow and kill) nearly 10 billion animals a year, more than 15% of the world's total. Growing meat…

In 2005, the average population density was 89 persons per square mile, and the majority of the population is located in southern California, the San Francisco ay area, and the Central Valley (MSN Encarta, 2006). The sections below examine the geographical patterns of California in relation to the issue of urban encroachment.

Literature Review

Many researchers have studies the historical patterns of agriculture in California and have determined that it's loss is quickly approaching. These researchers have studied the decline of agriculture as a result of urban encroachment. Researchers have defined urban "encroachment" as consisting of related growth, noise, and environmental issues. Research by Grunwald (1993), involved an analysis of the probable pattern of urbanization in California as indicated by the study of current trends. This study concluded that if existing trends continued, the increase of urban and metropolitan growth along Highway 99 in California would eliminate any sense of…

U.S. Agricultural Policy

Agriculture and Farmer

United States Government Policy: Agriculture and Farmers

Government Policy towards Agriculture and Farmer's Price Supports

There are a number of similar economic problems that are faced by the farmers globally. These problems include acquisition of land, modification of farm production to price variations and maintenance of foreign markets (Wilcox & Cochrane, 1960).

During World War I and even after its conclusion, farmers in United States were asked over to increase crop production. This caused a drop in yield prices in the 1920s. Congress endorsed the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1929 to get this problem resolved and settled. Under this Act, Federal Farm Board was established with a sumptuous amount of $500 million. This Board was given the task to purchase crops and alleviate grain and cotton prices. This decision of stabilizing the prices persuaded the farmers to produce even more crops. The whole process…

The desalination of brackish groundwater is cheaper than the desalination of water from the Gulf of Mexico People and Groundwater.

As of 2002, only 79 groundwater conservation districts had been confirmed Brock. All districts with the exception of those created by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, must be confirmed through an election Brock. The fact that lobbyists and businessmen can impact such confirmation elections makes it clear that election failures have and will continue to occur. A significant example is Brewster County which had only a $10,000 budget in 2002 with no tax rate for the district and only 50 cents per $100 valuation even authorized but not applied Brock.

The largest county in Texas is Brewster, located in Far est Texas. Encompassing nearly 4 million acres, Brewster County includes 25% publicly owned areas Brewster County Underground ater District Management Plan. These areas, Big Bend National Park, Black Gap…

Globalization of Agriculture, Food Production and Resources

The Ideology and the Reality of Food Production and Agriculture

Green is good. Buy organic. Down with genetically modified 'franken foods'! Such environmentalist assertions have the ring of modern truisms. Often, the impetus to recycling can have a moral drive to the way that the ideology is enforced upon every street corner, from the shrill wastebaskets that proclaim 'for cans and bottles only' to the supermarket aisles that scream 'no pesticides used.' The modern distaste for technology can be hypocritical as well as hysterical in its intensity at times. After all, such technological innovations as the CD transmit far better musical sound quality than the LP. (DeGregori, 2002, 152). And, more to the point, the modern revolution in food production and shipping has enabled modern individuals to have, at their fingertip's access, enormous amounts of healthy produce, in and out of season, and…

Transition to Agriculture

Transition from Hunting / Gathering to Agriculture

The transition of the human society from a nomadic hunting / gathering to a settled society based on systematic agriculture (also known as the Agricultural Revolution) is considered to be one of the most significant changes in human history. In this paper we shall look at when and how such a change took place and discuss why some historians call this transformation the greatest event of pre-history.

About 12,000 years ago, the human population had spread to most habitable parts of the earth including Australia and North America. Most human societies at the time consisted of small loosely organized groups of hunters / gatherers who adapted to their environment and relied on whatever resources were available in their surrounding territories. These 'territories' were not permanent settlements and the mobile groups of people often moved seasonally in order to remain close…

Gene Tinkering in Agriculture. Are genetically altered crops dangerous?

Individuals who fear the risks of such scientifically and commercially innovative products as generically altered crops or foods, otherwise as GMs, often call these products 'Frankenfoods.' Depending on which side of the debate you believe, crops that have been genetically modified "offer either the best hope ever to feed the world or the danger of a new era of biological pollution, threatening the health of anyone who ingests" potatoes such as Maine farmer Arthur Shur's potatoes that contain extra genes borrowed from bacteria and viruses so that the potatoes are more resistant to bugs, disease, even droughts. (Allen, 1999)

European nations, especially Great Britain, have balked at the new foods, fearing that all the gene crossing will produce unpredictable results, such as foods that are toxic to people or dangerous to the environment. A Cornell University study, for example, shows that…

World Trade Organization (WTO) is an independent international organization, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, which establishes and maintains rules governing global trade. Representatives from 146 member countries use this framework in conducting trade agreements, settling trade disputes and evaluating trade policies. WTO believes that a standard set of consistent and enforceable grounds rules will conduce to the proper and profitable international trade without encountering trade barriers, such as excessive tariffs, unfair regulations and similar obstacles. It assesses the entire trade structure and history of a country wishing entry as a member, so that some countries change trade policies in order to become WTO members. WTO members comprise 97% of world trade, so that their membership significantly helps expand the world economy as well as lift their citizens' level of prosperity.

The highest decision-making body of the WTO is the Ministerial Conference, which meets every two years. It maintains a clear…

21st This week, readings focus organic agriculture. Organic agriculture a solution costs industrial agriculture… In addition, read choices eating local ( possibly supporting industrial agriculture) versus eating organic ( possibly supporting a farmer Chile).

Department of Agriculture contends that organic food amounted to 2-3% of the American market in 2010 (Kluger). There is an argument revolving around the issue of organic options vs. industrial food on a local basis, the former being largely perceived as more expensive, less available, yet healthier. This paper is focused on presenting the major distinctions between these two alternatives and venture to find a consensus from a local point-of-view, based on the accounts of two early articles from the Time magazine.

Jeffrey Kluger claims that the two major drawbacks of the American food system are the oversupply of meat and processed products, which act as prerequisites for the nation's increasing obesity rate and hormonal imbalances…

There are clearly several negatives regarding this totalitarian approach to agriculture. While some see no choice in order to increase production, others see the lessening of biological diversity becoming so severe that, if the trends continue, within 50-60 years, we will have lost most of the genetic diversity in food crops. Experts also agree that over the long-term, this corporate agricultural focus is unsustainable for the following reasons:

It creates an out-of-balance environmental system due to overuse of pesticides, monoculture, soil erosion, and concentrated animal wastes.

It concentrates market share among a small handful of firms. This removes any market-based pricing programs and results in uncompetitive markets in which consumers suffer.

Because of the lack of genetic diversity, not only are cops more prone to disease; but humans who live near the crops (cross-pollination) are more prone to food borne disease, chemical effects, and potential radition effects from crop irradiation…

Ethics of Pesticides or Insecticides

Agriculture has been the greatest supplier of food both at the subsistence level and the commercial level. Animal husbandry has prompted wide use of pesticides in control of diseases and maintaining the good health of the farm animals. Most of the pesticides are sprayed onto the animals in open fields hence the dripping quantity ends up on the soil ultimately swept to unintended destinations. If not spayed in the open field, the pesticides are used in a dip and the disposal methods after that are wanting. The same case applies to the insecticides that are used on the farms frequently without proper precautions taken.

There is need therefore to ensure the immediate stopping of the rampant use of the chemicals before the damages are more pronounced. The uses of chemicals in agriculture have detrimental effects bearing the introduction of man chemicals in the market some…

Introduction
Hemp is deemed to have significant benefits to agricultural sustainability. The plant is less vulnerable to changes in weather and other environmental conditions as compared to other crops such as cotton. The inference of this is that there is a greater likelihood of farmers generating profit from their investment with the cultivation of industrial hemp and have the ability to grow a significant amount of the crop in a comparatively small acreage (Miller, 2015). Secondly, industrial hemp crops are beneficial in soil enrichment. The growth pattern of the hemp product naturally generates soil with additional nutrients. Owing to the reason that the dense leaves hinder sunlight, there results in a small number of weeds growing amongst the industrial hemp crops. Furthermore, the deep roots of the plant aid in the provision of nitrogen together with other minerals to the earth and at the same time diminishing the salinity of…

Agricultural Innovations

The Middle ages were quite fruitful in inventing a number of discoveries that include the invention of the wheels, the invention of the plow, the harnessing the power of animals to pull wagons and plows and make their use for transportation, using the power of wind for sailboats, and the invention of writing and calendar (Ashcroft et al., 1989). These innovations collectively transformed the conditions of life for societies in the middle ages. These innovations had great effect in increasing the wealth of the population and developing complex social organizations. Although all of the innovations mentioned above were important, the plow was considered as the greatest potential for transforming social and cultural change (Duerr et al., 1985). It made the use of the permanent cultivation possible in a greater variety of soils, and thereby led to the widespread replacement of horticulture by agriculture. It also facilitated the harnessing…

Conclusion

As all these studies show, ethanol is not exactly the environmental darling that many seem to think it is. It is actually helping to raise food prices, it is adding to world hunger, and producing it may be actually adding to global pollution rather than easing it. Much more study needs to be done on all the aspects of biofuels, including ethanol, and Congress needs to take action and stop subsidizing ethanol and other biofuels until they have been much more heavily studied. Biofuels could be the answer to our transportation problems in the future, but for now, they have far too many problems associated with them to be so heavily subsidized and promoted in America.

eferences

Brown, L.. (2008, January 24). Why ethanol production will drive world food prices even higher in 2008. etrieved December 1, 2010, from Earth Policy Institute: http://www.earth-policy.org/index.php?/plan_b_updates/2008/update69.

Decesaro, J. (2006, June). Farming bio…

Biofuels Production and Food Production

Biofuels and bio-products have emerged as important and positive elements for the environment with regards to lessening greenhouse gas emissions and decreasing the usage of fossil energy. In the past few years, the modern world has been characterized by increased biofuel development, which is primarily fueled by subsidies, mandates, and policies of exports and imports across various countries. While biofuels have helped in dealing with the emission of greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming, it has also contributed to significant impacts on food production. The effect of biofuel production on food production has been evident in the increase in food prices throughout the globe. This major impact has emerged from the increased use and diversion of food crops to production of biofuels, which in turn significantly increases food prices across the globe.

Despite being produced in other countries, biofuels are mostly produced in Brazil,…

The transition from hunting and gathering to sedentary cultivation demanded a whole restructuring of the society and enhanced the need for solidarity. Farming requires division of labor as well as gender role differentiation ("Hopi Agriculture: Introduction").

However, Sekaquaptewa describes a more egalitarian division of labor, at least regarding the corn harvest (Udall). Men were entrusted with the performance of the Snake Dance; women with heading matrilineal clans. Children also fully participated in the communal activity of corn cultivation by scaring away crows or chasing rodents (Udall). Knowledge that the survival of the community and its children depended on a successful harvest provided the firm foundation for Hopi community organization.

After contact, Hopi agriculture grew more diverse. Squash, beans, melons, and even orchards became as much a part of Hopi agricultural life as corn. In spite of the increased crop diversity the connection between agricultural bounty and rain remained central to…

Part II: Identify several possible solutions based upon the factual resources (NOT opinion) and discuss them in greater detail.

It was deemed that increased competition was necessary in the rail industry, either mandated by Congress, or the (Surface Transportation Board) STB could exert a more forceful regulatory role, to expand access to smaller producers, to reduce consolidation, and mandate competition.

Part III: Conclusion - Pick one of the solutions and tell why it was chosen, also tell why the others were not chosen.

However, while initiatives by the STB were phrased in pro-competitive language, and it insisted to Congress in December of 1998 that it already had done all it could to solve the problem, regional transportation and development organizations were, on the whole, disappointed in its efforts ("Achieving Rail Competition Requires your Support," 1998, ARC presentation). Ultimately, the STB's policy to address the issue offered no specific standards to…

China Trade Policy

China's agricultural trade policies are driven by its need to feed its massive population. The country has quotas that average 15.8%, with 5.8% of products being duty free and 1087 total tariff lines. These duties sit in line with EU levels, above U.S. levels and below developing world levels. China aims to reduce its agricultural tariff below 15% in the coming years. China supported India's stance on special safeguard mechanisms at the Doha Round, effectively scuttling the deal.

China's manufacturing tariffs are also above developed world levels but below developing world levels. China's tariffs vary significantly on a country-by-country basis; for example 45.4% of non-agricultural trade with the U.S. is duty free. China has become more aggressive with respect to its trade policies in recent years, but generally works within the confines of the TO dispute resolution mechanism..

Agricultural Policies

China has long worked to lower agricultural…

.. The history of miscegenation in this country...demonstrate[s] how society has used skin color to demarcate lines between racial groups and to determine the relative position and treatment of individuals within racial categories. (Jones, 2000, p. 1487)

Prior to the civil war lighter skinned blacks were more likely to gain their freedom, and own property, through favor or inheritance. This is probably in part to the public, sometimes even official, recognition of their lineage, often they were the product of their white masters and favored slaves.

The large number of mulattoes among the slaves freed in Missouri suggests the master's benevolence was a genuinely warm feeling he had for persons he knew to be his blood relations. By 1860, the presence of 1,662 mulattoes in the total free Negro group of 3,572 in Missouri, indicates considerable race-mixing. (Official Manual State of Missouri, 1973-1974 "The ole of the Negro in Missouri…

genetically modified or altered (GM) crops. Specifically, it will discuss information on GM crops, the risks, the benefits, and how GM crops differ from traditional plant breeding. Genetically modified crops are not new, they have been in existence for many years, but they are extremely controversial - in part because some people do not comprehend their makeup, and in part because they are innovative, and there are still many questions that need to be answered about their affect on people, the environment, and overall health. Basically, GM crops are crops that have been genetically altered through science. Essentially, their DNA, or specific genes, are transferred between one plant and another to create different qualities, such as hardiness, etc. Some people call this "genetic engineering." It takes the best qualities of one plant and mates them with another to create a new sub-species or even species (Editors). These plants are generally…

Agriculture

Animal Nutrition and Feed Evaluation

Qualitative, scientific-based evaluations of animal feed and the resultant nutrition of the animal are crucial for maintaining optimal animal health and responding to problems that develop as a result of diet. In the case of ruminants, this can be particularly important as their unique digestive system can complicate providing optimal nutrition from traditional feed sources and techniques. A balanced nutrient approach to ruminant diet must take into account not only the feed that is being given to the animal, but also, crucially, the way in which the animal's digestive system will process that feed and provide (or not) nutrition to the animal. Creating this type of qualitative knowledge about the digestive system and nutrition needs of rumens with regard to different feeds "developed most rapidly when isotope dilution techniques became easy to apply, facilitated by improved instrumentation and mathematical approaches" (1). From this information,…

Italy

Agriculture represents the lifeblood of any civilization -- we settled into communities for the purpose of growing crops and thereby making our lives easier. For most of the history of civilization, agriculture was the dominant form of economy. Wealth was measured in growing land, or in the number of animals owned. Even after the invention of money, agriculture remained a critical source of wealth. In pre-Italy, the city states often gained wealth through trade, but in the countryside wealth remained related to agriculture, as food was the most important thing to most people. In the 20th century, food scarcity became rare, and agriculture diminished in importance -- nobody was truly worried where their next meal would come from, so other goods took on more value. Today in Italy, agriculture is worth 2% of the economy, or $3.6 billion, and it employs 3.9% of the labor force of the country,…

Changes (Global, National, Region, Local, and Farm)

Source:

Smith (2006)

In the work entitled: "Climate Change and Agriculture" a brochure prepared for the UK Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food written by Muriel, Downing, and Hulme, et al. In Section 4: Impact of Climate Change on Crops report findings that:

1) Elevated temperature increased their rate of grain growth but shortened the duration of grain filling;

2) Higher temperatures may have decreased the availability of assimilates so decreasing grain size, grain yield and mass per grain; and 3) Higher temperatures reduced average mass per grain, in one experiment, by 25% in normal CO2 and 14% in elevated conditions." (Muriel, Downing, and Hulme, et al. nd)

The following chart demonstrates the effect that CO2, temperature, and CO2 combined with a higher temperature had on crop yields in this study.

Change in yield (%)

Source: (Muriel, Downing, and Hulme, 2006)

There are…

Globalization, Genetic Modification of Crops and Agricultural Hysteria on the Left

One of the most telling images in the modern media of recent date, regarding the issue of genetically modified foodstuffs was the sight of silos of genetically modified seed being sent back from an African nation experiencing a profound crisis of famine. Despite the fact that such seeds would have helped the immediate problem, fears were too great that the nation would be rendered dependant upon subsidized food from the first world, and more to the point, become test subjects for a questionable new technology. However, amongst the strident cries in Europe and Africa against genetically modified produce, which have driven some individuals to engage in 'eco-terrorist' practices of sabotage, the American consumer has become comfortable, one might state, in a kind of blissful ignorance over the debate. American genetically modified crops are not even required to be labeled…

Organic Agriculture, Gardening and Retail

Organic Gardening

Global Emerging Industry

The purpose of this work is to explore the feasibility of entering into the industry of either retail of organic food or perhaps the possible agricultural realm of the organic food industry. This work will examine all aspects of the organic food industry in brief as well as exploring the marketing possibilities as well as the financial report of a sampling of those doing business within this industry.

Organic food products are growing in terms of customer demand and that is good news for those in the business and indeed for those who desire to see this industry expand which will offer more choices in health wise consumption to consumers as well as providing employment for those who may be otherwise considered non-employable due to educational limitations and finally this industry may very well provide at least some of the…

Organics trip to the local grocery store will reveal that organic vegetables and fruits not only look better than their non-organic counterparts: they are in many cases also not that much more expensive. As a result, many mainstream supermarkets are starting to carry organic lines of produce, offering more choice to consumers. The Albertson's chain in ashington State recently started stocking shelves with organic coffee; UK food retail giant Safeway added organic meats to its shelves, all of which is locally produced. Increasing numbers of packaged foods are being made with organic ingredients and many of them don't cost more than non-organic counterparts. However, the organic food industry still has a long uphill battle to fight. Organic agriculture is a system of production that eliminates "the use of synthetic inputs, such as synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, veterinary drugs, genetically modified seeds and breeds, preservatives, additives and irradiation," replacing them with…

People feed themselves?

Why was subsistence agriculture a problem from the perspective of European colonizers?

From the point-of-view of the European colonizers, subsistence agriculture was a 'problem' because it was a source of empowerment for the individuals they desired to oppress. It was cast as primitive in European literature, but this 'primitive' form of agriculture had nourished people for centuries. The real aim of the Europeans was to render colonial peoples useful to the Mother Country. Subsistence agriculture was also problematic for the Europeans because it was primarily designed to sustain people, rather than to generate profits. The agriculture produced only what was needed for a small group of people, rather than crops for the mass marketplace.

An excellent example of this can be seen in the West Indies. Before Europeans came to the region, Africans had a vibrant, rich, and diversified system of agriculture, which provided many forms of…

The garden was located at the back of the unit, and instead of watching television or aimlessly wandering the halls, I witnessed the residents spend hours tilling the soil, planting seeds, tending the young shoots, harvesting the fruits of their labor, and finally cooking and serving their creations. What can be more inspiring than knowing you can feed yourself and your friends? The change in their appearance was remarkable. Gardening and cooking was not just a hobby, it was a metaphor for their ability to regenerate themselves in mind and body.

My dream is to own my own restaurant, a place where all of the food on the menu is grown and raised on-premises. I would also like to employ members of the community along with professional hospitality staff to serve in the restaurant and tend the garden. My hero is Dan Barber, a man who has successfully united his…

Industrial evolution: esult of an Agricultural evolution?

The Industrial evolution which began in Great Britain in the eighteenth century, and still continues in certain parts of the world, is considered by some historians to be the most significant transformation in the economic environment of human civilization after the Neolithic evolution. There are a number of reasons that triggered and sustained the transformation of an agriculture-based economy to an industrial-based economy, but perhaps the most significant was the occurrence of an 'Agriculture evolution' in Britain in the century following 1750. In this essay, I shall discuss why this was so, besides describing the following:

The causes and outcome of the Agricultural evolution

Features of the Industrial evolution

The Social Consequences of the Industrial evolution

Karl Marx and Emile Durkhiem's theories about the Industrial evolution

How an Agricultural evolution in Britain triggered the Industrial evolution?

Most historians are in agreement that the…

Human biological, social, and cognitive evolution has depended on food. That much seems obvious, but what is less obvious is the specific ways that first fire, and then agriculture, and then the combination of advanced cooking and food preservation methods have contributed to the quality of the human brain and the efficacy of the human body. Even at its most basic, cooking transforms the available nutrients in plants, and renders some otherwise inedible plants both edible/nonpoisonous or better able to provide bioavailable nutrients. Even just sticking plants and animal parts into a fire and waiting for a transformation to take place fueled human biological evolution because "cooking made available to our ancestors unprecedented nutrients that fueled brain growth over time, and reduced the need for energy-expensive chewing of tough foods," (King). Bioavailability increases from just 30 to 40% of nutrients in raw plants to a full hundred percent (Mott). Cooking…

1). Ironically, these workers who feed others are often hungry themselves, even when they bring home some of the rejected crop they harvest to feed their families. A 2007 study of agricultural workers in the area found that nearly half (45%) met the criteria of food insecurity. 34% of respondents were food insecure without hunger while an additional 11% were food insecure with hunger (irth et al. 2007, p.1). "Nearly half (48%) of eligible respondents reported utilizing the food stamp program, which is comparable to 53% of eligible Fresno County residents. However, food stamp participation varies by season. hereas 55% of eligible respondents utilized the program in the winter, only 37% of eligible respondents did so in the summer. Many respondents interviewed during the summer believed they were not eligible for this program because they were working or earned too much" (irth et al. 2007, p.24). They had little or…

European Honey Bee (also known as the Apis mellifera) is a species of honeybee typically found in Europe, estern Asia, and Africa. The Apis mellifera is presently found around the world, as globalization played an important role in making it one of the most common bee species. The species is responsible for pollinating almost half of the plants used in the food industry and it is thus essential for society to get actively involved in providing the Apis mellifera with all the resources it needs in order to thrive. Unfortunately, in spite of the important role Apis Mellifera plays today in our society's development, this honeybee specie encountered a decrease in numbers. Diseases such as the colony collapse disorder have seriously affected the population of the Apis mellifera across the world.

Agriculture promotes the use of bees on account of how they pollinate a wide range of plants, making it…

Borderless Society

A history of a typical American meal

When a typical consumer purchases a rib-eye steak for dinner, he or she will pay far less than his or her grandfather did for the same cut of meat. This is because of the efficiencies generated by the commercial meat industry. While the cow will begin its life in a manner similar to that of cows of the past -- by the side of his or her mother on a ranch -- that will quickly change. "Cows raised on grass simply take longer to reach slaughter weight than cows raised on a richer diet, and the modern meat industry has devoted itself to shortening a beef calf's allotted time on earth" (Pollan 2002). On a factory farm, cows are quickly weaned from their mother and fed a corn-based diet or 'finished' on corn while they are held in pens. Instead of…

Strip Mining Project

Strip mining has long attracted the attention that "fracking" is now due to the proven or at least theoretical environmental impacts and issues that can or definitely arise when the practice is engaged in. Not unlike similar industries like timber, anything that destroys or alters wetlands/marshes, anything that leads to increase erosion and so forth is hotly contested and debated. Even basic things like irrigation of crops can raise a proverbial stink if the water is denied to people or states that happen to be downstream and they feel they need/deserve it so as to provide drinking water, their own crop irrigation or other environmental concerns. While strip mining, especially that which relates to energy like lignite and lithium, is here to stay and largely cannot be stopped, the real and tangible impacts it can and does have need to be taken seriously before the lignite-harvesting project…

" In one supreme irony, as McDonald's makes Americans less healthy, McDonald's as a company is dependant on poorly-paid workers who receive few benefits, including healthcare. The workers are disposable as the food and the packaging they assemble for McDonald's patrons. It is in the company's interest not to keep them employed for long, so they remain part-time employees without real healthcare. They learn no skills and do not improve their promotional prospects. And often the only food they can afford, lacking adequate facilities or time to prepare a meal, is a McDonald's meal.

The slaughterhouses where the processed meats that go into McDonald's hamburgers are just as mechanized as McDonald's drive-through, only the cows that move through their doors do not exit intact. Yet the fate of the human executors of these cows is almost as terrible. Working conditions in slaughterhouses and meat-processing plants are dangerous. The workers are…

These human actions that alter the living and nutrient conditions of soil organism include the repetitive tillage or burning of vegetation, soil erosion, overusing the land without replenishing it with humus or plant compost, clearing of forests. What can be done to solve this problem is to replenish the land with humus or plant compost, give the land rest after excessive use, planting of trees to reduce soil erosion etc. The soil organic matter is linked to the atmosphere; hydrosphere, biosphere and climate change in that the carbon cycle is the biogeochemical cycle by which carbon is exchanged among the hydrosphere, biosphere and atmosphere of the earth.

The following are the strategy that I feel should be taken to restore the regions of Udaipur in India. In this area it is evident that the unnecessary human activities of over grazing, slash and burn farming, and activities causing soil erosion have…

Southern and Midwestern States

Comparison and Contrast: Southern and Midwestern States

The Southern and Midwestern states are very different in terms of their physical characteristics, their economic and agricultural bases, and their urbanization. For people moving from one place to the other, or doing business in states where they are not familiar, this can be a bit of culture shock. The look and "feel" of the areas are quite different, prompting people from one area to often have misconceptions about what life is like in another area. Here it is important to address the actual differences, to create a clearer picture of the Southern and Midwestern states, along with their differences and similarities.

Physically, the geography of the Southern and Midwestern states is both similar and different. While the Southern states have humidity virtually all year round, and Midwestern states are drier, overall. Both areas have a high level of…

This also means that consumption and price will be completely and directly linked, incentivizing reductions in water uses more so than they are under current pricing structures (though consumption is still charged per-unit, the lack of marginalization distributes prices less equitably in terms of actual expenditure to supply water). This will also give clear signals as to the extent that alternative water supplies should be investigated as a means of augmenting the water supply.

Counter-Arguments

The marginal costs of water will make large urban consumers (i.e. municipalities) more likely to consume and agricultural consumers somewhat less so, possibly damaging the agricultural industry in California. Pricing structures that are not attached to volume of consumption in a linear fashion might also meet with more opposition from the public. Finally, estimating long run marginal costs can be quite complex and runs the risk of underestimation, which could lead to underfunding.

USDA ole in America

This report shall be a summary of the role of the United States Department of Agriculture, or USDA. The lens through which the analysis of the agency will be done is the Baldridge Criteria for Performance Excellence. To start with, there will be an organizational profile, a self-analysis and a narrative summary of recommendations that come from the profile and analysis. The seven categories that will be done as part of the Baldridge-assisted analysis are leadership, strategic planning, customer focus, measurement/analysis/knowledge management, workforce focus, operations focus and result. There will be important aspects and details that will be touched up on with each section. While some may dismiss the role of the United States Department of Agriculture as being mundane and unimportant, this could not be further from the truth.

USDA Analyzed

Organizational Profile

As explained on the United States Department of Agriculture website, the agency…

ut neophytes should not attempt to do this. Halved coconuts can be dried in one of two ways. The first is by letting them dry by the heat of the sun, which takes a longer time. The other and faster way is by heating them. A bamboo house or shack without walls is built at about 3 feet above the ground. It has only a roof and a floor. The halved coconuts are piled on the floor. Some coconut husks are piled beneath the shack but not too close to burn the shack. A torch is used to set fire on these piled coconut husks but they are monitored carefully. More fire is set if it turns low. The halved coconuts turn brown and separate from the shells when ready for scooping. Just enough heat from medium to low is used to avoid burning. When the fruits at the bottom…

Revolution Through the Lens of Agricultural Industrialization

The revolutions in Cuba, Mexico and Brazil Bahia as described and detailed in the three text From slavery to freedom in Brazil Bahia, 1835-1900 by Dale Torston Graden, Insurgent Cuba race, nation and revolution, 1868-1898 by Ada Ferrer and The Mexican Revolution: 1910-1940 Dialogos Series, 12 by Michael j. Gonzales all tell varied stories regarding the thematic development of revolution and change. Each has a different story to tell about labor, free and slave, politics, race and freedom yet underlying each of these themes is a current that is not only consistent but largely underdeveloped. This theme is agricultural and its changing labor and production practices. This work will analyze and compare the treatment of agriculture as a theme associated with each local. Each nation demonstrates the story of profiteering through agriculture in varied ways, and the rejection of it.

In each work…

Farmers backbone nation supported ensure a constant high-quality food supply citizens. Dairy farms, examples, assistance government form subsidies order remain competitive continue supply needed dairy products.

Farmers in today's context

Agriculture is the oldest occupation on Earth and the first and still most important means of supporting life. Agriculture was initially manifested through hunting and gathering of wild fruit and vegetable, to gradually evolve into an organized action of land cultivation with the use of developed tools and techniques.

Up until the Industrial evolution, the cultivation of land was the most common human activity and the primary source of food sufficiency. Nevertheless, as machines and equipments were developed, as the steam engine was created and as more and more factories were opened, the people migrated from the rural sites to the urban locations, in search of better lives. Agriculture as such was seconded by work in factories, which came to…

These lessons would suggest the need to change or veer away from the "me first" mentality of the U.S. agriculture and its representatives. What would serve agriculture and society best would be by working to identify how broad society and its farmers desired the future agricultural sector should be structured. Corollary to this would be to use its comparative advantage in designing policy interventions, which would realistically, efficiently and effectively achieve this goal. Only through this process could the legitimate wants of farmers be balanced against their responsibilities to their broader society. Only then could agriculture have a true and successful societal basis for its farm program interventions (Poe).

ibliography

1. Choices. Converting to Organic. American Agricultural Economics Association, 2001. http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/nu_n0HIC/is_2_16/ai_77612359

2. Conlon, Michael. London Conference Discusses the Future of iotechnology in Agriculture. AgExporter, 2001. http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3723/is_11_13/ai_81766576

3. Ecologist, the. Last Ditch for ritain's Small Farms. MIT Press Journals, 2000. http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2465/is_2_30/ai_62053043…

Wheat Staple in Upper and Lower Canada

In the late 18th and Early 19th Century

The importance of wheat to the Canadian economy is not a new phenomenon. On the contrary, as far back as the 18th century and earlier, there was a significant agricultural sector. As the political environments differed in Upper and Lower Canada, though, so too did the development of agriculture, in particular, the cultivation of wheat. To understand the importance of this crop, it is necessary to understand the staple approach to Canadian economic history, and the impacts of the wheat staple in the late 1700s and early 1800s. Henry Youle Hind wrote of the importance of wheat to Upper and Lower Canada in his 1863 account of agriculture in Canada;

Among farm products, wheat takes the first rank in the husbandry of Upper

Canada. Formerly it occupied an equally prominent position in Lower Canada, but…

With the changing global economy this is unlikely to change any time soon.

eferences

Bonnis, G., & Steenblik, . (1998). Water, Agriculture and the Environment. OECD Observer, a (212), 28-30. eaders Guide to Periodical Literature

Che, T.N., Kompas, T., & Vousden, N. (2006). Market eform, Incentives and Economic Development in Vietnamese ice Production. Comparative Economic Studies, 48(2), 277. etrieved October 22, 2008, from EBSCOhost database

Clement, M. (2004, February). ice Imperialism: The Agribusiness Threat to Third World ice Production. Monthly eview, 55, 15. etrieved October 22, 2008, Academic Search Premier

Fox, J., & Ledgerwood, J. (1999). Dry-Season Flood-ecession ice in the Mekong Delta: Two Thousand Years of Sustainable Agriculture?. Asian Perspectives: the Journal of Archaeology for Asia and the Pacific, 38(1), 37. eaders Guide to Periodical Literature.

Greenhalgh, S., & Faeth, P. (2001). Trading on Water. Forum for Applied esearch and Public Policy, 16(1), 71. eaders Guide to Periodical Literature.…

This increase in seed size probably results from the continuous use of water through irrigation.

The Moche pottery also provides insights into the agriculture of the inland valleys. Nineteen races of maize are found on Moche jars. Nine of these include the Peruvian races Confite Iqueiio, Confite, Morocho, Kculli, Enano, Perla, Mochero, Pagaladroga, Huancavelicano, and Perlilla, which had evolved by a.D. 800. Ten races identified are found today only outside Peru from Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela. This dispersal suggests that the prehistoric ranges of these races were wider than is known in present times. In fact, the Moche pottery shows that most maize forms had a wider geographical distribution prehistorically than they have today. Ceramic maize replicas on Moche jars demonstrate evidence that the north coast of Peru was a major center for cultural exchange and connected the distant areas of South America perhaps extending as far as Central…

Blueberries

A BIEF synopsis of the Australian Blueberry Industry

Introductory Production Information

Australian and World production

Average Yields

Plant Description

Botanical Classification

Important varieties

Morphological features

Seasonal growth cycle

Native to North America, the blueberry, is also known as bilberries, whortleberries and hurtle berries, (Filippone 2006). The blueberry is a member of the Ericaceae, or Heather family and its growth was regulated by the indigenous peoples of North America (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada 2005). Blueberries are of the genus Vaccinium, which originates from the Latin word vacca, which means cow. Captain James Cook, circa late 1700s, noted in his records that cows really liked to eat this tasty berry (Filippone 2006). The first European settlers recognized these berries to be analogous to kinds of berries found in their land of birth. For example, there's the blaeberry which is found in Scotland, whortleberries in Ireland, bilberries in Denmark, blabar in Sweden,…

It stated that the future negotiations will "try to achieve substantial improvements in market access; reductions of, with a view to phasing out, all forms of export subsidies; and substantial reductions in trade-distorting domestic support" (Beghin, oland-Holst and Van Der Mensbrugghe, 2002).

6. Possible future developments

All in all, the topic on the international trade of agricultural products remains opened for further discussions; and the most likely outcome is an increase in the efforts made by the World Trade Organization to resolve the disputes and complaints of the participants in the meaning of reducing and even eliminating export subsidies, while in the same time easing the access to the markets in the high income countries.

eferences

Ballenger, N., Blaylock, J., 2003, Consumer Driven Agriculture, Amber Waves, Volume 1 Issue

Beghin, J.C., Aksoy, a., 2003, Agricultural Trade and the Doha ound: Lessons from Commodity Studies, Center for Agricultural and ural Development,…