Biodynamic agriculture

The land in Burundi is arid and not arable. “Land fragmentation, stagnant or declining yields, falling soil fertility, the absence of inputs and improved breeds of livestock, and low levels of technical knowledge have prevented farmers from boosting production and increasing their incomes.” (New Agriculturalist) A potential result of this land fragmentation and falling soil fertility would be that the land would become so arid that no crops would grow. However, the country is taking steps to…

Introduction: The global economy is one that is directly impacted by Earth’s biodiversity derived from its rich and varied environments. The locations of each region correlate to the resources and products that are able to be produced, distributed, and exported. Throughout history, humans have established societies and civilizations around these resources unique to their own location and trading patterns. The nation of China has been heavily influenced by their location, regional environment,…

Sustainability and human health are becoming a main concern for the environment. Due to the activities of humans that are affecting climate change there is an imposing threat to human health. As Madeline Thomson wrote the effects of climate change and overall effect on human health are becoming easier to understand (Thomson 6). The problem with climate change, however, is that it affects many parts of the ecosystem, which in turn affects the human health. Climate change is expected to affect…

GMO Background What is a GMO? A genetically modified organism, or a GMO is created by manipulating the plant or animal’s DNA so that it holds certain desirable traits. The process of gene splicing allows the desirable genetic material to become part of the organism’s DNA, thus giving it the name, a genetically modified organism. These organisms are created for both agricultural purposes as well as scientific research. What are the most common types of GMOs? The two main genetically modified…

DROUGHT ADAPTATIONS IN KENYA INTRODUCTION The Lancet commission on Health and Climate change June 2015 list four direct effect of climate change; ’Increase heat stress, floods, drought and increased frequency of intense storms”( The Lancet, 2015). Who. int (2015) describes drought as a period in the climate cycle caused by lack of rainfall that result in lack of water that then leads to food shortages. The populations mostly affected by this climate induced disaster are; people of low social…

shows that meat production at this level to sustain the ever growing population is simply not sustainable. The use of land and energy and resources required to sustain a meat-based diet is far more than that for the vegan diet US Department of Agriculture, (2001). The principle defining why the vegan diet is more energy efficient than the meat diet is naturally at each stage of energy exchange between all trophic levels there is a loss of energy as no exchange is 100%…

Many of the largest environmental concerns facing our society today stem from the world’s obsession with red meat. Grazing cattle are a major cause of erosion, land degradation, and even, according to most scientists, climate change (Steinfield 2006). The production of livestock is, without question, the most anthropogenic (environmental pollution originating in human activity) enterprise that humans engage in. It accounts for the use of 70 percent of agricultural land and 30 percent of the…

areas in Africa and Asia will experience a growth in population that will place a strain on the environment (2012). A second challenge is climate change because it will change certain areas climates. The authors claim “it is estimated that overall agriculture productivity in these areas may decline 9-21% by 2050, depending on the degree of change in average temperatures (2012). Weather in regions have been calculated so a change could drastically interfere in farming practices that have been…

Genetically Modified Organisms In recent years there has been a growing debate about the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in our food supply. A GMO is created by injecting genetic material from plants, animals, or bacteria into a crop in hopes of creating a new and beneficial trait (Blackwood). The use of GMOs is typically touted as a way to enhance or create a specific trait, such as pest and disease resistance or to increase the nutritional content of a crop. Those on both sides of…

Farming refers to the activity of someone growing plants or crops from the ground. However, did you know there are different methods of farming? Today, two types of farming practices are used in agriculture, and they are organic and conventional farming. These two farming methods have been under constant debate, says New York Times journalist, Kenneth Chang (2012). For those that support organic farming, they believe that the using of natural fertilizers and no pesticides and genetically…