Download the original file

Study questions Environmental Impacts of Food Production
List 4 necessary elements of crop production that have significant environmental impacts and
what are the environmental impacts. Soil: land transformation from native vegetation and
soil erosion, water: irrigation demand removes water from natural ecosystems, Nutrients –
pollution of air and water, Protection from weeds and pests: chemical pollution and
associated impacts on human health and other species.
What fraction of new land brought into agriculture since 1980 has been native forest? About
half.
What is the most significant difference in land transformation since 1980 in India compared
to Indonesia? India did not expand its farmed area, while Indonesia expanded the area
greatly largely from native forest.
What 2 factors primarily determine the rate of soil erosion in a specific place. The kind of
soil and the intensity of land use.
Contrast the environmental consequences of using groundwater vs river water for irrigation.
In using groundwater the main consequences is lowering of the water table, whereas in
withdrawals from rivers the nature of the river changes and in the extreme the river dries up.
How does the use of fertilizer lead to “dead zones” in the ocean? The nutrients wash into
rivers, flow down to the ocean and fertilize phytoplankton production. The phytoplankton
sink to the bottom when they die, and the bacteria that consume the dead phytoplankton use
up the available oxygen.
Why is the Gulf of Mexico so prone to dead zones? The large volume of nutrients coming
down the Mississippi River.
Why were eagles and pelican especially vulnerable to impacts from DDT? They were at the
top of the food chain where DDT was concentrated in their food through a process known as
biomagnification.
How are antibiotics used in the production of food? Fed to animals when they are sick or as
a precautionary measure.
What is MRSA? A bacterial infection commonly found in hospitals that is largely resistant
to antibiotics.
Give an example of a genetic impact of food production. Either loss of diversity by industry
concentrating on a few specific varieties of a crop, or genetic contamination of non gmo
varieties by GMO varieties.
What are the three primary ways that food production causes an increase in greenhouse
gasses? Fuel used in mechanized farming, land clearance, methane produced by beef and
sheep.
Page 1
What fraction of US greenhouse gas production comes from on the farm agriculture? 8%
List three ways that food production impacts biodiversity. Land transformation, pollution,
exploitation of natural populations.
For what measures of environmental impact do capture fisheries look better than most forms
of agriculture including crops? Water use, fertilizer, pesticide, antibiotics, land
transformation.
Page 2