GEO discussion
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Western University *
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Geography
Date
Dec 6, 2023
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docx
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Uploaded by AmbassadorMetal6877
Hi everyone!
The Earth’s population grows exponentially and this allows very little time and resources to
try and maintain the Earth’s integrity. As time goes on, I do not believe that we will be able to feed the
world today and in the future while maintaining the integrity of the biophysical environment. As we
are in the midst of the green revolution and as modern agriculture is improved upon, we suffer a loss
of biodiversity within plants and animals (Dietrich, Bennett & Kuhn, lecture notes, GEOG1220DE
Human Impact on the Environment, February 18, 2021).
To be successful in sustainable agriculture, an agricultural system must produce the required
agricultural products within the regenerative capacity of the resources (Dietrich, Bennett & Kuhn,
lecture notes, GEOG1220DE Human Impact on the Environment, February 18, 2021). At this
moment, this is not what’s happening around the world. Humans are using resources in a rate at which
the Biophysical environment cannot regenerate fast enough. To be able to feed the growing population
would require us to harvest more resources from the already depleted Earth. Eventually, we will begin
to run out of resources and will have to resort to other processes.
We have resorted to Industrialized agriculture which is a large-scale, intensive production of
crops and animals. This has become the most destructive method of agriculture when it comes to the
biophysical environment. Soil, water, and ecosystems are already under stress; increasing agricultural
production while protecting these resources requires that sustainability be the guiding principle
(Laposata
et al
., 2016, p210). Industrialized agriculture uses a massive amount of the same crop and
animal to harvest to increase the efficiency of the operation, this leads to a loss of biodiversity
(Dietrich, Bennett & Kuhn, lecture notes, GEOG1220DE Human Impact on the Environment,
February 18, 2021
)
. Biodiversity is also lost in modern agriculture because of fertilizer use, irrigation,
and the use of pesticides (Dietrich, Bennett & Kuhn, lecture notes, GEOG1220DE Human Impact on
the Environment, February 18, 2021). As the population grows, realistically we will have to rely on
this type of agriculture. This will result in more loss of biodiversity and larger impacts on the
biophysical environment.
In conclusion, I have very little faith that we will be able to feed the growing population while
maintaining the biophysical environment. Humans are already destroying the environment yet we still
have about 800 million people on earth without food (Dietrich, Bennett & Kuhn, lecture notes,
GEOG1220DE Human Impact on the Environment, February 18, 2021
).
We will all have to work
together to come up with a sustainable solution to this growing problem.
(ebook)
Laposata, M., Murck, B., Withgott, J. H. (2016)
Environment: Science behind the stories (3rd custom
University of Guelph ed.).
Pearson Publications.
Dietrich, D., Bennett, L., & Kuhn, R. (2021). People and Food. In Dietrich, D (Eds.),
GEOG*1220DE
course notes
. Retrieved February 10, 2021, from
http://www.uoguelph.ca
Dietrich, D., Bennett, L., & Kuhn, R. (2021). The Green Revolution. In Dietrich, D (Eds.),
GEOG*1220DE course notes
. Retrieved February 10, 2021, from
http://www.uoguelph.ca
Dietrich, D., Bennett, L., & Kuhn, R. (2021). Environmentally Sustainable Agriculture. In Dietrich, D
(Eds.),
GEOG*1220DE course notes
. Retrieved February 10, 2021, from
http://www.uoguelph.ca
Response
Hi Emma,
I enjoyed reading your post about this topic, especially since I share many of the same ideas as you! I
found your post very informative and you touched on many points. I agree that this idea is very
unrealistic when considering how society has handled this problem in the past and how they are
currently dealing with it in the present.
In your 3rd paragraph, you state that “in order for the world to be fed there would need to be very
different environmental standards that would need to be a primary concern”. I would like to add to
your point as after reading multiple sources I found a few good practices that could satisfy this. For
sustainable agriculture to be successful, an agricultural system must produce the required agricultural
products within the regenerative capacity of the resources (Dietrich, Bennett & Kuhn, lecture notes,
GEOG1220DE Human Impact on the Environment, February 18, 2021). I believe if society was able
to follow this statement thoroughly, the threat of biophysical loss would be greatly reduced. The
success of this factor alone would help eliminate many of the threats that the biophysical environment
faces, such as biodiversity loss, soil erosion, irrigation, and many more factors. Soil, water, and
ecosystems are already under stress; increasing agricultural production while protecting these
resources requires that environmental standards be the primary concern (Laposata
et al
., 2016, p210).
As of right now, it’s obvious that humans are taking much more than the biophysical environment can
allow. If this doesn’t stop, then there will be nothing left for us to take.
Thank you for sharing your response, it was very informative and it really helps to read someone
else’s point of view!
Dietrich, D., Bennett, L., & Kuhn, R. (2021). Environmentally Sustainable Agriculture. In Dietrich, D
(Eds.),
GEOG*1220DE course notes
. Retrieved February 10, 2021, from
http://www.uoguelph.ca
(ebook)
Laposata, M., Murck, B., Withgott, J. H. (2016)
Environment: Science behind the stories (3rd custom
University of Guelph ed.).
Pearson Publications.
Response
Hi Mathew!
I genuinely really enjoyed reading your response because it opened my eyes to the other side of this
argument. I failed to realize many of the possibilities that you have mentioned and I’m very glad I had
the opportunity to read this. I do agree that it is possible to feed the growing population, but I still
believe that it is unrealistic.
It is very interesting that we produce enough food to feed 9 billion people but the world’s population
will likely exceed this number. We can definitely try our best to feed everyone, but at some point, it
may become too much for the biophysical environment to handle. Realistically, If the population
reaches a certain point it may be impossible to have an agricultural system that can produce the
required agricultural products within the regenerative capacity of the resources (Dietrich, Bennett &
Kuhn, lecture notes, GEOG1220DE Human Impact on the Environment, February 18, 2021). To be
able to feed the entire world, there would also have to be a completely new social construct. Yes, we
could attempt to try to distribute food better throughout the world, but, this takes money and
manpower to do. For example, transportation routes in developing nations are very expensive and
almost exclusively require public funding and public maintenance. I do not believe that many
powerful individuals would be willing to put a substantial amount of their money into something that
doesn’t benefit them. This sounds horrible, but unfortunately, this seems to be how the world works
and there are plenty of examples of this.
However,
as you said it is up to all of us to be more thoughtful about the food we put on our plates. I
believe this idea is possible but for it to be successful, everyone needs to be on board and have their
priorities straight! Thank you for sharing.
Dietrich, D., Bennett, L., & Kuhn, R. (2021). Environmentally Sustainable Agriculture. In Dietrich, D
(Eds.),
GEOG*1220DE course notes
. Retrieved February 10, 2021, from
http://www.uoguelph.ca
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