Monoculture Farming

Monoculture Farming

Author: Tapan Kumar Nath

Publisher: Nova Publishers

Published: 2016

Total Pages: 196

ISBN-13: 9781634852128

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Monoculture farming is nowadays a widespread practice throughout the world. In order to meet the food demand of rapidly increasing populations, the diverse agroecosystems have been converted mostly into single cropping sectors. Even though food productivity with high input has been boosted to some extent, it is at the cost of local biodiversity loss. This book, drawing examples from several tropical and sub-tropical countries, documents some of the most prevailing monoculture practices and their socio-economic and environmental influences. It describes widespread commercial monoculture of rubber and oil palm, as well as the invasion of exotic mono-plantations in the forestry sector. Both rubber and oil palm are highly lucrative businesses, and these industries have brought positive impacts on rural development, regional economies, including lifting small farmers out of poverty. The rapid expansion of oil palm and rubber in the last few decades has resulted in widespread deforestation, biodiversity loss, and carbon emissions in the tropics, and has also negatively affected the livelihoods of many local communities. Similar effects have also been observed in the case of the conversion of heterogenous forests into monocuture plantations. An integrated land use planning approach is suggested in order to minimize the negative impacts and maximize the positive benefits of monoculture farming. Further, enhancing plant-soil microbial interactions through innoculation of arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi for soil fertility management is also suggested. With up-to-date information on this subject matter, this book will benefit researchers, academics, students, policymakers and practitioners.


Book Synopsis Monoculture Farming by : Tapan Kumar Nath

Download or read book Monoculture Farming written by Tapan Kumar Nath and published by Nova Publishers. This book was released on 2016 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Monoculture farming is nowadays a widespread practice throughout the world. In order to meet the food demand of rapidly increasing populations, the diverse agroecosystems have been converted mostly into single cropping sectors. Even though food productivity with high input has been boosted to some extent, it is at the cost of local biodiversity loss. This book, drawing examples from several tropical and sub-tropical countries, documents some of the most prevailing monoculture practices and their socio-economic and environmental influences. It describes widespread commercial monoculture of rubber and oil palm, as well as the invasion of exotic mono-plantations in the forestry sector. Both rubber and oil palm are highly lucrative businesses, and these industries have brought positive impacts on rural development, regional economies, including lifting small farmers out of poverty. The rapid expansion of oil palm and rubber in the last few decades has resulted in widespread deforestation, biodiversity loss, and carbon emissions in the tropics, and has also negatively affected the livelihoods of many local communities. Similar effects have also been observed in the case of the conversion of heterogenous forests into monocuture plantations. An integrated land use planning approach is suggested in order to minimize the negative impacts and maximize the positive benefits of monoculture farming. Further, enhancing plant-soil microbial interactions through innoculation of arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi for soil fertility management is also suggested. With up-to-date information on this subject matter, this book will benefit researchers, academics, students, policymakers and practitioners.


Environmental Issues

Environmental Issues

Author: Ron Fridell

Publisher: Marshall Cavendish

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 152

ISBN-13: 9780761418856

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Discusses the environment and issues concerning keeping the environment clean, how energy is produced and consumed, what happens to the waste products, how we can change the environment and the future of the Earth's environment.


Book Synopsis Environmental Issues by : Ron Fridell

Download or read book Environmental Issues written by Ron Fridell and published by Marshall Cavendish. This book was released on 2006 with total page 152 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Discusses the environment and issues concerning keeping the environment clean, how energy is produced and consumed, what happens to the waste products, how we can change the environment and the future of the Earth's environment.


Monoculture in Agriculture

Monoculture in Agriculture

Author: United States. Department of Agriculture

Publisher:

Published: 1973

Total Pages: 72

ISBN-13:

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Book Synopsis Monoculture in Agriculture by : United States. Department of Agriculture

Download or read book Monoculture in Agriculture written by United States. Department of Agriculture and published by . This book was released on 1973 with total page 72 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:


Sustainable Agriculture

Sustainable Agriculture

Author: John Mason

Publisher: Landlinks Press

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 214

ISBN-13: 9780643068766

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Explains the concepts and long-term benefits of sustainable farming systems.


Book Synopsis Sustainable Agriculture by : John Mason

Download or read book Sustainable Agriculture written by John Mason and published by Landlinks Press. This book was released on 2003 with total page 214 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Explains the concepts and long-term benefits of sustainable farming systems.


A Small Farm Future

A Small Farm Future

Author: Chris Smaje

Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing

Published: 2020-10-21

Total Pages: 322

ISBN-13: 1603589023

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A modern classic of the new agrarianism "Chris Smaje...shows that the choice is clear. Either we have a small farm future, or we face collapse and extinction."—Vandana Shiva "Every young person should read this book."—Richard Heinberg In a groundbreaking debut, farmer and social scientist Chris Smaje argues that organizing society around small-scale farming offers the soundest, sanest and most reasonable response to climate change and other crises of civilisation—and will yield humanity’s best chance at survival. Drawing on a vast range of sources from across a multitude of disciplines, A Small Farm Future analyses the complex forces that make societal change inevitable; explains how low-carbon, locally self-reliant agrarian communities can empower us to successfully confront these changes head on; and explores the pathways for delivering this vision politically. Challenging both conventional wisdom and utopian blueprints, A Small Farm Future offers rigorous original analysis of wicked problems and hidden opportunities in a way that illuminates the path toward functional local economies, effective self-provisioning, agricultural diversity and a shared earth. Perfect for readers of both Wendell Berry and Thomas Piketty, A Small Farm Future is a refreshing, new outlook on a way forward for society—and a vital resource for activists, students, policy makers, and anyone looking to enact change.


Book Synopsis A Small Farm Future by : Chris Smaje

Download or read book A Small Farm Future written by Chris Smaje and published by Chelsea Green Publishing. This book was released on 2020-10-21 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A modern classic of the new agrarianism "Chris Smaje...shows that the choice is clear. Either we have a small farm future, or we face collapse and extinction."—Vandana Shiva "Every young person should read this book."—Richard Heinberg In a groundbreaking debut, farmer and social scientist Chris Smaje argues that organizing society around small-scale farming offers the soundest, sanest and most reasonable response to climate change and other crises of civilisation—and will yield humanity’s best chance at survival. Drawing on a vast range of sources from across a multitude of disciplines, A Small Farm Future analyses the complex forces that make societal change inevitable; explains how low-carbon, locally self-reliant agrarian communities can empower us to successfully confront these changes head on; and explores the pathways for delivering this vision politically. Challenging both conventional wisdom and utopian blueprints, A Small Farm Future offers rigorous original analysis of wicked problems and hidden opportunities in a way that illuminates the path toward functional local economies, effective self-provisioning, agricultural diversity and a shared earth. Perfect for readers of both Wendell Berry and Thomas Piketty, A Small Farm Future is a refreshing, new outlook on a way forward for society—and a vital resource for activists, students, policy makers, and anyone looking to enact change.


Perilous Bounty

Perilous Bounty

Author: Tom Philpott

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2020-08-11

Total Pages: 257

ISBN-13: 1635573149

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New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice An unsettling journey into the disaster-bound American food system, and an exploration of possible solutions, from leading food politics commentator and former farmer Tom Philpott. More than a decade after Michael Pollan's game-changing The Omnivore's Dilemma transformed the conversation about what we eat, a combination of global diet trends and corporate interests have put American agriculture into a state of "quiet emergency," from dangerous drought in California--which grows more than 50 percent of the fruits and vegetables we eat--to catastrophic topsoil loss in the "breadbasket" heartland of the United States. Whether or not we take heed, these urgent crises of industrial agriculture will define our future. In Perilous Bounty, veteran journalist and former farmer Tom Philpott explores and exposes the small handful of seed and pesticide corporations, investment funds, and magnates who benefit from the trends that imperil us, with on-the-ground dispatches featuring the scientists documenting the damage and the farmers and activists who are valiantly and inventively pushing back. Resource scarcity looms on the horizon, but rather than pointing us toward an inevitable doomsday, Philpott shows how the entire wayward ship of American agriculture could be routed away from its path to disaster. He profiles the farmers and communities in the nation's two key growing regions developing resilient, soil-building, water-smart farming practices, and readying for the climate shocks that are already upon us; and he explains how we can help move these methods from the margins to the mainstream.


Book Synopsis Perilous Bounty by : Tom Philpott

Download or read book Perilous Bounty written by Tom Philpott and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2020-08-11 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice An unsettling journey into the disaster-bound American food system, and an exploration of possible solutions, from leading food politics commentator and former farmer Tom Philpott. More than a decade after Michael Pollan's game-changing The Omnivore's Dilemma transformed the conversation about what we eat, a combination of global diet trends and corporate interests have put American agriculture into a state of "quiet emergency," from dangerous drought in California--which grows more than 50 percent of the fruits and vegetables we eat--to catastrophic topsoil loss in the "breadbasket" heartland of the United States. Whether or not we take heed, these urgent crises of industrial agriculture will define our future. In Perilous Bounty, veteran journalist and former farmer Tom Philpott explores and exposes the small handful of seed and pesticide corporations, investment funds, and magnates who benefit from the trends that imperil us, with on-the-ground dispatches featuring the scientists documenting the damage and the farmers and activists who are valiantly and inventively pushing back. Resource scarcity looms on the horizon, but rather than pointing us toward an inevitable doomsday, Philpott shows how the entire wayward ship of American agriculture could be routed away from its path to disaster. He profiles the farmers and communities in the nation's two key growing regions developing resilient, soil-building, water-smart farming practices, and readying for the climate shocks that are already upon us; and he explains how we can help move these methods from the margins to the mainstream.


Big Farms Make Big Flu

Big Farms Make Big Flu

Author: Rob Wallace

Publisher: NYU Press

Published: 2016-06-30

Total Pages: 456

ISBN-13: 1583675906

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The first collection to explore infectious disease, agriculture, economics, and the nature of science together Thanks to breakthroughs in production and food science, agribusiness has been able to devise new ways to grow more food and get it more places more quickly. There is no shortage of news items on hundreds of thousands of hybrid poultry—each animal genetically identical to the next—packed together in megabarns, grown out in a matter of months, then slaughtered, processed and shipped to the other side of the globe. Less well known are the deadly pathogens mutating in, and emerging out of, these specialized agro-environments. In fact, many of the most dangerous new diseases in humans can be traced back to such food systems, among them Campylobacter, Nipah virus, Q fever, hepatitis E, and a variety of novel influenza variants. Agribusiness has known for decades that packing thousands of birds or livestock together results in a monoculture that selects for such disease. But market economics doesn't punish the companies for growing Big Flu—it punishes animals, the environment, consumers, and contract farmers. Alongside growing profits, diseases are permitted to emerge, evolve, and spread with little check. “That is,” writes evolutionary biologist Rob Wallace, “it pays to produce a pathogen that could kill a billion people.” In Big Farms Make Big Flu, a collection of dispatches by turns harrowing and thought-provoking, Wallace tracks the ways influenza and other pathogens emerge from an agriculture controlled by multinational corporations. Wallace details, with a precise and radical wit, the latest in the science of agricultural epidemiology, while at the same time juxtaposing ghastly phenomena such as attempts at producing featherless chickens, microbial time travel, and neoliberal Ebola. Wallace also offers sensible alternatives to lethal agribusiness. Some, such as farming cooperatives, integrated pathogen management, and mixed crop-livestock systems, are already in practice off the agribusiness grid. While many books cover facets of food or outbreaks, Wallace's collection appears the first to explore infectious disease, agriculture, economics and the nature of science together. Big Farms Make Big Flu integrates the political economies of disease and science to derive a new understanding of the evolution of infections. Highly capitalized agriculture may be farming pathogens as much as chickens or corn.


Book Synopsis Big Farms Make Big Flu by : Rob Wallace

Download or read book Big Farms Make Big Flu written by Rob Wallace and published by NYU Press. This book was released on 2016-06-30 with total page 456 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first collection to explore infectious disease, agriculture, economics, and the nature of science together Thanks to breakthroughs in production and food science, agribusiness has been able to devise new ways to grow more food and get it more places more quickly. There is no shortage of news items on hundreds of thousands of hybrid poultry—each animal genetically identical to the next—packed together in megabarns, grown out in a matter of months, then slaughtered, processed and shipped to the other side of the globe. Less well known are the deadly pathogens mutating in, and emerging out of, these specialized agro-environments. In fact, many of the most dangerous new diseases in humans can be traced back to such food systems, among them Campylobacter, Nipah virus, Q fever, hepatitis E, and a variety of novel influenza variants. Agribusiness has known for decades that packing thousands of birds or livestock together results in a monoculture that selects for such disease. But market economics doesn't punish the companies for growing Big Flu—it punishes animals, the environment, consumers, and contract farmers. Alongside growing profits, diseases are permitted to emerge, evolve, and spread with little check. “That is,” writes evolutionary biologist Rob Wallace, “it pays to produce a pathogen that could kill a billion people.” In Big Farms Make Big Flu, a collection of dispatches by turns harrowing and thought-provoking, Wallace tracks the ways influenza and other pathogens emerge from an agriculture controlled by multinational corporations. Wallace details, with a precise and radical wit, the latest in the science of agricultural epidemiology, while at the same time juxtaposing ghastly phenomena such as attempts at producing featherless chickens, microbial time travel, and neoliberal Ebola. Wallace also offers sensible alternatives to lethal agribusiness. Some, such as farming cooperatives, integrated pathogen management, and mixed crop-livestock systems, are already in practice off the agribusiness grid. While many books cover facets of food or outbreaks, Wallace's collection appears the first to explore infectious disease, agriculture, economics and the nature of science together. Big Farms Make Big Flu integrates the political economies of disease and science to derive a new understanding of the evolution of infections. Highly capitalized agriculture may be farming pathogens as much as chickens or corn.


Diversifying Farming Systems for Adaptive Capacity

Diversifying Farming Systems for Adaptive Capacity

Author: Timothy Bowles

Publisher: Frontiers Media SA

Published: 2022-02-01

Total Pages: 180

ISBN-13: 2889717658

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Book Synopsis Diversifying Farming Systems for Adaptive Capacity by : Timothy Bowles

Download or read book Diversifying Farming Systems for Adaptive Capacity written by Timothy Bowles and published by Frontiers Media SA. This book was released on 2022-02-01 with total page 180 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:


Environmental Science

Environmental Science

Author: Bernard J. Nebel

Publisher: Prentice Hall Professional

Published: 1993

Total Pages: 666

ISBN-13: 9780132854467

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Revolving around the principles of sustainability, this new edition sets out to provide students with a balanced, complete treatment of environmental issues - their scientific basis, history and future. Material is revised to reflect changing environmental understanding and issues.


Book Synopsis Environmental Science by : Bernard J. Nebel

Download or read book Environmental Science written by Bernard J. Nebel and published by Prentice Hall Professional. This book was released on 1993 with total page 666 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Revolving around the principles of sustainability, this new edition sets out to provide students with a balanced, complete treatment of environmental issues - their scientific basis, history and future. Material is revised to reflect changing environmental understanding and issues.


World Agriculture and the Environment

World Agriculture and the Environment

Author: Jason Clay

Publisher: Island Press

Published: 2013-02-22

Total Pages: 583

ISBN-13: 161091015X

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World Agriculture and the Environment presents a unique assessment of agricultural commodity production and the environmental problems it causes, along with prescriptions for increasing efficiency and reducing damage to natural systems. Drawing on his extensive travel and research in agricultural regions around the world, and employing statistics from a range of authoritative sources including the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, the author examines twenty of the world’s major crops, including beef, coffee, corn, rice, rubber, shrimp, sorghum, tea, and tobacco. For each crop, he offers comparative information including: • a “fast facts” overview section that summarizes key data for the crop • main producing and consuming countries • main types of production • market trend information and market chain analyses • major environmental impacts • management strategies and best practices • key contacts and references With maps of major commodity production areas worldwide, the book represents the first truly global portrait of agricultural production patterns and environmental impacts.


Book Synopsis World Agriculture and the Environment by : Jason Clay

Download or read book World Agriculture and the Environment written by Jason Clay and published by Island Press. This book was released on 2013-02-22 with total page 583 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: World Agriculture and the Environment presents a unique assessment of agricultural commodity production and the environmental problems it causes, along with prescriptions for increasing efficiency and reducing damage to natural systems. Drawing on his extensive travel and research in agricultural regions around the world, and employing statistics from a range of authoritative sources including the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, the author examines twenty of the world’s major crops, including beef, coffee, corn, rice, rubber, shrimp, sorghum, tea, and tobacco. For each crop, he offers comparative information including: • a “fast facts” overview section that summarizes key data for the crop • main producing and consuming countries • main types of production • market trend information and market chain analyses • major environmental impacts • management strategies and best practices • key contacts and references With maps of major commodity production areas worldwide, the book represents the first truly global portrait of agricultural production patterns and environmental impacts.