Food Resources

What is food?
Nutrient Composition Sources Energy yield Function
Carbohydrates Sugars Wheat, corn,
rice
4 Cal/g Main source of
bodys energy
Lipids (fats
and oils)
Fatty acids
and fatty
alcohols
Olives, nuts,
animal fats
9 Cal/g Helps form
membranes
and hormones
Proteins Amino acids Animal foods
and smaller
amounts from
plants
4 Cal/g Helps build
and maintain
all body
structures
Minerals
Vitamins
Water

What is a calorie?
Small calorie:
o Energy required to raise 1 gram of water 1 degree (Celsius or Kelvin)
o 1 small calorie = 4.184 joules
Dietary Calorie:
o Energy required to raise 1 kg of water 1 degree (Celsius or Kelvin)
o 1000 times a small calorie
o 1 dietary Calorie = 4.184 kilojoules
Is there enough food in the world?
Yes, 11 billion people can be fed with the food that is available
However, not everyone has access to this food
Furthermore, food prices are high and food availability is low because of:
o Biofuels
o Animal feed (e.g. cereals are used to feed cows, instead of people)
Solutions:
o Eat less meat
o Use an electric car
Developed countries:
o Arable land decreased 40 Mha (millions of acres)
o However, higher yields
Developing countries:
o Arable land increased 107 Mha
Net increase of 67 Mha over past 50 years
Net cereal increase of 300% over past 50 years
After WWII, 1 farmer could have food for his family and another 20 people,
while today, 1 farmer can have food for his family and another 150 people
There is enough food in the world
Or rather, there is enough food in the world for now
Developed countries:
o More food than needed
o Import tariffs and subsidies
Developing countries:
o Malnutrition: food lacks vital nutrients (proteins, minerals)
o Undernourishment: food lacks adequate energy (calories)
Roughly three-fourths of the world is inadequately fed and 1 billion are hungry
Factor for 2050 9 billion people
Developed countries:
o Production of meat is high-energy (trophic level)
o Now, nearly half of cereals are used for animal feed
o Decrease in arable land
Developing countries:
o Growing incomes mean:
Higher caloric diet
Higher meat content
More waste
More in extreme poverty than once thought
Energy transfer
Lindemans 10% Law
Of food digested:
o ~ defecation (detritivore/decomposer)
o ~ assimilated
~ respiration (heat)
~ growth and reproduction
Only this is available to the next trophic level
Terrestrial food
Sun producer you
Sun producer meat you
Croplands:
o Arable
o Cultivation
Rangelands:
o Grazing
o Hunting
Aquaculture
Aquaculture, also known as aquafarming, is the farming of aquatic organisms
such as fish, crustaceans, molluscs, and aquatic plants
Fishing methods:
o Fish farming in cage
o Trawler fishing
o Purse-seine fishing
o Drift-net fishing
o Long line fishing

Problems with aquaculture:
o Predators
o Diseases
o Antibiotics used to cure diseases pollute the water
Industrialized foods:
o GMOs (genetically modified organisms) may be harmful, but this is not
a certainty
o The hormones injected into GMOs may cause harm
o The pesticides and other chemicals used on them are stored in our
livers (bioaccumulation) so they cause harm
o CAFOs (concentrated animal feeding operations) are enclosed farms,
which are used to raise cattle; it is relatively inexpensive to raise cattle
in these farms because, since they waist little energy due to the
limited amount of space available, the cattle need little food
Subsistence farming:
o Self-sufficient for farmer and family
Intensive traditional farming:
o Self-sufficient for farmer and family, plus enough to take to the market
o In countries with dense populations (e.g. rice in India and China).
Shifting cultivation:
o Plots of land are cultivated temporarily, then abandoned and allowed
to revert to their natural vegetation
o In countries with a lot of farming space (e.g. Thailand)
Nomadic herding:
o Extensive animal grazing with constant or seasonal migration
o Examples include Bhotiyas and Gujjars in the Himalayas, Bedouin in
the Middle East, and Saami in Scandinavia
Ways of producing food:
o Mass production
o Subsistence farming
o Intensive subsistence farming
o Shifting cultivation
o Nomadic herding
Finishing an animal refers to when we increase an animals biomass a few
months before it is slaughtered
Exercises
1. Outline the issues involved in the imbalance in global food supply.
Some of the issues involved in the imbalance of the global food supply are
under-nourishment (food intake not containing enough energy) and
malnutrition (food intake lacking essential nutrients such as proteins and
minerals). Furthermore, food prices are high and food availability low due to
the use of biofuels and the fact that a lot of food is used as animal feed (e.g.
cereals are used to feed cattle instead of humans).
2. Compare and contrast the efficiency of terrestrial and aquatic food
production systems.
Terrestrial food production systems:
o Most food is harvested from relatively low trophic levels
(producers and herbivores)
o Systems that produce crops are more energy efficient than
those that produce livestock
o However, animals can convert vegetation to food that would
not be available to humans directly
o Also, the products from livestock can be diverse (e.g. milk,
meat, blood, wool, hide)
Aquatic food production systems:
o Most food is harvested from higher trophic levels where the
total storages are much smaller
o This is less efficient than crop production
o Energy conversions are more efficient