A plant's eye view

Dear readers,

Today I'd like to share a video with you that I found truly inspiring. As I'm sure you've gathered from some of my previous posts here at PP&P, I've always felt a strong connection with nature. Since moving to London and being relatively far away from my beloved Canadian wilderness, I find that sometimes I forget that we are part of a bigger thing: the biosphere. Listening to Michael Pollan talk about looking at the world from a "plant's eye view" really put things back into perspective for me on this grey British afternoon.

Two aspects of this talk particularly struck me. First, the notion that plants manipulate the animal species which rely on them for survival. Pollan (2008) argues that humans are lured and manipulated by plants just as a bee is lured by a colourful and sweet-scented flower blossom, allowing it to spread its genes while the bee gathers nectar from flower to flower. This example is extended to agriculture, with the suggestion that this technique of mass producing food arose as a "co-evolutionary development" in which edible grasses have and continue to exploit humans. Now that's something to think about!

The second most impressive aspect of his talk was his personal account of Joe Salatin's organic farm (Polyface Farms), in Shenandoah Valley, Virginia. Pollan (2008) describes this organic farm which symbiotically raises over five species of animals as well as some forestry products on a mere 100 hectares of land. What is unique about this farm is that it produces vast amount of food products by simply harnessing the desires of each species involved. In this way, the species perform a variety of ecological services for one another. For example, cows on this farm intensively graze fields. After the grazing is complete, Salatin waits three days before introducing chickens to the same fields. This way, the soils are rich with mature grubs for the chickens to feast on. These chickens fertilise and churn the soil, and remove the grubs, allowing for a quick regeneration of the grasses. Each species involved fulfills a specific purpose. 

To conclude his talk, Pollan (2008) leaves his audience with the idea that this form of food production completely contradicts the pre-conceived notion that nature must be diminished in order for humans to obtain their needs in resources. What would happen if we had a food production revolution, in which all farmers harnessed the desires of the species they harvest? I think the world could be a very different place!

What are your thoughts on looking at the world from a "plant's eye view"? Have you ever tried looking at the world in this way? Do you think a revolution in symbiotic food production could change the way we grow food in the future?

Thanks for reading! 

The Anthropocene and the Industrial Revolution

The next chapter in our story of global food production through time brings us to the Holocene, and more specifically, to the last few centuries of our present geologic epoch. Before exploring the modern environmental impacts of global food production, this post will highlight some of the background on modern global environmental change by examining the Anthropocene, the Industrial Revolution, and the Great Acceleration.

Source: Images of the Industrial Era in Great Britain

The Anthropocene

The dramatic increase in human-induced environmental change over the past three centuries has led to the recognition of a new geologic epoch, the Anthropocene (Ellis, 2011; Crutzen, 2002; Steffen et al., 2007; Zalasiewicz et al., 2011). This novel geologic epoch is still informal, and its start date is currently being debated by scientists. However, the term is generally tied to the period of time associated with the alteration of the Earth's lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere by means of collective human activities. The term Anthropocene signifies "the recent age of man" and is derived from Greek (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2013). One possible starting point that has been suggested for the Anthropocene is the onset of the Industrial Revolution (IR) (Crutzen, 2002; Price et al., 2011; Steffen et al, 2007).  

The Industrial Revolution (Stage 1 of the Anthropocene?)

The IR mechanised the world by altering economies to become driven by industry and machine manufacture. The movement originated in Great Britain between 1760 and 1830, and later spread to other areas of the world. The main technological features of the IR include the use of new base materials (iron and steel), as well as the use fossil fuels (coal, in particular) as energy sources. In addition, the invention of new machines, the introduction of the factory system, improved communication, and the application of science to industry were all central to the revolution. These technological advances allowed humans to harness a significantly larger amount of natural resources. The IR also allowed for major developments in areas such as agriculture, where it became possible to mass produce food to supply the world's growing populations (Encyclpaedia Britannica, 2013).

Though the IR was undoubtedly advantageous for the growth of global economies and societies, it also contributed to the creation of the environmental problems of our time. The exponential increase in the use of natural resources associated with the IR resulted in the increased input of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere (Price et al., 2011), deforestation and conversion to agriculture in the mid-latitudes (Steffen et al., 2007), the diversion of water in rivers by dams (Steffen et al., 2011), and ocean acidification (Tyrrell, 2011), to name only a few. Kasa (2009) argues that current environmental problems have in fact been created as a result of the development that followed the IR. Kasa (2009) further breaks down the IR into five smaller revolutions, and associates them with their specific environmental impacts, as shown in the figure below. 

The five industrial revolutions and their environmental problems (Kasa, 2009).

The massive explosion that was the IR resulted in the skyrocketing of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel use over the past 150 years, as can be seen from the figure below. Atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) have increased to levels never experienced before. CO2 concentrations have increased by 40% since pre-industrial times, attributed primarily to fossil fuel emissions and secondarily to net land use change emissions. Today, it is widely accepted by the scientific community that human influence on the climate system is clear (IPCC, 2013).

Annual anthropogenic CO2 emissions from 1750 to 2011 (IPCC, 2013)

The Great Acceleration (Stage 2 of the Anthropocene?)

Following the Second World War, the human enterprise quickly accelerated, as shown by Steffen et al., (2007). The First World War, the Great Depression, and the Second World War were all factors which had the net effect of slowing global population and economic growth. From the middle of the 20th century, sharp increases in human populations, total real GDP, damming of rivers, and fertiliser consumption, among others, can clearly be seen. According to Steffen et al. (2007), almost 75% of the anthropogenically driven increase in CO2 concentration took place since 1950, and nearly 50% of the total increase in CO2 has occurred in the last 30 years.

The change in human enterprise from 1750-2000 (Steffen et al., 2007)

Final Thoughts

How does this all link back to global food production? In short, the IR industrialised all economic spheres, including agriculture. The use of machinery, factories, and fertilisers in the food system were all results of the IR. The Great Acceleration allowed for an exponential growth in food production, and also allowed for the internationalisation of our food system. 

I hope that trough this post, I have provided the background for future posts here at PP&P. The next set of posts will examine some of the impacts of modern global food production. If there's anything you're dying to learn about or simply would like me to find some information for you, please let me know in the comments below!

To conclude this post, I found this very interesting BBC documentary about why the IR occurred in Britain. I definitely recommend it if you'd like to learn a little bit more on the subject.

Thanks for reading!