Environmental impact information of crop species
General United Kingdom
A number of food crops, e.g. oil palm, sugar, tobacco and cotton are the subject of much global controversy due to the significant impact they have on biodiversity and the environment. Please would you consider including information on these matters? The effects of crops like oil palm in destroying thousands of square miles of mixed forest, drastically reducing important biodiversity are important for food growers to be aware of. Thank you.
Posted
by: Peter Upton
(1 point)
Posted: December 11, 2014
Answers
Hi Peter
Very good point. The crops you point to (notably oil palm) are bad. But by the same token corn in the mid west of the USA or many other food crops have damaging effects (corn though is a cash crop in some ways due to biofuel usage). The destruction of the tall grass prairies is the environmental issue there
Fact is 40% of terrestrial habitat is Agricultural land and Ag is among the bigger contributors to global warming
And there is water stress, in places such as California and the middle east.
Even organic systems such as Amish here in Pennsylvania are highly damaging such as problem of massive nitrogen run off into Chesapeake bay from manure
I dont think growers of oil palm in SE Asia or Cotton in Ghana are motivated by the environmental harm. There is a complex interplay of market forces and accessible knowledge/technology/seeds that drives what is planted and where.
We have much more content to add. Such as what insects are beneficial and what are bad. What pesticides are known to work and under what conditions etc. Your suggestion would fall into that category. Information that is valuable and should be available.
Delighted to hear more suggestions from you and others
Very good point. The crops you point to (notably oil palm) are bad. But by the same token corn in the mid west of the USA or many other food crops have damaging effects (corn though is a cash crop in some ways due to biofuel usage). The destruction of the tall grass prairies is the environmental issue there
Fact is 40% of terrestrial habitat is Agricultural land and Ag is among the bigger contributors to global warming
And there is water stress, in places such as California and the middle east.
Even organic systems such as Amish here in Pennsylvania are highly damaging such as problem of massive nitrogen run off into Chesapeake bay from manure
I dont think growers of oil palm in SE Asia or Cotton in Ghana are motivated by the environmental harm. There is a complex interplay of market forces and accessible knowledge/technology/seeds that drives what is planted and where.
We have much more content to add. Such as what insects are beneficial and what are bad. What pesticides are known to work and under what conditions etc. Your suggestion would fall into that category. Information that is valuable and should be available.
Delighted to hear more suggestions from you and others
Posted
by: David Hughes
(67 points)
Posted: December 12, 2014
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