Agriculture feeds the world, and the human population it feeds is still growing. As more and more food is needed, unsustainable agricultural practices become a greater threat to global food security. A variety of approaches are being developed to increase food production and sustainability of food production, but rates of adoption remain slow. Food security, which had been increasing up until 2019 has dropped recently. We have lots of room for improvement in sustainability in agriculture.

Dr. Jon Eldon’s careful and thorough comments are acknowledged with appreciation!

Learning Outcomes

After studying this chapter, you should

• Be familiar with the range of definitions of agriculture and related concepts
• Understand what aspects of soil are important for agriculture and how soil can be degraded
• Be familiar with a variety of practices in conventional and other forms of agriculture, their benefits, and their limitations
• Understand the impacts from livestock rearing and aquaculture and their roles in food systems
• Understand the interactions between climate, agriculture, and food production
• Know how food security is defined and measured, and the role of the environment and other factors in food security

Chapter Outline

• 7.1 Agriculture – an introduction
• 7.2 Soil is the foundation of farming
• 7.3 Benefits and impacts of conventional agriculture
• 7.4 Conservation tillage and cover crops
• 7.5 Pests, pesticides, and genetically modified organisms in agriculture
• 7.6 Other approaches to agriculture
• 7.7 Livestock and aquaculture
• 7.8 Climate change and agriculture
• 7.9 Food security and agricultural sustainability
• 7.20 Food and agriculture case study