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Urban agriculture concept
Essay on water conservation methods
Essay on water conservation methods
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Adopting the idea of permaculture while seems complicated, can be relatively easy, the essential principle that needs to be considered is working with nature rather than against it. Three ways in which you as an individual can apply permaculture in your everyday life is, growing your own food, minimizing waste and water conservation. Growing your own food can be as simple as having a veggie garden or a fruit tree and they are not only affordable but also provide nutritional produce that is sustainably ethical and safe. Food wastage is an ever-growing issue in society today but one that is frequently ignored and overlooked, it is estimated that Australians waste 4,000,000 tonnes of food each year. Ways that you can prevent food waste within …show more content…
Even though the earths surface is nearly 70% water, only around 2.5% of it is drinkable so water conservation in crucial for a sustainable future. In order to conserve water in your everyday life, it is not essential that you have a complicated irrigation system, it is taking simple actions such as taking shorter showers, only using the dishwasher and washing machine for full loads, turning off the tap when brushing your teeth and it may also be smart having a water tank or a gutter system that maximizes rainwater, especially is you live in an area where rain is abundant. Taking personal responsibility in improving food security is vital, as if everyone does there part than the results would be unbelievable and not only are the recommendations above easy and may seem helpless they will create a world of difference. If you believe that you are not capable of helping and it should be left to people in positions of power than no progress will ever be …show more content…
Urban farming is the practice of growing and harvesting crops in urbanised areas such as, cities or towns. Urban farms are extremely beneficial, as they utilise unused space in efficient ways. For instance, vertical and rooftop gardens use minimal space and make use of areas that would otherwise be unused, providing a range of fresh, healthy produce. Many people around the world rely on food sourced from urban farms and local gardens. Farmers markets are a rapidly growing trend and provide fresh, quality produce to food insecure households, they are most common in rural and urban areas, as these communities may not have easy access to large food stores or supermarkets. The produce sourced from local farmers markets are fresh, and often picked either the night before or that morning, compared to supermarkets where the fruit and vegetables lose valuable nutrients and antioxidants after being pickled and sitting for days. With the produce being locally sourced, much of the money is transferred back into the local economy. Farmers markets create job opportunities and the ability to make profit and create food security. Urban Farms and farmers markets both positively contribute to the idea of food security by supplying quality, fresh produce
As Jensen points out, farming and industry accounts for the vast majority of total water usage in the world (477). The increasingly scarce resource is a necessary ingredient when growing food. Technology continuously improves to make it easier for farmers to grow crops while using less water. Scientists at the University of Georgia utilize what they term “variable rate irrigation” to let farmers automate the current systems of irrigation to water only the crops that need it (Gies). This is an example of retrofitting current farms, but there is a new way of farming coming to cities that reuses practically all of its water and stakes claim much less acreage in the process. The future of agriculture belongs to vertical and urban farming. These types of farms reduce the use of water, chemicals (such as pesticides, herbicides and fungicides), soil and space (The Economist). These farms are so cutting edge that they are mostly in the experimental stages. Firms like Famgro farms are testing “stackable” farming systems that can scale with demand, even further reducing waste. Famgro’s stackable farms are ideal for cityscapes where land is at a premium; furthermore, reaping the added benefit of being in close proximity to the customers that they serve. Customers will enjoy high quality, fresh produce at only a slightly
... as changing zoning and offerring incentives to attract farmers markets and supermarkets to food deserts. Cities can increase access by guaranteeing public transportation routes. And farmers’ markets can accept EBT (electronic benefit transfer), which would make it easier for those on assistant programs to have access to fresh local fruits and vegetables. Seattle area farmers’ markets are already doing this. Community gardens can be an effective way of increasing fruit and vegetable consumption among residents. Cities can encourage this through zoning polices and grants.
“Modern man does not experience himself as a part of nature but as an outside force destined to dominate and conquer it. He even talks of a battle with nature, forgetting that if he won the battle he would find himself on the losing side” (E.F. Schumacher, 1974).
Farmer markets have always been around and a strong reason to believe that they will still be around long after our time. There are several reasons why this age old tradition still exitst today and revolves around a very common question, “What does a buyer find important when they are about to buy food to be consumed, or how the produce is grown/manufactured, processed, marketed, and distributed. Supporting farmer markets and ensuring fair trade among the dealer and the seller can help promote healthier lives while building stronger communities. There are several reasons to support a community’s farmer market event because buying true locally grown food can allows the buyer to have options to food that is picked fresh and tastes better than what is sold in the supermarkets. Another benefit to farmers markets is that the food is sustainable, flavorful, supports local farms, and also in some areas, part of the proceeds goes to the unfortunate within that community. With the addition of the food generally being more flavorful, locally grown food is adapted to the climate in which it was grown, and can remain fresh longer than that of an imported produce grown in a different climate. Final...
Agriculture is the science and practice of producing crops and livestock. The primary aim of agriculture is to use the land to produce more abundantly to feed and clothe the world at the same time protecting it from deterioration or misuse. Humans had to improve agriculture as they became more dependent on food, creating a solitary evolutionary connection between plants and animals (Campbell and Reece, 2001). In this day and age, so many people have forgotten the authentic premises of survival. It is easy for some to believe that the grocery stores produce food and clothing is produced by shopping centers. These inaccurate presumptions are being made due to the lack of knowledge of how agriculture truly works. There are also significant differences in the levels of understanding between rural and urban communities.
Ecosystems are the basic biological units of ecology, and consist of biotic organisms and their interactions amongst other living organisms, as well as the surrounding abiotic environment (Putman and Wratten 1984). One facet of ecosystems that is less-often mentioned is the process of decomposition, as it many may view it as an unclean, unpleasant process that occurs after an organism has ceased to exist. To those with an ecological framework, however, decomposition is viewed as the opposite – an interesting, intricate process teeming with biological activity and life (Swan and Kominoski 2012). What is decomposition? Formally, decomposition is defined as the process to which complex organic matter is broken down to its basic constituents (i.e.
People don’t appreciated the many advantages that comes with having clean potable water to use, taking it for granted. A lot of clean useful water is wasted by humans all the time that people don’t care about saving water because they have easy access to it. Clean and safe drinkable water resources are getting scarce as the population grows. The world is facing many problems, but the most important needed to survive, is water. Water is getting low in many countries, therefore habitants are suffering the misfortune of not having the reliable source of clean water. Today many countries are having water shortages; meaning rivers, lakes, streams and groundwater are not enough to rely on for supplying water demands. For example, California is facing a drastic water shortage, the natural water resources are not enough to fulfill their water demands. Water shortage affects the agricultural sector, so as a consequence the price for production
El Salvador is the smallest but the most densely populated country in Mesoamerica. It has a tropical climate broken into a rainy season (May – October) and a dry season (November – April). The rainy season is characterized by severe storms, hurricanes and rain events, the dry season sees long periods of severe drought and low rainfall (Urrea, 2013). Smallholder farmers of El Salvador, who are suffering poverty, mostly located in the mountainous regions of the country, which locate in high elevation with a large amount of rainfall. Coffee and sugarcane are the major crops of El Salvador. They take a large percentage of agricultural output. Maize, beans and some tropical fruits are also important agricultural product in El Salvador. Agricultural
Developed countries struggle with managing water consumption. Our high demand in agriculture, industry, and domestic use further complicates this issue. With increasing urbanization and extravagant changes in lifestyle, our use and wasting of water will only increase. As of this year, nearly 1.1 billion people live without clean drinking water and 2.6 billion live without adequate water sanitation. The McDonald's down the street, however, will sell you a 1/3 pounder burger for only 150 gallons. Changes in lifestyle can easily reduce this number and help not only save water, but money as well. Currently, with our diminishing water supply, one of the main goals of humanitarian organizations is ensuring that everyone has t...
The first step is worldwide awareness of the water crisis: governments and the citizens they govern worldwide need to know about this problem and be actively involved in solving this problem. One of the best ways to solve this problem would be for these cities or countries to embark on water-saving programs that would drastically reduce water consumption to sustainable levels.... ... middle of paper ... ... For example, in all corners of the world, there is growing empirical evidence of increased severe weather events, flooding, and diminished ice cover, all of which worsen the problem of water shortages and can be attributed to climate change.
To understand why is agriculture important in the world of today, then first of all we must know what agriculture is? Agriculture is the basic material production of society, the use of land for agriculture and livestock, mining plants and animals as raw materials and labor to produce mainly food and some raw materials for industry. Agriculture is a major industry, covering many disciplines: planting, breeding and processing of agricultural products; in the broadest sense, also including forestry and fisheries. Agriculture is an important economic sector in the economy of many countries, especially in the past century , when the industry has not yet developed. Since the dawn of history, agriculture has been one of the importance means of producing
Livestock Production: Organic Cattle and Swine. The History of Organic Farming Organic agriculture is the oldest form of agriculture on our planet. Until post World War II, farming without harmful petroleum based sources was the only way of farming. There are no hazardous fertilizers and pesticides made from petroleum-based products.
Would you enjoy having fresh, delicious, luscious vegetables to eat all summer long that cost you almost nothing? I know I would. Well, now you can have your veggies and eat them too. Try building your own vegetable garden. It can fit all sizes of yards and decks. You just need to pick the location and type of garden. Next, you will prepare the garden site and work the soil. Finally, you will plan the specifics and plant your garden. With some care and patience, you will be enjoying the fruits of your labor in no time.
IFOAM defines contemporary organic agriculture as a “production system that sustains the health of soils, ecosystems and people.” In this journal article, I also learned that organic farming was practiced in 160 countries all over the world. Organic agriculture has expanded, so global publication has spread too, mostly from the 1990s and onward. This resulted in thousands of scholarly articles, books, newspaper, magazine articles and websites about organic farming, so even more people started to learn about the wonders of organic farming. The book Organic Manifesto, authored by Maria Rodale, taught me much about organic farming and conventional farming, and what they do to humans and the earth.
“ Know your farmer, know your food” goes the slogan by organic farmers to promote the consumption of locally grown food through organic farming. Subsequent to the clear distinction between organic and conventional food, there is an increase in focus towards organic farming. The “silent spring” that represents the seemingly solitary voice of the science writer Rachel Carson, 1962 ushered in the organic farming movement to counter the green revolution industrial-scale use of pesticides and fertilizers back in the 1960s. However the use of the term “organic farming” started with Lord Northbourne (aka Walter James, 4th Baron Northbourne) (Pogash, 2008), which he derived from the concept of “the farm as organism” as, explained in his book titled