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Farming
Farming
is a very efficient way of growing the sort of food
people want to eat, in very large amounts.  Until
early last century, all farming was based on sustainable methods
because there was no choice. Today, people in
poor countries continue this way of growing food
because they cannot afford the machinery and chemicals
needed for modern industrial
farming. Industrial farming certainly makes
loads of food but it damages the land, sea and
air.  There
are alternatives such as organic
farming which
is sustainable.
The problem with organic farming is that the farmers
have to be much more skilled. They can’t
rely on spraying and 'instant' fertilisers and
have to plan their crops in a very different way.
This means more people have jobs and this type
of farming is nature-friendly... but organic food
is more expensive.
There is a huge argument about this at the moment.
Modern industrial farmers say that only they can ‘feed
the world’, preferably using genetically
engineered crops.
What does 'sustainable' mean?Something that people can carry on doing forever without damaging the environment.
 I've
made another guide all about genetically engineered food and stuff. Take
a look to find out what's going on.
They
may well be right but at a terrible cost to
the environment and, in particular, the world's
remaining forests.
 The
sustainable farmers say this is nonsense.
But sustainable farming has to be the future
because industrial farming does so much damage to
the world we all live in and the oil it depends
on will run out. So do we really need industrial
agriculture to feed all the world's people? Food
MythBuster Anna Lappé says no in this video.
Fascinating
food facts
- hydroponic growing can
produce 100 times more in the same area
as traditional methods. And it can
use 99 percent less water than outdoor
fields more
on this
- in
Peru, the local people keep guinea
pigs (called cuyes) to eat
- in
Australia, kangaroos are farmed for
their meat and fur
- in
South Africa, ostrich farming is big
business. They are farmed for their
meat (which is much lower in fat than
beef) and feathers. Happily,
no one farms penguins, although people
did once kill us for meat. The only
animals that ever eat people are occasional
tigers and other humans (cannibals)!
 insects are getting more popular as both
tasty and a good source of protein. Eating
insects is perfectly normal
in many countries. People eat: crickets,
cicadas, grasshoppers, ants, beetle grubs
and even scorpions and tarantulas
These are arachnids (spiders) not insects, but both are classes of arthropods
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