Play on the theme- Soil

Change in Food Habits of Humans with Time

Interviews of Various Researchers from Different Countries

 Interviews of Various Researchers from Different Countries on effect of GMO s on Food Security, Health, Climate Change, Ecosystems and Species Diversity

Wheat- The Golden Crop

How the process of obtaining food by humans has impacted biodiversity

How the process of obtaining food by humans has impacted biodiversity

“There is no love sincerer than the love of food” is a quote rightly said by George Bernard Shaw.  Food is necessary for all life forms and the process of obtaining food is a requirement and desire for every living being. From the beginning till now, the food habits of human beings have changed a lot. There was a time when people used to eat the food which they directly obtained from nature. Their diet included the foods which were healthy and consisted of all those essential nutrients which are important for the proper growth and development of body. But today, our food habits have undergone a change to a large extent. Certain factors such as westernisation of the people, comparatively less physical work to do, change in occupations and life style are greatly responsible for today’s situation. Nowadays, the food which we eat lacks certain vital substances. This is not only because of the kind of unhealthy and junk food what we eat these days but even the so-called ‘healthy’ food of today is contaminated with various such sort of chemical compounds which are not desirable in our diet. It is not only the quality of the food which we eat but, the quantity which is required today has also changed and increased considerably. All these changes have a great impact not only on our lives but also on the environment which we live in!

If we’ll flip the pages of history then we will get to know that requirement and greed for obtaining food has very often resulted in creating major past events which have affected not only us but also the whole biodiversity. Starting from the beginning of early civilisations, we find that the humans had wandered in search of food and had settled at the places from where they could have a source of it. The age of enclosures in England in the eighteenth century was also a result of the increased food requirement by the human population which influenced the life of people and changed the landscape of the country. But, as we discussed earlier, that the growing necessity of food has many a time affected the eco system which was sometimes desirable and sometimes not. From the early times, some problems which were attached to this process of obtaining food were felt. For instance, the expansion of agricultural land led to the shrinkage of habitats of the wildlife which is still continuing. Unfortunately, there had been some other disastrous events also and we can trace them even in the history of those countries which are considered as the developed ones today!

During the late eighteenth century, settled agriculture had not developed on any extensive scale in the USA. Forests covered over 800 million acres and grasslands about 600 million acres. This can give us some idea of what the natural vegetation was like at that time. But, by the early twentieth century, this landscape had transformed radically. In order to obtain as much as production they could and in a desire to dominate the world market, the USA population began exploiting their natural resources. Forest timber was cut at a large scale for export, animals were hunted for food and their skin and mountains were indiscriminately mined for gold and minerals. Besides this, they slashed and burnt forests and cleared this land for cultivation and sowed corn and wheat extensively. This activity was largely promoted. During the First World War, the world market boomed and demand for food grains became higher as Russian supplies of wheat were cut off and the USA had to feed Europe. At that time, US President Wilson called upon the farmers to respond to the need of the time saying, “Plant more wheat, wheat will win the war.” In early years, the fertile soil produced good crop but when the soil became impoverished and exhausted in one place, the migrants moved to some other regions. In this way, they obtained large produce but continued to harm the natural environment. But, as we all know that we reap what we sow. Likewise, the USA too had to eventually face the consequences of its actions. In the 1930s, terrifying dust storms began to blow over the southern plains of the country. The rains failed year after year and temperatures soared. The wind blew with ferocious speed. Black blizzards rolled in, which were very often 7,000 to 8,000 feet high. They rose like monstrous waves of muddy water and came day after day, year after year, through the 1930s. People were blinded and choked. Cattles were suffocated to death as their lungs caked with dust and mud. Sand coated the surfaces of rivers and the aquatic life was terribly affected. All the tractors and machines that had ploughed the earth and harvested the food for life were now clogged with dust and adversely affected the biodiversity. All the innocent lives of animals and birds and the nature became a victim of human greed. American dream of becoming a wheat basket turned them into a dust bowl! It was after 1930s, they realised that they had to respect the ecological conditions of each region in order to sustain their living and the different life forms. This episode of obtaining more and more food impacted the biodiversity adversely. Along with mankind, natural vegetation and wildlife of America faced these consequences.

 Even in a developing country like India, we can trace such examples which have affected our biological diversity. During the colonial rule, ‘enrichment plantation’ was undertaken and the peasants were compelled to cultivate only the commercially valuable crops like indigo, opium, etc. Such crops impacted the land, changed the chemical composition of soil and the soil gradually became infertile. This had a direct impact on the lives of the micro-organisms and the animals which lived inside the soil. The condition of the agricultural sector was very pitiable as a country where 57% of its land was used for cultivation could not even manage to fulfil the food requirements of its citizens. After independence of India, many initiatives were taken up to improve the condition of the agricultural sector of our country. Many different species of cattle animals and poultry birds from different regions and countries were cross-bred so as to get more economically beneficial and high yielding species of animals. It proved to be a successful project as it not only helped the farmers to obtain more produce which supplemented their income but also diversified the species of animals and birds. Several other solutions were also searched out for and were implemented. One such solution which came up was ‘The Green Revolution’ in mid-twentieth century. The land was intensively cultivated with the use of modern methods which replaced the traditional farming practices. It resulted in increasing the food security of the nation as the produce increased many folds. This major episode in the Indian history brought great impacts on the biodiversity of the country. New species of plants were introduced and new varieties of seeds were used by the farmers for growing their crops. They started using genetically modified and High Yielding Variety (HYV) seeds as they were more immune to the changes in the environment and produced more grains. But, on the other hand, these changes led to many ecological problems too. A very large sum was invested in the sowing and growing of these crops which meant that no crop failure was desirable which could be caused by the pests and untimely or no rain. Use of these new varieties of seeds which were made with the help of modern technology required a large amount of water in the presence of water crisis. This requirement was fulfilled by irrigating the fields. Use of fertilizers, insecticides, fungicides and pesticides also gained necessity in order to have healthy crops. As their use increased, they started creating many problems like the use of such chemicals compounds led to the change in the chemical composition of the soil which adversely affected the life of the bacteria, micro-organisms and the animals to whom soil provided shelter. Moreover, when these chemicals got mixed up with the water and reach the rivers then they pollute river water too and cause severe harm to the aquatic life. Many different species of fish died as a result of it.

With the passage of time, the chemical properties of the vegetables and fruits which are grown in such soils are also changing. Animals, plants, insects, small microbes and all other life forms are threatened by this change which is occurring.

So, from these two instances we can conclude that each time when human beings try to dominate nature to fulfil their greed or needs, they cause harm to it and ultimately create problems for themselves and other living forms on this earth. Every time this development, in a way or the other, takes place on the expense of the change and degradation of the environment and biological diversity.

Biodiversity is not just about ecosystems or organisms. It’s also a resource that all living organisms on this earth need for their existence. It is what makes our earth different and so beautiful than other planets. Hence, its protection is a necessity for all of us. It is very sad to know that many a times, we humans forget the value of this biological diversity and our activities tend to impact them. We must always keep this in mind that this diversity is our earth’s beauty and we should never ever degrade it. We, the human beings, have to learn from our past events that if we will try to go beyond the certain limit for satisfying our desires then we will have to pay very hard for it. Any region of this world, whether a developed nation or the one which is still striving to be one, will get affected by the consequences. Therefore, we can conclude that our goal should be that we have to make advancement and take progressive steps but not at the cost of these natural resources and so, there is a dire need for sustainable development to be undertaken.

Food requirements by the growing population is a demand which cannot be ignored and needs to be satisfied and we have to find out such measures which will perform the same but will not cause any severe harm to our environment. Those measures which prove to be very successful today but may cause adverse consequences tomorrow should not be promoted at all. One such solution which emerges today is ‘Organic Farming’, which does not involves the use of those chemicals and other such substances which will affect the different forms of life and can yet, fulfil our today’s demands.

In a discussion with one of my friend in my village, what I came to know was the opinion of his family about the organic farming. This process is about eliminating the use of chemical compounds from farming. According to him, it is not that easy like the spraying of fertilizers and other chemicals in the field is but costs less to them. The benefits of organic farming were revealed to them when last time their crop produce was more healthier than the earlier ones. It is not only the story of any one or two families but of all those farmers who have opted for these agricultural practices have got such positive desirable results which have not disturbed the eco system. If such practices are not undertaken then history may repeat itself and mankind will have to face some consequences which it has never even dreamt of!

In these activities, plant and animal life also come to a threat. Besides human beings, even those living beings have to suffer who have played no role at all in bringing out these results. This ecosystem is an inter-linkage among all the living beings. Every single change brought by any one life form tends to bring a change in the life of other organisms and we humans being the superior-most species have the absolute control to either destroy or sustain our natural biological diversity. Even if a single species is disturbed, the whole eco system will get affected adversely as it will disturb the food chains and ultimately other life forms will also start depleting due to lack of food resources for them. Hence, it is very important not to exploit the wildlife and natural vegetation just for our comfort since the different ways to prevent this are present. Our land resources are limited and the demands for food are increasing year after year and hence, we need to search out for some more solutions also in order to protect these natural resources while walking on the path of advancement and development. Sustainable development is the need of hour!

                                                                                                                                     

Essay on the topic -Biodiversity and Sustainability

Biodiversity and sustainability

Since, the time immemorial, the human beings have been striving for the needs of food. Whether it be Stone Age or Iron Age or present generation, there has been a race for food between us.

For fulfilling our requirement, the things we have done are highly unfavorable for the bio-diversity present on the earth.

From the past, we can see human being use to hunt animals and live along with them in forests. But soon they discovered fire and learned agriculture which encouraged them to live near rivers and clear the lands around the fertile regions of river basin for agriculture. But after some years as soil loses its fertility due to unavailability of knowledge of use of manures and farming techniques, they have to move to different places, this started shifting agriculture where land was degraded and then abandoned. All the animals and insects living in soil faced its consequences.

The agricultural practice started by them proved bane to the land, as a result there was a need for the modern farming techniques.

The rapid growth of industrialization in cities and conversion of villagers to cities lead to huge destruction of forests and depletion of plants and animals species from that specific areas, forcing them to change their habitat, thereby depleting their population. The industries spruced innumerable harmful gases which affect the quality of biodiversity in the surrounded areas.

Let’s take example  of our delhi’s  National bird, sparrow, which was found abundantly around 1 decade back, has now vanished due to our activities. The concrete jungle around their habitat and harmful pollutants released by vehicles in delhi has completely destroyed their homes. Now they have migrated to nearby states which has reduced their numbers and affected their species drastically.

The plants in our areas have been exploited by us in many different ways which we can’t even imagine. Medicinal plants, flowering plants have been constant victims of our greed. We have seen many people cutting them in large amounts for their purpose and commercial needs. If they need them, then they should also plant them in the same ratio to maintain ecological balance. But they don’t they resort to their traditional ways. This reduces their species, in this way it increases the price of item, and they earn more profit, but all ignore the danger inflicted on the species.

Come to Delhi’s Yamuna, its biodiversity, plant and animal species, its water, all has been affected by the industrial pollution and our greed. Its water level is now so reduced in some parts that its flow has become still, with pollutants floating over it, its fresh and clear water is now impossible to see in Delhi. Thousands of fishes, small aquatic animals living in it has also been affected by this, they have lost their lives and home in this. People also throw godly excess items left after worship in Yamuna as it is considered sacred, it has not only polluted and sucked it up but now only these items over its surface.

In our rural areas, in nearby villages and small towns, people who owns cattle still bathe their cattle in rivers, ponds and lakes which has affected the quality of water and has made it unsuitable for aquatic life in it, also they use the same water for washing clothes, bathing, drinking and other purposes which also affects their health. In some cases, we also need to educate people that their actions need to be reformed and  changed for good.

Also forest fires is another cause forest destruction which can also take place due to human mistake, these fires destroy the forest and its biodiversity in pieces.

Hunting and poaching; one of the main cause behind the depletion of animals in India, it has traditionally been defined as the illegal hunting, killing, or capturing of wild animals, often because of our greed for more and more money. Let’s look for its causes.

Until the 20th century, poor peasants poached for their families and self-sustenance, thus supplementing their meagre income. From the 1980s, the term "poaching" has also been  referred to the illegal growth of wild plant species which affects other crops.

In 1998 a concept of poaching as an environmental crime was proposed, it defined any activity as illegal that intertwine the laws and regulations established to protect renewable natural resources including the illegal trade of wildlife with the intention of possessing, transporting, consuming or selling it and using its body parts. It was considered  that poaching is one of the most serious threats to the survival of plant and animal populations. Wildlife biologists and conservationists consider poaching to have a detrimental effect on biodiversity both within and outside protected areas as wildlife populations decline, species are depleted locally, and the functionality of ecosystems is disturbed.

The detrimental effects of poaching comprise:

Defaunation of forests: predators, herbivores and fruit-eating vertebrates cannot recover as fast as they are removed from a forest; as their populations decline, the pattern of seed predation and dispersal is altered; tree species with large seeds progressively dominate a forest, while small-seeded plant species become locally extinct.

Reduction of animal populations in the wild and possible extinction.

The effective size of protected areas is reduced as poachers use the edges of these areas as open-access resources.

Wildlife tourism destinations face a negative publicity; those holding a permit for wildlife-based land uses, tourism-based tour and lodging operators lose income; employment opportunities are reduced.

Emergence of zoonotic diseases caused by transmission of highly variable retrovirus chains:

Outbreaks of the Ebola virus in the Congo Basin and in Gabon in the 1990s have been associated with the butchering of apes and consumption of their meat. Ebola has emerged as a threat for the whole world killing thousands of people, it has all been due to our greed, and for it we are responsible.

The outbreak of SARS in Hong Kong is attributed to contact with and consumption of meat from masked palm civets, raccoon dogs, Chinese ferret-badgers and other small carnivores that are available in southern Chinese wildlife markets.

Bushmeat hunters in Central Africa infected with the human T-lymphotropic virus were closely exposed to wild primates.

Results of research on wild chimpanzees in Cameroon indicate that they are naturally infected with the simian foamy virus and constitute a reservoir of HIV-1, a precursor of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome in humans.

Now see which species have been threatened by us where.

In 2007, it was estimated that parrot trappers capture about 65,000–78,500 wild parrots each year in Mexico, mainly by setting nets or by collecting nestlings from tree cavities. About 50,000–60,000, more than 75%, die before reaching customers.

Millions of protected plants are illegally collected each year. Plant poaching spans the illegal harvest of ginseng roots, rare orchids, endangered cacti, pitcher plants and Venus flytraps, and tree species such as aspen and western red cedar.

The solitary eagle is seriously threatened by poaching. Illegal hunting of Baird's tapirs is a major threat for populations in Costa Rica, Belize and Panama. In Panama, mammal species hunted by poachers comprise white-tailed deer, red brocket deer, collared peccary, agouti and coati. Geoffroy's tamarin, howler monkey, white-faced capuchin and common opossum are captured less often.

West Indian manatees were illegally hunted in the Port Honduras area in Belize at least until the end of the 1990s. Poachers were suspected to come from Guatemala and Honduras. Manatees were killed for meat, and their bones used for carving trinket and other souvenirs sold in local markets in the Yucatán Peninsula. In 2002, it was estimated that about 40 manatees are killed annually along the eastern Nicaraguan coast and in inland wetlands by poachers and incidental drowning in fishing nets.

Other species poached in Central American countries and in the Dominican Republic for being traded alive include Geoffroy's spider monkey, margay, ocelot, great horned guan, crested guan, great curassow, ocellated turkey, great green macaw, Hispaniolan amazon, Hispaniolan parakeet, red-billed toucan, chestnut-mandible toucan, raptors, rosy boa, rattlesnake, Galápagos tortoise, beaded lizard, green iguana, poison dart frogs and freshwater turtles. Snakes, spectacled caiman, Morelet’s and American crocodiles are killed for their skins. Black iguana, mangrove cockle and queen conch are poached for consuming their meat.

The population of the critically endangered rhinoceros, inhabiting most of Sub-Saharan Africa, was estimated to have been about 100,000 in 1960 and has now dramatically decreased to only about 4,000, with poaching being attributed as one of the causes of this decline in population. The commercial poaching of white and black rhinoceros escalated in South Africa from 12 rhinos killed in 2004 to 946 rhinos killed in 2013. Rhino horns have increasingly been acquired by Vietnamese people. African elephants, lions, greater kudus, elands, impala, duiker, reedbuck, bushbuck, bushpig, common warthog, chacma baboon and greater cane rat are illegally hunted for the bushmeat trade in Mozambique.

African elephants are being poached for their ivory tusks – the heaviest teeth of any animal alive. In October 2013 poachers poisoned more than 300 African elephants in Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe. Conservationists have claimed the incident to be the highest massacre of animals in South Africa in 25 years. African elephants continue to remain a high target for poachers and some researchers have estimated that African elephants may be extinct in 25–50 years in the wild. African elephants have experienced a 60-70% decline in population in two decades, 1979-2002. In Central Africa, 13,607 elephants have been poached in 2012 alone. In East Africa, 8,515 elephants have been poached in 2012 alone.

Illegal poaching for African elephants has increased noticeably in 2008 and correlates with an increase in price for local black market ivory and with increased findings of illegal ivory headed to China. There is a probable species reduction of ~3% in 2011 alone. Estimates of over 25,000 to 35,000 African elephants were killed for their tusks in 2012.Despite ivory trade bans in 1989, elephant numbers continue to decline in Africa. Finding and monitoring the origin of illegal ivory found will significantly help in efforts to curb and suppress illegal poaching of African elephants.

The body parts of many animals, such as tigers and rhinoceroses, are believed to have certain positive effects on the human body, including increasing virility and curing cancer. These parts are sold in areas where these beliefs are practiced - mostly Asian countries particularly Vietnam and China - on the black market and in India.

Humans have made a huge market of it and for their greed fauna of biodiversity has been destroyed. Let’s look at some examples.

Traditional Chinese medicine often incorporates ingredients from all parts of plants, the leaf, stem, flower, root, and also ingredients from animals and minerals. The use of parts of endangered species (such as seahorses, rhinoceros horns, binturong and tiger bones and claws) has created controversy and resulted in a black market of poachers. Deep-seated cultural beliefs in the potency of tiger parts are so prevalent across China and other east Asian countries that laws protecting even critically endangered species such as the Sumatran tiger fail to stop the display and sale of these items in open markets, according to a 2008 report from TRAFFIC. Popular "medicinal" tiger parts from poached animals include tiger genitals, culturally believed to improve virility, and tiger eyes.

Rhino populations face extinction because of demand in Asia (for traditional medicine and as a luxury item) and in the Middle East (where horns are used for decoration).A sharp surge in demand for rhino horn in Vietnam was attributed to rumors that the horn cured cancer, even though the rumor has no basis in science. Recent prices for a kilo of crushed rhino horn have gone for as much as $60,000, more expensive than a kilo of gold. Vietnam is the only nation which mass-produces bowls made for grinding rhino horn.

Ivory, which is a natural material of several animals, plays a large part in the trade of illegal animal materials and poaching. Ivory is a material used in creating art objects and jewelry where the ivory is carved with designs. China is a consumer of the ivory trade and accounts for a significant amount of ivory sales. In 2012, The New York Times reported on a large upsurge in ivory poaching, with about 70% of all illegal ivory flowing to China. Fur is also a natural material which is sought after by poachers.

                               

Now look at some natural disasters which have taken place due to human activities with biodiversity and nature which has resulted in loss of all; human lives, money and biodiversity.

Kedarnath tragedy which took place in India previous year saw a similar situation where playing which nature proved hazardous.

In fact in August 2012, Uttarkashi district saw similar tragedy that left 29 dead, many more missing and collapse of houses like card board boxes. The Uttarakhand State Disaster Mitigation and Management Centre report of this disaster in Oct 2012 concluded, “It is therefore highly important to strictly regulate developmental initiatives in close vicinity of streams and rivers. Appropriate legislative interventions would be required for formulating a policy in this regard and firm executive action in accordance with letter and spirit of this policy would be required to ensure compliance of the same.”

NOTHING WAS DONE ABOUT THIS RECOMMENDATION.

Similarly in Sept 2012, Okhimath in Rudraprayag  district (one of the epicentres of current tragedy) saw monsoon induced landslides killing 69 people among other damages. That state DMMC report of this tragedy in Oct 2012 made made recommendations to reduce the risks of landslides in landslide prone state, one of them read, “Use of explosives in the fragile Himalayan terrain for infrastructure developmental works introduces instability in the rocks and therefore use of explosives should necessarily be banned.” And “This provision would automatically ban habitation in the close proximity of seasonal streams and rivers. In case people are already residing in such areas provision has to be made for their timely relocation.”

AGAIN NOTHING WAS DONE ABOUT THESE RECOMMENDATIONS.

We are sitting, waiting for more disasters like this to happen. Our greed can neither come to end nor these disasters.

Last but not least, growing population is also one of its cause. It has rightly been said by david king,

"The massive growth in the human population through the 20th century has had more impact on biodiversity than any other single factor."

--Sir David King

Never before has the population of a single species exploded instantaneously across the globe. We have erupted like the burning cinders and poisonous gases of a giant volcano and now cover Earth.

As our population rose, our growing needs demanded for agricultural needs, housing needs, industrial needs, needs and needs, they don’t end , there is a long list of the them.

As now we have seen that how humans have affected biodiversity, but we now also need and formulate plans for how to cope up with the situation and deal with them to save and grow biodiversity.

MAKE WORLD A BETTER PLACE TO LIVE IN

Madhur Kumar Sharma

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Composting at home