Scribd
Upload
55 views5 pages

Agri Science Lesson 6 Notes

This document discusses topics related to agricultural science including bioterrorism, food security, natural hazards, and environmental degradation. It defines bioterrorism as the intentional use of organisms to harm humans, livestock, or crops. Food security exists when people have access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food. Natural hazards are not man-made and include floods, hurricanes, and volcanic eruptions. Environmental degradation is damage to the environment caused by pollution, climate change, and deforestation.

Uploaded by

Seth Anthony
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
55 views5 pages

Agri Science Lesson 6 Notes

This document discusses topics related to agricultural science including bioterrorism, food security, natural hazards, and environmental degradation. It defines bioterrorism as the intentional use of organisms to harm humans, livestock, or crops. Food security exists when people have access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food. Natural hazards are not man-made and include floods, hurricanes, and volcanic eruptions. Environmental degradation is damage to the environment caused by pollution, climate change, and deforestation.

Uploaded by

Seth Anthony
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 5

Web academy

Subject Agricultural Science


Teacher: Sven Anthony
Class: 4th & 5th Form
Learning Objectives/ Outcome
Students are thought and gasp knowledge on and:
 explain Bioterrorism
 Food Security
 Natural Hazards

Week 6/ Module 6
Content
1.1 Bioterrorism
Bio-terrorism is the intentional use of micro-organisms to bring about ill-effects or
death to humans, livestock or crops. Agriculture is a perfect target for bio-terrorism
because an attack on food supplies affects food stores, restaurants, suppliers and
consumers as well as farmers. All countries need to be prepared for the possibility
of an attack on crops, livestock or humans.
Diseases useful to bio-terrorists
• Smallpox is a viral disease that can be fatal. In 1980, the disease was eradicated
due to worldwide vaccination programmes. Some stocks of the virus are kept
in high-security laboratories. If smallpox is deliberately released, it could cause
a public health catastrophe.
• Anthrax is a disease caused by a spore-forming bacterium called Bacillus
anthracis. It is caught by humans after contact with infected animals or infected
animal products. It is has the potential to be used as a biological warfare agent.
 Crop diseases, such as smuts and blights caused by fungi, can be spread easily by
fungal spores. If large areas of cereal crops are destroyed, less grain is produced
 Ricin is a toxin made from waste left over from processing castor beans. It is easily
made and very toxic. As little as 500 micrograms, about the size of the head of a pin,
injected into a human is lethal. Ricin has been used as a bio-terrorist weapon and is a
serious threat.
Bio-terrorism is hard to protect against or to prevent because small quantities of the
organisms are easy to hide and can be spread quickly. Sometimes pathogenic organisms
can be spread by mistake or by people unaware of the consequences. The rules which
govern the import and export of plants and animals are designed to protect against
diseases being transported around the world.
1.2 Food Security
Food security refers to the availability of food and access to it. As defined by the FAO,
'food security exists when people have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe
and nutritious food to meet their needs for an active and healthy life'. The United States
Department of Agriculture (USDA) states that food security for a household means access
to enough food for an active, healthy life. It includes the availability of nutritionally
adequate and safe foods and an ability to acquire these foods in socially acceptable ways
(without resorting to emergency food supplies, scavenging or stealing).Worldwide, up to
2 billion people lack food security due to:
• poverty
• global population growth
• climate change
• increased production of biofuels on agricultural land
• loss of agricultural land to industry and residential areas
There are direct relationships between agricultural productivity, hunger and poverty. 75%
of the world's poor live in rural areas and make their living from agriculture. Hunger and
child malnutrition are greater than in urban areas. In rural areas, there is greater
dependence on subsistence farming so improvements in agricultural productivity aimed at
small-scale farmers will benefit the rural poor first. Increased agricultural productivity
enables farmers to grow more food, which leads to better diets.

Environmental degradation
Environmental degradation refers to the environment being damaged in any way.
Environmental degradation is brought about by:
• natural hazards
• atmospheric pollution
• water pollution
• land pollution
• global warming
• coral reef destruction
• deforestation

1.3 Natural Hazards


Natural hazards are hazards which are not man-made. They occur at the surface of
the Earth, causing loss of life, damage to property and land. They can cause short term
or long-term changes. The most common natural hazards in the Caribbean are volcanic
eruptions, earthquakes, floods and hurricanes.
Atmospheric pollution
Pollution occurs when the environment is contaminated by toxic substances. Atmospheric
pollution is pollution of the air. It is caused mainly by burning fossil fuels (often for the
generation of electricity). Smoke, dust particles and gases (carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide,
nitrous oxides) are released.
Water pollution
Water pollution describes toxic substances getting into streams, rivers and oceans. Some of
these substances come from pollutants in the atmosphere. Others result from sewage,
excessive use of fertilisers and pesticide run-off. Organic matter and nutrients in freshwater
can cause algae to grow rapidly and crowd out other water plants. When the algae die, they
are broken down by bacteria which use up oxygen in the water. The result is that other
aquatic organisms die through lack of oxygen. In marine ecosystems, agricultural run-off can
upset the food webs. Oil spillage kills sea birds and affects plankton on which marine
organisms are dependent.

Land pollution
Land pollution can be caused by agricultural activities, urban waste disposal and mineral
extraction. Land that is severely polluted cannot grow crops and poisonous substances will
affect the biodiversity of habitats. Waste from crops and animals should be composted and
recycled for use as fertiliser. Excessive use of fertilisers and pesticides should be
discouraged, so that run-off is minimised.
Deforestation
For thousands of years, forests have been cleared to provide agricultural land for crop
production and rearing animals. The clearance of trees is known as deforestation. Forests are
cleared and wood is used for fuel, but there is no policy for replanting trees. The forested
areas that remain are in mountainous regions with high rainfall. These are less accessible to
the machinery needed to clear the land for farming. Natural hazards, such as forest fires and
tropical storms, also destroy forests. Hurricanes uproot forests and strip leaves, leaving the
trees bare. Volcanic activity, producing poisonous gases and hot lava, has affected forests in
Montserrat and St Vincent.
It is important to retain forests as they:
• provide areas for recreation, such as nature reserves and National Parks, with facilities for
hiking and other forms of relaxation
• control soil erosion by providing cover to break up the force of the rain on the soil
• absorb carbon dioxide and provide oxygen through photosynthesis
• are an important source of timber for building and furniture.

Image of deforestation

Lesson Summary
 Bio-terrorism is the intentional use of micro-organisms to bring about ill-effects or
death to humans, livestock or crops. Agriculture is a perfect target for bio-terrorism
because an attack on food supplies affects food stores, restaurants, suppliers and
consumers as well as farmers.
 Food security refers to the availability of food and access to it. As defined by the
FAO, 'food security exists when people have physical and economic access to
sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their needs for an active and healthy
life'.
 Environmental degradation refers to the environment being damaged in any way.
 Natural hazards are hazards which are not man-made. They occur at the surface of
the Earth, causing loss of life, damage to property and land.
 The clearance of trees is known as deforestation.

References
Agricultural Science for CSEC Examinations by Ronald Ramharacksingh

You might also like

pFad - Phonifier reborn

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.

Note: This service is not intended for secure transactions such as banking, social media, email, or purchasing. Use at your own risk. We assume no liability whatsoever for broken pages.


Alternative Proxies:

Alternative Proxy

pFad Proxy

pFad v3 Proxy

pFad v4 Proxy