fertiliser – Sitopian Pollution

Review: Air Pollution, Food Production and Food Security

Jialing Zhong agriculture, the big picture November 12, 2020air, dust, erosion, farmers, fertiliser, foodsecurity, foodwaste, health, ozone, pesticide, review, sitopia, transport 0 Comment

harvesting crops in field — Harvest season in Pesotum, Illinois, by James Baltz, 2019, Unsplash.

When it comes to food production, air pollution is arguably much more prone to being overlooked than soil and water pollution, due to how it cannot be easily identified by the naked eye.

However, another bigger issue is how we tend to only consider the impacts of air pollution from the perspectives of agriculture and public health. On the contrary, there have not been many studies performed on the wider implications of air pollution on food security. Today, our review of a journal article, Air pollution, food production and food security: A review from the perspective of food system, by Sun, Dai and Yu (2017) will focus on how air pollution brings about changes in our food system.

When Food Pollutes Our Earth

Jialing Zhong after nom, agriculture November 1, 2020November 1, 2020air, fertiliser, foodwaste, ghg, soil, water 0 Comment

monkey eating watermelon on street — A monkey gobbling up pieces of smashed watermelon on a street in Ubud, Indonesia, by Radoslaw Prekurat, 2017, Unsplash.

Remember how I mentioned that food can be both a victim and perpetrator of environmental pollution in my very first post? Today, we will explore the links between food waste and environmental pollution, to give you a better idea of why we should avoid wasting food if we want to save our planet.

An Alternative Approach to Farming

Jialing Zhong agriculture October 6, 2020October 6, 2020erosion, farmers, fertiliser, foodsecurity, sedimentation, sitopia 0 Comment

plants in soil — Plants growing healthily in the sun – an ideal depiction of agriculture, by Dylan de Jonge, 2017, Unsplash.

Hi there! Today, we will look at what some may consider to be a subset of organic farming – natural farming. This is an approach established by Japanese farmer and philosopher Masanobu Fukuoka in his book, The One-Straw Revolution, released in 1975.

Did They Forget The Coffee Filter?

Jialing Zhong agriculture September 20, 2020September 25, 2020erosion, eutrophication, fertiliser, flood, foodsecurity, hydrology, phosphorus, sedimentation, water 0 Comment

(Spoiler: no, they didn’t. In all honesty, I don’t think anyone has ever considered the use of filters to resolve sedimentation issues caused by agriculture, so that’s probably the wrong question to ask.)

(Also, I would like to apologise for not being able to update this blog for the past two weeks. I have been struggling with some mental health issues, but hopefully, things will continue to improve in the future.)

Review: The Nitrogen Dilemma

Jialing Zhong agriculture August 30, 2020November 1, 2020air, farmers, fertiliser, foodsecurity, health, nitrogen, review 0 Comment

Farmer applying nitrogen fertiliser to crops. — A farmer applying nitrogen fertiliser to crops in North Yorkshire, England, by Steve Allen, n.d., Stock Images.

In my last post, I gave a quick overview of how chemical fertilisers can have both positive and negative impacts on nature and humans. For today, we will delve deeper into the widespread use of nitrogen fertilisers in global agriculture by reviewing this article published in the October 2019 issue of Geographical.

Chemical Fertilisers – Vitamins or Steroids?

Jialing Zhong agriculture August 27, 2020November 1, 2020air, eutrophication, farmers, fertiliser, health, nitrogen, phosphorus, water 0 Comment

Fields of wheat in Ukraine, by Polina Rytova, 2018, Unsplash.

Farming is a career filled with uncertainties – imagine having your annual income (and even food source) being threatened by natural hazards, pests, weeds, and many more dangers that could leave you and your family without sufficient resources to improve your standard of living. Other than having to live with a poor harvest, you may also find yourself negotiating with wholesalers and customers to reach a compromise regarding the lack of supply.