Food & Mineral Resources

1. Food &Mineral Resources

2. Food Resources Natural or artificially produced materials, which are used as food to derive metabolic energy, are called food resources. Food is ultimate source of: • Metabolic energy (required for growth) • Body repair • Body nutrients & heat balance • Daily activities Types of Food Resources • Agricultural crops: All cereals, pulses, vegetables and foods • Livestock: Food obtained from animals e.g., Milk, meat, eggs, honey. • Fish:Major part of world population dependent on fish as food source. • (fish, crabs, prawn etc.)

3. Sources of Food • Croplands that provide 76% of the total, mostly grains • Rangelands that produce meat mostly from grazing livestock, accounting for about 17% of the total food. Meat, milk, honey • Fisheries that supply the remaining 7%. • There is enough food for every person in the world, but millions do not have the money to buy food.

4. World Food Problems Due to wide gap between developed and developing countries with regards to the food production world facing acute problems of food shortage and Starvation. Important problems are: • Insufficient production • Lack of irrigation facility • Under nutrition and malnutrition • Hoarding and black-marketing • Improper agriculture practices

5. Factors causing Food Problems • Geographical conditions • Lack of rainfall • Population growth • Natural hazards: Flood, drought, earthquake, storms. • Inadequate distribution system • Poor quality of soil • Social disturbance and terrorism • More than 800 million people around the world facing food shortage and malnutrition

6. Effect of food on environment Water-Logging and Salinity Accumulation of water on land for longer period is known as water-logging. Water logging causes moisture to percolate down, which dissolves the underground salts in it; these salts emerge on the surface of land after the water is evaporated. This leads to salinity in soils. Regions enriched with canals and dams for irrigation are more prone to water logging which increases the accumulation of salt in the water-logged areas.

7. Effect of water logging water logging causes denitrification Growth of micro-organism Growth of only a few specific plant species due to lack of insufficient nutrients in soil Lack of oxygen in logging area Long term logging reduces aesthetic values

8. Effects of Chemical Fertilizers • Chemical fertilizers cause loss of soil fertility and degradation of soil quality. • They create nitrate pollution in groundwater when they dissolve in water and leach into the soil. • The nitrogen fertilizers lead to the accumulation of nitrate in the soil which are transformed to living organisms. • Excess fertilizer causes eutrophication (growth of algea in rivers, ponds, lake).

9. Effects of Chemical Pesticides • Most pesticides kill many non-target organisms as well. • Pesticides adversely affect harmless species such as frogs, snakes, earthworms and birds • There is an increase in the resistance to pesticides in insects, pathogens, weeds, etc., because of indiscriminate use. • Pesticides from agricultural lands run down with rain water and enter local streams or lakes. • Pesticides adversely affect the health of farmers. • Bio-magnification; the magnified levels of toxins then enter the human body and cause serious damage. • Excessive use of pesticides causes air, water, and soil pollution.

10. Overgrazing The term overgrazing refers to the practice of grazing by a large livestock for a long period on a land without giving sufficient recovery time. Effects of Overgrazing • Elimination of sensitive edible plant species and dominance of some species. • Acceleration of soil erosion and decrease in soil fertility. • Accumulation of large quantity of animal wastes in downstream water bodies causing problems of water pollution and eutrophication. • Grazing animals sometimes bring seeds of weeds and pathogenic organisms which may often become harmful to other animals. • Increase in reflectivity of land surfaces, which in turn, reduce the quantity of rain and thereby increasing the chances of drought.

11. Modern agriculture Following scientific approaches are generally considered Use of high –yielding variety of seed Use of chemical fertilizers Use of pesticides Modern irrigation practices

12. How important is fish as a food source and where does fish come from?

13. Fish • About two million people in developing countries depends on fish as their main source of food. • 55% fish come from ocean • 33% from aquaculture • 12% inland freshwater fishing.

14. Mineral Resources

15. Mineral Resources Minerals are naturally occurring chemical compounds, which are formed under the crust of the Earth through inorganic processes. • Mineral Resources is distributed uneven • Minerals are non-renewable and exhaustible resources • Important for economic and industrial development of a country • India is mainly rich in 35 minerals e.g., Fe, Al, Mg, Cr, limestone, mica etc. Types of Minerals • Metallic minerals: Minerals associated with their ores (iron, Al ore, Pb, Zn etc • Non-metallic minerals (diamond, marble, granite,asbestos,dolomite &gypsum) • Fuel minerals: Minerals used as fuel (coal, petroleum, and natural gas)

16. Environmental Effects of Extraction and Over-exploitation of Mineral Resources • Destruction of forest and damage to the earth’s surface • Soil erosion and reduction in soil fertility • Generation of large amount of wastes which degrade the quality of land • Pollution of air, water, and land • Lowering of water table leading to ground subsidence and ground water pollution • Destruction of natural ecosystems and creation of ditches and open pits • Earthquakes and other volcanic events affects Earth’s core & mantle • Occupational health hazards to miners e.g., diseases like asbestosis, silicosis etc. • Emission of radioactive pollutants, ash and trace metals by the combustion of coal • and petroleum

17. Environmental Impacts of Mining Underground mining: • subsidence and pollution of aquifers. • Accidents like flooding and collapse are common • causes severe health problems for workers. • More chances of earthquake Surface or open cast mining: • destroys all vegetation in the area • pollutes the landscape with the dust. • After mining, large craters are left behind. • When hills that act as watersheds are mined away, the water tables go down. • Processing of the mined material pollutes water bodies. • Waste material left behind as unstable, and dangerous heaps.

18. Threats to Mineral Resources 1.Mining 2.Disturbences to mantle layer which leads to Earth quakes , drowning of land. 3.Deforestration –leads to loss of Bio diversity. 4.The acid mine drain-by usage of acids to extraction process which leads to mix of acids in soil and Aquifer. 5.Loss of marine life due to oil spils over the sea surface while extracting oil.

19. Social Impacts of Mining Mining-induced displacement and resettlement leads to the following problems for the communities: • Loss of land, livelihood, and even cultures. • Increased health risks due to contamination of natural resources such as land and water • Changes in population dynamics: workers often come from outside.

20. What is the status of mines and minerals in India • India produces as many as 86 metals and minerals • 80 % of mining in India is for coal • India has over 3500 legal mines • Illegal mines is the major problem in the country (180,000). • Over 1 million people are employed in this industry • Mining has adversely affected biodiversity, ecosystem, local culture,and community. • About 10 million have been displaced from mining area and 75% of them have not received proper compensation. Tribal are worst affected.