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Learn about our editorial process. Fact checked by Elizabeth MacLennan. Elizabeth MacLennan is a fact checker and expert on climate change. Learn about our fact checking process. There are currently a small number of specialised breeding companies that undertake programs for meat chickens as part of an international effort to produce the ideal meat chicken!
These efforts have been going on for decades, so it is easy to see why selective breeding has been so successful in the meat chicken industry. It could, for example, involve extracting the genes from one plant or animal and inserting them into the genome of a totally different species.
Traditional selective breeding, on the other hand, leads to gradual but cumulative changes in a population of animals over time using natural processes. Selective breeding therefore does not make an animal a Genetically Modified Organism, and modern breeds of chickens are no more Genetically Modified than your pet Poodle or Labrador.
Well, the answer is yes and no! No, because the principle is so simple — just mate the animals with the most desirable characteristics with each other to produce the next generation. And yes? Because the technologies used to choose the best parents to produce the next generation from can be cutting edge. For example, chicken breeding companies have used an X-ray unit called a lixiscope to identify subclinical leg bone abnormalities in meat chicken breeding stock, allowing them to actively select against its presence in breeding stock, thereby improving overall leg health in meat chicken breeds — funnily enough, the lixiscope was in fact developed by NASA scientists!
Meat chicken breeding companies have also used a technique called pulse oximetry to measure the oxygen saturation levels in the blood of chickens, an important indicator of susceptibility to several metabolic diseases, in order to develop breeds which have stronger cardio-vascular and respiratory systems. But will the Australian chicken industry ever use breeds of chicken derived from GM technologies? Then she moves to another plot, leaving the first to lie fallow.
Now, an increasing population has caused fallow periods to be reduced and has made permanent cultivation more common. Agricultural methods used in the Corn Belt of the U. The Corn Belt is the area of the northern Midwest where most of the nation's corn crop is grown. First of all, farmers rarely work alone—the size of American farms requires a lot of labor. Soon after they harvest the corn in autumn, farmers work leftover vegetation, or stubble, into the soil.
In the spring, farmers work the soil again, using an implement with rows of sharp-edged steel discs, called a disc harrow. The discs cut into the soil, breaking it into smaller pieces and supplying it with air. Next, a tractor-pulled planter sows rows of seed. The machine makes furrows in the soil, drops in kernels of high-yield, genetically modified corn, and covers them with dirt. After the corn seeds have sprouted, another machine injects liquid fertilizer into the ground.
The farmers then use chemicals to control weeds and pests, and loosen the soil with a tractor-pulled cultivator during the harvesting season. The practice of specializing in a single crop is known as monoculture. To harvest the crop, farmers use a mechanical harvester that picks the ears of corn and shells them into a bin. Little of the corn grown in the Corn Belt is for human consumption. Most of the corn grown in the U. From alpacas in Peru to zebus in India, billons of domesticated animals around the world are raised and cared for in a variety of ways.
In many countries, domesticated animals are an important source of food. In Nigeria, for example, the Fulani people have long been nomads. They move with their cattle herds from one grazing area to another. The cattle feed on scrub and grasses in land unsuitable for farming. The Fulani rely on cattle for milk, but rarely slaughter their animals for meat. Throughout the U.
When they are five to 12 months old, the animals are shipped to feedlots. There, they are kept in pens and fed grain and vitamin supplements until they reach market size. Then they are slaughtered. The two ways of raising livestock are confronting each other in the developing world. In Uganda, Ankole cattle have been bred to withstand the harsh climate of Central Africa—their long, curved horns help distribute heat and their digestive systems have adapted to poor nutrition and little water.
However, the market for milk has driven many Ugandan farmers to import Holstein cattle. Holsteins are native to Northern Europe. Keeping them healthy in an equatorial region requires a high amount of antibiotics, vaccines, and other chemicals. The Ankole, which produce little milk and leaner meat, may be extinct within the century. Many farmers throughout the world practice free-range poultry farming. The birds forage for food in farms or community yards, eating whatever they find: seeds, insects, household scraps, and surplus grain.
In many developed countries, poultry production has become a major agricultural industry. Birds are given the same sort of vaccines and hormones used for cattle.
Chickens are bred for either eggs or meat. One poultry house may contain more than a million birds. Often, machines automatically provide feed and water, collect the eggs, and remove waste. Food production must keep pace with population growth and distribution methods. This is an enormous agricultural and political challenge. The challenge is not food shortages but unequal distribution of the world's food supply. The ratio of population to farmable land has favored some countries more than others.
Some experts believe government policies in developed and developing countries have hindered equal food distribution. Droughts, floods, and other disasters continue to cause local food shortages.
Overpopulation may contribute to hunger that is related to unequal distribution of food resources. Much of the population increase over the next years will occur in developing countries, where hunger is already a serious problem.
Exporting food or agricultural technology from countries with surpluses to those with shortages will not solve the problem of world hunger. Poor countries do not have the money to buy all the food they need and do not want to permanently rely on other countries.
Many developing countries also regard biodiversity as an important resource and do not want to threaten it with GMOs. Experts believe that the hunger problem will be solved in two ways.
First, citizens of all countries need to have the ability to grow or purchase their own food. Second, citizens of all countries need to have responsible diets and spending habits. What about addressing the problem of overpopulation? Agricultural science will help countries adjust to healthier methods of food production.
Scientists are developing new high-yield varieties of crops that require fewer fertilizers or pesticides. Such crops reduce the need for using costly chemicals and trade. The challenges of feeding the hungry cannot be met unless the world's land and water are safeguarded. Agricultural practices in developed and developing countries have led to a severe loss of valuable topsoil, water, and other resources.
Many countries need better programs for replanting forests. Overpopulation has pushed a growing number of farmers onto lands too fragile to sustain cultivation. Demand for food has led to increased irrigation worldwide. In some areas, irrigation has caused water tables to drop, rivers to run dry, and wells to go empty.
Agricultural chemicals that increase production often contaminate soil and groundwater and disrupt food chains. Agriculture does not have to harm the environment. By protecting the land, water, and air, and by sharing knowledge and resources, people may yet find solutions for the problem of world hunger. The audio, illustrations, photos, and videos are credited beneath the media asset, except for promotional images, which generally link to another page that contains the media credit.
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Human civilization heavily impacts the environment and the rich natural resources we depend on. All communities face the challenge of managing resources responsibly, not only for themselves, but for the sake of the world around them. Learn more about how individuals and communities can manage their resources to support themselves and the world around them. Freshwater is a precious resource on the Earth's surface.
It is also home to many diverse fish, plant, and crustacean species. These are the main steps for both plants and animals:. Highland cows have been bred for their meat. Friesian cows have been bred to produce large volumes of milk. Aberdeen Angus cows have also been bred for their meat. Farmers selectively breed different types of cows with highly desirable characteristics in order to produce the best meat and dairy.
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