Safe and Harmless Food Production Technology

Author: Editor-in-Chief: Li Yibing
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1999-03-01
Features:
Fragment: As trade developed, the transfer of substances like nitrogen and phosphorus accompanied the circulation of food. For exporting countries, the decline in soil fertility due to the extraction of nitrogen and phosphorus would inevitably lead to soil degradation and desertification. On the other hand, importing countries faced the risk of polluting rivers and oceans due to the accumulation of nitrogen and phosphorus in urban soils from large-scale food imports. Farms are not only places of food production but also spaces for rural life. Additionally, as they can sustain appropriate production activities, they are also crucial for maintaining water, air, and other resources, preventing soil erosion, loss, and floods, and protecting national and natural environments. To avoid damaging the natural environment, the environmental load caused by fertilizers and pesticides must be limited to a minimum. Developing sustainable agriculture with production technologies that are in harmony with the Earth's environment is one of the ways people hope to solve global environmental, regional environmental, and resource issues.
Section 2: The Development of Agriculture and Rural Environmental Evolution in the UK
In most industrialized countries in Europe, agriculture and forestry constitute the main part of rural land use and have significantly shaped and maintained the rural environment. Although these countries have also experienced a history of soil erosion and desertification, long-term agricultural production activities have created diversified rural landscapes, enhanced the recreational, hunting, and farming value of rural land, and once made people immersed in the beautiful semi-natural rural scenery. However, in recent decades, the development and application of highly intensive agricultural technology have had a profound impact on the rural natural environment. At the same time, urbanization and industrial pollution have also brought severe damage to the rural environment.
I. Land Use Conditions
The earliest records of land use in the UK date back to 1086. During that time and for a long period thereafter, rural land was primarily used for crop cultivation, with forest coverage accounting for only 15%. Since the 18th century, through the improvement of varieties, the implementation of crop rotation, and the use of new machinery, the existing agricultural system was broken, leading to the Agricultural Revolution between 1750 and 1850. During this period, land occupation was legalized by parliamentary enclosure acts, and scattered small farmers who farmed across the country merged into larger, more efficient farms. Large wetlands, wastelands, and other natural grasslands were cultivated, drained, and enclosed into large fields. In 1696, unimproved natural pastures in England and Wales covered more than one-quarter of the total area, and by 1901, they had nearly halved. Long-term land development and evolution have formed the characteristics of agricultural land use in the UK. In the UK, about 10% of the land is used for urban purposes, 10% is forested, and the rest is primarily agricultural land. Of the agricultural land, more than one-third is arable land or short-term grasslands, while less than one-third is permanent natural pastures or improved permanent grasslands (GREEN, 1990). In other European countries, the proportion of agricultural land is smaller, while forest areas are larger, such as France, where the forest coverage rate is 27%.
II. The Impact of Agriculture on the Environment
Historical records provide little information on the impact of early agricultural development on the environment. However, prehistoric deforestation may have caused severe soil erosion, turning fertile forest brown earth into gray earth and leading to the formation of highland peat (DIMBIELY, 1984). Deforestation may also have been a reason for the disappearance of large mammals such as European bison, bears, and beavers in the UK. Many documents indicate that before the large-scale enclosure and consolidation of farmland during the parliamentary enclosure movement, many grasslands and heathlands, especially on chalky and sandy soils, had suffered from soil erosion and the risk of wind erosion due to overgrazing, leading to the extinction of many species. Modern agriculture has had a much broader and deeper impact on the rural environment.