The Need for Sustainable Nitrogen Utilization in Agriculture
Institution
PSU
Program/Major
Health Promotion
Degree
MPH
Presentation Type
Poster
Start Date
4-8-2021 2:48 PM
End Date
4-8-2021 2:53 PM
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/35571
Keywords
Sustainable Agriculture, Nitrogen Pollution
Abstract
Managing nitrogen and phosphorous flows has been identified as one of the nine critical planetary environmental boundaries that would produce disastrous environmental effects if allowed to continue beyond safe thresholds. As the health of ecosystems deteriorate, efficiency of food production inevitably declines. The world’s population is currently at 7.8 billion people and this is expected to increase by two to three billion by 20501. One of the key challenges in determining how to support the nutritional needs of humans is in mitigating the harmful environmental effects caused by the use of nitrogen to grow crops and feed livestock.
Fortunately, there already exists a great deal of knowledge about ways to use nitrogen efficiently in agriculture, although further study of this topic should also be prioritized in light of the complexity of the issue. Implementing this knowledge into sustainable practices that meet the goals recommended by scientific experts will require not only for this knowledge to be supplied to farm owners, but to multiple areas along the food production and supply chain. It will also depend on policies at local, national, and global levels to incentivize and support these efforts.
Promoting sustainable usage of nitrogen should therefore be a top priority, since nitrogen pollution from agriculture can only be mitigated, not eliminated. Significant portions of the world’s population face hunger and food insecurity on a daily basis, and these inequities will only worsen if nitrogen pollution is allowed to progess unchecked. As climate change and population growth are both nearing the limits of planetary sustainability, every year that goes by without significantly addressing this issue puts us all one step closer to a point of no return.
The Need for Sustainable Nitrogen Utilization in Agriculture
Managing nitrogen and phosphorous flows has been identified as one of the nine critical planetary environmental boundaries that would produce disastrous environmental effects if allowed to continue beyond safe thresholds. As the health of ecosystems deteriorate, efficiency of food production inevitably declines. The world’s population is currently at 7.8 billion people and this is expected to increase by two to three billion by 20501. One of the key challenges in determining how to support the nutritional needs of humans is in mitigating the harmful environmental effects caused by the use of nitrogen to grow crops and feed livestock.
Fortunately, there already exists a great deal of knowledge about ways to use nitrogen efficiently in agriculture, although further study of this topic should also be prioritized in light of the complexity of the issue. Implementing this knowledge into sustainable practices that meet the goals recommended by scientific experts will require not only for this knowledge to be supplied to farm owners, but to multiple areas along the food production and supply chain. It will also depend on policies at local, national, and global levels to incentivize and support these efforts.
Promoting sustainable usage of nitrogen should therefore be a top priority, since nitrogen pollution from agriculture can only be mitigated, not eliminated. Significant portions of the world’s population face hunger and food insecurity on a daily basis, and these inequities will only worsen if nitrogen pollution is allowed to progess unchecked. As climate change and population growth are both nearing the limits of planetary sustainability, every year that goes by without significantly addressing this issue puts us all one step closer to a point of no return.