📖 In-Depth Theory
Increasing Farming Efficiency
The EFFICIENCY of food production can be improved by reducing energy losses from food animals to the environment.
METHODS FOR ANIMALS:
RESTRICTING MOVEMENT:
Animals that move less use less energy in respiration → more energy retained as body mass.
Factory farming — animals kept in small enclosures (battery hens, veal calves).
CONTROLLING TEMPERATURE:
Warm environments mean less energy spent maintaining body temperature.
Indoor farming with controlled heating.
HIGH-PROTEIN FEED:
Animals fed concentrated, high-protein foods → faster growth.
Fish meal, soya protein used in poultry and pig farming.
ANTIBIOTICS (historically):
Preventing disease → less energy lost to fighting infection → faster growth.
(Now regulated in many countries due to antibiotic resistance concerns.)
METHODS FOR CROPS:
PESTICIDES — kill insects, fungi, bacteria that damage crops.
HERBICIDES — kill weeds competing with crops for light and nutrients.
FERTILISERS — add essential minerals (NPK) to soil → better crop growth.
GREENHOUSES — controlled temperature, CO₂ levels, watering → extended growing season, higher yields.
MONOCULTURE — growing one crop type over large areas → economical but reduces biodiversity.
Ethical Considerations
INTENSIVE FARMING raises ETHICAL CONCERNS:
ANIMAL WELFARE:
Battery hens cannot spread wings or exhibit natural behaviour.
Veal calves confined in small crates — restricted movement causes distress.
Pigs in gestation crates unable to turn around.
Many consumers and scientists consider these practices inhumane.
ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS:
Intensive use of fertilisers → EUTROPHICATION — excess nutrients in waterways → algal blooms → deoxygenation → fish death.
Pesticide runoff damages non-target species (bees, other insects).
Monoculture reduces habitat diversity and biodiversity.
Greenhouse gas emissions from livestock (methane from cattle).
BALANCING ACT:
Intensive farming produces more food more cheaply → feeds more people.
But ethical and environmental costs are significant.
Consumers, farmers and governments must balance food production needs with animal welfare and environmental protection.
ORGANIC FARMING:
No pesticides, artificial fertilisers or routine antibiotics.
Higher animal welfare standards.
Lower yields but reduced environmental impact.
More expensive — not accessible to all.
Biological Control
BIOLOGICAL CONTROL uses natural predators or parasites to control pests — an alternative to pesticides.
EXAMPLES:
Ladybirds and lacewings to control aphids on crops.
Bacillus thuringiensis bacteria (Bt) — produces toxins lethal to caterpillars but safe for other organisms.
Sterile insect technique — release sterile male insects to reduce pest populations.
Parasitic wasps to control whitefly in greenhouses.
ADVANTAGES over pesticides:
No chemical residues on food.
Specific to target pest — less impact on other species.
Sustainable — natural populations maintain themselves.
No pesticide resistance developing.
DISADVANTAGES:
Slower acting than pesticides.
Can be less predictable — natural populations fluctuate.
Introduced species can become invasive (if not chosen carefully).
Not effective against all pests.
⚠️ Common Mistake
Restricting farm animal movement improves efficiency because it reduces ENERGY LOST IN RESPIRATION — not because it makes animals grow faster through some other mechanism. The energy that would have been used for movement is retained as biomass instead.