The Impact Of Nitrogen Fertilizer Business

The United States of America is the world’s largest corn overproducer. With such heavy focus on corn, I would like to draw attention to a measure taken by the United States government, the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996. This act increased the amount of farm land that is meant to be used in the States for growing corn from 60 million acres to a whopping 90 million acres. Such a significant increase cannot go without some kind of effect. Writer, Michael Pollan, in his book “The Omnivore’s Dilemma”, discusses the instability of the US farming industry as well as the negative environmental implications corn has on us. This instability and environmental impact has given rise to movements promoting a return to more

In the educative essay “What’s Eating America,” Michael Pollan designates the history of corn, a good and healthy food if cultivated properly. This essay is very informative because it talks about American’s diet. In this essay, Pollan examines the way of growing the corn as an influential example of using the chemical fertilizers in food. Also, He complains “Growing corn, which from a biological perspective had always been a process of capturing sunlight to turn it into food, has in no small measure become a process of converting fossil fuels into food…” (Pollan 302). While it might be very useful when used in a prudent way, in reality the usage of chemical fertilizers is higher and the farmers are feeding their corps more than it needs which affect the ecology’s system. In other words, his focus is on corn and not only does him just points out corn presence in nearly all food products; but he comes up with other matters like fossil fuels and the factories polluting the atmosphere. Thus, it’s astonishing when someone stops and thinks about how many things are composed from corn.

With concerns of climate change on the rise, a growing population, and a fear of being unable to maintain water demands many of our daily practices are coming into question. Agriculture is not immune to the criticisms, particularly with regard to fossil fuels. In the mid 1900s farming operations started to exploit fertilizers and land to increase the yield of inexpensive grains. Such practices require fossil fuels in immense quantities through fertilizers, pesticides, and transportation. However, passionate debates often occur over the importance and where to go from here. Michael Pollan, Katherine Mangu-Ward, and the National Chicken Council vary widely in their opinions but it is likely that no one direction is feasible.

Humans have been altering the genetic makeup of plants for millennia, keeping seeds from the best crops and planting them in following years, breeding and crossbreeding varieties to make them taste sweeter, grow bigger, last longer. In this way we've transformed the wild tomato, Lycopersicon, from a fruit the size of a marble to today's giant, juicy beefsteaks. From a weedy plant called teosinte with an "ear" barely an inch long has come our foot-long (0.3-meter-long) ears of sweet white and yellow corn. In just the past few decades plant breeders have used traditional techniques to produce varieties of wheat and rice plants with higher grain yields. They have also created hundreds of new crop variants using irradiation and mutagenic

Over the past decades, agriculture technology and productivity has been changing drastically to fit the needs of the world population. The largest agricultural production country, the United States, has been experiencing these changes more rapidly just to meet these agricultural demands. This in turn has lead to serious controversies over the ethics and morals of some agricultural practices, namely Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). With the US population increasing every year, US farmers had to develop some way to meet the high demands of the people, therefore, GMOs were developed to help increase crop yields while also helping farmers financially by using less pesticides and herbicides.

By 1988, soybeans were successfully being inserted with genes that made them glyphosate tolerant, which is an herbicide (Chassy 169). This is more commonly known today as round-up ready crops. The benefit of this is that now, farmers can spray round-up ready crops and not kill them. Round-up kills all other plants in the field that would otherwise be interfering with the growth of the crop. This is just one of the many traits that can be inserted into the DNA of plants. Crops can now achieve far higher yields than ever before. Corn plots at Morrow Plots at the University of Illinois have increased from 10 bushels an acre, to more than 200 bushels an acre (Chassy

With the high demands on agriculture farmers have been utilizing every possible tool to increase production. A major device being implemented around the world is nitrogen fertilizer. Since nitrogen makes up 16% of protein no living organism can survive without absorbing some in their normal diet (Frink, Waggoner, and Ausubel, 1999). Therefore nitrogen is an essential mineral for all living things; however, our industry has become too dependent on nitrogen fertilizers without realizing the long-term consequences and it is causing environmental issues worldwide. The main and most common concern is oceanic dead zones, but we are attempting to adapt to remove the conflict while still keeping nitrogen fertilizer as tool for agriculture (Biello, 2008). For many of the early years of science the importance of nitrogen for life was not recognized. It was even described and noxious gas the scientist who discovered it, Daniel Rutherford from Scotland. However, it was later revealed that it was as important as oxygen to living organisms (Nitrogen, 2014). Nitrogen is the basic component of biological molecules like nucleic acids and amino acids, which in turn are the building blocks of DNA, RNA, and proteins (Frink et al., 1999). Since it is apart of so much organic material it is the fourth most common element in the human body. Without nitrogen life on earth would not exist as it does today. Nitrogen was first isolated from the atmosphere, hence noxious gas. As it is one of the most

stabilizers are corporate and personal taxes as they can greatly affect the economy. Another great example of them are are transfer system such as unemployment insurance and welfare (Investopedia). These are called automatic because of how they employ automatically without the government interfering. For example, with the transfer systems such as unemployment insurance decline when the economy is in an expansionary phase and doing very well and rise when the economy is doing not as good and in a very bad phase(Investopedia). Another great example is taxes when the economy is in a boom and signs are looking very good then taxes go up and when the economy is struggling taxes go down to help stabilize and balance the economy out again (Investopedia).

Farming practices have always evolved as innovative approaches and machinery were introduced to increase crop yields and minimise costs. One very effective way of achieving both was the introduction of monoculture farming.Monoculture is used in the U.S because is produces lots of food for our economy, even though it has its pros it also has cons to this farming technique.This meant that only one kind of crop was placed on the land just like what is done in wheat fields, grape vineyards as well as apple orchards. However, experts are now discovering despite the benefits, this practice might be having

Welcome to the age of an agricultural revolution as everyday biotechnology continues to bring innovation to human’s most basic needs – food. Food is essential to any living organism, providing energy for our production and nutrients for our protection. Without this fundamental element, life cannot exist. Our lack to produce our own energy, like plants, causes us to become dependent on others for survival. Humans existence is attributed only to the million years of evolution our food source underwent to sustain our survival. Changing the primary nature of our food source, whether it is plant or animal, directs mankind in a dangerous future if our food dependency is permanently hampered. Welcome to the age of an agricultural devolution

Since 2.3 billion people will be added to the world from 2009 to 2050, biotechnology- Genetically Modified Organism- is a must to combat the global food crisis(Weisser para. 2). When the United States developed Bt corn, “[they] have been genetically engineered to resist herbicides and pests and even withstand drought.”(para. 16). Unlike corn that have never been modified, the Bt corn were able to survive better because of their resistant to herbicides, pests, and drought; resulting, a corn that can survive in harsh environment. By creating a modified corn that can survive in harsh environment, a large supply of corn- food- can be produced. If biotechnology can genetically modified corn to survive in harsh condition, more food can be produced; resulting 2.3 billion people can be fed; therefore, addressing the global food crisis. To put it briefly, limiting biotechnology would prevent addressing the global food crisis. Not only can genetic engineering address the global food crisis, but it can also improve medicine

Ammonium nitrate is relatively inexpensive to produce, has a 100% bioavailable nitrogen content and is highly soluble in water making it one of the most widely used fertilizers today [6]. However, it also has an established history of being used as an industrial explosive, most significantly in Ammonium Nitrate Fuel Oil (ANFO) which makes up over 80% of explosive use in the US [6]. Although pure ammonium nitrate is not flammable or

Nitrogen can always be a fertilizer, nutrient, or pollutant depending on the circumstances and the environment it is in. As a fertilizer, nitrogen can be extremely useful in aiding the growth of many plants. As a nutrient, nitrogen is essential to many plants growth and survival. As a pollutant, nitrogen can not only affect the plant at the given time but be very detrimental many years down the road. No matter where you go nitrogen will always be either a fertilizer, nutrient, or pollutant.

Their cost structure is also inefficient, which will require capital to restructure. Because they are larger companies these changes will take time, and should be incorporated into their vertical structures. Their current cost structure decreases their profit margins and the marginal benefit from their economies of scale.1 These mechanical deficits will be to the company’s advantage should we choose to enter the market. This type of enterprise is supported by the Russian government through tax incentives and lower tariffs, as food production and development is essential to economic growth. They also specialize in more expensive fertilizers, while there are cheaper components and means of production in the U.S. These weaknesses can be taken advantage of, while these competitors are focused elsewhere. The Russian government is encouraging better food production, especially in wheat farming. Farmers are always looking for ways to beat the constant inflation that they face. Providing an effective product, at a lower cost with tax breaks can prove profitable.

Fascinating times we are currently living in. A rapid, consistently growing population creating gross demands for food is pushing our resources to capacity. Fulfilling the needs of the world 's population is a monumental task. Limited arable land to cultivate and an ever changing climate has led to environmental degradation. At this rate of exponential human population growth, it is predicted to reach 9 billion people by 2050, however, “it is uncertain whether current agricultural practices will be able to feed the world” at that stage of growth. In the 1970s pioneering biotechnologies began paving the way to providing solutions to supply the world 's food demands,