environmental issues
production (primary production)
A number of possible environmental issues can arise with the primary production of soy bean crops.
land and soil
|
Land available for food production decreases when soil is eroded, through, for example:
Growing crops and pastures can also lead to a rise in the water table, resulting in concerned salt levels in the soil. When producing soy bean crops, monoculture practices may be used, where the same crop is planted in the same field each year with no crop rotation, which can result in the degradation of soil, less crop variety and loss of biological diversity. |
nutrients |
Nutrients in Australian soils are low because of the thin topsoil, leading to low soil fertility and lower food yields when compared with other parts of the world.
Topsoils take a very long time to form — a couple of millimetres of topsoil is formed in a century. Erosion of topsoil is exacerbated by clearing of vegetation or heavy grazing so there is little protection from the soil being shifted by winds. Hundreds of years of topsoil can be blown away in a short period of time. Clearing land for farming can lead to many sustainability issues. |
air, warmth and sunlight
|
Damage to the ozone layer affects temperature and sunlight components that affect plants and trees. Another environmental issue in Australia is increasing issue is increasing pollution. Droughts, floods, cyclones and natural disasters impact on food production by destroying crops, reducing yields, or causing fruits and vegetables to be smaller in size or brown quicker. The unpredictable seasons make it more difficult for farmers to determine when to plant or harvest food.
The banana plantation was devastated by Cylone Larry in 2006.
|
Manufacturing (secondary production)
Every step in secondary processing can affect the environment. There is a competing demand by consumers for convenience (requiring packaging and creating greenhouse gases and waste) versus protecting the environment. Secondary processing uses a lot of natural resources such as water and fossil fuels (coal, petroleum and oil.) In addition, secondary processing produces waste (or by-products), such as air, land and water pollution and packaging materials, that further negatively affect the environment.
The amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is a global environmental concern. Greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide, methane, water vapour and nitrous oxide. Carbon dioxide is produces from energy consumption such as use of fossil fuels in food processing. Methane comes from landfills and nitrous oxide is emitted from fossil fuels and some food processing. These gases allow sunlight to enter the atmosphere freely; some sunlight is reflected back as heat. However, greenhouse gases absorb the radiation an trap the heat in the atmosphere. The resulting imbalance between the amount of the emitted and absorbed has resulted in global warming.
Ways food manufactures are addressing these negative environmental effects include:
Many manufactures have ensured their waste products have alternative uses; for examples:
Water is also a by-product of food processing. Manufacturers are also exploring ways to minimise water pollution through purification techniques, water reuse and water recycling.
The amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is a global environmental concern. Greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide, methane, water vapour and nitrous oxide. Carbon dioxide is produces from energy consumption such as use of fossil fuels in food processing. Methane comes from landfills and nitrous oxide is emitted from fossil fuels and some food processing. These gases allow sunlight to enter the atmosphere freely; some sunlight is reflected back as heat. However, greenhouse gases absorb the radiation an trap the heat in the atmosphere. The resulting imbalance between the amount of the emitted and absorbed has resulted in global warming.
Ways food manufactures are addressing these negative environmental effects include:
- adopting alternative ways of generating energy, such as using wind and solar power to decrease use of fossil fuels
- implementing ways to conserve water
- producing lighter and more efficiently shaped packaging materials to decrease transportation, fuel and air pollution (providing lighter, smaller and better designed packages will mean less transportation trips)
- reducing or reusing waste materials (to, for example, to decrease landfill) through recycling, composting and use of biodegradable materials for packaging (materials that decompose by action of micro-organisms).
Many manufactures have ensured their waste products have alternative uses; for examples:
- when making potato chips, peelings from potatoes are used for composting
- when preparing duck products, feather from ducks are sued as filling for doonas
- when packaging salted peanuts, the shells are used as mulch.
Water is also a by-product of food processing. Manufacturers are also exploring ways to minimise water pollution through purification techniques, water reuse and water recycling.
packaging (tertiary production)
Aseptic packages use fewer materials to manufacture, with less to dispose of after use.
The cartons can be recycled. They are checked for contamination and placed with water in a machine called a hydrapulper (similar to a large blender). In this machine, the cartons are broken up and the plastic and foil separates from the paper fibres. Paper is extracted and filtered to remove minor contaminants and can be use directly, without bleaching, to make high-quality recycled office and copy paper.
The residual mixture is fed into a large rotating drum with mesh on the exterior. Water passes through the mesh , leaving the plastic and foil to remain. As the rotating drum slope downwards, the plastic and foil continue to move along the drum until it falls into a pit, where it is collected, baled and finally discarded. The water is recovered and reused.
The Aseptic Packaging Council states that such packages also 'use far less energy to manufacture fill, ship and store products than virtually any comparable product.'
The cartons can be recycled. They are checked for contamination and placed with water in a machine called a hydrapulper (similar to a large blender). In this machine, the cartons are broken up and the plastic and foil separates from the paper fibres. Paper is extracted and filtered to remove minor contaminants and can be use directly, without bleaching, to make high-quality recycled office and copy paper.
The residual mixture is fed into a large rotating drum with mesh on the exterior. Water passes through the mesh , leaving the plastic and foil to remain. As the rotating drum slope downwards, the plastic and foil continue to move along the drum until it falls into a pit, where it is collected, baled and finally discarded. The water is recovered and reused.
The Aseptic Packaging Council states that such packages also 'use far less energy to manufacture fill, ship and store products than virtually any comparable product.'