Misplaced Pages

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 116.12.133.242 (talk) at 01:32, 31 October 2008. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

This article does not cite any sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Pastoral farming" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (December 2007) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Pastoral farming (also known as grazing in some parts of the world) is farming related to livestock rather than growing crops and other fodder. The livestock usually graze on naturally-grown grass and other vegetation. Some pastoral farmers grow crops, but instead of selling the harvest, they feed it to livestock (cows, pigs, sheep etc.) so that they stay healthy for optimum production of meat, wool, milk and eggs. The major agricultural products can be broadly grouped into foods, fibers, fuels, raw materials, pharmaceuticals and illegal drugs, and an assortment of ornamental or otherwise exotic products. In recent years plants have been used to grow biofuels, biopharmaceuticals, bioplastics, and pharmaceuticals. Specific foods include cereals, vegetables, fruits, and meat. Fibers include cotton, wool, hemp, silk and flax. Raw materials include lumber and bamboo. Drugs include tobacco, marijuana, opium, cocaine, digitalis, curare, eugenol, reserpine, pyrethrins, taxol) and other useful materials such as resins. Biofuels include methane from biomass, ethanol, and biodiesel. Cut flowers, nursery plants, tropical fish and birds for the pet trade are some of the ornamental products. recent years, some aspects of intensive industrial agriculture have been the subject of increasing debate. The widening sphere of influence held by large seed and chemical companies, meat packers and food processors has been a source of concern both within the farming community and for the general public. Another issue is the type of feed given to some animals that can cause bovine spongiform encephalopathy in cattle. There has also been concern over the effect of intensive agriculture on the environment. A field of ripening barley.

The patent protection given to companies that develop new types of seed using genetic engineering has allowed seed to be licensed to farmers in much the same way that computer software is licensed to users. This has changed the balance of power in favor of the seed companies, allowing them to dictate terms and conditions previously unheard of. The Indian activist and scientist Vandana Shiva argues that these companies are guilty of biopiracy.

This agriculture article is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it.

• v
• t
• e

South-West of Africa

• Articles lacking sources from December 2007
• Agriculture stubs