Andrei Benedict N.

Mendiola

12 – Biology

Bio 4: Critical Environment & Health Issues

Long Test
Discuss briefly and direct to the point the following concept/item asked for. (10 pts/item)

1. What are the key factors being considered in obtaining the GHI of each country, and which
among these factors reflect the inadequate availability of food?

There are four factors that are taken into consideration when calculating the Global Hunger
Index of a country: undernourishment, child wasting, child stunting, and child mortality. Specifically,
undernourishment is defined as the percentage of undernourished people in the population,
wasting is the proportion of children under the age of five with low weight for their height, stunting
being the proportion of children under the age of five with low height for their age, and child
mortality as the mortality rate of children under five.

While all factors could be argued as indicative of the unavailability of food in an area, I would
say that it is undernourishment, child wasting, and child stunting that are the most sure signs of
food insecurity as these are factors that are strongly related to it. The lack of access to food,
whether it be due to shortage or for financial reasons, is culpable for undernourishment, and this in
turn gives birth to the problems of wasting and stunting in children. While the mortality rate could
also be a sign of food insecurity, it can also be representative of other issues present in the
community, such as poor healthcare services, lack of government support and involvement, or the
prevalence of crime. I just feel that it has a weaker correlation to food insecurity, especially when
compared to the first three factors, and its presence could be easily influenced by other factors
outside of hunger.

2. Which among the stages of agricultural development has more impact on the environment?
Give specific example.

Researchers and historians have divided the development of agriculture into three stages: The
Stone Age, the Bronze Age, and the Iron Age. The names of these time periods derive from what the
tools they used at the moment were made of, and this is reflective of the eventual understanding
and utilization of technology in order to aid human survival. For example, people in the Iron Age
used tools that were made of iron, and these tools proved to be stronger and more efficient than
those from stone and bronze. It was these improved iron tools such as sickles and plough tips that
allowed farmers to explore tougher soils and try different methods. The Celts used these tools to
practice arable farming, a practice wherein one would divide land into rows and plant seeds. This
method was efficient and allowed for new crops to be used.

However, as the saying goes, there is no such thing as a free lunch; there is always a trade – off.
While the iron tools helped agriculture flourish, aiding the increase of the human population, it also
started compromising the health of the environment. The Celts eventually started clearing forests to
make way for more land in order to meet demand. In my opinion, the advancement of tools paired
with the exponentially increasing human population makes the Iron Age the stage that brought
upon the most changes in the environment. Believers of anthropocentrism may say it was for the
better while those who side with ecocentrism say otherwise, but in any case, the Iron Age’s impact
to the environment is hard to deny.
Andrei Benedict N. Mendiola

12 – Biology

Bio 4: Critical Environment & Health Issues

Long Test
3. Which theory on aquaculture development is most plausible to you? Why?

I think that all theories on aquaculture development have their own merits, but if I had to
choose, I would consider the trap and crop theory as the most plausible, simply because it’s the
theory that I can personally imagine taking place. Human beings, as I learned from Social Science
class, are time binders; we are capable of recognizing the passage of time, and this allows us to
progress and learn from our mistakes to move forward. In the trap and crop theory, our ancestors
realized the abundance of fish and other seafood that showed up in the water bodies of coastal
areas. They were also able to recognize the tidal fluctuations that caused this phenomenon, and
through this, they were able to take advantage of the tides in order to provide more food for their
families. History has shown us that human beings are enterprising beings that take advantage of
natural processes, and the trap and crop theory is in – line with that.

As an aside, I also prefer the trap and crop theory as it shows a primitive form of environmental
consciousness in the form of the fishermen keeping barricades in place for a few months as to not
decline the population of fishes and other seafood. Little details like this make the trap and crop
theory the most plausible to me.

4. Discuss the common control and management mechanisms used in dealing with plant diseases,
as discussed in the case studies presented.

Among the case studies that were presented in class, the most common control and
management mechanisms in dealing with plant diseases that I observed were the application of
pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides, the plucking of infected parts, the removal and isolation of
infected plants, maintenance of water quality, and the observance of proper crops to be used.
Through this, I infer that pests seem to be a greater issue to farmers than plant diseases. Also, I find
the observance of proper crops to be interesting as not many people know about the impact that
invasive plant species can have on the environment, so it is good to know that our local farmers
have knowledge on this. This helped me realize that some varieties of crops are more advantageous
for a certain type of environment than others.

Other than the plucking of infected plant parts to stop the spread of disease, most of these
methods seem to be more general, or more oriented on preventing the spread of diseases, rather
than being specialized to cater for a specific disease. This was also observed from the farmer that
our group interviewed in Talisay. In comparison to some of the methods that we discovered online
prior to the interview, the methods presented in the case studies come off as primitive. To me, this
really shows the lack of support that our farmers receive from the government as our farmers lack
access to the advanced equipment and methods used in other countries. This leads to our farmers
becoming complacent with their usual practices, but we are not assured of the effectivity of these
practices in our ever – changing world. The lack of government assistance to our farmers is
especially unfortunate considering that 47% of the 30 million hectares of the Philippines is
agricultural land. I hope that one day, the stigma that surrounds farming is broken down, so that our
Andrei Benedict N. Mendiola

12 – Biology

Bio 4: Critical Environment & Health Issues

Long Test
farmers could ultimately get the assistance that they deserve. After all, the job of a farmer should be
considered as just as noble as that of a scientist’s or a doctor’s.

5. Is there a positive or negative implication when business entities in an area/locality are

interdependent on one another? What is its socio-economic, socio-cultural, and environmental
effect, if any?

Whether the interdependence of business entities in an area is negative or positive entirely

depends on the businesses themselves. I believe in the butterfly effect; a small change can result to
bigger and bigger events. If the business entities in an area practice advanced and efficient control
methods and mechanisms in managing their business, then there would be no problem with
interdependence. But if a business entity had faulty control mechanisms, or a lack of awareness on
how to deal with problems, then that would be a problem. For example, if the supplier of chickens
to a farm encountered an animal disease that they were not able to deal with before shipping the
chickens off, then that disease could spread and harm more and more chickens until an outbreak
occurs. This outbreak could eventually cause a decline in the livestock population of an area,
whether it be due to the disease itself or the culling of animals to stop the spread, compromising the
food security of an area.

The farms that we interviewed in the Rinconada District for our case study actually exhibited this
interdependence, with one farm serving as the hatchery that supplied chickens to the other two
farms, and I can say that this example would be a positive one as, based on the information we
gathered, the farms all exhibited the proper knowledge and access to control and management
methods needed in maintaining the health of their livestock. There were vaccines being employed at
the hatchery the moment chicks were born, and maintenance antibiotics were being given to the
chickens who needed them. Speaking from this reference point, the interdependence of these
three farms in Baao and Iriga is a positive one with minimal chance of compromising the food
security of the Rinconada area.