document_title: Interview with the Vampire (soundtrack)

question_text: song at end of interview with a vampire

question_tokens: song at end of interview with a vampire

text: Interview with the Vampire (soundtrack)

text: The score[edit]

text: The music is characterized by its full, dramatic sound that complements the film's gothic atmosphere. The classical style reflects the old-world setting of the film and helps to coveys the dark emotional struggles of the characters.

text: The rock band Guns N' Roses covered the Rolling Stones song "Sympathy for the Devil", which plays during the film's end credits. A single CD was also released by Geffen Records, featuring "Sympathy for the Devil" and "Escape to Paris" as tracks No. 1 and No. 2, respectively.

text: The album was nominated for the Academy Award and the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score, losing on both counts to the score of The Lion King.

text: Track listing[edit]

text:
"Libera Me" (2:47) - (Vocals: The American Boychoir)
"Born to Darkness Part I" (3:04)
"Lestat's Tarantella" (0:46)
"Madeleine's Lament" (3:06)
"Claudia's Allegro" Agitato (4:46)
"Escape to Paris" (3:09)
"Marche Funèbre" (1:50)
"Lestat's Recitative" (3:39)
"Santiago's Waltz" (0:37)
"Théâtre Des Vampires" (1:18)
"Armand's Seduction" (1:51)
"Plantation Pyre" (1:59)
"Forgotten Lore" (0:31)
"Scent Of Death" (1:40)
"Abduction & Absolution" (4:42) - (Vocals: The American Boychoir)
"Armand Rescues Louis" (2:07)
"Louis' Revenge" (2:36)
"Born to Darkness Part II" (1:11)
"Sympathy for the Devil" (7:35) - (The Rolling Stones)

text: Crew/Credit[edit]

text:
Music Composed by Elliot Goldenthal (except track 19)
Music Produced by Matthias Gohl
Orchestrated by Robert Elhai and Elliot Goldenthal
Conducted by Jonathan Sheffer
Recorded and Mixed by Steve McLaughlin and Joel Iwataki
Electronic Music Produced by Richard Martinez
Music Editors: Michael Connell and Chris Brooks


document_title: The Vampire Diaries (season 7)

question_text: how many episodes in season 7 of the vampire diaries

root

text: The Vampire Diaries (season 7)

text: Cast[edit]

text: Main[edit]

text:
Paul Wesley as Stefan Salvatore (himself; possessed by Ambrose)
Ian Somerhalder as Damon Salvatore
Kat Graham as Bonnie Bennett
Candice King as Caroline Forbes
Zach Roerig as Matt Donovan
Matt Davis as Alaric Saltzman
Michael Malarkey as Enzo St. John

tag: ul

text: Recurring[edit]

text:
Elizabeth Blackmore as Valerie Tulle
Scarlett Byrne as Nora Hildegard
Teressa Liane as Mary-Louise
Jaiden Kaine as Beau
Todd Lasance as Julian
Leslie-Anne Huff as Rayna Cruz
Ana Nogueira as Penny Ares
Mouzam Makkar as Alexandria "Alex" St. John
Lily Rose Mumford as Josette "Josie" Saltzman
Tierney Mumford as Elizabeth "Lizzie" Saltzman

tag: p

text: Special guest[edit]

text:
Annie Wersching as Lily Salvatore
Michael Trevino as Tyler Lockwood
Joseph Morgan as Klaus Mikaelson

text: Guest[edit]

text:
Justice Leak as Malcolm
Jodi Lyn O'Keefe as Josette "Jo" Laughlin (possessed by Florence)
Tim Kang as Oscar (himself; possessed by an unknown phoenix stone vampire)
John Charles Meyer as young Giuseppe Salvatore (flashback)
Gavin Casalegno as young Damon Salvatore (flashback)
Luke Judy as young Stefan Salvatore (flashback)
Alex Mauriello as Krystal
Evan Gamble as Henry Wattles
Aisha Duran as Virginia St. John
Ryan Dorsey as Marty Hammond (possessed by Stefan Salvatore)
Nina Dobrev as Elena Gilbert (uncredited; voice-only)

text: Episodes[edit]

text: This section's plot summaries may be too long or excessively detailed. Please help improve them by removing unnecessary details and making them more concise. (November 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

tag: table

text:
No.
overall
No. in
season
Title
Directed by
Written by
Original air date
Prod.
code
U.S. viewers
(millions)

134
1
"Day One of Twenty-Two Thousand, Give or Take"
Pascal Verschooris
Caroline Dries
October 8, 2015 (2015-10-08)
3J5701
1.38[3]

Damon, Bonnie and Alaric have been spending the summer in Europe while Stefan, Caroline and Matt make a deal with Lily and her Heretics when they failed to defeat them. Stefan and Caroline evacuate the whole town to protect them from the Heretics but agree that anyone who passes the border will be Heretics' blood meal. Alaric consults psychics about his dead wife. Damon rescues Bonnie from a car accident but only at the last minute. When the trio get back in town, they discover about the deal with the Heretics. Damon and Bonnie make their own plan and kill a Heretic. When Lily learns about the death, she attains revenge by kidnapping Caroline with the help of Enzo.

Flashforward:Three years into the future, Stefan is seen in a storage unit opening a casket containing a desiccated Damon. After reviving Damon against his wishes, Stefan proceeds to tell him that his scar opened up which means that "she's back" when they are attacked by an old (yet unknown) foe.

135
2
"Never Let Me Go"
Chris Grismer
Brian Young
October 15, 2015 (2015-10-15)
3J5702
1.40[4]

In present day, Caroline is held prisoner by vervain soaked ropes but escapes from Enzo, only to get recaptured by the Heretic girls. The girls torture her. Valerie seems to be good to her by putting a spell on her which keeps her away from other vampires. Damon and Stefan rescue Caroline from the house which was made easy to enter by making Matt's heart stop temporarily, as Matt was made owner of the house. In the last minute, Stefan is pulled out of the house and Damon is told by Enzo that the Heretics have Elena. Lily and the Heretics perform a funeral ritual for their fellow dead heretic and the love of Lily's life. Lily threatens Damon into admitting to the murder of the Heretic and tells him to keep away from Mystic Falls. Meanwhile, Alaric tests the Phoenix stone on a corpse in the morgue.

Flashforward: Three years into the future, Caroline is seen working at a TV station in Dallas, Texas, when her assistant informs her that she got a call from her fiancee that he is planning a trip back to Mystic Falls. When Caroline hears that, she says they cannot go back there. Later, when her assistant tells her that she got a call from Stefan, she responds angrily citing to never accept calls from him. She and her assistant are then shot with stakes by an unknown person.

136
3
"Age of Innocence"
Michael Allowitz
Melinda Hsu Taylor & Holly Brix
October 22, 2015 (2015-10-22)
3J5703
1.20[5]

Damon sets off on a road trip with Bonnie and Alaric in search of leverage they can use against his mother. The trio searches for and meet the last heretic, Oscar, who defected from Lily's group. Damon asked for Oscar's help in siphoning magic from Bonnie who was getting horrible visions after touching the Phoenix Stone. Oscar refuses to help when he finds out about the stone, and tries to escape by knocking Alaric and Bonnie unconscious and breaking Damon's neck. The trio captures Oscar and makes a deal with Lily in exchange for Elena's coffin. Meanwhile, Caroline, still being held hostage by the Heretics, learns some information about Valerie's past. Flashbacks to 1863 show Valerie meeting Stefan for the first time and showing how they fell in love. In actual fact, Valerie was sent by Lily to watch out for her son but they fell in love. When Valerie planned to run away while pregnant, Julian beat her and brought her back to the ship. There, Valerie killed herself which turned her into the very first heretic as she had died with Lily's blood in her system. At the same time, Stefan learns a few unexpected details about his own past from Lily about how she first met Valerie. Also, Alaric turns to Bonnie for her help after coming clean that he has the Phoenix Stone which can bring the dead back to life. Lily sets Caroline free out of admiration for Stefan's honesty with her.

Flashforward: Three years later, Tyler is seen driving around in New York City when he gets a call from a frantic Stefan, who tells him that his scar opened up and that he needs Tyler to get hold of Caroline to warn her as she is not taking his calls. Stefan is about to leave town and sets his car on fire.

137
4
"I Carry Your Heart with Me"
Jeffrey Hunt
Neil Reynolds
October 29, 2015 (2015-10-29)
3J5704
1.24[6]

On Halloween, Stefan and Damon desperately hide Oscar's corpse, as his death disables their exchange plan with Lily, who released Caroline to Enzo's delighted relief. They turn for his resuscitation to Bonnie and Alaric, who admits having kept the Phoenix stone. However the sorcery ritual proves hard to crack while the heretic girls, Nora and Mary Louise come searching for the corpse, which is hid in the dorm. Lily instructs Nora and Mary Louise to kill a student at Whitmore College every hour unless Oscar is returned to her. So, Stefan and Bonnie team up to lure Nora and Mary Louise to Whitmore's annual Heaven and Hell dance to keep an eye on the couple while Damon, Bonnie and Alaric try to resurrect Oscar using the Phoenix Stone. Also, Valerie confides in Enzo about killing Oscar in order to prevent him from detailing the whereabouts of Lily's former lover, Julian, whom Valerie has a past with.

Flashforward: Three years later, Alaric is seen trying to fix a teddy bear revealing that he is the father to two daughters. When they become quiet, he goes to the front door and sees them looking at Damon, who threatens Alaric in order to be let in.

138
5
"Live Through This"
Kellie Cyrus
Rebecca Sonnenshine
November 5, 2015 (2015-11-05)
3J5705
1.34[7]

Damon and Stefan team up with Valerie, who is searching for Julian's coffin to destroy it. Meanwhile, Rick is dealing with Jo to cope things after she becomes alive again. Bonnie goes to the Salvatore manor to ask Oscar, who is under Enzo's watch, about the Phoenix stone but unfortunately, gets attacked by him. Enzo gets the Phoenix stone as Bonnie loses it when she tries to run away from Oscar. Enzo then stabs Oscar when he goes crazy. When the Salvatore brothers and Valerie reach their location, she explains that the Phoenix stone does not bring people alive but it transferred vampire souls imprisoned in the stone into a body. Just as Valerie tries to burn Julian's corpse, Lily and the Heretics arrive and rescue him. Valerie, who for her actions are left alone by the Heretics, tells Damon that it was Lily's plan to make Elena sleep as long as Bonnie is alive. Damon tries to murder Lily but they escape by making coffins explode and injuring Stefan, Damon and Valerie. Back in the Salvatore house, Enzo, in possession of Phoenix stone, makes Lily choose between him and Julian but Lily chooses the latter and disappointed, Enzo gives her the stone. With the stone, the Heretics revive Julian. Bonnie sadly informs Rick about the stone and that Jo's body might not have his wife's soul. Bonnie is joined by Damon who vows to get revenge on Lily who destroys everything that makes him happy.

Flashforward: Three years later, Bonnie is living in a mental institution and during a group session, expresses guilt for what she has done in the past. When she goes back to her room, she finds Enzo, who remarks that she needs to come home. They then kiss.

139
6
"Best Served Cold"
Darren Genet
Caroline Dries
November 12, 2015 (2015-11-12)
3J5706
1.32[8]

Lily and the Heretics throw a party at Salvatore manor which Stefan and Damon also attend. Bonnie arrives with Enzo and she tries to make Lily jealous for Enzo. Meanwhile, Rick deals with Jo and her suddenly declining health. Valerie and Caroline arrive there, where Valerie explains that Jo was human and the vampire soul is not compatible with her body which meant that she was as good as dead. Back in the manor, Julian and the Salvatore brothers get into an argument which brings them to fight until Lily intervenes and says she will never let her children suffer. Rick has to let go of Jo but Valerie finds out the twins are still alive. They then make a locator spell which seems to points nowhere but shockingly Valerie deduces that the twins are inside Caroline's body.

Flashforward: Three years from now on, Damon arrives at Rick's home to talk about his twins. While they are in deep conversation, Caroline, who is now a production manager at a news channel and engaged to Alaric, appears on television bloodied announcing there is a message for Stefan Salvatore.

140
7
"Mommie Dearest"
Tony Solomons
Chad Fiveash & James Stoteraux
November 19, 2015 (2015-11-19)
3J5707
1.10[9]

In order to get through to Lily about Julian's manipulating ways, Stefan and Damon confront their mother with painful memories from their childhood. However, when Lily reveals a dark secret she's been harboring for over 160 years, Stefan and Damon are left questioning everything they've ever known about their family. Determined to prove himself to Lily, Enzo comes face to face with Julian and challenges him to a duel, but an unexpected twist threatens to complicate things. Elsewhere, Matt finds himself in the middle of a deepening mystery involving the residents of Mystic Falls, and Caroline's world is turned upside down when Valerie reveals some life-changing news to her.

141
8
"Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me"
Leslie Libman
Brett Matthews
December 3, 2015 (2015-12-03)
3J5708
1.31[10]

Lily, Damon and Stefan plan killing Julian which requires unlinking him from Lily with the help of the Heretics. Caroline informs Stefan about her pregnancy who finally comes to terms with it. Enzo warns Lily of the impending threat to her life and they share a moment. Later, Enzo is kidnapped by Matt and his troop. Valerie and the Salvatore brothers corner Julian but are interrupted by Mary Louise. Julian forces Lily to choose between killing Valerie or Damon. Unaware that the unlinking's already done, Lily stakes herself, thinking this could kill Julian. Nora breaks up with Mary Louise as the latter sided with Julian instead of Lily. Everybody then says their goodbyes to Lily before her death, except Damon, who coldly dismisses her for Elena's sleep spell.

Flashforward: Damon is held captive by some woman whom he hallucinates as Lily and thus asks forgiveness for his harsh goodbye. In return, the woman tell him that he is hallucinating as Lily has long died and he too will die soon of werewolf venom. Then, she knocks him down unconscious.

142
9
"Cold as Ice"
Geoffrey Wing Shotz
Brian Young
December 10, 2015 (2015-12-10)
3J5709
1.18[11]

Lily is put to rest. Stefan and Damon's search for Julian leads them to a bar outside of Mystic Falls filled with dead Santas. As Julian arrives with his minions, the two parties tiff up which later aggravates back home. Nora and Bonnie become friends during a toy drive. Caroline is struggling with her pregnancy as her feeding urges keep her on the edge; she visits her mom's grave for some peace. The fight between the Salvatore brothers and Julian finally leads to him staking Damon with the Phoenix sword, ergo trapping his soul inside the Phoenix hell-stone. It is shown that Damon is back to his Civil War days, injured and scared. When Nora learns that all this time Bonnie was simply stalling her from saving Julian, she siphons out Bonnie's magic and stakes Stefan with the Phoenix Sword as well.

Flashforward: Three years from now in Chicago, Stefan is with Valerie. He has burnt down his Porsche, so he borrows her car to go to Dallas where Damon has been kidnapped. Valerie promises that if something happens to him, she will rain hell down on anyone responsible and they part with a kiss.

143
10
"Hell Is Other People"
Deborah Chow
Holly Brix & Neil Reynolds
January 29, 2016 (2016-01-29)
3J5710
1.23[12]

Three months later, Damon's hell: Amidst Civil War, Damon receives a sad letter from Stefan asking him to return. According to higher orders, in order to take leave, he has to arrest union sympathizers. So he and his friend Henry leave for the mission but end up massacring the host family. As Damon searches the basement, Lily shows up and he realizes it is all fake. Next, Bonnie brings back Damon who wakes up only to realize that Stefan, too, is stuck in hell-world and Julian's held his body hostage. He rushes to a miffed Julian who scorches Stefan's body. Lily shows up again. Damon quickly realizes all this is still hell. He keeps shuttling between the war day and real life, in hell, on a loop unable to save the deserters. Eventually, under the influence of Stefan, Damon realizes that his messed up life basically roots down to him escaping guilt after having missed his mother when he needed her the most. Finally, Damon returns back to the very first vision of hell he had and finds Lily in excruciating pain. Overwhelmed by emotions, Damon starts sobbing and saying that he missed her and how angry he was at himself for not bidding her goodbye the way she deserved in the last two chances. He begs her to give him one last chance to serve her and receive her love but death intervenes. Lily dies in his arms and Damon is left devastated. This time he actually escapes hell, unable to believe that he lost his mother again and begs Bonnie to send him back. As Stefan tries explaining to him that all of it was hell faux, he loses it completely and goes on an attacking spree over Stefan, Caroline, Matt and Bonnie. As the episode ends, Damon is mentally and emotionally drained as he staggers to stand still, looking around and realizing that this time it was real.

144
11
"Things We Lost in the Fire"
Paul Wesley
Melinda Hsu Taylor
February 5, 2016 (2016-02-05)
3J5711
1.09[13]

Damon saves Matt and Bonnie as Caroline stealthily injects him with vervain. Stefan is having disturbing post-hell hallucinations of him and Damon underwater with the latter drowning. In his hallucinations, Damon even posed a threat to his and Caroline's relationship. (Damon kept Stefan from escaping hell-world, so in order to escape, the latter had to let go of him). Soon, Henry's spirit starts haunting Damon. Tyler shows up for Caroline's baby shower. Under Julian's leadership, Mystic Falls is now a shoddy home to his vampire mates. It is revealed that Alaric will move to Dallas and Caroline finds it hard to accept that she has to eventually part with the twins. Matt is arrested by a lady cop named Penny for DUI who later questions his wooden weapons. Nora and Bonnie anxiously plan to face a ruthless legendary vampire huntress (she hunts down any Phoenix sword-staked vampire) after Nora receives an X-marked envelope warning of her arrival. Damon meets up with an apprehensive Tyler forcing him to take him to see Elena. As Damon opens Elena's coffin, he finds Henry. He charges at a prepared Tyler but eventually bashes him against concrete. Henry here advises Damon to attain liberation by letting go of what holds back his true monstrous nature. An exasperated Damon attempts to finish off Henry by setting the coffin on fire. As he watches it burn, Henry reappears telling him that he burnt Elena for good which leaves him devastated. Back home, Stefan assures Damon that he will always have his back who is at a loss of words, unable to reveal that his reason to breathe and live is no more as he killed Elena.

Flashforward: Dallas news station: Matt has become rough. He frees Caroline who was kidnapped and asks her to get out and stay out of sight until the huntress gets what she wants. Caroline is shocked at Matt's change in behavior and the fact that he is in cahoots with The Huntress.

145
12
"Postcards from the Edge"
Pascal Verschooris
Rebecca Sonnenshine
February 12, 2016 (2016-02-12)
3J5712
1.05[14]

Back in Whitmore, Caroline's supernatural pregnancy is affecting her as the babies are siphoners who keep siphoning away her vampirism magic causing her to desiccate inside out. Valerie tries swapping their magic source for a magic-filled talisman but eventually it all goes in vain. Officer Penny learns about Mystic Falls brimming with vampires from Matt. Bonnie, Mary Lou and Nora search for Rayna Cruz, "The Huntress" finding her old and feeble in a psychiatric ward. Puzzled, the Heretics carry on their search when suddenly, Rayna attacks Bonnie who is saved just in time by Enzo who kills off Rayna. It is revealed that Enzo sent the 'X' cards to track Rayna; he burns her to ashes only to revive her back in her young true self. Elsewhere, Damon returns to his road-kill antics, picks on Julian and indulges in dangerous games with his mates. The fight gets nastier with Julian stepping up to fight him. By this time, Stefan has reached the spot and begs Damon to stop, who gives him a deaf ear continuing to fight as if he had a death wish. After a while, Damon begs Julian for death. Stefan interferes and finally gets Damon to walk off the ring. Eventually, Damon discloses about him burning Elena alive to a stunned Stefan who beats him up, abandons him and has a breakdown. He is now hell bent on killing Julian. Damon looks on as he stands there taken over by remorse and bleeding profusely. Back in Mystic Falls, Valerie and Stefan finally take on Julian as Stefan catches him off guard and stakes him while Valerie keeps them cloaked. Back in Salvatore boarding house, Damon gets an unexpected visitor, a brunette (she saved him during one of the ring fights) who comes in and kisses him. Wallowing in emptiness, Damon gazes into her eyes accepting the bitter truth of fate and as a final jolt of mental agony, he bends down to kiss her back.

Flashforward: Three years from now, near the Dallas news station, Matt vervains Stefan after freeing Caroline (as shown in the previous episode). Inside the news station, the unseen vampire hunter is finally revealed to be a young Rayna, who looks on at Damon as he sits there tied to a chair weakened by werewolf toxin.

146
13
"This Woman's Work"
Garreth Stover
Chad Fiveash & James Stoteraux
February 19, 2016 (2016-02-19)
3J5713
1.01[15]

Rayna is a supernaturally blessed vampire huntress who was once compelled by Julian to kill her own father, a hunter belonging to one among The Five, using the Phoenix sword as her weapon. Back in 1863, hell bent on seeking revenge, she had impaled Beau and staked Julian into the Phoenix hell-stone. She has now released herself and retrieved her sword from Bonnie and Damon. Caroline's fast desiccation called for an early C section delivery which was aided by all the Heretics and later Bonnie. Suddenly, Beau's wound reopens and he gets killed and burnt by Rayna. Nora and Mary Louise run for their lives. Meanwhile, Valerie and Stefan try easing the delivery (the twins were reluctant to come out thus leave their constant source of magic). Bonnie, Alaric and Valerie watched as Caroline successfully gave birth to the twins. Damon distracted and tried fighting Rayna but almost gets staked just as Stefan came to rescue. In this process Stefan gets marked by the sword once more forcing him to run from her. Enzo informs Damon that Elena is alive and well protected by his men and that he was hallucinating her death. Beyond relieved, Damon promises Stefan that he will make things right now that life has offered him a second chance. Alaric names the twins Josie in honor of their mom Josette Laughlin, and Elizabeth, in honor of Caroline's mom.

Flashforward: Caroline (and the twins) are driving away to New Orleans. She needs to meet a friend.

147
14
"Moonlight on the Bayou"
Jeffrey Hunt
Caroline Dries & Brett Matthews
February 26, 2016 (2016-02-26)
3J5714
1.12[16]

Caroline moves to Dallas with Alaric and the twins. Valerie locates an anti-magic bar in New Orleans, "St. James Infirmary" where Stefan must hide (as Rayna's sword will not be able to trace him there). At the bar, Stefan meets Klaus. He eventually finds out that Stefan is there hiding from Rayna and is furious. He asks Stefan to leave, and Stefan forgets his phone. Klaus gets to talk with Caroline, finally agreeing to protect Stefan and does so. While on the run, both Nora and Mary Louise are tranquilized and captured by men who work for "The Armory". Meanwhile, Bonnie and Damon meet Enzo at a supernatural museum-like organization named "The Armory", who are desperate to lock up Rayna. Enzo works for them as they are giving him information about his family. He wants to know Stefan's location in order to lure Rayna in. Damon adamantly keeps his brother's location a secret after getting warned about the organization's dubious past from Valerie. An equally adamant Enzo tranquilizes Damon and knocks out Bonnie (it is shown that, somehow, Enzo makes Bonnie immune to magic). Damon finds himself locked in with a comatose Tyler who will soon transition into a werewolf because it is a full moon. Bonnie takes desperate measures to save Damon from being bitten. Damon struggles with Tyler, who makes him realize that "people around him are always dying in order to save him and it must stop". Taking it to heart, Damon advises Bonnie to not open the cell as she could die. Undeterred, Bonnie manages to open the cell, only to get her skull bashed by Tyler who runs away after a fight. Damon sees that she is not healing with his blood and gets her hospitalized. As he talks to an unconscious Bonnie, he says that he is deeply hurt to have put her and Stefan's lives in danger, both of whom tried to save him. This makes him think that it would be best to take himself out of the equation as to no longer bother his loved ones, and it will all end tomorrow.
This episode begins a crossover with The Originals that concludes on "A Streetcar Named Desire".

Flashforward: Caroline and the twins have come to meet Klaus at the same bar that Stefan was hiding. A waitress informs her that it has been three years since Klaus has disappeared.

148
15
"I Would for You"
Mike Karasick
Brian Young
March 4, 2016 (2016-03-04)
3J5715
1.06[17]

Stefan and Valerie pursue a herb that can hide them from Rayna. With help from Matt, Damon finally captures Rayna and kills her multiple times in order to die permanently. Bonnie and Enzo discover that once Rayna's lives are over, all of those she marked will die as well and inform Damon just in time before she dies permanently. Damon escapes and notifies Stefan of his intention to desiccate for the next 60 years, to Stefan's disapproval. After an advise from Penny, Matt confronts Stefan and tells him and all vampires to get away from Mystic Falls, otherwise he will show the world the existence of vampires on a CCTV footage. Damon arrives at the storage unit where he plans to desiccate alongside Elena's coffin, but Bonnie shows up letting him know that she is extremely hurt with his decision. She leaves him there and Damon finally lies down to slowly desiccate near to death with hopes that he has saved his loved ones from the array of bad choices he makes putting their lives in jeopardy.

Flashforward: Stefan is captured by Rayna who tells him that this is a Plan B and that she does not want to kill him. His mark can be transferred to someone else who deserves it. She mentions Damon, but Stefan says she is trying to get them apart and rejects, but Damon comes in and says it was his idea.

149
16
"Days of Future Past"
Ian Somerhalder
Melinda Hsu Taylor
April 1, 2016 (2016-04-01)
3J5716
1.07[18]

Three years have passed and The Armory is searching for Enzo and Rayna as they believe the former released the huntress, but actually Matt had freed her to get Stefan back into the Phoenix hell stone as the vampire had something to do with his girlfriend's (Penny) death. Alex has kept Nora and Mary Lou as hostages for these three years experimenting on the latter with Rayna's blood (it is lethal to witches) and eventually sending Nora to find Enzo in return of Mary Lou. Rayna and a werewolf toxin-saturated Damon coax Stefan to do the mark transfer who eventually sets off on a run from Rayna. Damon is struggling with the werewolf toxin in his system and contemplating on whether he should participate for the mark transfer (as he will die when Rayna does naturally in another 60-70 years ergo, bidding goodbye to his chance of seeing Elena ever again) or come up with a better plan. In the meanwhile, Valerie comes to his rescue; over the past three years - her and Stefan's friendship has seen evolution and while globe-trotting, they have managed to contact an individual who may know ways to end Rayna. Nora finds Enzo and they decide to collectively fight Alex who they eventually corner. Alex is curious as to why Enzo is so desperate to stash all the lethal-to-a-witch pills and reveals that there is no antidote and Mary Lou is as good as dead. Valerie and Damon are running against time to capture Rayna and save Stefan but it gets too late as the huntress gains over them - Damon finally agrees to do the mark transfer but before they are done, Rayna has already stabbed and sent Stefan back into the hell stone leaving Valerie and Damon devastated. Nora and Mary Lou share their final moments and in a run-in with Rayna, Nora gets marked and the sword gets stuck to their car. Both Nora and Mary Lou finally decide to be together in death as they do their last magic to break and destroy the Phoenix stone forever along with blowing their car off to pieces. Rayna who was chasing them all along stands there devastated and stunned as she watches her stone, her mark (Nora) and probably her sword get destroyed this time, for real.

150
17
"I Went to the Woods"
Julie Plec
Story by: Julie Plec & Neil Reynolds
Teleplay by: Neil Reynolds
April 8, 2016 (2016-04-08)
3J5717
1.03[19]

Destroying the Phoenix stone led to escape of all the trapped souls followed by rampant possession of dead bodies. Stefan's body gets possessed by a remorseless vampire who goes to Memphis sorority parties to quench his bloodthirst. Stefan's soul gets into Marty, an alcoholic mariner who was in the middle of a road mishap. He/Stefan struggles to stay alive as an ongoing blizzard starts taking a toll on him. Damon, Alaric and Valerie team up to catch hold of both Stefan's body and soul before the latter's host body succumbs to cold and detox. Valerie, with the help of Rayna, gets to know about Marty's whereabouts and informs Damon who goes on search of him and manages to contact him via cellphone. He keeps Marty/Stefan engaged and moving while Stefan reminisces about their childhood and opens up about how he felt about Damon selfishly bailing on him time and again over the years. Eventually Damon catches up on Marty just in time who falls down unconscious. He makes him sit inside the warmer car and gives him doughnuts to keep his younger brother fed and going. However hypothermia starts pacing up on Marty and now, they are rushing against time to go catch Stefan's body, which is busy feeding off University sororities in Memphis.

151
18
"One Way or Another"
Rashaad Ernesto Green
Story by: Penny Cox
Teleplay by: Rebecca Sonnenshine
April 15, 2016 (2016-04-15)
3J5718
1.02[20]

Damon arranges an ambulance as Marty Hammond's state worsens. Alaric and Damon track down Ambrose - the vampire who has taken residence in Stefan's body. After both Marty Hammond and Stefan's body are arranged, Valerie does the transfer spell during which she realizes that Stefan was meant to be with Caroline and she should not be in their way. After fixing Stefan, she lets go of him on good terms and parts ways to explore the world. Damon apologizes for his selfish desiccation decision and begs Alaric to get back to being friends who blankly refuses stating that he has been better and safer without being disturbed by Damon and he does not want things to go back to the way they were. Cut-to Bonnie in a psychiatric ward in Asheville, where she has been taking the pills for over three years, to stay off The Armory's radar; she learns that they needed her to open some basement vault once sealed shut by a Bennett witch. Enzo gives her a visit and lets her know that these pills would eventually kill her so she should stop taking them. Just as they hug, Bonnie sees Damon standing outside her room holding flowers. He has come to apologize to her but cannot bring up anything to say. Bonnie gives a rude smirk and bangs the door shut on her once best friend's face. Both rejections, from Alaric and Bonnie, leave Damon hurt.

152
19
"Somebody That I Used to Know"
Chris Grismer
Story by: Matthew D'Ambrosio
Teleplay by: Holly Brix
April 22, 2016 (2016-04-22)
3J5719
1.02[21]

Bonnie's condition worsens as her first scab appears. Damon and Enzo work out a deal with Rayna in which if they kill all the enlisted vampires in her murder list, Rayna will allow them to utilize her last Everlasting's life and help out Bonnie. Over the last 3 years, Bonnie and Enzo have become a couple. Bonnie has not yet forgiven Damon; he does most of the dirty work but remains an uninvited guest to Bonnie and Enzo. Stefan goes to Dallas trying to make amends for how he left things with Caroline but neither her nor Alaric are interested in bridging back their old friendship with Stefan. Just as Damon and Enzo are close to sealing their end of their deal, Rayna adds hundreds of more names to the list leaving an impossible task ahead of them as they only have a week to kill them all before Bonnie succumbs to the effects of those poisonous pills.

153
20
"Kill 'Em All"
Kellie Cyrus
Chad Fiveash & James Stoteraux
April 29, 2016 (2016-04-29)
3J5720
1.05[22]

Damon makes a deal with Alexandria wherein he will deliver them Bonnie for opening the vault provided they send some workforce to help him track down the long list of vampires. Matt realizes that 2 years back, he killed Penny while she was capturing Stefan, who came to Mystic Falls to pay respect to Liz Forbes - a thought that had been compelled away by Stefan under a false cover story of car accident as Matt would get shattered as he and Penny had just gotten engaged. However, Matt still holds grudge against Stefan for having destroyed his, Penny's and hundreds of others' lives. Damon-Enzo, Matt-Stefan, Caroline-Alaric and the men from Armory team up separately to finish off Rayna's list. Pills' effects start wearing off of Bonnie enabling her to practice magic again. She opens the vault and Alex finds Yvette's body in an unrecognizable state though hearing her voices. As Alex and the others search inside the vault, Bonnie traps them inside the building thus keeping her promise she made to Virginia. Finally, Rayna's last life gets transferred to Bonnie, but along with that gets transferred her hunter instincts, turning Bonnie, a girl whose entire life revolves around her near and dear ones who unfortunately are vampires, into a vampire huntress.

154
21
"Requiem for a Dream"
Paul Wesley
Brett Matthews & Neil Reynolds
May 6, 2016 (2016-05-06)
3J5721
0.90[23]

Bonnie is not waking up to prevent herself from killing her vampire friends. Caroline and Enzo individually enter her head and try convincing her to let go of the murdering urge and to embrace this new chance at living. Each of them fail as Bonnie kills them in the dreams, thus marking them in a way. Stefan vervains Caroline to keep her out of harm's way; both have a heart-to-heart talk clearing away 3 years' worth of misunderstanding. Damon tries reverse psychology on Bonnie by getting in her head and urging her to better die so he gets his Elena back. Enraged and hurt, Bonnie rips out his heart, marking him. But this try by Damon doesn't go in vain, as Bonnie does wake up. She gives a heads up to Caroline who is heartbroken as she realizes that she'll have to abandon her daughters to be on a never-ending run with Stefan. Matt convinces Bonnie to try to remain rooted to her human side and she agrees, but in one condition: she needs to finish off Damon once and for all. Bonnie and Damon have a major clash at the woods with she beats Damon more brutally than ever; yet he doesn't give up and draws her towards the very tree stump where Bonnie was once remembered after she had died. He tries calming her down by making her realize that she's powerful, she's handled more supernatural forms than he can remember, that he admires and cares for her and that may she forgive him for what he has done to their once strong friendship. Undeterred, Bonnie takes a final jolt at Damon but just in time, Matt tranquilizes her. Damon and Matt tuck her in to safety in Matt's car hoping that she'd be out for 8 hours or so. Somewhere in midway, Bonnie wakes up, chains up Matt, shoving him in the backseat of the car and takes control of the wheels and drives back to finish her unfinished business. Damon and Enzo find ways to save Bonnie as Matt had earlier, known from the Shaman that: if the link between Bonnie and the Last Everlasting can be severed in any way, the curse will probably sever too. With all paths in front of them, there are just a few major roadblocks: The Armory's magically sealed shut wherein Yvette could be wandering anywhere and someone has to go get inside the Armory to get The Everlasting's body out.

155
22
"Gods and Monsters"
Michael A. Allowitz
Brian Young
May 13, 2016 (2016-05-13)
3J5722
1.04[24]

Enzo, Damon, Stefan and Caroline try coming up with plans to open The Armory while Matt and Bonnie are chasing after them. While doing so, they meet an accident that injures Matt badly. Alaric and Caroline decide on making the twins open up the vault by siphoning off Bonnie's spell. Penny's spirit makes Matt realize that he deserves better, making him regain his consciousness. The twins open the Armory. Damon and Stefan go inside. Enzo lures Bonnie to the cabin letting Damon and Stefan buy more time. The tiny cabin gets nasty as Bonnie, unable to hold her urges, holds a stake down Enzo's chest. While searching, Damon and Stefan finally approach the vault which Damon decides to venture in, alone. He assures Stefan that in some way or another, everything will be okay. They share a handshake and hug and part ways as Damon finally gets inside the vault. Enzo recollects of the glorious 3 years as he struggles to the impale while Damon, just in time, finds the Everlasting's body, sets it on fire thus severing the link and lifting the curse off of Bonnie. Outside, Alaric tells Caroline to stay back with Stefan and parts ways on good terms saying that no matter what, they will always be family. Stefan and Caroline get back together. A rejoiced Bonnie forgives Damon on the phone and while he's getting out, he starts hearing Elena's voice. Enzo and Bonnie warn Damon that it is the vault playing tricks with his mind but he keeps following the voice and something scary overpowers him. Enzo rushes in to help encountering a strange Damon. The monster takes Enzo as well.

Flashforward: Three months from now, Everybody's trying to find Enzo and Damon, Alaric manages to crack open the code for the vault but they find it empty. Bonnie remains helpless as she lost two of her closest people and her magic never came back. Gradually, the rest start getting reports of large number of people going missing and they realize it's them, but they don't know where to start looking. Somewhere far off, Damon and Enzo have lost every shred of humanity and killing endless people for the sake of sport. Stefan is shown writing his journal to Elena promising that he'll get them back and whatever Damon does in all this time, it's not his fault.

text: Casting[edit]

text: The cast features Paul Wesley as Stefan Salvatore, Ian Somerhalder as Damon Salvatore, Kat Graham as Bonnie Bennett, Candice Accola as Caroline Forbes and Zach Roerig as Matt Donovan.

text: On April 6, 2015, it was announced that Nina Dobrev would be leaving after the sixth season; he announced that Michael Trevino would only appear as a guest on the new season. On April 11, 2015, it was announced that Steven R. McQueen would be departing the show.

text: On July 15, 2015, it was announced that Scarlett Byrne and Teressa Liane were hired to play Nora and Mary Louise, respectively. Nora and Mary Louise are described as extremely powerful and protective with each other, because it is the first same-sex couple in the series; additionally it reported that Elizabeth Blackmore was chosen to give life to Valerie. The trio is part of the family of heretics Lily Salvatore. On November 5, he announced that Leslie-Anne Huff was hired to play Rayna, a slayer.

text: Ratings[edit]

text:
No.
Title
Air date
Rating/share
(18–49)
Viewers
(millions)
DVR
(18–49)
DVR viewers
(millions)
Total
(18–49)
Total viewers
(millions)

1
"Day One of Twenty-Two Thousand, Give or Take"
October 8, 2015
0.6/2
1.38[3]
0.5
0.92
1.1
2.30[25]

2
"Never Let Me Go"
October 15, 2015
0.6/2
1.40[4]
0.5
0.90
1.1
2.30[26]

3
"Age of Innocence"
October 22, 2015
0.5/2
1.20[5]
0.5
0.86
1.0
2.06[27]

4
"I Carry Your Heart with Me"
October 29, 2015
0.6/2
1.24[6]
0.6
1.11
1.2
2.34[28]

5
"Live Through This"
November 5, 2015
0.6/2
1.34[7]
0.5
0.98
1.1
2.31[29]

6
"Best Served Cold"
November 12, 2015
0.6/2
1.32[8]
0.6
0.99
1.2
2.31[30]

7
"Mommie Dearest"
November 12, 2015
0.5/1
1.10[9]
0.5
0.89
1.0
2.00[31]

8
"Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me"
December 3, 2015
0.5/2
1.31[10]
0.6
0.87
1.1
2.18[32]

9
"Cold as Ice"
December 10, 2015
0.5/2
1.18[11]
0.5
0.89
1.0
2.07[33]

10
"Hell Is Other People"
January 29, 2016
0.5/2
1.23[12]
0.4
0.81
0.9
2.04[34]

11
"Things We Lost in the Fire"
February 5, 2016
0.4/1
1.09[13]
0.5
0.77
0.9
1.86[35]

12
"Postcards from the Edge"
February 12, 2016
0.4/1
1.05[14]
0.4
0.78
0.8
1.82[36]

13
"This Woman's Work"
February 19, 2016
0.4/1
1.01[15]
0.4
0.71
0.8
1.72[37]

14
"Moonlight on the Bayou"
February 26, 2016
0.5/2
1.12[16]
0.4
0.75
0.9
1.88[38]

15
"I Would for You"
March 4, 2016
0.4/1
1.06[17]
0.4
0.73
0.8
1.79[39]

16
"Days of Future Past"
April 1, 2016
0.4/2
1.07[18]
0.4
0.66
0.8
1.74[40]

17
"I Went to the Woods"
April 8, 2016
0.3/1
1.03[19]
0.3
0.69
0.7
1.73[41]

18
"One Way or Another"
April 15, 2016
0.4/1
1.02[20]
0.4
0.64
0.8
1.67[42]

19
"Somebody That I Used to Know"
April 22, 2016
0.4/2
1.02[21]
0.3
0.69
0.7
1.70[43]

20
"Kill 'Em All"
April 29, 2016
0.4/1
1.05[22]
0.4
0.67
0.8
1.71[44]

21
"Requiem for a Dream"
May 6, 2016
0.3/1
0.90[23]
0.5
0.76
0.8
1.67[45]

22
"Gods and Monsters"
May 13, 2016
0.4/1
1.04[24]
0.4
0.75
0.8
1.79[46]


document_title: Agriculture

question_text: what is the origin of the word agriculture

question_tokens: what is the origin of the word agriculture

text: Agriculture

text: Etymology and terminology[edit]

text: The word agriculture is a late Middle English adaptation of Latin agricultūra, from ager, "field", and cultūra, "cultivation" or "growing".[3] Agriculture usually refers to human activities, although it is also observed in certain species of ant, termite and ambrosia beetle.[4] To practice agriculture means to use natural resources to "produce commodities which maintain life, including food, fiber, forest products, horticultural crops, and their related services."[5] This definition includes arable farming or agronomy, and horticulture, all terms for the growing of plants, animal husbandry and forestry.[5] A distinction is sometimes made between forestry and agriculture, based on the former's longer management rotations, extensive versus intensive management practices and development mainly by nature, rather than by man. Even then, it is acknowledged that there is a large amount of knowledge transfer and overlap between silviculture (the management of forests) and agriculture.[6] In traditional farming, the two are often combined even on small landholdings, leading to the term agroforestry.[7]

text: History[edit]

text: Agriculture began independently in different parts of the globe, and included a diverse range of taxa. At least 11 separate regions of the Old and New World were involved as independent centers of origin.[8] Wild grains were collected and eaten from at least 105,000 years ago.[9] Pigs were domesticated in Mesopotamia around 15,000 years ago.[10] Rice was domesticated in China between 13,500 and 8,200 years ago, followed by mung, soy and azuki beans. Sheep were domesticated in Mesopotamia between 13,000 and 11,000 years ago.[11] From around 11,500 years ago, the eight Neolithic founder crops, emmer and einkorn wheat, hulled barley, peas, lentils, bitter vetch, chick peas and flax were cultivated in the Levant. Cattle were domesticated from the wild aurochs in the areas of modern Turkey and Pakistan some 10,500 years ago.[12] In the Andes of South America, the potato was domesticated between 10,000 and 7,000 years ago, along with beans, coca, llamas, alpacas, and guinea pigs. Sugarcane and some root vegetables were domesticated in New Guinea around 9,000 years ago. Sorghum was domesticated in the Sahel region of Africa by 7,000 years ago. Cotton was domesticated in Peru by 5,600 years ago,[13] and was independently domesticated in Eurasia at an unknown time. In Mesoamerica, wild teosinte was domesticated to maize by 6,000 years ago.[14]

text: In the Middle Ages, both in the Islamic world and in Europe, agriculture was transformed with improved techniques and the diffusion of crop plants, including the introduction of sugar, rice, cotton and fruit trees such as the orange to Europe by way of Al-Andalus.[15][16] After 1492, the Columbian exchange brought New World crops such as maize, potatoes, sweet potatoes and manioc to Europe, and Old World crops such as wheat, barley, rice and turnips, and livestock including horses, cattle, sheep and goats to the Americas.[17] Irrigation, crop rotation, and fertilizers were introduced soon after the Neolithic Revolution and developed much further in the past 200 years, starting with the British Agricultural Revolution. Since 1900, agriculture in the developed nations, and to a lesser extent in the developing world, has seen large rises in productivity as human labor has been replaced by mechanization, and assisted by synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, and selective breeding. The Haber-Bosch method allowed the synthesis of ammonium nitrate fertilizer on an industrial scale, greatly increasing crop yields.[18][19] Modern agriculture has raised political issues including water pollution, biofuels, genetically modified organisms, tariffs and farm subsidies, leading to alternative approaches such as the organic movement[20][21] and regenerative agriculture.

text: Agriculture and civilization[edit]

text: Civilization was the product of the Agricultural Neolithic Revolution; as H. G. Wells put it, "civilization was the agricultural surplus."[22] In the course of history, civilization coincided in space with fertile areas such as The Fertile Crescent, and states formed mainly in circumscribed agricultural lands. The Great Wall of China and the Roman empire's limes (borders) demarcated the same northern frontier of cereal agriculture. This cereal belt fed the civilizations formed in the Axial Age and connected by the Silk Road.[citation needed]

text: Ancient Egyptians, whose agriculture depended exclusively on the Nile, deified the river, worshiped, and exalted it in a great hymn.[23] The Nile began to be deified in Egypt because it played such a crucial role in the formation of civilization within the area. This began when early settlers flocked towards the river bank of the Nile around 6000 BCE, settlement which slowly progressed into Egypt, and made it the first recognizable nation state around 3150 BCE. Egypt was able to flourish as a nation state due to the many benefits and resources the Nile provided.[24] The Chinese imperial court issued numerous edicts, stating: "Agriculture is the foundation of this Empire."[25] Egyptian, Mesopotamian, Chinese, and Inca Emperors themselves plowed ceremonial fields in order to show personal example to everyone.[26]

text: Ancient strategists, Chinese Guan Zhong[27] and Shang Yang[28] and Indian Kautilya,[29] drew doctrines linking agriculture with military power. Agriculture defined the limits on how large and for how long an army could be mobilized. Shang Yang called agriculture and war the One.[30] In the vast human pantheon of agricultural deities[31] there are several deities who combined the functions of agriculture and war.[32]

text: As the Neolithic Agricultural Revolution produced civilization, the modern Agricultural Revolution, begun in Britain (British Agricultural Revolution), made possible the industrial civilization. The first precondition for industry was greater yields by less manpower, resulting in greater percentage of manpower available for non-agricultural sectors.[33]

text: Types of agriculture[edit]

text: Pastoralism involves managing domesticated animals. In nomadic pastoralism, herds of livestock are moved from place to place in search of pasture, fodder, and water. This type of farming is practised in arid and semi-arid regions of Sahara, Central Asia and some parts of India.[34]

text: In shifting cultivation, a small area of a forest is cleared by cutting down all the trees and the area is burned. The land is then used for growing crops for several years. When the soil becomes less fertile, the area is then abandoned. Another patch of land is selected and the process is repeated. This type of farming is practiced mainly in areas with abundant rainfall where the forest regenerates quickly. This practice is used in Northeast India, Southeast Asia, and the Amazon Basin.[35]

text: Subsistence farming is practiced to satisfy family or local needs alone, with little left over for transport elsewhere. It is intensively practiced in Monsoon Asia and South-East Asia.[36]

text: In intensive farming, the crops are cultivated for commercial purpose i.e., for selling. The main motive of the farmer is to make profit, with a low fallow ratio and a high use of inputs. This type of farming is mainly practiced in highly developed countries.[37][38]

text: Contemporary agriculture[edit]

text: In the past century, agriculture has been characterized by increased productivity, the substitution of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides for labor, water pollution, and farm subsidies. In recent years there has been a backlash against the external environmental effects of conventional agriculture, resulting in the organic, regenerative, and sustainable agriculture movements.[20][39] One of the major forces behind this movement has been the European Union, which first certified organic food in 1991 and began reform of its Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in 2005 to phase out commodity-linked farm subsidies,[40] also known as decoupling. The growth of organic farming has renewed research in alternative technologies such as integrated pest management and selective breeding. Recent mainstream technological developments include genetically modified food.

text: In 2007, higher incentives for farmers to grow non-food biofuel crops[41] combined with other factors, such as over development of former farm lands, rising transportation costs, climate change, growing consumer demand in China and India, and population growth,[42] caused food shortages in Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Mexico, as well as rising food prices around the globe.[43][44] As of December 2007, 37 countries faced food crises, and 20 had imposed some sort of food-price controls. Some of these shortages resulted in food riots and even deadly stampedes.[45][46][47] The International Fund for Agricultural Development posits that an increase in smallholder agriculture may be part of the solution to concerns about food prices and overall food security. They in part base this on the experience of Vietnam, which went from a food importer to large food exporter and saw a significant drop in poverty, due mainly to the development of smallholder agriculture in the country.[48]

text: Disease and land degradation are two of the major concerns in agriculture today. For example, an epidemic of stem rust on wheat caused by the Ug99 lineage is currently spreading across Africa and into Asia and is causing major concerns due to crop losses of 70% or more under some conditions.[49] Approximately 40% of the world's agricultural land is seriously degraded.[50] In Africa, if current trends of soil degradation continue, the continent might be able to feed just 25% of its population by 2025, according to United Nations University's Ghana-based Institute for Natural Resources in Africa.[51]

text: Agrarian structure is a long-term structure in the Braudelian understanding of the concept. On a larger scale the agrarian structure is more dependent on the regional, social, cultural and historical factors than on the state’s undertaken activities. Like in Poland, where despite running an intense agrarian policy for many years, the agrarian structure in 2002 has much in common with that found in 1921 soon after the partitions period.[52]

text: In 2009, the agricultural output of China was the largest in the world, followed by the European Union, India and the United States, according to the International Monetary Fund (see below). Economists measure the total factor productivity of agriculture and by this measure agriculture in the United States is roughly 1.7 times more productive than it was in 1948.[53]

text: Workforce[edit]

text: As of 2011[update], the International Labour Organization states that approximately one billion people, or over 1/3 of the available work force, are employed in the global agricultural sector. Agriculture constitutes approximately 70% of the global employment of children, and in many countries employs the largest percentage of women of any industry.[54] The service sector only overtook the agricultural sector as the largest global employer in 2007. Between 1997 and 2007, the percentage of people employed in agriculture fell by over four percentage points, a trend that is expected to continue.[55] The number of people employed in agriculture varies widely on a per-country basis, ranging from less than 2% in countries like the US and Canada to over 80% in many African nations.[56] In developed countries, these figures are significantly lower than in previous centuries. During the 16th century in Europe, for example, between 55 and 75 percent of the population was engaged in agriculture, depending on the country. By the 19th century in Europe, this had dropped to between 35 and 65 percent.[57] In the same countries today, the figure is less than 10%.[56]

text: Safety[edit]

text: Agriculture, specifically farming, remains a hazardous industry, and farmers worldwide remain at high risk of work-related injuries, lung disease, noise-induced hearing loss, skin diseases, as well as certain cancers related to chemical use and prolonged sun exposure. On industrialized farms, injuries frequently involve the use of agricultural machinery, and a common cause of fatal agricultural injuries in developed countries is tractor rollovers.[58] Pesticides and other chemicals used in farming can also be hazardous to worker health, and workers exposed to pesticides may experience illness or have children with birth defects.[59] As an industry in which families commonly share in work and live on the farm itself, entire families can be at risk for injuries, illness, and death.[60] Common causes of fatal injuries among young farm workers include drowning, machinery and motor vehicle-related accidents.[60]

text: The International Labour Organization considers agriculture "one of the most hazardous of all economic sectors."[54] It estimates that the annual work-related death toll among agricultural employees is at least 170,000, twice the average rate of other jobs. In addition, incidences of death, injury and illness related to agricultural activities often go unreported.[61] The organization has developed the Safety and Health in Agriculture Convention, 2001, which covers the range of risks in the agriculture occupation, the prevention of these risks and the role that individuals and organizations engaged in agriculture should play.[54]

text: Agricultural production systems[edit]

text: Crop cultivation systems[edit]

text: Cropping systems vary among farms depending on the available resources and constraints; geography and climate of the farm; government policy; economic, social and political pressures; and the philosophy and culture of the farmer.[62][63]

text: Shifting cultivation (or slash and burn) is a system in which forests are burnt, releasing nutrients to support cultivation of annual and then perennial crops for a period of several years.[64] Then the plot is left fallow to regrow forest, and the farmer moves to a new plot, returning after many more years (10–20). This fallow period is shortened if population density grows, requiring the input of nutrients (fertilizer or manure) and some manual pest control. Annual cultivation is the next phase of intensity in which there is no fallow period. This requires even greater nutrient and pest control inputs.

text: Further industrialization led to the use of monocultures, when one cultivar is planted on a large acreage. Because of the low biodiversity, nutrient use is uniform and pests tend to build up, necessitating the greater use of pesticides and fertilizers.[63] Multiple cropping, in which several crops are grown sequentially in one year, and intercropping, when several crops are grown at the same time, are other kinds of annual cropping systems known as polycultures.[64]

text: In subtropical and arid environments, the timing and extent of agriculture may be limited by rainfall, either not allowing multiple annual crops in a year, or requiring irrigation. In all of these environments perennial crops are grown (coffee, chocolate) and systems are practiced such as agroforestry. In temperate environments, where ecosystems were predominantly grassland or prairie, highly productive annual farming is the dominant agricultural system.[64]

text: Crop statistics[edit]

text: Important categories of crops include cereals and pseudocereals, pulses (legumes), forage, and fruits and vegetables. Specific crops are cultivated in distinct growing regions throughout the world. In millions of metric tons, based on FAO estimate.

text:
Top agricultural products, by crop types
(million tonnes) 2004 data

Cereals
2,263

Vegetables and melons
866

Roots and tubers
715

Milk
619

Fruit
503

Meat
259

Oilcrops
133

Fish (2001 estimate)
130

Eggs
63

Pulses
60

Vegetable fiber
30

Source:
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)[65]

text:
Top agricultural products, by individual crops
(million tonnes) 2011 data

Sugar cane
1794

Maize
883

Rice
722

Wheat
704

Potatoes
374

Sugar beet
271

Soybeans
260

Cassava
252

Tomatoes
159

Barley
134

Source:
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)[65]

text: Livestock production systems[edit]

text: Animals, including horses, mules, oxen, water buffalo, camels, llamas, alpacas, donkeys, and dogs, are often used to help cultivate fields, harvest crops, wrangle other animals, and transport farm products to buyers. Animal husbandry not only refers to the breeding and raising of animals for meat or to harvest animal products (like milk, eggs, or wool) on a continual basis, but also to the breeding and care of species for work and companionship.

text: Livestock production systems can be defined based on feed source, as grassland-based, mixed, and landless.[66] As of 2010[update], 30% of Earth's ice- and water-free area was used for producing livestock, with the sector employing approximately 1.3 billion people. Between the 1960s and the 2000s, there was a significant increase in livestock production, both by numbers and by carcass weight, especially among beef, pigs and chickens, the latter of which had production increased by almost a factor of 10. Non-meat animals, such as milk cows and egg-producing chickens, also showed significant production increases. Global cattle, sheep and goat populations are expected to continue to increase sharply through 2050.[67] Aquaculture or fish farming, the production of fish for human consumption in confined operations, is one of the fastest growing sectors of food production, growing at an average of 9% a year between 1975 and 2007.[68]

text: During the second half of the 20th century, producers using selective breeding focused on creating livestock breeds and crossbreeds that increased production, while mostly disregarding the need to preserve genetic diversity. This trend has led to a significant decrease in genetic diversity and resources among livestock breeds, leading to a corresponding decrease in disease resistance and local adaptations previously found among traditional breeds.[69]

text: Grassland based livestock production relies upon plant material such as shrubland, rangeland, and pastures for feeding ruminant animals. Outside nutrient inputs may be used, however manure is returned directly to the grassland as a major nutrient source. This system is particularly important in areas where crop production is not feasible because of climate or soil, representing 30–40 million pastoralists.[64] Mixed production systems use grassland, fodder crops and grain feed crops as feed for ruminant and monogastric (one stomach; mainly chickens and pigs) livestock. Manure is typically recycled in mixed systems as a fertilizer for crops.[66]

text: Landless systems rely upon feed from outside the farm, representing the de-linking of crop and livestock production found more prevalently in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development(OECD) member countries. Synthetic fertilizers are more heavily relied upon for crop production and manure utilization becomes a challenge as well as a source for pollution.[66] Industrialized countries use these operations to produce much of the global supplies of poultry and pork. Scientists estimate that 75% of the growth in livestock production between 2003 and 2030 will be in confined animal feeding operations, sometimes called factory farming. Much of this growth is happening in developing countries in Asia, with much smaller amounts of growth in Africa.[67] Some of the practices used in commercial livestock production, including the usage of growth hormones, are controversial.[70]

text: Production practices[edit]

text: Farming is the practice of agriculture by specialized labor in an area primarily devoted to agricultural processes, in service of a dislocated population usually in a city.

text: Tillage is the practice of plowing soil to prepare for planting or for nutrient incorporation or for pest control. Tillage varies in intensity from conventional to no-till. It may improve productivity by warming the soil, incorporating fertilizer and controlling weeds, but also renders soil more prone to erosion, triggers the decomposition of organic matter releasing CO2, and reduces the abundance and diversity of soil organisms.[71][72]

text: Pest control includes the management of weeds, insects, mites, and diseases. Chemical (pesticides), biological (biocontrol), mechanical (tillage), and cultural practices are used. Cultural practices include crop rotation, culling, cover crops, intercropping, composting, avoidance, and resistance. Integrated pest management attempts to use all of these methods to keep pest populations below the number which would cause economic loss, and recommends pesticides as a last resort.[73]

text: Nutrient management includes both the source of nutrient inputs for crop and livestock production, and the method of utilization of manure produced by livestock. Nutrient inputs can be chemical inorganic fertilizers, manure, green manure, compost and mined minerals.[74] Crop nutrient use may also be managed using cultural techniques such as crop rotation or a fallow period.[75][76] Manure is used either by holding livestock where the feed crop is growing, such as in managed intensive rotational grazing, or by spreading either dry or liquid formulations of manure on cropland or pastures.

text: Water management is needed where rainfall is insufficient or variable, which occurs to some degree in most regions of the world.[64] Some farmers use irrigation to supplement rainfall. In other areas such as the Great Plains in the U.S. and Canada, farmers use a fallow year to conserve soil moisture to use for growing a crop in the following year.[77] Agriculture represents 70% of freshwater use worldwide.[78]

text: According to a report by the International Food Policy Research Institute, agricultural technologies will have the greatest impact on food production if adopted in combination with each other; using a model that assessed how eleven technologies could impact agricultural productivity, food security and trade by 2050, the International Food Policy Research Institute found that the number of people at risk from hunger could be reduced by as much as 40% and food prices could be reduced by almost half.[79]

text: "Payment for ecosystem services (PES) can further incentivise efforts to green the agriculture sector. This is an approach that verifies values and rewards the benefits of ecosystem services provided by green agricultural practices."[80] "Innovative PES measures could include reforestation payments made by cities to upstream communities in rural areas of shared watersheds for improved quantities and quality of fresh water for municipal users. Ecoservice payments by farmers to upstream forest stewards for properly managing the flow of soil nutrients, and methods to monetise the carbon sequestration and emission reduction credit benefits of green agriculture practices in order to compensate farmers for their efforts to restore and build SOM and employ other practices."[80]

text: Crop alteration and biotechnology[edit]

text: Crop alteration has been practiced by humankind for thousands of years, since the beginning of civilization. Altering crops through breeding practices changes the genetic make-up of a plant to develop crops with more beneficial characteristics for humans, for example, larger fruits or seeds, drought-tolerance, or resistance to pests. Significant advances in plant breeding ensued after the work of geneticist Gregor Mendel. His work on dominant and recessive alleles, although initially largely ignored for almost 50 years, gave plant breeders a better understanding of genetics and breeding techniques. Crop breeding includes techniques such as plant selection with desirable traits, self-pollination and cross-pollination, and molecular techniques that genetically modify the organism.[81]

text: Domestication of plants has, over the centuries increased yield, improved disease resistance and drought tolerance, eased harvest and improved the taste and nutritional value of crop plants. Careful selection and breeding have had enormous effects on the characteristics of crop plants. Plant selection and breeding in the 1920s and 1930s improved pasture (grasses and clover) in New Zealand. Extensive X-ray and ultraviolet induced mutagenesis efforts (i.e. primitive genetic engineering) during the 1950s produced the modern commercial varieties of grains such as wheat, corn (maize) and barley.[82][83]

text: The Green Revolution popularized the use of conventional hybridization to sharply increase yield by creating "high-yielding varieties". For example, average yields of corn (maize) in the US have increased from around 2.5 tons per hectare (t/ha) (40 bushels per acre) in 1900 to about 9.4 t/ha (150 bushels per acre) in 2001. Similarly, worldwide average wheat yields have increased from less than 1 t/ha in 1900 to more than 2.5 t/ha in 1990. South American average wheat yields are around 2 t/ha, African under 1 t/ha, and Egypt and Arabia up to 3.5 to 4 t/ha with irrigation. In contrast, the average wheat yield in countries such as France is over 8 t/ha. Variations in yields are due mainly to variation in climate, genetics, and the level of intensive farming techniques (use of fertilizers, chemical pest control, growth control to avoid lodging).[84][85][86]

text: Genetic engineering[edit]

text: Genetically modified organisms (GMO) are organisms whose genetic material has been altered by genetic engineering techniques generally known as recombinant DNA technology. Genetic engineering has expanded the genes available to breeders to utilize in creating desired germlines for new crops. Increased durability, nutritional content, insect and virus resistance and herbicide tolerance are a few of the attributes bred into crops through genetic engineering.[87] For some, GMO crops cause food safety and food labeling concerns. Numerous countries have placed restrictions on the production, import or use of GMO foods and crops, which have been put in place due to concerns over potential health issues, declining agricultural diversity and contamination of non-GMO crops.[88] Currently a global treaty, the Biosafety Protocol, regulates the trade of GMOs. There is ongoing discussion regarding the labeling of foods made from GMOs, and while the EU currently requires all GMO foods to be labeled, the US does not.[89]

text: Herbicide-resistant seed has a gene implanted into its genome that allows the plants to tolerate exposure to herbicides, including glyphosates. These seeds allow the farmer to grow a crop that can be sprayed with herbicides to control weeds without harming the resistant crop. Herbicide-tolerant crops are used by farmers worldwide.[90] With the increasing use of herbicide-tolerant crops, comes an increase in the use of glyphosate-based herbicide sprays. In some areas glyphosate resistant weeds have developed, causing farmers to switch to other herbicides.[91][92] Some studies also link widespread glyphosate usage to iron deficiencies in some crops, which is both a crop production and a nutritional quality concern, with potential economic and health implications.[93]

text: Other GMO crops used by growers include insect-resistant crops, which have a gene from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), which produces a toxin specific to insects. These crops protect plants from damage by insects.[94] Some believe that similar or better pest-resistance traits can be acquired through traditional breeding practices, and resistance to various pests can be gained through hybridization or cross-pollination with wild species. In some cases, wild species are the primary source of resistance traits; some tomato cultivars that have gained resistance to at least 19 diseases did so through crossing with wild populations of tomatoes.[95]

text: Environmental impact[edit]

text: Agriculture, as implemented through the method of farming, imposes external costs upon society through pesticides, nutrient runoff, excessive water usage, loss of natural environment and assorted other problems. A 2000 assessment of agriculture in the UK determined total external costs for 1996 of £2,343 million, or £208 per hectare.[96] A 2005 analysis of these costs in the US concluded that cropland imposes approximately $5 to 16 billion ($30 to $96 per hectare), while livestock production imposes $714 million.[97] Both studies, which focused solely on the fiscal impacts, concluded that more should be done to internalize external costs. Neither included subsidies in their analysis, but they noted that subsidies also influence the cost of agriculture to society.[96][97] In 2010, the International Resource Panel of the United Nations Environment Programme published a report assessing the environmental impacts of consumption and production. The study found that agriculture and food consumption are two of the most important drivers of environmental pressures, particularly habitat change, climate change, water use and toxic emissions.[98] The 2011 UNEP Green Economy report states that "[a]gricultural operations, excluding land use changes, produce approximately 13 per cent of anthropogenic global GHG emissions. This includes GHGs emitted by the use of inorganic fertilisers agro-chemical pesticides and herbicides; (GHG emissions resulting from production of these inputs are included in industrial emissions); and fossil fuel-energy inputs.[80] "On average we find that the total amount of fresh residues from agricultural and forestry production for second- generation biofuel production amounts to 3.8 billion tonnes per year between 2011 and 2050 (with an average annual growth rate of 11 per cent throughout the period analysed, accounting for higher growth during early years, 48 per cent for 2011–2020 and an average 2 per cent annual expansion after 2020)."[80]

text: Livestock issues[edit]

text: A senior UN official and co-author of a UN report detailing this problem, Henning Steinfeld, said "Livestock are one of the most significant contributors to today's most serious environmental problems".[99] Livestock production occupies 70% of all land used for agriculture, or 30% of the land surface of the planet. It is one of the largest sources of greenhouse gases, responsible for 18% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions as measured in CO2 equivalents. By comparison, all transportation emits 13.5% of the CO2. It produces 65% of human-related nitrous oxide (which has 296 times the global warming potential of CO2,) and 37% of all human-induced methane (which is 23 times as warming as CO2.) It also generates 64% of the ammonia emission. Livestock expansion is cited as a key factor driving deforestation; in the Amazon basin 70% of previously forested area is now occupied by pastures and the remainder used for feedcrops.[100] Through deforestation and land degradation, livestock is also driving reductions in biodiversity. Furthermore, the UNEP states that "methane emissions from global livestock are projected to increase by 60 per cent by 2030 under current practices and consumption patterns."[80]

text: Land and water issues[edit]

text: Land transformation, the use of land to yield goods and services, is the most substantial way humans alter the Earth's ecosystems, and is considered the driving force in the loss of biodiversity. Estimates of the amount of land transformed by humans vary from 39 to 50%.[101] Land degradation, the long-term decline in ecosystem function and productivity, is estimated to be occurring on 24% of land worldwide, with cropland overrepresented.[102] The UN-FAO report cites land management as the driving factor behind degradation and reports that 1.5 billion people rely upon the degrading land. Degradation can be deforestation, desertification, soil erosion, mineral depletion, or chemical degradation (acidification and salinization).[64]

text: Eutrophication, excessive nutrients in aquatic ecosystems resulting in algal blooms and anoxia, leads to fish kills, loss of biodiversity, and renders water unfit for drinking and other industrial uses. Excessive fertilization and manure application to cropland, as well as high livestock stocking densities cause nutrient (mainly nitrogen and phosphorus) runoff and leaching from agricultural land. These nutrients are major nonpoint pollutants contributing to eutrophication of aquatic ecosystems.[103]

text: Agriculture accounts for 70 percent of withdrawals of freshwater resources.[104] Agriculture is a major draw on water from aquifers, and currently draws from those underground water sources at an unsustainable rate. It is long known that aquifers in areas as diverse as northern China, the Upper Ganges and the western US are being depleted, and new research extends these problems to aquifers in Iran, Mexico and Saudi Arabia.[105] Increasing pressure is being placed on water resources by industry and urban areas, meaning that water scarcity is increasing and agriculture is facing the challenge of producing more food for the world's growing population with reduced water resources.[106] Agricultural water usage can also cause major environmental problems, including the destruction of natural wetlands, the spread of water-borne diseases, and land degradation through salinization and waterlogging, when irrigation is performed incorrectly.[107]

text: Pesticides[edit]

text: Pesticide use has increased since 1950 to 2.5 million short tons annually worldwide, yet crop loss from pests has remained relatively constant.[108] The World Health Organization estimated in 1992 that 3 million pesticide poisonings occur annually, causing 220,000 deaths.[109] Pesticides select for pesticide resistance in the pest population, leading to a condition termed the "pesticide treadmill" in which pest resistance warrants the development of a new pesticide.[110]

text: An alternative argument is that the way to "save the environment" and prevent famine is by using pesticides and intensive high yield farming, a view exemplified by a quote heading the Center for Global Food Issues website: 'Growing more per acre leaves more land for nature'.[111][112] However, critics argue that a trade-off between the environment and a need for food is not inevitable,[113] and that pesticides simply replace good agronomic practices such as crop rotation.[110] The UNEP introduces the Push–pull agricultural pest management technique which involves intercropping that uses plant aromas to repel or push away pests while pulling in or attracting the right insects. "The implementation of push-pull in eastern Africa has significantly increased maize yields and the combined cultivation of N-fixing forage crops has enriched the soil and has also provided farmers with feed for livestock. With increased livestock operations, the farmers are able to produce meat, milk and other dairy products and they use the manure as organic fertiliser that returns nutrients to the fields."[80]

text: Climate change[edit]

text: Climate change has the potential to affect agriculture through changes in temperature, rainfall (timing and quantity), CO2, solar radiation and the interaction of these elements.[64] Extreme events, such as droughts and floods, are forecast to increase as climate change takes hold.[114] Agriculture is among sectors most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change; water supply for example, will be critical to sustain agricultural production and provide the increase in food output required to sustain the world's growing population. Fluctuations in the flow of rivers are likely to increase in the twenty-first century. Based on the experience of countries in the Nile river basin (Ethiopia, Kenya and Sudan) and other developing countries, depletion of water resources during seasons crucial for agriculture can lead to a decline in yield by up to 50%.[115] Transformational approaches will be needed to manage natural resources in the future.[116] For example, policies, practices and tools promoting climate-smart agriculture will be important, as will better use of scientific information on climate for assessing risks and vulnerability. Planners and policy-makers will need to help create suitable policies that encourage funding for such agricultural transformation.[117]

text: Agriculture in its many forms can both mitigate or worsen global warming. Some of the increase in CO2 in the atmosphere comes from the decomposition of organic matter in the soil, and much of the methane emitted into the atmosphere is caused by the decomposition of organic matter in wet soils such as rice paddy fields,[118] as well as the normal digestive activities of farm animals. Further, wet or anaerobic soils also lose nitrogen through denitrification, releasing the greenhouse gases nitric oxide and nitrous oxide.[119] Changes in management can reduce the release of these greenhouse gases, and soil can further be used to sequester some of the CO2 in the atmosphere.[118] Informed by the UNEP, "[a]griculture also produces about 58 per cent of global nitrous oxide emissions and about 47 per cent of global methane emissions. Cattle and rice farms release methane, fertilized fields release nitrous oxide, and the cutting down of rainforests to grow crops or raise livestock releases carbon dioxide.[120] Both of these gases have a far greater global warming potential per tonne than CO2 (298 times and 25 times respectively)."[80]

text: There are several factors within the field of agriculture that contribute to the large amount of CO2 emissions. The diversity of the sources ranges from the production of farming tools to the transport of harvested produce. Approximately 8% of the national carbon footprint is due to agricultural sources. Of that, 75% is of the carbon emissions released from the production of crop assisting chemicals.[121] Factories producing insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, and fertilizers are a major culprit of the greenhouse gas. Productivity on the farm itself and the use of machinery is another source of the carbon emission. Almost all the industrial machines used in modern farming are powered by fossil fuels. These instruments are burning fossil fuels from the beginning of the process to the end. Tractors are the root of this source. The tractor is going to burn fuel and release CO2 just to run. The amount of emissions from the machinery increase with the attachment of different units and need for more power. During the soil preparation stage tillers and plows will be used to disrupt the soil. During growth watering pumps and sprayers are used to keep the crops hydrated. And when the crops are ready for picking a forage or combine harvester is used. These types of machinery all require additional energy which leads to increased carbon dioxide emissions from the basic tractors.[122] The final major contribution to CO2 emissions in agriculture is in the final transport of produce. Local farming suffered a decline over the past century due to large amounts of farm subsidies. The majority of crops are shipped hundreds of miles to various processing plants before ending up in the grocery store. These shipments are made using fossil fuel burning modes of transportation. Inevitably these transport adds to carbon dioxide emissions.[123]

text: Sustainability[edit]

text: Some major organizations are hailing farming within agroecosystems as the way forward for mainstream agriculture. Current farming methods have resulted in over-stretched water resources, high levels of erosion and reduced soil fertility. According to a report by the International Water Management Institute and UNEP,[124] there is not enough water to continue farming using current practices; therefore how critical water, land, and ecosystem resources are used to boost crop yields must be reconsidered. The report suggested assigning value to ecosystems, recognizing environmental and livelihood tradeoffs, and balancing the rights of a variety of users and interests. Inequities that result when such measures are adopted would need to be addressed, such as the reallocation of water from poor to rich, the clearing of land to make way for more productive farmland, or the preservation of a wetland system that limits fishing rights.[125]

text: Technological advancements help provide farmers with tools and resources to make farming more sustainable.[126] New technologies have given rise to innovations like conservation tillage, a farming process which helps prevent land loss to erosion, water pollution and enhances carbon sequestration.[127]

text: According to a report by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI),[79] agricultural technologies will have the greatest impact on food production if adopted in combination with each other; using a model that assessed how eleven technologies could impact agricultural productivity, food security and trade by 2050, IFPRI found that the number of people at risk from hunger could be reduced by as much as 40% and food prices could be reduced by almost half. The caloric demand of Earth's projected population, with current climate change predictions, can be satisfied by additional improvement of agricultural methods, expansion of agricultural areas, and a sustainability-oriented consumer mindset.[128]

text: Agricultural economics[edit]

text: Agricultural economics refers to economics as it relates to the "production, distribution and consumption of [agricultural] goods and services".[129] Combining agricultural production with general theories of marketing and business as a discipline of study began in the late 1800s, and grew significantly through the 20th century.[130] Although the study of agricultural economics is relatively recent, major trends in agriculture have significantly affected national and international economies throughout history, ranging from tenant farmers and sharecropping in the post-American Civil War Southern United States[131] to the European feudal system of manorialism.[132] In the United States, and elsewhere, food costs attributed to food processing, distribution, and agricultural marketing, sometimes referred to as the value chain, have risen while the costs attributed to farming have declined. This is related to the greater efficiency of farming, combined with the increased level of value addition (e.g. more highly processed products) provided by the supply chain. Market concentration has increased in the sector as well, and although the total effect of the increased market concentration is likely increased efficiency, the changes redistribute economic surplus from producers (farmers) and consumers, and may have negative implications for rural communities.[133]

text: National government policies can significantly change the economic marketplace for agricultural products, in the form of taxation, subsidies, tariffs and other measures.[134] Since at least the 1960s, a combination of import/export restrictions, exchange rate policies and subsidies have affected farmers in both the developing and developed world. In the 1980s, it was clear that non-subsidized farmers in developing countries were experiencing adverse effects from national policies that created artificially low global prices for farm products. Between the mid-1980s and the early 2000s, several international agreements were put into place that limited agricultural tariffs, subsidies and other trade restrictions.[135]

text: However, as of 2009[update], there was still a significant amount of policy-driven distortion in global agricultural product prices. The three agricultural products with the greatest amount of trade distortion were sugar, milk and rice, mainly due to taxation. Among the oilseeds, sesame had the greatest amount of taxation, but overall, feed grains and oilseeds had much lower levels of taxation than livestock products. Since the 1980s, policy-driven distortions have seen a greater decrease among livestock products than crops during the worldwide reforms in agricultural policy.[136] Despite this progress, certain crops, such as cotton, still see subsidies in developed countries artificially deflating global prices, causing hardship in developing countries with non-subsidized farmers.[137] Unprocessed commodities (i.e. corn, soybeans, cows) are generally graded to indicate quality. The quality affects the price the producer receives. Commodities are generally reported by production quantities, such as volume, number or weight.[138]

text: Agricultural science[edit]

text: Agricultural science is a broad multidisciplinary field of biology that encompasses the parts of exact, natural, economic and social sciences that are used in the practice and understanding of agriculture. (Veterinary science, but not animal science, is often excluded from the definition.)

text: List of countries by agricultural output[edit]

text:
Largest countries by agricultural output according to IMF and CIA World Factbook, 2015

Economy

Countries by agricultural output in 2015 (billions in USD)

(01)  China

1,088

(02)  India

413

(—)  European Union

333

(03)  United States

290

(04)  Indonesia

127

(05)  Brazil

110

(06)  Nigeria

106

(07)  Pakistan

63

(08)  Turkey

62

(09)  Argentina

59

(10)  Japan

51

(11)  Egypt

47

(12)  Thailand

47

(13)  Russia

47

(14)  Australia

46

(15)  Mexico

43

(16)  France

42

(17)  Italy

41

(18)  Spain

39

(19)  Vietnam

37

(20)  Iran

36

The twenty largest countries by agricultural output in 2015, according to the IMF and CIA World Factbook.

text:
Largest Countries by agricultural output according to UNCTAD at 2005 constant prices and exchange rates, 2015 [139]

Economy

Countries by agricultural output in 2015 (millions in 2005 constant USD and exchange rates)

(01)  China

418,455

(02)  India

196,592

(03)  United States

149,023

(04)  Nigeria

77,113

(05)  Brazil

59,977

text: Energy and agriculture[edit]

text: Since the 1940s, agricultural productivity has increased dramatically, due largely to the increased use of energy-intensive mechanization, fertilizers and pesticides. The vast majority of this energy input comes from fossil fuel sources.[140] Between the 1960–65 measuring cycle and the cycle from 1986 to 1990, the Green Revolution transformed agriculture around the globe, with world grain production increasing significantly (between 70% and 390% for wheat and 60% to 150% for rice, depending on geographic area)[141] as world population doubled. Modern agriculture's heavy reliance on petrochemicals and mechanization has raised concerns that oil shortages could increase costs and reduce agricultural output, causing food shortages.[142]

text:
Agriculture and food system share (%) of total energy
consumption by three industrialized nations

Country
Year
Agriculture
(direct & indirect)
Food
system

United Kingdom[143]
2005
1.9
11

United States[144]
2002
2.0
14

Sweden[145]
2000
2.5
13

text: Modern or industrialized agriculture is dependent on fossil fuels in two fundamental ways: 1. direct consumption on the farm and 2. indirect consumption to manufacture inputs used on the farm. Direct consumption includes the use of lubricants and fuels to operate farm vehicles and machinery; and use of gasoline, liquid propane, and electricity to power dryers, pumps, lights, heaters, and coolers. American farms directly consumed about 1.2 exajoules (1.1 quadrillion BTU) in 2002, or just over 1% of the nation's total energy.[142]

text: Indirect consumption is mainly oil and natural gas used to manufacture fertilizers and pesticides, which accounted for 0.6 exajoules (0.6 quadrillion BTU) in 2002.[142] The natural gas and coal consumed by the production of nitrogen fertilizer can account for over half of the agricultural energy usage. China utilizes mostly coal in the production of nitrogen fertilizer, while most of Europe uses large amounts of natural gas and small amounts of coal. According to a 2010 report published by The Royal Society, agriculture is increasingly dependent on the direct and indirect input of fossil fuels. Overall, the fuels used in agriculture vary based on several factors, including crop, production system and location.[146] The energy used to manufacture farm machinery is also a form of indirect agricultural energy consumption. Together, direct and indirect consumption by US farms accounts for about 2% of the nation's energy use. Direct and indirect energy consumption by U.S. farms peaked in 1979, and has gradually declined over the past 30 years.[142] Food systems encompass not just agricultural production, but also off-farm processing, packaging, transporting, marketing, consumption, and disposal of food and food-related items. Agriculture accounts for less than one-fifth of food system energy use in the US.[147][144]

text: Mitigation of effects of petroleum shortages[edit]

text: In the event of a petroleum shortage (see peak oil for global concerns), organic agriculture can be more attractive than conventional practices that use petroleum-based pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizers. Some studies using modern organic-farming methods have reported yields equal to or higher than those available from conventional farming.[149] In the aftermath of the fall of the Soviet Union, with shortages of conventional petroleum-based inputs, Cuba made use of mostly organic practices, including biopesticides, plant-based pesticides and sustainable cropping practices, to feed its populace.[150] However, organic farming may be more labor-intensive and would require a shift of the workforce from urban to rural areas.[151] The reconditioning of soil to restore organic matter lost during the use of monoculture agriculture techniques is important to provide a reservoir of plant-available nutrients, to maintain texture, and to minimize erosion.[152]

text: It has been suggested that rural communities might obtain fuel from the biochar and synfuel process, which uses agricultural waste to provide charcoal fertilizer, some fuel and food, instead of the normal food vs. fuel debate. As the synfuel would be used on-site, the process would be more efficient and might just provide enough fuel for a new organic-agriculture fusion.[153][154]

text: It has been suggested that some transgenic plants may some day be developed which would allow for maintaining or increasing yields while requiring fewer fossil-fuel-derived inputs than conventional crops.[155] The possibility of success of these programs is questioned by ecologists and economists concerned with unsustainable GMO practices such as terminator seeds.[156][157] While there has been some research on sustainability using GMO crops, at least one prominent multi-year attempt by Monsanto Company has been unsuccessful, though during the same period traditional breeding techniques yielded a more sustainable variety of the same crop.[158]

text: Policy[edit]

text: Agricultural policy is the set of government decisions and actions relating to domestic agriculture and imports of foreign agricultural products. Governments usually implement agricultural policies with the goal of achieving a specific outcome in the domestic agricultural product markets. Some overarching themes include risk management and adjustment (including policies related to climate change, food safety and natural disasters), economic stability (including policies related to taxes), natural resources and environmental sustainability (especially water policy), research and development, and market access for domestic commodities (including relations with global organizations and agreements with other countries).[159] Agricultural policy can also touch on food quality, ensuring that the food supply is of a consistent and known quality, food security, ensuring that the food supply meets the population's needs, and conservation. Policy programs can range from financial programs, such as subsidies, to encouraging producers to enroll in voluntary quality assurance programs.[160]

text: There are many influences on the creation of agricultural policy, including consumers, agribusiness, trade lobbies and other groups. Agribusiness interests hold a large amount of influence over policy making, in the form of lobbying and campaign contributions. Political action groups, including those interested in environmental issues and labor unions, also provide influence, as do lobbying organizations representing individual agricultural commodities.[161] The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) leads international efforts to defeat hunger and provides a forum for the negotiation of global agricultural regulations and agreements. Dr. Samuel Jutzi, director of FAO's animal production and health division, states that lobbying by large corporations has stopped reforms that would improve human health and the environment. For example, proposals in 2010 for a voluntary code of conduct for the livestock industry that would have provided incentives for improving standards for health, and environmental regulations, such as the number of animals an area of land can support without long-term damage, were successfully defeated due to large food company pressure.[162]