Popular Unsustainable and Environmentally Concerning Aqu.docx

Popular Unsustainable and Environmentally Concerning
Aquaculture Methodology
Arizona State University
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Abstract
Aquaculture will continue to grow as the expected fish demand

will increase inevitably with the
rising population. The reliance on aquaculture systems comes
with responsibility of owners and
respective stakeholders to assure that the systems are using
sustainable and environmentally
friendly mechanisms. This report discusses various ways to
create a more sustainable and
environmentally friendly aquaculture system in terms of
fishmeal alternatives, built-structure
types, and antibiotics and chemical usage to give
recommendations to fish farm owners. The
report also touches on ethical practices in owning an
aquaculture system. The most sustainable
3
method was found to be feed using microalgae and insects,
structure type of pen and cage, and
phage therapy as an antibiotic treatment replacement.
1.0 Introduction: Background of Aquaculture Systems
1.1 Current Unsustainable Aquaculture Methodology
With the world’s increasing in population, fish and seafood in
general has become widely relied

on as a source of protein, and this reliance will continue and
grow. In 2030, it is expected that
150 to 160 million tons of fish will be consumed (“Global and
regional food”, n.d.). Besides
fishing, aquaculture is a major method in which we obtain fish,
and will continue to be to meet
the world demand of fish. Aquaculture is diverse in its methods,
but the main idea is to create a
farm in a body of water to efficiently produce copious amounts
of seafood like fish (freshwater
and saltwater), and shellfish. Many factors go into an
aquaculture system to assure its success,
such as the feed type, the farm location, and the farm structure.
Many may assume that
aquaculture would decrease pressure on fisheries because fish
are being separately farmed for the
purpose of eating, however this is not the case. Currently
“Around 85% of global fish stocks are
over-exploited, depleted, fully exploited or in recovery from
exploitation” (Vince, 2012). This is
greatly concerning as it is known that the global population is
only increasing, and therefore the
global demand for fish consumption will only increase as well.
Current methods of aquaculture

currently contribute to the depletion of fisheries because of the
use of fishmeal to feed the farmed
fish. Fishmeal is made up of wild-caught, usually small, marine
fish that are not usually used for
human consumption. These fish, caught in vast amounts, are
grinded up and used for agricultural
uses, where globally 5% of the fishmeal is used for poultry,
20% is used for swine, and 73% is
used for aquaculture (“Fish to 2030”, 2013). Fishmeal is a
primary use of feed for aquaculture
because it is low cost, and provides the necessary amount of
protein and lipids for the farmed
fish, however it is an unsustainable method for feedstock. In
addition to this concern, current
aquaculture methods have been found to pollute the area that
the fish farm exists, through the
concentrated amount of fish waste, growth hormones, chemicals
and uneaten feed. As a result of
this pollution, various habitats surrounding the area are
damaged and have grave impacts on
certain species. For example, benthic invertebrates, such as
crabs or shellfish, are affected by the
organic matter created by aquaculture systems as there is a
“Potential loss or reduced diversity

through smothering of benthic habitats and through oxygen
depletion and hydrogen sulphide
4
production during bacterial de-composition of organic matter”
(“Impact of Aquaculture”, n.d.).
Overall, these are the main concerning issues of current
aquaculture systems, and individual and
corporate owners of aquaculture systems are responsible for
maintaining sustainable systems that
do not highly impact the earth’s water, land, carbon, and energy
footprint.
1.2 Aquaculture and Earth Systems Engineering and
Management Principles
When considering a system like aquaculture, the concepts of
earth systems engineering and
management principles must be applied to assure feasibility,
efficiency, and durability in the
design, and to assure ethical procedure. The three following
principles are most relevant:
- “Only intervene when required and to the extent required”
(Allenby, n.d.).

- “ESEM should aim for resiliency, not just redundancy, in
systems design. A resilient
system resists degradation and, when it must, degrades
gracefully even under
unanticipated assaults; a redundant system may have a backup
mechanism for a particular
subsystem, but still may be subject to unpredicted catastrophic
failures” (Allenby, n.d.).
- “The ESEM environment and the complexity of the systems at
issue require explicit
mechanisms for assuring continual learning, including ways in
which assimilation of the
learning by stakeholders can be facilitated” (Allenby, n.d.).
The first principle mentioned applies as only aquaculture
systems that are unsustainable should
be altered, and existing aquaculture systems that are
unsustainable should be adjusted only to the
extent required to avoid unnecessary energy and material use.
The second principle is applicable
in a sense that the built aquaculture systems usually involving
cages like structures, should use
material that is durable and does not give off chemicals harmful
to the environment surrounding
the system as it ages. The third principle applies to aquaculture

systems because research and
technological advances are always being made, thus learning
about new methods and ways to be
more sustainable and environmentally friendly is of utmost
importance when having ownership
of an aquaculture system. These principles are important to
keep in mind when thinking about
management of an aquaculture system to assure that the best
methods are chosen.
2.0
Solution
s: Methods to Improve the Sustainability of Aquaculture
Systems
2.1 Fishmeal Usage and Alternatives: Soy, Microalgae, Insects
5
Fishmeal alternatives are feedstock that have enough protein

and lipids to replace some of the
fishmeal being fed to the farmed fish. Using fishmeal
alternatives increases sustainability of the
system as it decreases fishmeal reliance, and also has benefits in
creating less waste in the ocean
depending on what the replacement is. There are three types of
fishmeal alternatives that will be
analyzed and compared: soy, yeast, microalgae, and insects.
These feedstocks will be analyzed
based on the provided protein and lipid percent, health and
growth of the fish, overall
sustainability, and its degradability in the water environments.
Salmon aquaculture systems will
be looked at when comparing these feedstocks because it is the
highest consumed fish globally.
Soy is a widely grown bean plant and has diverse uses, but is
mostly utilized in agriculture. Soy

calories are roughly made up of 38% high quality protein, and
40% fat and lipids (“Soybean
Nutritional”, 2017). Many have researched soy as fishmeal
alternative because of its promising
high protein and lipid yield, and because of its low cost.
According to a research study, when
40% of the fishmeal was replaced with a type of soybean meal
with reduced content of
oligosaccharides and antinutritional factors, Salmon were able
to accept this diet, and did not
have a significantly less weight of a Salmon fed purely
fishmeal. After 55 days of being fed
fishmeal, the Salmon were approximately 239 grams, and after
55 days of being fed 60%
fishmeal and 40% soybean meal, the Salmon were
approximately 232 grams (Klijn, 2012). 40%

is a significant amount to replace as many times fish have
digestibility issues with fishmeal
alternatives, or get sickly and show signs of anemia. Although
replacing 40% is a significant
amount and could greatly reduce global fishmeal reliance, soy
itself uses a lot of resources to
produce, and may not potentially be the most sustainable as a
result. To grow soy in the amount
that is needed to replace the fishmeal, large amounts of land,
and freshwater are needed, and
there would be some carbon dioxide, GHG emissions as well. In
terms of degradability, plant
feed is known to have acceptable degradability properties,
which does not allow the feed to
continue to persist in the environment and cause pollution in the
environment or block other
organisms from sunlight.

Microalgae is microscopic algae that is grown in fresh and salt
water marine environments.
Microalgae has been highly researched as a potential fish meal
alternative because it has high
generally high protein and lipid yield. Microalgae is primarily
made up of 50-60% protein, and
around 10-12% lipids depending on the microalgae type (“Algal
Chemical”, n.d.). According to
6
a research study when 10% of the feed was microalgae, the
salmon was 268 grams, and when the
salmon was fed a feed that had no microalgae replacement, the
salon was 271 grams. The fish
were observed to have maintained good health throughout the

experiment and thrived with the
microalgae in their diets, showing that it can be a successful
replacer of fishmeal. It was also
noticed that feeding the salmon microalgae made the meat
pinker and more saturated. Although
the replacement is not as much as soy, 10% could still
potentially save a significant amount of
fishmeal (Kousoulaki 2016). Microalgae is microscopic and
does not nearly need the amount of
resources that soy does to grow in terms of land, water, carbon
dioxide, and energy. They are
usually grown in ponds or bioreactors, and can be grown in
marginal land, which thus does not
compete with the land needed for agriculture (Slade, 2013). A
significant amount of research is
being done on microalgae as it has also been found to be a
successful biofuel source. Thus,

although it microalgae is not as cheap as soy, it can be predicted
to get cheaper in the future.
Similar to soy, because microalgae are plant based it degrades
well in water, and does not put
harm to the environment around it.
Insects have also been shown to be a successful fishmeal
replacement. Insects are roughly 66%
protein, and 19% lipids depending on the insect type, which is a
great yield for fishmeal
replacement (Kouřimská, 2016). According to research, it was
found that when fishmeal was
replaced with 25% or 50% by insect meal, growth of the salmon
was unaffected. Overall, the fish
were able to successfully digest the insect meal and did not
have any concerning health issues.
This finding is substantial as the replacement percentage is

significantly high. In terms of
sustainability, insects can be grown in small spaces, and are
relatively pollution free as they do
not require much resources to grow and thrive. Additionally,
insects usually feed on manure or
leftover food and do not have a large freshwater consumption.
Overall, insects are uncostly and
seem like a successful feed however, researchers have concerns
with insects involving the safety
of human consumption of them in terms of bacteria or disease
passing. In the end more research
is needed before using insects for farmed fish, however it has
promising results in terms of fish
health and growth (Kupferschmidt, 2015). Also, because insects
are not plant based, their
degradability in water will not be as successful as the soy or
microalgae.

2.2 Built-Structure Types: Ponds, Pens and Cages
7
Ponds involve the farming of fish in man-made or natural basins
and can be used in fresh or
ocean water environments created to raise the fish. It is an old
farming technique that is
commonly used today because of its familiarity. According to
the Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations (“Aquaculture Methods”,
n.d.), ponds should have certain
systematic components that work together to ensure efficiency
and organization. These
components include compartments enclosed by dikes, canals
that supply and drain water to

different pond areas, and gates to control waterflow to different
compartments. Certain pond
structures have the ability to reduce the possibility of spreading
diseases, control of
contamination, overall have convenient maintenance practices,
and do not have much limitation
in the types of fishes that can be farmed. In terms of
sustainability ponds usually intake water
and use large amounts of land that may be needed for
agriculture.
Figure 1. Example of a pond layout using water from an intake
canal (Food and Agriculture
Organization of the UN) (“Aquaculture Methods”, n.d.).
When selecting the location to build the pond several standards
from the Food and Agriculture

Organization of the United Nations (“Aquaculture Methods”,
n.d.) should be kept in mind to
assure success and increase efficiency. First, soil quality should
be considered as soils that are
clay loam or sandy clay to preserve water retention and increase
suitability for diking. Also, soils
that are pH 7 and above are necessary to prevent harm on fish as
a result of acidity. Land
elevation and tides should be at an average height to assure that
the system can be watered by
high tides and drained by low tides. High tides greater than 4
meters will require large built
structures, which will increase the need for material and risk for
hazardous destruction. Low
tides less than 1 meter is also not suitable because the system
will not be drained or filled to the

8
extent needed. Vegetation in the area should not be thick or
large to as clearing would be
required, which is costly and damages natural growth of the
environment. Additionally, the water
supply of the area should be steady, and fresh year-round, and
the quality of the water should
have no pollution and have a pH of 7.8-8.5. Accessibility must
also be considered as
transportation distance of equipment, workers, and fish should
be minimized in case of
emergency, to save costs, and energy. The location that the
system is built should also have
availability of manpower so that the system can be successfully
built through efficient ways of

construction and operation. It is important to keep each of these
components in mind when
selecting a location and environment for an aquaculture system.
Pen and cage culture grow fish in large fixed or floating
enclosures usually made of wood, or
metal and are kept in protected areas of water bodies such as an
estuary or shallow area of a lake.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the
United Nations (“Aquaculture
Methods”, n.d.), pen and cage techniques are newer and are not
heavily practiced in comparison
to ponds, but are becoming more popular. Pens and cages are
known to be successful in that they
are able to be put into different types of open waters, are
efficient in the amount of fish that can
be farmed, and do not take up land space needed for agricultural
uses. Because these cages and

pens are put into an already existing ecosystem that is exposed
and vulnerable to change,
potential pollution created from the pens and cages must be
taken into account to assure that the
environment around it is not significantly affected.
Figure 2. Example of a floating cage made of net and bamboo.
(Food and Agriculture
Organization of the UN) (“Aquaculture Methods”, n.d.).
When selecting the location to build the pens and cages several
standards from the Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (“Aquaculture
Methods”, n.d.) should be kept in
9

mind to assure success and increase efficiency. First, the
location of the pens and cages must be
put in a secure and protected location to avoid the possibility of
high winds or hurricanes
destroying the system. Consistent water exchange of good
quality in the location of the pens and
cages to assure that there is plentiful dissolved oxygen, and no
pollution in the area to preserve
the health of the fish. Soil at the bottom under the pen and cage
is also needed to provide strong
supports for the structure if necessary in the design.
Accessibility must be taken into account to
allow convenient access and minimized transportation to
decrease the use of energy. Finally, the
cages and pens must be in areas that do not have many predators
that will damage the pens and

cages and eat the fish.
2.3 Antibiotics Usage and Alternatives: Probiotics, Essential
Oils, Phage Therapy
In aquaculture different types of chemicals are used to control
disease and parasites usually in
the form of disinfectants and antibiotics, as the spread of
bacterial disease in aquaculture systems
is a common known issue that fish farmers face. Antibiotics are
usually put into the system for
the fish to ingest to kill pathogenic bacteria, and this method
has shown to be successful.
Although this is conveyed to be a positive action, there are
several concerns involving the
practice of antibiotics in aquaculture systems. First, using
antibiotics and chemicals has generally
posed the concern of resistance to antimicrobials, because
“…fish pathogens and other aquatic

bacteria can develop resistance as a result of antimicrobial
exposure” (Romero, 2012). If the use
of antibiotics is not specifically and efficiently controlled,
resistance and spread will occur, thus
deeming the antibiotic ineffective. Secondly, it has been loosely
discovered that the use of
antibiotics has side-affects involving stress levels of fish. For
certain fish, it was observed that
the use of antibiotics caused increased stress levels and lowered
immune system responses
within the fish. Third, the use of chemicals and antibiotics can
have a negative effect on the
environment that the system is in. Certain drug and chemicals
can travel outside of the system
and harm organisms and damage the general ecosystem. Finally,
it has been shown that the use

of antibiotics in aquaculture can put a risk to public health
(Romero, 2012). The acquired
resistance to fish pathogens, have the ability to eventually
become resistant to human pathogens,
thus creating a hazard to the public.
Overall, antibiotics have a necessary purpose: to keep fish from
contracting diseases that spread
and kill the fish in the fish farm, however there are many issues
and potential risks that they put
10
on the environment and the health of the public. There are
several antibiotic alternatives that
have the similar affect of eradicating disease, but have less
negative effects. The first alternative

to discuss is probiotics. Probiotics are microorganisms that have
benefits on the host, and in
terms of aquaculture have the ability to prevent the reproduction
of bacteria within the fish and
improve immune systems13. Probiotics also have a positive
influence on the environment as it
can improve water quality, and the cleanliness of the pens and
cages (Romero, 2012). Although
probiotics are not used for the specific purpose of killing
pathogenic bacteria, it can be used for
preventive methods and to increase the overall health of the
fish. Another potential antibiotic
alternative to consider is essential oils. Essential oils are
extracted oils from different types of
plants, each of which have different types of uses known to
improve health when applied.
Certain essential oils have been shown to act as a defense

against pathogens because they have
antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal properties (Romero,
2012). Similar to probiotics, essential
oils would be applied to an aquaculture system for the purpose
of preventive methods and to
control bacteria in the system. Finally, another antibiotic
alternative in aquaculture is phage
therapy. Bacteriophages are non-pathogenic and in
microbiology are used as in indicator
organism because they infect and kill host bacteria. Phages can
be used in aquaculture by dipping
the fish in a phage solution, as the phages will get into the fish
through contact and infect and kill
the bacteria that are physically on the fish. A feed with phages
could also be used to kill bacteria
in the mouths of the fish (Romero, 2012). Studies have shown
that there are no side effects, and

overall, has found to be effective and successful in bacterial
disease control.
2.4 Ethical Practices
When owning a company, especially one that involves feeding
the public, it is important that all
actions involved are ethical. For example, in Hawaii, an
aquaculture company named Kona Blue
Water Farms were found to be guilty of several unethical
actions. Multiple employees filed law
suits against the company as a result of unsafe working
conditions, and injuries caused by this
(“The Empty Promise”, 2010). Additionally, the company were
found guilty of releasing
antibiotics into the system that were not approved by
environmental regulators (“The Empty
Promise”, 2010). Finally, it was reported that the company had

workers kill a shark that
repeatedly visited the aquaculture site after it bit through a cage
and released fish (“The Empty
Promise”, 2010). Eventually, the company was bought out by
another owner and were not
11
successful. Kona Blue Water Farms company clearly only had
money on their minds, and were
not ethical in many of their actions. The main take away here is
that being ethical in all actions
not only benefits the environment and other stakeholders, it also
benefits the company itself and
its success.
3.0 Recommendations

3.1 Feed
When choosing the feed type in an aquaculture system, it is
important to consider the
environmental and sustainable impacts that will be affected.
Thus, it is recommended that
owners of aquaculture systems provide a feed that ultimately
decreases fish meal reliance. As
described and compared earlier, microalgae and insects proved
to be promising fish feeds that
promote sustainability. Some companies create feed containing
different types of fishmeal
alternatives. It is important for aquaculture system owners to be
aware of the negative impacts of
fishmeal use and to buy feed from these companies instead,
especially if they contain insects,
microalgae, and a lower percentage of fishmeal.

3.2 Built-Structure
In terms of selecting a structure for the aquaculture system, the
main point to consider are the
environmental conditions and availability necessary for the
respective structure type, as each
type have specificities that must be met to ensure a successful
system. If the environment allows
it, the pen and cage structure is overall, more sustainable than
the pond structure because it does
not take up land needed for agricultural use, it does not have a
high demand of water input, and
water replenishes consistently, which decreases pollution in the
system. However, when using
pens and cages it is important that the feed used degrades well
in water, and no harmful
chemicals that can threaten the outside environment will be

utilized.
3.3 Antibiotics
The use of antibiotics and chemicals have overall shown to be
dangerous as antibiotic resistance
is high possibility. When establishing an aquaculture system, it
is recommended that fish be
exposed to either probiotics or essential oils for preventive
measures against pathogenic bacteria,
and to improve the overall health and immune response of the
fish. If the fish do happen to
12
contract diseases, instead of using antibiotics, phage therapy
should be used as the method has
been proven successful in removing the bacteria from the fish

with no harmful side-affects.
3.4 Ethical Practices
Overall, when starting up the aquaculture system, owners should
practice ethics and cultural
sensitivity in addition to environmental sensitivity. Avoid
conflict with any parties involved by
obtaining their thoughts and feedback, while respecting and
taking their views into account when
creating the system. Workers hired should be honest and
trustworthy as any accidents could put
the health of the public in danger. Also, it is important that the
safety and well-being of the
workers that will maintain the systems are assured and never
comprised.
4.0 Conclusion
In conclusion, thorough research involving all components of an

aquaculture system was
completed to give owners of aquaculture systems
recommendations that have shown to be
successful, feasible, environmentally friendly, and sustainable.
Owners should seriously consider
these recommendations and understand the importance of using
them, as other choices could
leave detrimental affects on the general public, and generations
to come. In addition to the
logistical recommendations, it is also important to internalize
the ethical recommendations and
put the priority of money aside for a minute and assure that
every part of running the aquaculture
company is done with a sense of morality and pride.
References

1. Global and regional food consumption patterns and trends.
(n.d.). Retrieved November
07, 2017, from
http://who.int/nutrition/topics/3_foodconsumption/en/index7.ht
ml
2. Vince, G. (2012, September 21). Future - How the world's
oceans could be running out of
fish. Retrieved November 07, 2017, from
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20120920-
are-we-running-out-of-fish
3. Fish to 2030: Prospects for Fisheries and Aquaculture.
(2013). Retrieved November 7,
2017, from http://www.fao.org/docrep/019/i3640e/i3640e.pdf
13

4. Impact of Aquaculture. (n.d.). Retrieved November 7, 2017,
from
http://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/4745658
6-e529-4b99-8ad0-
098e14851777/files/impacts-aquaculture.pdf
5. Soybean Nutritional Information. (2017, October 20).
Retrieved November 07, 2017,
from http://www.soyconnection.com/soy-foods/nutritional-
composition
6. Klijn, J. (2012). Feed consumption and conversion in Atlantic
salmon (Salmo salar) fed
diets with fish meal, extracted soybean meal or soybean meal
with reduced content of
oligosaccharides, trypsin inhibitors, lectins and soya antigens.
Aquaculture, 162(3-4).
Retrieved November 7, 2017, from

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S00448486980
02221
7. Algal Chemical Composition – Proteins, Carbohydrates &
Lipids Content in Algae -
Oilgae - Oil from Algae. (n.d.). Retrieved November 07, 2017,
from
http://www.oilgae.com/algae/comp/comp.html
8. Kousoulaki, K. (2016). Microalgae and organic minerals
enhance lipid retention
efficiency and fillet quality in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.).
Aquaculture, 451, 47-57.
01460?via%3Dihub
9. Slade, R. (2013). Micro-algae cultivation for biofuels: Cost,
energy balance,

environmental impacts and future prospects. Biomass and
Bioenergy, 53, 29-38.
0517X
10. Kouřimská, L. (2016). Nutritional and sensory quality of
edible insects. NFS Journal, 4,
22-26. Retrieved November 7, 2017, from
00013
11. Kupferschmidt, Kai. (2015, October 15). Why insects could
be the ideal animal feed.
http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2015/10/feature-
why-insects-could-be-ideal-animal-feed
12. AQUACULTURE METHODS AND PRACTICES: A

SELECTED REVIEW. (n.d.).
http://www.fao.org/docrep/t8598e/t8598e05.htm
14
13. Romero, J. (2012). Antibiotics in Aquaculture – Use, Abuse
and Alternatives. Health and
Environment in Aquaculture. Retrieved November 7, 2017, from
http://cdn.intechopen.com/pdfs/35141.pdf
14. The Empty Promise of Ocean Aquaculture in Hawaii (Rep.).
(2010). Retrieved November
7, 2017, from Food and Water Watch website:
https://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/sites/default/files/empty_pr
omise_ocean_aquacultur

e_hawaii_report_apr_2010.pdf
15. Brad Allenby, (n.d.). Earth Systems Engineering and
Management [PowerPoint slides].
· Executive Summary
· Introduction and Background
· Description of Problem
· Traditional industrial agriculture from environmental, social,
economic, and technical perspective
· Cite data from USDA on water and land usage
· Description of Client
· United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
· Needs and profile of client
· Thesis
· The current agriculture system lacks the adaptability and
capacity to sustain a growing world population, especially in
semi-arid regions of the United States. Thus, to ensure food
security for future generations, a study shall be conducted to
determine the current state of agriculture in the Southwest US,
and a critical analysis of agricultural technologies shall be
considered to develop a management plan to ensure future food

security in this semi-arid region.
· Investigation/Analysis
· Analysis of current agricultural system
· Discussion of historical context for agriculture in Southwest
US
· Investigation into the historical development of agriculture in
the US, leading up to the current political and cultural climate
surrounding agriculture
· Boundary Definition
· Definition of system to be analyzed, and relevant external
factors to system
· Material Flows
· Definition and investigation into the materials required of the
agricultural system, and flux of materials in system
· Sustainability Metrics Analysis
· Analysis of current needs of food system in terms of produce,
and the consumptive resource usage of agriculture in
comparison with the available resource allocated
· Analysis of regional food needs
· Quantification of produce needs for region
· Analysis of agricultural methods and efficiencies – a
breakdown of several different existing agricultural
technologies, analyzing their consumptive water and land usage
per unit of produce output
· Traditional agriculture

· Hydroponic agriculture
· Aquaponic agriculture
· Management Strategy
· Guiding ESEM principles for management strategy
· Definition of goals for strategy
· Meet sustainability metrics for Southwestern US region
· Requirements to meet metric goals
· Projection for future metric goals
· Plan for future implementation of strategies to divert future
food scarcity
· Implementation of management strategy
· Strategy for shift in agricultural system
· Policy recommendations
· Education and implementation recommendations
· Recommendations to Client USDA
· Conclusion
· Bibliography
· Love, D. C., Fry, J. P., Li, X., Hill, E. S., Genello, L.,
Semmens, K., & Thompson, R. E. (2015, January 1).
Commercial aquaponics production and profitability: Findings
from an international survey. Aquaculture, 435, 67-74.
· Treftz, C., & Omaye, S. T. (2016). Hydroponics: potential for
augmenting sustainable food production in non-arable regions.
Nutition and Food Science, 46(5), 672-684.
USDA ERS. (2010, May 5). Table 3-Total farm output by State.

Retrieved from United States Department of Agriculture
Economic Research Service: https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-
products/agricultural-productivity-in-the-us
AUTONOMOUSVEHICLES1
Autonomous Vehicles: A Complex ESEM System
Date Submitted: November 14, 2017

TotalScore=100
Criteria Description Grade % Score Comments
Good content and
analysis
with specific
recommendations
to their client.
25% 25
Very well done in all
respects
Structured
Paper has
introductory,
evidential, and
conclusive

statements.
25% 25
Excellent
Word Count
Stays close to
range of 3,750 to
7,250 words.
25% 25
4039
Good grammar
It is not hard to
interpret the
meaning of
statements because
of poor grammar.

12.50% 12.5
Very well written
Comment [ENB1]:
AUTONOMOUSVEHICLES2
Proper References
Paper has both
APA format in-text
and bibliographic
citations (numbering
at least 5).
12.50% 12.5
Right on target

CEE 400
Earth Systems Engineering & Management
Brad Allenby & Bruce Marsh
Fall 2017
Table of Contents

Executive
Summary.................................................................................
..............................(3)
Introduction............................................................................
................................................(4)
Technology.............................................................................
...............................................(5)
Environment............................................................................
...............................................(7)
Social.....................................................................................
................................................(10)
Conclusion..............................................................................
...............................................(13)
AUTONOMOUSVEHICLES3

References..............................................................................
..............................................(14)

Executive Summary
Autonomous vehicles, as a recent and constantly growing
complex system, are likely to
take over the automotive industry. Before full
commercialization can occur, many of the
technical and socioeconomic implications need to be assessed.
These are analyzed
through the scope of ESEM governance and theoretical
principles and mainly from the
perspective of the United States. It was determined that
mitigating risk due to cyber-
AUTONOMOUSVEHICLES4
attacks, reducing carbon emissions, and having an effective

software system should be
the focus going forward.
As such, based on the conclusions drawn in this report, the
recommendations for Tesla,
Inc. are as follows:
1. Include at least (2) forms of failsafe that can be used in the
case of a malfunction
or targeted attack on the system, or any other potential
complication.
(i) An emergency manual override switch that turns off all
automated driving
systems to allow it to function like a normal vehicle.
(ii) The ability for the software to either detect an intrusion, or
detect that
something is not functioning as it should and to notify the
passengers.
2. Ensure that the autonomous vehicles are environmentally

friendly and satisfy the
community and other Tesla stakeholders.
(i) Carbon emissions can be minimized by implementing
completely electric
vehicles.
3. Communicate with legislators to ensure legality and safety of
autonomous
vehicle systems in the given jurisdiction.
4. Emphasize research and development of software systems, as
they will soon
become a larger portion of the automotive market.
(i) Invest in creating a robust and effective proprietary software
with an elevated
level of cyber security.

Introduction
Self-driving cars, or autonomous vehicles, are vehicles that can
operate and navigate
on their own without a designated driver. Autonomous vehicles
can be separated into
four categories depending on the level of human intervention,
ranging from full human
control to none. Recent models can function without any human
intervention
whatsoever, relying entirely on their sensors to detect the
environment. This report will
focus primarily on the fourth category in which the vehicles
operate on their own while
AUTONOMOUSVEHICLES5

carrying passengers. Although they are a fairly recent
technological advancement,
autonomous vehicles have been a topic of discussion in media
and popular culture
since automobiles became commonly used nearly a century ago.
The early 1990s is when development started to take off after
the United States
Congress passed the ISTEA Transportation Authorization bill.
This bill pushed the US
Department of Transportation to demonstrate a fully functioning
automated vehicle and
highway system, a task in which the largest companies and
organizations at the time
undertook. Some of the first truly autonomous vehicles were
developed during this

period, such as the VaMP and the VITA-2 which are the
products of eight years of work
and millions of dollars in research and development. These
vehicles were able to drive
long distances in standard highway traffic and speeds without
any issues. As more
companies started to invest in autonomous vehicles the industry
grew larger and
legislation quickly followed. Many states began enacting laws
specifically for the
operation of such vehicles on public roads with Nevada being
the first state to allow it in
2011. The regulations became progressively lenient and as the
public became more
comfortable with the idea, general opinion shifted towards
support of these laws.

This report will examine and assess the technological,
environmental, and social
aspects of autonomous vehicles through the scope of Earths
Systems Engineering
Management (ESEM) principles. These principles are divided
into two major categories,
theoretical and governance. The theoretical principles are the
core ideas behind ESEM
and they outline how to effectively interact with complex
systems. The governance
principles on the other hand, deal with proper implementation
of the theoretical
principles on both an individual and organizational scale. The
complex and constantly
growing autonomous vehicle system will be analyzed
thoroughly in order to make a
recommendation that is effective and practical; as well as

ensuring the financial integrity
of Tesla, Inc.
Technology
As a recent technological development, autonomous vehicles
implement many modern
technology systems. This includes both the software used for
navigation, detection, and
more recently, artificial intelligence; as well as the hardware
such as the sensors and
AUTONOMOUSVEHICLES6
cameras. Both the software and hardware will greatly improve
the safety of passengers
as opposed to regular vehicles for numerous reasons. At the

same time however, new
problems are introduced such as criminal liability, cyber
threats, and malfunctions.
According to an ESEM governance principle, “Major shifts in
technologies and
technological systems should, to the extent possible, be
explored before, rather than
after, implementation of policies and initiatives designed to
encourage them” (Allenby,
2013, p.187). A major shift in technology in this case would be
the use of artificial
intelligence. Artificial intelligence, especially advanced forms,
is still in its initial design
stages. However, it has potential to greatly improve the
software used in autonomous
vehicles by creating an intelligent and constantly learning

system. This incentivizes
companies to implement artificial intelligence as a part of the
autonomous technology
and it is evident that policy surrounding autonomous vehicles
have already been
enacted or are in progress. The issue is that the use of artificial
intelligence at such a
large and dynamic scale could have potential negative
consequences. Artificial
intelligence has not fully been explored at this level, thus there
are still many safety and
ethical considerations of this technological system. Since the
incentive to design
artificial intelligence based autonomous vehicles already exists,
these considerations
cannot be fully accounted for before it becomes commonplace.

According to Danny Shapiro, senior director of automotive at
NVIDIA, the technology
used in autonomous vehicles will improve the overall safety of
the passengers. The
sensors can detect the environment accurately by building a
complete three-
dimensional map, thus minimizing the chance of a potential
collision with other vehicles,
pedestrians, cyclists, and obstacles. One way this can be
achieved is by using Lidar
technology. Lidar is a type of sensor that detects the location of
objects by measuring
the length of time it takes for light to reach the object. It then
creates a 3D map made up
of millions of points that the light detected. The software
algorithm can use this map to

navigate the environment.
AUTONOMOUSVEHICLES7
Another way it can improve the passenger’s safety is because
the software will follow all
rules and regulations of the road, such as the speed limit,
whereas a human driver may
not always do so. A system of inter-communicating autonomous
vehicles all obeying
traffic laws have almost no opportunities to make mistakes.
Therefore, it is expected
that the rate of accidents in the United States will drop
drastically when this becomes a

reality. Conditions that can cause human errors, like tiredness
or driving under the
influence, will be completely eliminated as well. This is one of
the major benefits of
large-scale autonomous driving systems since nearly every
single accident is caused by
something form of human error. Especially recently, since
distracted driving is becoming
an increasingly common occurrence due to smart phone use and
other electronics.
Solving this problem also allows for the passengers to have
uninterrupted free time.
This opens up room for work to be done or to simply rest, and
in both cases improving
productivity.
While this technology will clearly reduce the overall number of

accidents, it has several
downsides as well. The two main ones are potential cyber
threats as well as system
malfunctions. Cyber threats would be a targeted attack on the
system. For instance, a
hacker may use an exploit to gain access to the autonomous
driving system. The
possibilities range from controlling minor aspects of the
vehicle, such as the lights, or to
full control including navigation. This creates a massive
criminal liability issue as the
current laws assume that the person in the driver seat has full
control of the vehicle for
legal purposes. Individual states and legislators would have to
either amend the current
laws or be “faced with the daunting challenge of creating a new
set of regulations that

will satisfy the public need for safety while simultaneously
realizing the potential benefits
of autonomous vehicle technology” (Douma, Palodichuk, 2012,
p. 1162). More
importantly however, the safety of the passengers and other
people on the road is
called into question. Possible large-scale terror attacks can be
conducted if a criminal
gains access to an entire network of autonomous vehicles.
Although, this is just
speculation at this point in time since there is no precedent for
an attack of this
magnitude. Regardless, it is becoming increasingly important
for manufacturers to
AUTONOMOUSVEHICLES8

include a type of failsafe, such as an override button or a way
for the software to detect
an intrusion and notify the passengers or proceed with an
emergency protocol.
A failsafe will also be important in the case that the system
malfunctions or has any sort
of error. As with any complex and advanced technological
systems, especially ones that
are in their preliminary stages, they are subject to malfunctions.
These malfunctions can
be small such as a minor traffic violation, or large enough that
it causes an accident on
a quickly moving freeway. Being put in a life threating situation
due to an error or glitch

in the software is one of the reasons that people may be
resistant towards autonomous
vehicle technology. The issue is that the only way to minimize
system errors and
malfunctions is rigorous testing and quality control of the
software and underlying
mechanisms. This will be costly however, as it will take a lot of
investment in research
and development and quality assurance. Automotive companies
that are developing
autonomous driving technology, such as Tesla, should be
prepared to invest heavily in
these two steps particularly.
Environment
Autonomous vehicles have many environmental implications to
consider. Depending on

certain factors, they can either increase or decrease emissions
and thus impact the
carbon footprint. In terms of efficiency however, they are much
more efficient than
regular vehicles by improving freeway throughput and removing
inefficient human
driving habits. In this case, efficiency refers to the usage of
resources, especially natural
gas, over time. Lastly, autonomous vehicles will greatly impact
the current infrastructure
of a city as well as planning of upcoming infrastructure to
accommodate them better.
According to a theoretical Earths Systems Engineering and
Management principle, “The
way problems are stated defines the systems involved”
(Allenby, 2013, p.185). Thus,

due to the purposes of this report, it is necessary to frame the
environmental problem
from a perspective relevant to Tesla, Inc. The environmental
aspects of autonomous
vehicles will be assessed not only though ESEM principles, but
also with Tesla’s
corporate social responsibility strategy which takes into account
all relevant
stakeholders by priority as given in their business model.
AUTONOMOUSVEHICLES9
The first environmental impact is vehicle emissions. Many
special interest and
environmental groups prioritize emissions because they are a
major contributing factor

to greenhouse gasses. The United States Environmental
Protection Agency states that
“A typical passenger vehicle emits about 4.7 metric tons of
carbon dioxide per year”.
Whether the overall emissions will increase or decrease with the
use of autonomous
vehicles is difficult to say without years of data collection and
analysis, but there are
several predictions that can be made. The first is that the
number of vehicles on the
road and the length of time people spend in their vehicles is
very likely to increase with
autonomous driving systems. This is because the opportunity
cost of driving will be
lowered, and people that could not drive before such as the
elderly, are able to travel in

autonomous vehicles alone. As a result, emissions will increase
assuming that these
are still natural gas based vehicles. Tesla is likely to solve this
issue by incorporating
their electric vehicle technology with their autonomous vehicle
systems, thus satisfying
the community and environmental protection groups. Secondly,
due to efficiency
benefits and potential for easy ride-sharing, automation may in
fact lower carbon
emissions. This is especially true in the case of long-distance
trucks which would greatly
benefit from the increased efficiency of autonomous vehicles.
The efficiency benefits of autonomous vehicles are numerous,
with one factor being the
elimination of inefficient human driving habits and errors. The
second factor is the

increase in freeway throughput by communicating to other
vehicles. Humans cannot
perform as well as an automated driving system. People tend to
make avoidable
mistakes, such as missing an exit or making a wrong turn which
would inevitably create
more traffic congestion as well as more time spent on the road.
A well programmed
automated system cannot make mistakes like this, therefore
improving general
efficiency. The second factor is more complicated and relies on
various variables but it
can be simulated without the need for field data collection.
According to research done
by Abdullah Maarafi “results have shown that incorporation of
autonomous vehicles with

regular vehicles can increase the freeway throughput. The
increase observed in our
study has reached above 17% of freeway benefits with 60% or
higher of autonomous
vehicles penetration rate.” (2015, p. 3). Maarafi draws the
conclusion that with more
autonomous vehicles on the road, there will be less congestion
on freeways. This
AUTONOMOUSVEHICLES10
greatly benefits the environment by reducing traffic and carbon
emissions. This is
especially true if autonomous vehicles were all on the same
network and in continuous
communication, although this technology may be at least a

decade away.
To have every vehicle be autonomous and on the same grid, the
infrastructure would
have to change too. Roads and highways would need to meet the
needs of such a
massive change to the fundamentals of driving. City planning in
the future would also be
affected greatly, assuming there will be little to no more regular
vehicles in use. With
autonomous vehicles on the road, stoplights may not need to
exist in their current form
if all the vehicles are online and in constant communication.
This will greatly improve
safety and efficiency by reducing the number of accidents at
intersections, and also by
reducing wait time and fuel consumption. Highways may have
to be expanded to

include additional lanes as well, since there will be an influx of
vehicles on the road due
to reasons previously mentioned. If this proves to be an
essential and a common
change, all of the construction work may be detrimental to the
environment.
Alternatively, a fully autonomous highway system may not need
additional space due to
more efficient traffic flow. Again, it is unclear which will be
the case without further data
collection and experimentation. Either way, according to a key
theoretical ESEM
principle, intervention by governing bodies in this case should
be avoided. This implies
that major rebuilding or construction of infrastructure should
not take place until it is

deemed necessary, otherwise it may create an undesirable and
unpredictable
response.
Social
Lastly, since autonomous vehicles are a complex ESEM
problem, they will undoubtedly
create many socioeconomic impacts. Allenby states, as a
theoretical principle, “ESEM
projects and programs are highly scientific and technical in
nature—but they also have
powerful economic, political, cultural, ethical, and religious
dimensions as well. All of
these facets should be explicitly integrated into ESEM
approaches” (2013, p. 185).
Therefore, it is necessary to consider all aspects of autonomous

vehicles, and not
simply focus on the technical and engineered parts. This
includes, legislation and policy,
economic effect, as well as moral and ethical matters.
The first social impact of course will be the legislation
regarding autonomous vehicles.
As with the criminal liability problem, other similar issues will
be raised. It will be difficult
to determine who will be at fault in the case of a crash and thus
whose insurance
company is liable for the damages, for instance. In general,
there will be many specific

regulations dealing with factors such as road types, zones, and
environmental
conditions. Each jurisdiction has varying traffic laws in the
United States, thus the
autonomous vehicle systems need to account for those when
crossing borders to drive
in another state. There needs to be full communication between
legislators and
manufacturers before commercially available and full scale
autonomous vehicles can
exist. Terms and conditions need to be discussed and definitions
need to be made on
what exactly constitutes an autonomous vehicle. Most
importantly, the legislators should
clearly list every requirement that an autonomous must fulfill
before it is able to be sold
to the general public, even basic ones such as yielding and

parking legally. This
“creates a clear and transparent expectation among both
legislators and manufacturers
about the challenges AVs must surmount in order to become
commercially salable”1.
This explains that the main motivation for communication with
legislators is to create a
clear and open dialogue with no misunderstandings. Of course,
other administrative
details have to be established as well. One such detail is the
licensing for a private
individual to own and operate such vehicles on public roads.
1UniversityofWashington’sTechnologyLawandPolicyClinic
The economic impact of commercially available autonomous
vehicles will be severe and

extend across many different industries. The main one being the
automotive industry
since “the number of vehicles purchased each year may fall, due
to vehicle-sharing
within families/across household members or through shared
fleets, but rising travel
distances and a shift away from air travel may lead to greater
vehicle-miles traveled
(VMT) and ultimately higher vehicle sales (due to faster fleet
turnover from heavy daily
use).” (Kockelman, Clements, 2017, p. 1). Both these scenarios
are possible and will
cause the market to shift in either direction. This is something

that Tesla needs to
account for in order to stay profitable. Another important factor
is the value of hardware
relative to software. “[Connected and fully Autonomous
Vehicles] will soon be central to
the automotive industry, with software making up a greater
percent of vehicle value than
it had previously and hardware’s percentage value falling”
(Kockelman, Clements, 2017,
p. 1). It is becoming evident that a shift towards the software
that powers autonomous
vehicles will be necessary. The car itself and the hardware
components such as the
camera and sensors, will not be as important as having a quality
tested and effective
software system. Once such a system is established and
improving it begins

approaching diminishing returns, then focus can shift back to
design and manufacture of
the hardware involved in autonomous vehicles.
Before full commercialization, autonomous vehicles will likely
be established with the
most simple and noticeable case; heavy truck driving and
distribution. This will cause
job loss across that entire industry but in turn reduce costs for
shipping and towing
companies greatly by eliminating inefficient human driving,
like the need to take breaks.
Another industry that is likely to adopt autonomous vehicles
quickly is the ride-sharing
economy. Services that offer people rides to get to their desired
location will greatly
benefit from automated vehicles as it will create no need to pay

a human driver and of
course all of the aforementioned efficiency savings. Public
methods of transportation,
such as taxis and busses will be forced to adopt autonomous
vehicles as well or they
will simply become redundant. Both these public and private
methods of transportation
account for a significant portion of American employment.
Automating these jobs may
indirectly create an employment issue which should also be
considered as per ESEM
practice. Although an autonomous vehicle industry will
certainly create more jobs, it will
mostly be skilled labor positions like computer programmer or
designer. Thus, all of
these displaced low skill laborers will have difficulty finding
jobs that they can work,

adding to the unemployment issue in the United States.
Finally, autonomous vehicles raise a multitude of ethical and
moral considerations. The
main one being deciding which system of morality will govern
the software’s decision
making. Morals will differ across distinct cultures, countries,
and time periods. It is
problematic to choose one underlying system of morality that
encompasses all views
because a perfect system may not exist. For instance, in an
unavoidable collision,
would the autonomous driving software choose to prioritize the

safety of the passengers
over a pedestrian, the pedestrian over the passengers, or would
it just leave it up to
chance. This type of question has no obvious answer since it
will of course depend on
the ethical values of the person answering it. Another difficulty
arises is in programming
the vehicle to break the law when necessary. A scenario may
arise that in order to avoid
a collision with a living thing, it must make an illegal turn but
the software is
programmed to never break the law. Exceptions would have to
be created and it would
get increasingly complicated to consider all possible scenarios
in which the vehicle may
break the law ethically. It once again creates additional
questions of how should the life

of living things be prioritized. The Trolley Problem thought
experiment is an example
that deals with this, and the general consensus is to take the
utilitarian approach but this
is once again not a universally accepted solution. Another major
difficulty will be in
regard to implementation of a thorough moral and contingency
system as code in the
software.
Conclusion

In conclusion, autonomous vehicles have a considerable number
of technological,
environmental, and social implications. These vehicles
introduce both emerging software and
hardware capabilities that still need to be fully explored. It is
well documented that there will be
an overall reduction in accidents due to these advanced
technology systems. They do however,
impose a security threat that can at least be partially solved by
including failsafe mechanisms.
Environmentally, emissions may or may not be reduced
depending on several factors. If Tesla,
Inc. implements their electric vehicle technology, then carbon

emissions from vehicles due to
natural gasses will be entirely eliminated. Also, autonomous
vehicles have shown to increase
efficiency in two main ways. The first being freeway
throughput, and the second being the
removal of inefficient human driving habits. These
improvements come by nature of an
autonomous driving system.
Lastly, the impacts that autonomous vehicles have on the social
sphere are reasonably
predictable in the case of economy, but uncertain in terms of
ethics and morality. Creating a
governing ethical decision-making system that a majority of
people will accept will prove to be a
difficult task. As for legislation and policy, law makers would
have to adapt to autonomous

vehicle technology quickly. The industry is growing fast and
appropriate rules and regulations
need to be in place before mass commercialization.
Overall, the goals and objectives of this report were met. The
technological, environmental, and
social impacts of autonomous vehicles were assessed through
the lens of ESEM principles.
Relevant recommendations were then made to Tesla, Inc. that
take into account these three
major aspects of the autonomous driving system while adhering
to ESEM principles. Tesla will
need to focus on creating an autonomous driving system that is
safe, secure, ethical, and
effective while also maintaining their corporate social
responsibility and profitability as a publicly
traded firm.

References
Allenby, B. (2013). Reconstructing Earth Technology and
Environment in the Age of Humans.
Washington DC: Island Press.
Blanco, M., Atwood, J., Russell, S., Trimble, T., McClafferty,
J., & Perez, M. (n.d.). Virginia Tech
Transportation Institute. Retrieved October 15, 2017, from
https://www.vtti.vt.edu/featured/?p=422
Maarafi, A. (2015). The impact of autonomous vehicles on
freeway throughput (Order No.
1596625). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses
Global. (1708380668). Retrieved

from http://login.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/login?url=https://search-
proquest-
com.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/docview/1708380668?accountid=4485
Els, P. (2016, June 14). How AI is Making Self-Driving Cars
Smarter. Retrieved November 13,
2017, from
http://www.roboticstrends.com/article/how_ai_is_making_self_
driving_cars_smarter
Labs, C. (2016, April 08). What is Lidar and How Does it Help
Robots See? Retrieved
November 14, 2017, from
http://www.roboticstrends.com/article/what_is_lidar_and_how_
does_it_help_robots_see
Greenhouse Gas Emissions from a Typical Passenger Vehicle.
(2016, November 21). Retrieved
https://www.epa.gov/greenvehicles/greenhouse-gas-emissions-
typical-passenger-vehicle-0

Myriam Alexander-Kearns, Miranda Peterson, and Alison
Cassady. (n.d.). The Impact of Vehicle
Automation on Carbon Emissions. Retrieved November 14,
2017, from
https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/green/reports/2016/11/
18/292588/the-impact-of-
vehicle-automation-on-carbon-emissions-where-uncertainty-
lies/
1University of Washington School of Law. (n.d.). Retrieved
https://www.law.washington.edu/clinics/technology/reports/auto
nomousvehicle Autonomous
Vehicle Law Report and Recommendations to the ULC.
Clements, L. M., & Kockelman, K. M. (2017). Transportation
Research Record: Journal of the
Transportation Research Board, No. 1988 [Abstract].
Transportation Research Record: Journal
of the Transportation Research Board, 2602, I-Iv.
· Executive Summary
· Introduction and Background
· Description of Problem
· Traditional industrial agriculture from environmental, social,

economic, and technical perspective
· Cite data from USDA on water and land usage
· Description of Client
· United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
· Needs and profile of client
· Thesis
· The current agriculture system lacks the adaptability and
capacity to sustain a growing world population, especially in
semi-arid regions of the United States. Thus, to ensure food
security for future generations, a study shall be conducted to
determine the current state of agriculture in the Southwest US,
and a critical analysis of agricultural technologies shall be
considered to develop a management plan to ensure future food
security in this semi-arid region.
· Investigation/Analysis
· Analysis of current agricultural system
· Discussion of historical context for agriculture in Southwest
US
· Investigation into the historical development of agriculture in
the US, leading up to the current political and cultural climate
surrounding agriculture
· Boundary Definition
· Definition of system to be analyzed, and relevant external
factors to system
· Material Flows

· Definition and investigation into the materials required of the
agricultural system, and flux of materials in system
· Sustainability Metrics Analysis
· Analysis of current needs of food system in terms of produce,
and the consumptive resource usage of agriculture in
comparison with the available resource allocated
· Analysis of regional food needs
· Quantification of produce needs for region
· Analysis of agricultural methods and efficiencies – a
breakdown of several different existing agricultural
technologies, analyzing their consumptive water and land usage
per unit of produce output
· Traditional agriculture
· Hydroponic agriculture
· Aquaponic agriculture
· Management Strategy
· Guiding ESEM principles for management strategy
· Definition of goals for strategy
· Meet sustainability metrics for Southwestern US region
· Requirements to meet metric goals
· Projection for future metric goals
· Plan for future implementation of strategies to divert future
food scarcity
· Implementation of management strategy
· Strategy for shift in agricultural system

· Policy recommendations
· Education and implementation recommendations
· Recommendations to Client USDA
· Conclusion
· Bibliography
· Love, D. C., Fry, J. P., Li, X., Hill, E. S., Genello, L.,
Semmens, K., & Thompson, R. E. (2015, January 1).
Commercial aquaponics production and profitability: Findings
from an international survey. Aquaculture, 435, 67-74.
· Treftz, C., & Omaye, S. T. (2016). Hydroponics: potential for
augmenting sustainable food production in non-arable regions.
Nutition and Food Science, 46(5), 672-684.
· USDA ERS. (2010, May 5). Table 3-Total farm output by
State. Retrieved from United States Department of Agriculture
Economic Research Service: https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-
products/agricultural-productivity-in-the-us/

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