Agriculture and Food Production

Chapter 8 Review

Modern Food Systems

Hunter-gatherer

Pastoralism

Horticulture/Gardening

Subsistence Agriculture

Commercial/Industrialized Agriculture

Agriculture’s Eco-footprint

Environmental Issues

Agriculture accounts for a large portion of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Deforestation (soy/corn/meat)

Chemical Pollution

Soil Degradation

Loss of biodiversity

Consumption and Food Security

Inequalities in production and distribution have resulted in widespread malnutrition and overconsumption.

Source: www.nextgenerationfood.com

Lecture Overview

Vertical Integration and Commodity Chains

Industrial Agriculture

Delocalization and Seasonality

Quinoa

-Often referred to as the “mother grain”

-A pillar of the Incan

food system

Delocalization

Domestication Hearths

Commodification

Agricultural Commodities

Vertical integration

Source: www.emeraldinsight.com

Quinoa

Subsistence Agriculture is a system in which agriculturists consume all they produce.

Commercial agriculture is a system in which farmers produce crops and animals primarily for sale rather than for direct consumption.

(page 299)

Monocropping-Chemical farming involves

increased fertilizer

and pesticide

use.

Beef

Masai Pastoralism involves the breeding and

herding of animals to satisfy the human needs for food, shelter,

and clothing.

The Masai have a local and seasonal diet of blood and

milk.

Energy Efficiency-Energy is lost along the food

chain

-Industrialized agriculture disrupts the

energy balance.

Source: www.tutorvista.com

The Sacred Cow

Many food stressed communities in rural India refrain from eating

cows but use the milk for sustenance, and the dung for

heating and cooking.

Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO)

CAFOs use large quantities of

antibiotics and growth hormones.

Waste Lagoons

Intensive agriculture contributes significantly to water pollution, Greenhouse Gas Emissions (carbon dioxide and methane), and climate change.

The True Cost Of Food

Seasonality and Delocalization

Peaches are grown in developing nations year round and exported to developed nations.

Globalization and modern agriculture techniques allow for a commercial food system with very little seasonality.

Solutions?

Urban Agriculture

Genetically Modified Organisms

Intensive Irrigation

Organic Farming

Local Diets

Dietary Changes

Thank You