Definitions Flashcards
(22 cards)
Food system
A complex series of activities involving food’s journey from the farm, its movement to food processors, then on the food retailers and finally on to the consumer’s plate at home or in a restaurant.
Cultivation
the action of sowing and tending a crop on nearby land.
Domestication
the process of using selective breeding to make wild plants and animals more useful.
Hunter-Gatherer
the term used to describe humans who obtain their food from nature, hunting animals and gathering wild plants.
Sedentary Hunter-gatherer
groups of people who settled in one place, near a rich food source.
Swidden farming
an agricultural technique that involves slashing and burning the plants in a forest to create fields to grow crops.
Agricultural food system
the establishment of early permanent settlements close to reliable water supplies, in order to plant and harvest crops, and to domesticate or tame animals such as dogs, goats and sheep.
Commodity
a raw material or primary agricultural product that can be bought and sold. Example, copper or coffee.
Cuisine
the style of food preparation and cooking that reflects the characteristics of a particular country or region.
Culture
the shared or learnt patterns of behaviour or identity of a group of people.
Fertile Crescent
a semi-circular or crescent shaped region of fertile land to the east of the Mediterranean Sea that forms a ‘bridge’ between Africa and Eurasia.
Global Food system
the production of food and its processing and distribution throughout the world.
Fertiliser
chemical compounds applied to soil to promote plant growth.
Globalisation
a process by which the world has become interconnected as a result of increased trade and cultural exchange.
Green Revolution
a large increase in crop production in developing countries achieved by the use of artificial fertilizers and high-yield crop varieties.
Industrialisation
a process in which a country or society is transformed from a primarily agricultural society to one based on the manufacturing of goods and services.
Irrigation
the artificial application of water to the land to enable agricultural crops to grow. Examples, A shadoof, an early irrigation tool for drawing water used in Mesopotamia and Egypt, automated sprinklers, dripper systems (supply water just to the roots system of individual plants)
Nitrogen Fixing
the use of nitrogen-fixing bacteria in certain plants to change nitrogen gas from the atmosphere into solid nitrogen usable by plants.
Pasteurisation
the process of food preservation in which packaged foods (e.g. milk and fruit juices) are treated with mild heat to eliminate pathogens and extend shelf life.
Food processing
the transformation of raw food or ingredients into new food products by physical or chemical means.
Horticulture
the cultivation and management of a garden or orchard.
Agriculture
the practice of cultivating land, growing crops and feeding, breeding and raising livestock.
