food production Flashcards
(28 cards)
- What does agricultural management allow us to do? Which came fist agriculture or population growth?
its debated but agricultural management allows us to chose food and increase pop
- Until the 1950s how did we keep pace with the food needs of a growing population? How have done the same since the 1950s?
expansion of cultivated areas before 1950 so more cropland
- What are the techniques of the “green revolution”?
more machinery and chemical pesticides “modern chemical farming”
- How does the use of energy and efficiency of an industrial farm compare with the more traditional
type of farming practice?
modern practice use more energy but less efficient ( in terms of sustainability )
- Compare the source of calories between the developed and less developed regions of the world.
Industrialized: 30% and not industrialized: less than 10%
- What are some of the environmental issues raised by modern farming techniques?
water pollution, air pollution, farm waste
- What is one of the main ingredients that underpins modern farming techniques?
nitrogenous fertilizers
- What are the environmental problems associated with the use of nitrogen fertilizers?
effect of the nitrogen cycle: the nitrogen use is loss in the air or the ground
- Give an example of the importance of irrigation to farming. What are the environmental
repercussions?
compensation for low precipitation, salinity problem if waters mixed
- explain how the use of pesticides has perhaps created a positive feed back loop.
monocultures are more prone to bacteria so more pesticide of less efficiency
- What are the negative repercussions of increased pesticide use?
the development of resistance to the chemicals
Discuss the various alternatives to pesticides outlined here.
resistance breeding and environmental control
- What does the term“genetically modified”mean?
GMs food produced from plants or animals that have had their genes changed by scientists in the laboratory rather than farmers
- The most successful modifications to date have been to aid? Which modifications have proved
much more difficult to develop?
amid at the farmers ( insect resistance example ), traits affecting nutritional values harder
What are some of the potential impacts that have been raised with the use of these technologies? ( genetic modification )
no control over the expression of new gene
- 75% of our food comes from just_____crops.
12
- What is food insecurity?
having enough food: when access to nutritious safe food limited= food insecurity
- At the country level what 2 types of food insecurity have been identified?
chronic and transitory
- At the global level how many people suffer from food insecurity and malnutrition? Why is this
ironic?
815 millions and ironic because we have enough food for them
To meet future demands for food without significance increases in prices how much more food do
we need to produce?
70-100% more
- Currently how much of our food production is wasted?What are the reasons for this waste in the developing and developed parts of the world
30-50% waste and over-eating
Where should we focus our efforts to achieve more sustainable forms of agriculture?
production of crops and livestock using sustainable methods
- What is the critique of organic farming?Has this proven to be true in all cases?
less efficient but some have good conditions to be as efficient
- What can we make of the“food miles”argument?
“food miles” is local= better because of transport pollution
