5.2 Terrestrial food production systems and food choices

Arable farms

Focus on crops

Pastoral farms

Focus on animals

Mixed farms

Focus on both animals and crops

Monoculture

Growing one kind of crop

Polyculture

Growing a variety of crops

Things that determine food production

• Environmental conductions (climate, weather, insolation)

• Access to technology

• Finances

• Culture and EVS

• Governance and politics

MEDCs

More economically developed countries

LEDCs

Less economically developed countries

Intensive commercial farming

• Mostly in MEDCs

• Focused on business

• Large scale with more yield

• Heavily industrialized and mechanized

• Dependent on fossil fuels

• Lots of water usage

• GMOs, fertilizers, herbicides, and insectides

Subsistence farming

• Mostly in LEDCs

• Focused on the local community

• Smaller scale with less yield

• Limited industrialization and mechanization

• More manual labor than fossil fuels for machinery

• Less but still significant water usage

• Crop rotation and natural fertilizers

Crop rotation

Planting different crops in the same plot of land to promote soil health

Intensive vs. Extensive

Intensive: concentrated manner

Extensive: on a wide scale

Possible environmental impacts

• DDT can kill organisms and reduce biodiversity

• Monoculture can lead to dieases

• Fertilizers can cause run-off and eutrophication

• Habitat loss and pollinator loss

Eutrophication

Becoming overly enriched with nutrients

Issues with animal production

• Diseases spreading

• Ethical issues in the killing of animals

• Use of growth hormones and antibiotics

• High waste concentration which can pollute water systems

Organic farming

• Doesn’t use GMOs or chemical fertilizers/pesticides

  • Uses natural alternatives (manure, bananas, etc)

• Crop rotation for soil fertility

• Livestock fed with organic feed

• More labour intensive

Shifting cultivation

Clearing land with slash and burn techniques. Can be sustainable for a small human population

Nomadic hearding

Moving with cattle and goats to different geographical locations

Intensive subsistence farming

Very traditional and labor intensive farming methods

What affects food choices

• Climate

• Culture and religion

• Political

• Socio-economic

What causes hunger

• Poverty

• Poor infrastructure

• Extreme weather

• War

• Food waste

Food waste

• Occurs at production, processing, and distribution stages

• LEDCs mostly from production to market

• MEDCs mostly from consumer behavior

Losses along the food production process

• Harvesting: Damaged or misshapen produce

• Processing: Damaged or poor storage

• Distribution: Bad transport

• Retailer: Aesthetic defects or overstocking

• Consumer: Excess food purchased or misunderstood labels

Demand for meat

• High protein content

• Cultural reasons

• Ability to afford more meat

Ways to make farming more sustainable

• Legislation

• Pollution management

• Reducing food waste

• Growing native crops

• Employing polyculture

• Reducing meat consumption