Key Concepts in Agriculture and Food Systems

Agriculture

the cultivation of domesticated plants and animals using technologies that allow for intensive use of the land

Broad spectrum diet

a diet based on a wide range of food resources

Built environment

spaces that are human-made, including cultivated land as well as buildings

Carrying capacity

a measurement of the number of calories that can be extracted from a particular unit of land in order to support a human population

Commodity chain

the series of steps a food takes from location where it is produced to the store where it is sold to consumers

Delayed return system

techniques for obtaining food that require an investment of work over a period of time before the food becomes available for consumption. Farming is a delayed return system due to the passage of time between planting and harvest. The opposite is an immediate return system in which the food acquired can be immediately consumed. Foraging is an immediate return system.

Domestic economy

the work associated with obtaining food for a family or household

Foodways

the cultural norms and attitudes surrounding food and eating

Foraging

a subsistence system that relies on wild plant and animal food resources. This system is sometimes called "hunting and gathering."

Historical ecology

the study of how human cultures have developed over time as a result of interactions with the environment

Horticulture

a subsistence system based on the small-scale cultivation of crops intended primarily for the direct consumption of the household or immediate community

Modes of subsistence

the techniques used by the members of a society to obtain food. Anthropologists classify subsistence into four broad categories: foraging, pastoralism, horticulture, and agriculture

Mono-cropping

the reliance on a single plant species as a food source. Mono-cropping leads to decreased dietary diversity and carries the risk of malnutrition compared to a more diverse diet

Neolithic Revolution

a period of rapid innovation in subsistence technologies that began 10,000 years ago and led to the emergence of agriculture. Neolithic means "new stone age," a name referring to the stone tools produced during this time period

Pastoralism

a subsistence system in which people raise herds of domesticated livestock

Staple crops

foods that form the backbone of the subsistence system by providing the majority of the calories a society consumes

Subsistence system

the set of skills, practices, and technologies used by members of a society to acquire and distribute food

World system

a complex economic system through which goods circulate around the globe. The world system for food is characterized by a separation of the producers of goods from the consumer.

Semi Substinence

Producing a cash crop but also growing food for yourself

Balanced Reciprocity

the exchange of something with the expectation that something of equal value will be returned within a specific time period 

COnsumption

the process of buying, eating, or using a resource, food, commodity, or service       

generalized reciprocity

giving without expecting a specific thing in return

General prupose money

a medium of exchange that can be used in all economic transactions          

Homo economicus

: a term used to describe a person who would make rational decisions in ways predicted by economic theories

Means of production

the resources used to produce goods in a society such as land for farming or factories

Modes of production

the social relations through which human labor is used to transform energy from nature using tools, skills, organization, and knowledge

Negative Reciprocity

an attempt to get something for nothing; exchange in which both parties try to take advantage of the other

Political economy

an approach in anthropology that investigates the historical evolution of economic relationships as well as the contemporary political processes and social structures that contribute to differences in income and wealth

Redistribution

the accumulation of goods or labor by a particular person or institution for the purpose of dispersal at a later date

STructural violence

a form of violence in which a social structure or institution harms people by preventing them from meeting their basic needs  

Substinence Farmers

people who raise plants and animals for their own consumption, but not for sale to others