Diet and Agriculture Notes

These flashcards cover key vocabulary terms and concepts related to diet, food consumption, agriculture practices, and their implications.

Dietary Energy Consumption

The amount of food that an individual consumes, measured in calories.

Cereal Grains

Grasses grown for their seeds which are harvested and consumed, such as wheat, rice, and corn.

Food Security

Physical, social, and economic access at all times to safe and nutritious food sufficient to meet dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.

Undernourishment

The level of dietary energy consumption that is continuously below the minimum requirement for maintaining a healthy life.

Intensive Subsistence Agriculture

Agriculture that focuses on maximizing yield from small plots of land, often used in densely populated areas.

Plantation Farming

Commercial agriculture practiced primarily in developing regions, often involving transnational corporations growing a few crops for the world market.

Agribusiness

A system of commercial farming integrated into a large food production industry, found in developed countries.

Ranching

The commercial grazing of livestock over a large area, adapted to dry regions where soil is too poor to support crops.

Shifting Cultivation

Agricultural practice involving the slashing and burning of forests to clear land, followed by the cultivation of crops until soil fertility declines.

Desertification

The process by which land becomes increasingly arid and unproductive, often as a result of human activities like overgrazing and deforestation.

Mixed Crop and Livestock Farming

A type of agriculture where both crops and livestock are raised together, often utilized for symbiotic benefits.

Commercial Gardening and Fruit Farming

Farming focused on growing fruits and vegetables, typically in areas with long growing seasons and proximity to urban markets.