Geo Food and Health 2

HYV (High Yield Variants)

Crop varieties (wheat, corn, soybean, rice, potato, and cotton) engineered to produce greater yields, often central to the Green Revolution.

GMO (Genetically Modified Organism)

Organisms with altered genetic material for traits like pest resistance or increased productivity.

Vertical farming

The practice of growing crops in vertically stacked layers, often in controlled environments.

Kyshoo/Jailoo

Winter and summer pastures used in Kyrgyzstan for seasonal livestock grazing, a part of vertical nomadism.

Transhumance

The seasonal movement of livestock between pastures, often to optimize grazing.

Nomadic pastoralism

A lifestyle where herders move with their animals in search of pasture and water.

Vertical nomadism

Movement of livestock based on altitude rather than horizontal distance.

HALE (Health-Adjusted Life Expectancy)

The average number of healthy years an individual can expect to live.

DALY (Disability-Adjusted Life Year)

A metric quantifying years lost due to illness, disability, or premature death.

Nutrition transition

The global dietary shift toward processed foods, sugar, and fats as societies develop and from diseases of undernutrition to overnutrition.

Epidemiological transition

The shift from infectious to chronic diseases as economies and healthcare systems advance.

Diseases of poverty

Illnesses such as malaria and tuberculosis, exacerbated by poor sanitation and healthcare.

R naught value (R₀)

The average number of secondary infections caused by one infected individual in a susceptible population for a given disease.

Disease of affluence

Non-communicable diseases like diabetes and obesity associated with wealthier lifestyles.

Food miles

The distance food travels from production to consumption, impacting environmental footprints (like water and carbon footprints).

Feed conversion ratio

A measure of how efficiently feed is converted into animal product, like meat or eggs.

Food pyramid/hierarchy

A dietary framework where each trophic level loses about 90% of energy, important when considering consumption of plants versus animals, and primary versus secondary or tertiary consumers (for minimizing footprints).

Epidemic

An outbreak of a disease affecting many individuals in a population.

Pandemic

A disease outbreak that spreads across countries or continents.

Communicable disease

Diseases spread from person to person or through vectors.

Malaria, dengue, Zika

Diseases caused by mosquito-borne pathogens.

Bubonic plague of 1900

An outbreak of the plague caused by Yersinia pestis, spread via fleas.

Wolbachia

A bacteria that fights dengue, that can be carried by mosquitoes.

WMP

World Mosquito Program, which fights diseases spread by mosquitoes by working with, not against, them.

H1N1

A strain of influenza virus responsible for the 2009 global pandemic.

Disease diffusion

The spread of diseases through a population by various means, such as relocation or contact.

Relocation dispersion

Spread of diseases through the movement of infected individuals to new locations.

Neighborhood dispersion

Localized spread of diseases due to close interactions within communities.

Hierarchical dispersion

Spread of diseases from larger, influential urban areas to smaller, rural ones.

Coronaviruses

A family of viruses causing illnesses ranging from the common cold to COVID-19.

SARS, MERS

Severe acute respiratory disease, Middle East respiratory syndrome, caused by specific and deadly coronaviruses.

Obesity

Excessive body fat accumulation that poses health risks.

BMI (Body Mass Index)

A numerical value derived from weight and height, used to classify obesity or underweight.

Diabetes

A chronic condition where the body struggles to regulate blood sugar, Sometimes resulting in loss of toes, feet, and legs, loss of vision, and even death.

Kwashiorkor

Severe protein deficiency leading to swelling , feet, and legs, loss of vision, and even deathand stunted growth.

Malnutrition

A condition caused by inadequate or excessive nutrient intake.

Anemia

A deficiency in red blood cells or hemoglobin, causing fatigue and weakness.

Marasmus

Severe undernutrition leading to wasting and low body weight.

Gout

Arthritis caused by uric acid crystal buildup, often linked to high red meat consumption.

Human (Ningen) Dock

A special term to describe Japan's unique comprehensive health check-up system, promoting preventative health care and enabling much longer life expectancy

Preventative healthcare

Actions aimed at preventing illness before it occurs, such as vaccinations.

Responsive healthcare

Treatment provided after illness occurs.

COVID-19

A respiratory illness caused by SARS-CoV-2, leading to a global pandemic.

Quarantine

Isolation of individuals exposed to infectious diseases.

Asymptomatic

Carrying a disease without showing symptoms.

Contact tracing

Identifying and notifying individuals exposed to infectious diseases.

Drought

Prolonged periods of insufficient rainfall affecting water supply and agriculture.

Food aid

Emergency assistance providing food to populations in crisis.

Physical barriers to disease diffusion

Natural features like mountains and oceans that limit disease spread.

In vitro meat

Lab-grown meat produced from animal cells.

Monsanto

A company known for producing GMOs and agricultural chemicals.

Waterborne diseases

Diseases spread through contaminated water, such as cholera and typhoid.

Airborne diseases

Diseases transmitted through air, like tuberculosis and influenza.

Vector-carried diseases

Diseases spread by organisms like mosquitoes or ticks, e.g., malaria and Lyme disease.

Human barriers to disease diffusion

Policies and practices restricting movement, such as quarantines and border controls.

Food security

Reliable access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food.

Food insecurity

Limited or uncertain access to adequate food.

Degenerative disease

A disease characterized by progressive tissue or organ deterioration.

Food availability deficit (FAD)

Insufficient food supply due to production or distribution issues.

Food entitlement deficit (FED)

Inability to access food due to economic or social barriers.

Famine

Widespread food scarcity causing malnutrition and mortality.

Physical water scarcity

Lack of sufficient water resources to meet demand.

Economic water scarcity

Inability to access water due to financial or infrastructural constraints.

World steer

Global flows of livestock and feed, involving GMOs and export, and hybridization like Brahman cattle.

La Ubre Blanca

A Cuban cow symbolizing Fidel Castro's agricultural ambitions, Capable of producing four times the normal amount of milk other milk producing cows and a hybrid that was unfortunately infertile.

Subsistence farming

Farming to provide for the farmer's family with little surplus for trade.

Commercial farming

Large-scale agriculture focused on market production.

Vector

An organism transmitting diseases, such as mosquitoes or fleas.

Oriental rat flea

A vector for bubonic plague.

Mosquito

A vector for diseases like malaria and dengue.

HIV

A virus attacking the immune system, leading to AIDS.

AIDS

The advanced stage of HIV infection, weakening the immune system.

Green Revolution

Agricultural innovations improving crop yields globally.

José Bové

A French activist opposing GMOs and globalization, Especially American - made products, once dismantling a McDonald's.

Subcomandante Marcos

A leader of the Zapatista movement in Mexico advocating for indigenous rights, especially in the face of free trade agreements that threatened local agricultural systems.

PETA

An organization promoting animal rights and veganism, that emphasizes the inhumane treatment of animals in especially industrial commercial farming.

Dairying

Milk production from animals like cows and goats.

Ranching

Raising livestock on large expanses of land for meat or wool.

Intensive agriculture

High-input farming focused on maximizing yields.

Extensive agriculture

Farming over large areas with low input per unit area.

Inputs (agricultural systems)

Resources such as seeds, water, fertilizers, and pesticides.

Processes (agricultural systems)

Activities like planting, irrigating, and harvesting.

Wagyu

Japanese cattle producing marbled beef, raised on special diets Involving Malt Spears massages and very active monitoring of cow health and environment. Extreme inputs with excellent quality beef as an output, but also a much larger footprint for each cow and a much higher price for each kilogram.

CAP (Common Agricultural Policy)

An EU policy supporting agriculture and rural development.

Commercial industrial agriculture

Large-scale farming using advanced technologies for mass production.

Social distancing

Reducing physical interactions to slow disease spread.

Disease prevalence per 10k

The number of cases per 10,000 people in a population.

Malaria spread with climate change

Expansion of malaria risk zones due to global warming.

Heart disease

A broad term for cardiovascular conditions like heart attacks and hypertension.

Pandemic Risk Index

A tool to assess the likelihood and impact of pandemics, Broken into three sub indices regarding risk of spread ability to contain and risk of emergence..

Agriculture

Cultivation of crops and livestock for food and resources.

Poverty cycle

A self-reinforcing loop where poverty perpetuates poverty.

S-curve

A growth pattern showing slow, rapid, then plateauing progress as a disease encounters a new population, spreads across the population and eventually runs out of people to possibly infect.

Flatten the curve

Reducing the peak of disease spread to avoid overwhelming healthcare systems.

SIR model

A framework categorizing individuals as Susceptible, Infected, or Recovered, Normally following a bell curve for those who are actively infected And inverted s curves for those who are susceptible and removed or recovered.

Direct costs of illness

Expenses like medical bills and treatment fees.

Indirect costs of illness

Economic losses from reduced productivity and tourism.

DDT

A pesticide effective against insects but toxic to ecosystems and humans, banned in the United States but still used by US TNCs in places like Central America for many decades.

HAART

A combination therapy for managing HIV/AIDS.

VMMC

Medical male circumcision to reduce HIV transmission.