Introduction to Food Systems and Agroecology Flashcards

Vocabulary practice flashcards defining foundational terms, historical frameworks, and theoretical concepts from the food systems lecture.

Feed the World Narrative

The dominant framing that agriculture's primary goal is to produce enough food to supply 9 to 10 billion people by 2050, often simplifying complex systemic issues down to raw caloric output.

Green Revolution

A period of agricultural transformation characterized by chemical and technological innovations that began ramping up around 1955 to support industrial agriculture.

Malthusian Parameter

The parameter that determines the exponential growth rate of a population in population biology models.

Point of Conflict

The theoretical intersection identified by Thomas Malthus where exponentially growing human population outstrips linearly growing food production, resulting in famine, war, or chaos.

Recommended Caloric Intake

A daily baseline of food energy intake ranging from $2,000$ to $2,500$\,kcal per person, which global food supply data indicates is currently exceeded in every region of the world as of 2023.

Primary Productivity

The base level of energy in a food system generated by biological crop growth coming directly out of the ground.

Symptom Justification

The uncritical assumption that the current status quo system (such as industrial agriculture) is optimal or justified simply because it exists.