AP Human Geography: Unit 5 Key Terms

Agribusiness

The set of economic and political relationships that organize food production for commercial purposes, including activities ranging from seed production to retailing.

Agriculture

The art and science of producing food from the land and tending livestock for the purpose of human consumption.

Animal husbandry

An agricultural activity associated with the raising of domesticated animals, such as cattle, horses, sheep, and goats.

Aquaculture

The cultivation or farming of aquatic species, such as fish, in controlled conditions.

Biotechnology

A form of technology that uses living organisms, usually genes, to modify products or develop other microorganisms for specific purposes.

Capital-intensive agriculture

A form of agriculture that uses machinery and tools to produce large amounts of agricultural goods, requiring very little human labor.

Commercial agricultural economy

All agricultural activity generated for the purpose of selling, not necessarily for local consumption.

Commodity chains

A linked system of processes that gather resources, convert them into goods, package them for distribution, and sell them on the market.

Dairying

An agricultural activity involving the raising of livestock for dairy products such as milk, cheese, and butter.

Desertification

The process by which formerly fertile lands become increasingly arid and unproductive.

Domestication

The conscious manipulation of plant and animal species by humans in order to sustain themselves.

Extensive agriculture

An agricultural system characterized by low inputs of labor per unit land area.

Feedlots

Places where livestock are concentrated in a small area and fed hormones and grains to prepare them for slaughter quickly.

Fertile crescent

An area near the southeastern Mediterranean coast that was one of the first hearths of domestication and agricultural activity.

Food security

People's ability to access sufficient safe and nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life.

Genetically modified foods

Foods that are products of organisms that have had their genes altered in a lab for specific purposes like disease resistance and increased productivity.

Green Revolution

The development of higher-yield crops through technology, pesticides, and fertilizers to alleviate food supply problems in developing regions.