Plants, People, and Culture Quiz

How long ago did farming/agriculture begin?

~ 10,000 years ago

Farming was a shift from what for humanity?

Shift from:

- Foraging

- Nomadic lifestyles

Where did farming begin in the world?

Several areas of the world

What countries are part of the Fertile Crescent?

- Turkey

- Iraq

- Syria

- Lebanon

- Palestine

- Jordan

- Iran

What 2 processes made plant domestication possible?

- Crop Rotation

- Irrigation

What did crop rotation benefit?

It improved:

- Soil fertility

- Food production

The 1700s was the era of

Scientific Innovation

The era of scientific innovation ushered in inventions like what?

- Seed drill

- Cotton gin

- Iron plow

- Thresher

What does the seed drill do

Mechanically plant seeds

What does the thresher do

Separate grain kernels from husk

What changed from the 1700s to the 1800s?

There was simply an increase in mechanization

During what era did Fritz Haber make meaningful contributions?

1900s

What happened in 1909?

Fritz Haber developed the ability to synthesize ammonia from hydrogen and nitrogen gas using high heat + pressure

Who led the industrial production of ammonia?

Carl Bosch

What happened in 1913?

Carl Bosch designed the industrial level production of ammonia

Why are Fritz Haber and Bosch important?

They developed our ability to synthesize ammonia from atmospheric nitrogen

Fritz Haber and Bosch's work was important because it led to ________, and allowed for ________.

- led to large-scale fertilizer production

- allowed for today's industrial farming practices

Both Fritz Haber and Bosch received the

Nobel prize

How many munitions plants had the US built by WW2?

10

What were munitions plants for? What did they cause an increase of?

- Munitions plants = N synthesis

- Increase in N production

What was the Green Revolution?

The point (following WWII) where munitions plants changed their operations to support fertilizer and pesticide production, instead of that of bombs

What is the grass family's name

Poaceae

Why is the Poaceae an important family?

Most economically important of all flowering plants

Which plant family is of greatest importance to humantiy?

Poaceae

Poaceae make up what % of the world's vegetation? How many species is this?

- 25% of world's vegetation

- 12,000 species

What is the cereal of a grass?

Cereal = edible fruit

- e.g. the grain of grass

What is the basic foods of civilization?

Cereal/edible fruit

What is the top crop globally?

Sugarcane

The annual production of sugarcane totals how many tons?

1.8 billion tons

What is the 2nd top crop globally?

Corn (maize)

What is the 3rd top crop globally?

Wheat

What is the 4th top crop globally?

Rice

Though ranked the 11th top crop, why is barley important?

It is a part of the grass family

Which 5 top crops are part of the grass family?

1) Sugar cane

2) Maize

3) Wheat

4) Rice

11) Barley

What 3 are the most extensively grown of all food crops?

Corn, rice, and wheat

Poaceae are what type of plant (in terms of leaf)

Monocots/monocotyledons

What type of leaves do poaceae have

Linear leaves

What type of venation do poaceae leaves have?

Parallel venation

Many monocot Poaceae have what type of stems?

- Rhizomes (underground)

OR

- Stolons (aboveground)

w/vegetative propagation

Poaceae are usually not woody, they're ______

herbaceous

Poaceae are ______ or _______

Annual OR perennial

Annual meaning

they complete their lifespan in 1 growing season

Perennial means

they produce fruit for more than one growing season (year)

The bracts that surround a flower are called

the Chaff of the grain

Outer wall of a grain is the

Bran

Most of the seed is __________, which is just ______

- Endosperm

- This is starch

The embryo is also called the

germ

When refined, all but what is removed from a fruit?

The starchy endosperm

The fruit/grain of a grass is commercially available as (3), which is just the starchy endosperm we consume

- White flour

- Corn starch

- White rice

Whole grain products have

- bran

- germ

- endosperm

- Only the chaff's removed

Whole grain products are higher in

- Fiber

- Protein

- Vitamins

Wheat is native to the

Fertile crescent

Wheat's wild ancestor

Einkorn wheat

How did wheat spread?

Early trade routes to Europe, Eurasia, N. America

Global expansion occurred in the 1500s b/c of

European colonization

How did European colonization affect local food systems?

They REPLACED local food systems, with wheat becoming a dominant crop

90% of global wheat is

Triticum aestivum

Triticum aestivum is found in

Bread, pastries, and breakfast cereal

5-8% of global wheat is

Triticum durum

Triticum durum is found in

Pasta, noodles, and some bread

Bread is known as "____" in many cultures

"staff of life"

Most wheat in the US is

Refined

To make white flour, what parts are removed and what parts are processed?

Removed: Bran + germ

Processed: Endosperm

When making white flour, what are we stripping the grain of?

- Dietary fiber

- Minerals

- Vitamins

Bleached flour is achieved with what bleaching agents

- Benzoyl peroxide

- Chlorine gas

Bleaching agents speed up

the flour's aging process

Bleaching flour results in what physical qualities

- Whiter

- Finer

- Softer

Flour was milled white in the 1870s b/c

- Milling = removes oils

- Removed oils = spoils slower

Why was milled flour a sign of wealth?

B/c it was not readily available, thus accessible only to the rich

Today's flour is enriched to add

- Iron

- Niavin

- Thiamin

- Rlavin

Corn species name

Zea mays

Corn is native to

Southern Mexico

Corn is domesticated from what wild grass

Teosinte

- Of the indigenous peoples

Corn has a long history of what practice

- Interplanting

- AKA Milpa

Milpa

The symbiotic/symbolic agricultural system of interplanting

The way the 3 sisters are grown is representative of

Milpa

3 Sisters

Corn, squash, beans

Corn was introduced to Europe when? By whom?

- 1493

- Columbus

What's the leading crop in the US?

Corn/maize

What is a subsidy

Financial support to farmers/agribusinesses from the gov't to:

--> supplement income

--> manage commodity supply

--> influence cost/supply of commodities

The prices of subsidized staples are

low

Subsidized staples are used

to make the products used everywhere (e.g. high-fructose corn syrup)

Subsidized staples add _____ and ____ to foods at a _____ cost

Subsidized staples add FAT and SUGAR to foods at a LOW cost

Why is there a price gap between high sugar/fat content foods, and nutritional foods?

Subsidized staple crops are cheap, so they're widely used to make foods (e.g., high-fructose corn syrup and corn-fed meats) inexpensively

--> This makes high-sugar/high-fat foods cheaper than more nutritious foods, creating a price gap.

Transgenic/GMO corn was first commercialized in

1996

GMOS are classified as

having 1 or more useful traits (added to them)

GMO crop traits

- herbicide resistance

- insect resistance

- disease resistance

Bt =

Bacillus thuringiensis

Bt crops are genetically modified to

contain the endospore (crystal) toxins of the bacterium

Bt crops are resistant to

certain insect pests

What 2 Bt crops are most common and grown on the most cumulative area worldwide?

Bt corn and cotton

Majority of corn grown in the US is used for

Animal/livestock feed

Ethanol for fuel is derived majorly from

Corn

What industrial and pharmaceutical products are made by corn?

- Laundry starch

- Packing material

- Lubricants

Corn can be used to make _______ and ________ products (e.g. filler, glue)

Industrial and pharmaceutical

Most US grown corn is used in ______ and ________ use

Most US grown corn is used in ANIMAL FEED and ALCOHOL-FUEL use

Asian rice species

Oryza sativa

____ feeds more people worldwide than any other crop

RICE feeds more people worldwide than any other crop

Rice is native to _____, and is domesticated in ______

Rice is native to ASIA, and is domesticated in CHINA

African rice species

Oryza glaberrima