BIOL 313 Ch 3 Factors Affecting World Agriculture

Adaptation

  • Definition: Adjustments in an organism promoting welfare and survival in a specific environment.

  • Domestic animals have a symbiotic relationship with humans, affecting global distribution.

Natural Stresses for Livestock

  • Climatic stress: Temperature, Rain, Solar radiation, Wind, Humidity.

  • Nutritional stress: Quality/quantity of food, affected by climate, soil.

  • Internal stress: Pathogens and toxins.

  • Geographical stress: Altitude, terrain, constant snow, sand, wet areas, steep rocks.

  • Social stress: Interactions with other animals (competition, predator-prey) and humans.

Artificial Stresses for Livestock

  • Artificial environments can offer protection or increase disease risk (e.g., overcrowding).

  • Breeds adapted to artificial environments (e.g., Holstein with 80 lbs milk/day) perform poorly in suboptimal conditions (6 lbs/day).

Adaptive changes in Livestock

  • Types: Morphological, Physiological, Behavioral.

  • All domestic animals show reduced response to environmental change.

Morphological Changes

  • External visible changes: color, horns, hair.

Physiological Changes

  • Internal biochemistry, blood chemistry.

  • Example: Brahman cattle (water conservation, fat hump, pendulous ears).

Behavioral Changes

  • Genetic or learned: self-protection, food/water seeking.

  • Instinct vs. learned behavior varies (poultry more instinct than pigs).

  • Key adaptation: reduced response to change in domesticated animals.

World Climatic Environments

  • Tropical: Main variation is rainfall (rainy/dry seasons). Challenges: heat stress, disease, parasites. Nomadism for forage.

  • Deserts: Lack of water, heat stress. Overgrazing risk.

  • Cold: Cold stress, food availability.

  • Temperate: World's most productive agricultural areas.

Social & Cultural differences in Agriculture

  • Culture heavily influences diet and animal production, evolving with economic situations.

  • Meat eating is common in wealthy Western societies, less so in poorer countries.

Religion’s effects on Agriculture

  • Islam and Judaism forbid pork, impacting pig populations.

  • Kosher production reflects religious principles and food safety.

Cattle in India vs. China

  • Historically, both raised cattle for food.

  • In India, cattle became sacred due to their importance for milk and draft, preventing slaughter.

  • In China, pork often replaced beef; pigs didn't thrive in India.

Levels of Economic Development

  • Developed countries: Robust market economies.

  • Developing countries: More subsistence economies, but growing.

Levels of Agricultural Development

  • Developed: Small proportion of farmers (<2\% in US), specialized, mechanized, high income/literacy/productivity.

  • Subsistence: Half the population are farmers, family farms produce little surplus, low mechanization/literacy.

  • Primitive: Almost everyone is a farmer, food scarce, low productivity, hand labor, illiteracy is a major barrier to new tech.

Economic Institutions and Agriculture

  • Financial institutions: Provide loans, store capital.

  • Marketing agencies: Help farmers with sales.

  • Industrial institutions: Create non-farm jobs, consumer goods.

  • Government agencies: Provide infrastructure, protection, education, land policy, sound money.