Food Systems Flashcards

Food Systems

  • Introduction to Food Systems

    • Focus on the intersection of humans and their environments
    • Importance of discussions around feeding populations

  • Dining and Food Choices

    • Questions about local eateries and sustainable eating options
    • Challenges for college students in accessing healthy, affordable food
    • Relationship between personal health and sustainable eating habits

  • Agricultural and Food-Related Economic Systems

    • Diverse food systems including homesteading, large box stores, and subsistence systems
    • Interconnected systems rather than a monolithic approach to agriculture

  • The Economic Framework of Food Systems

    • Food as an economic system comprising extraction, production, demand, and supply
    • Key factors: agriculture, climate change, pollution, water management, and economics

  • History of Subsistence

    • Earliest food gathering and agriculture
    • Small-scale production within tribes, bartering, hunter-gatherer societies
    • Examples: Farmers markets as modern subsistence approaches

  • Primitive and Early Agriculture

    • Characteristics of early agricultural practices
    • Self-contained cultural practices
    • Surplus used within groups, essential for social organization

  • Plant Domestication and Geographic Hearths

    • Major regions for early crop domestication:
    • Fertile Crescent (barley and wheat) ~10,000-12,000 years ago
    • Northern China (millet) ~9,500 years ago
    • Meso-America (maize and squash) ~5,500 years ago
    • Eastern U.S. (sunflower) ~4,500 years ago
    • Sahel region (millet and sorghum) ~7,000 years ago
    • Central Andes (white potatoes) ~4,500 years ago

  • Factors Influencing Agricultural Adoption

    • Population pressures encouraged lifestyle changes toward agriculture
    • Stability and efficiency of food production lead to increased carrying capacity

  • Types of Agriculture

    • Subsistence vs. Commercial
    • Subsistence: Self-sufficient farming for personal or family needs
    • Commercial: Farming for profit, often involves monoculture
    • Extensive Subsistence Agriculture
    • Nomadic herding and shifting cultivation
    • Requires large land areas due to mobility of resources
    • Intensive Subsistence Agriculture
    • Examples: Rice cultivation
    • High-effort farming yields higher returns
    • Urban subsistence farming initiatives

  • Globalization of Agriculture

    • Historical context of the Great Colombian Exchange (1492)
    • Spread of significant agricultural products between the Old and New Worlds
    • Modern impacts of multinational agribusiness on food production
    • Use of hybrid seeds and reliance on fertilizers

  • Land Use and Agricultural Economics

    • Von Thunen's Model: Economic principles dictate land use based on distance from markets
    • Factors affecting land rent and agricultural productivity
    • Agricultural regions categorized based on predominant activities

  • Impact of Capitalism and Economic Systems

    • Historical perspective on commercial economies and their transitions to industrial economies
    • Globalization leading to greater economic interdependence
    • Mixed economies balancing free-market principles with government regulation

  • Economic Measurements and Sectors

    • Definitions of GDP, GNP, and GNI
    • Classification of economic activities into primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary sectors
    • Primary: Raw materials extraction
    • Secondary: Manufacturing processes
    • Tertiary: Service industry
    • Quaternary: Knowledge-based activities

  • Modern Challenges and Responses

    • Ongoing struggles with sustainable food production amidst environmental concerns
    • Examination of farming practices and their adaptations to changing economic landscapes