[terms, defs.]

• agriculture: process by which humans alter the landscape in order to raise crops and livestock for consumption and trade

• domestication: raising plants and animals for human use

• subsistence farming: when farmers eat the crops they grew and raise

• seed hybridization: process of breeding together two plants

• GMOs: genetically modified organisms, produced when human use engineering techniques to change DNA of seed

• commercial agriculture: when crops are grown for profit and not personal consumption

• intensive farming: agriculture that involves greater inputs of resources and paid labor relative to the space being used

• extensive farming: agriculture that uses fewer inputs of resources and paid labor relative the amount of space being used

• shifting cultivation: burn farming to clear land. only good for short while, after the nutrients are depleted farmers move on to the next plot of land

• pastoral nomadism: periodically moving from place to place in order to find new areas to which to raise their crops and livestock

• plantation farming: the practice of clearing a large parcel of forest land and planting the desired crops in huge numbers on the cleared land for commercial use.

• mixed crop/livestock: both animal and crops are farmed in the same area for livestock to feed on the same farm

• grain farming: mass planting of grain crops

• market gardening: production of fruits, vegetables, flowers, etc.

• dairy farming: raising animals to produce milk

• mediterranean agriculture: crop cultivation undertaken in areas with Mediterranean climates (warm, dry summers and mild, rainy winters and always on the shore of a sea/ocean

• livestock ranching: livestock (usually cattle) is allowed to roam over an established area for food.

• clustered settlement: rural settlement pattern where homes and farms are located close together, with farmland surrounding them

• linear settlements: settlement patterns in which farms are clustered along roads with field behind them

• dispersed settlements: rural settlement patter characterized by isolated farms rather than clustered villages

• land survey: performed to locate, describe, and map the boundaries of a plot of land

• horticulture: type of agriculture that includes market gardening and dairy farming

• bid rent theory: the further you go from the city the cheaper products get

• metes & bounds: survey where land is divided into parcels based on features of the landscape, distance, and direction

• long lot: taxes based on width of plot of land, so became long and thin.

• township + range: land is divided using lines of latitude and longitude, resulting in a grid pattern

• commodity chain: process used by corporations to gather resources, transform them into goods, and then transport them to customer

• economies of scale: better cost by company when it increases its level of output. the bigger the company, the cheaper it is.

• food security: access by all people at all times to enough food to maintain a healthy lifestyle

• food desert: community where there is no access to fresh, health, affordable, food options because of the lack of grocery stores or farmer’s markets

• doublecropping: planting and harvesting on the same parcel of land twice per year

• intercropping: when farmers grow 2 or more crops simultaneously on the same field

• terrace farming: when humans build a series of steps into the side of the hill, creating flat surfaces for the purpose of agriculture

• monoculture: specializing in one crop

• irrigation: the process of diverting water from its natural course or location to help grow crops

• soil salinization: when water evaporates quickly, leaving salt residue behind

• desertification: transition of land of fertile to desert

• fertilizer: anything added to soil that increases productivity use of fossil fuels

[examples + elaboration]

{ evolution of agriculture }

01. 1st Ag. Revolution (Neolithic) - Fertile Crescent 10,000-12,000 yrs ago

• origin of farming

• marked by first domestication of plants and animals

➜ traits

• domestication

• simplistic tools & manual labor

• subsistence farming

• transition from hunter-gatherer lifestyle

➜ effects

• established first permanent human settlements

• lead to population growth

• development of social hierarchy

  • specialization labor

  • declining in status of women

02. 2nd Ag. Rev. - 1700s

• advances of Industrial Revolution

• causes

  • the enclosure acts: laws from British gov. that enabled landowners to purchase land; introduced private property.

➜ traits

• mechanization of ag. production

• transportation advances

• development of large-scale irrigation

• improved knowledge of fertilizers, soils, selective breeding

• changes in consumption patterns

• shift from subsistence to commercial farming

➜ diffusion

• contagious diffusion from Britain outward

• spread to Americas, Africa, and Asia through colonization (relocation diff.)

➜ effects

fewer + larger, much more productive farms

growth of urban centers

better diets

03. green rev. - beginning 1960s

• development of better and more efficient farming equipment and practices that led to increased production around the world

➜ traits

• biotechnology

• higher-yielding, disease resistant, faster growing varieties in plants

• double cropping

• fertilizer and pesticides increased

• large scale irrigation

• seed hybridization

• GMOs

➜ diffusion

• began in Mexico, in 1940s with American scientist Borlaug

• ideas spread widely and rapidly once people saw results

➜ positive effects

• food production increased

• high rate investment

• more affordable and accessible

• self-sufficiency in Latin America, South and East Asia

➜ negative effects

• reinforcement of gender inequality

• uneven application; Africa hasn’t seen benefited

• environmental consequences

• overpopulation

summary

1st Rev: origin of farming and domestication ➜ 2nd Rev: advances of Industrial Rev, change from subsistence to commercial farming ➜ Green Rev: sciency stuff; food production increased but uneven application from this revolution

{ types of agriculture }

climate zones

• polar: cold, arid (dry), semi arid climates

• cold mid-latitude: mils summers & colder winters, moderate rainfall

• warm mid-latitude: warm and humid summers and mild winters

• tropical: hot & humid, with substantial precipitation

{ rural settlement patterns & survey patterns }

clustered settlement

pros

• good communication

• tight knit community

• easier to defend

• easy trade

cons

• spread of disease

• less privacy

linear settlement

pros

• easy transportation

• easy trade

cons

• lack of privacy

• communication and protection is harder than clustered (still ok tho)

dispersed settlement

pros

• more privacy and independence

• less risk of spread of disease

cons

• poor communication

• more difficult transportation & amenities to have

• harder to protect

surveys

• metes & bounds is relative to its environment

  • ex. property begins at old apple tree, 1 mi from river.

• township & range: divided using lines of latitude and longitude. grid pattern

• long lot: by the French, taxes based on width of land so it became long and thin

{ von thunen’s model of agriculture use }

• closest to farthest from Market

• transportation costs were proportional to the distance from the market

assumptions

• a city is an isolated region which all agricultural products are sold at a central market

• markets are in the middle of plains that are flat and featureless and within which all land has similar characteristics

• farmers are rational economic producers (want to make much money as possible)

rings

• dairy & market farming are horticulture

  • perishable items; therefore near market

• forests bec. of wood.

  • close to market bec. they’re difficult to transport

• grain & field crops don’t spoil, so they’re further away.

  • lots of land

• ranching & livestock furthest bec. they could walk there. requires lots of land

{ agriculture & society }

• economies of scale example: fast food franchises like McDonalds buying every part of the process (farms, manufacturers, stores, etc.) to make it cheap.

political systems

communist/autoritarian states

• farmers sometimes told what to do

• collective farming or state-run farms

capitalist states

• competition and profit for decision making

• tend to import more ag. products

solutions for food insecurity

• sustainable agriculture

• urban farming

• better access to education and employment

• incrased foreign aid

• increased access to credit

• population control

• female empowerment

gender roles and food production

• ↑ women working outside = ↓ female involvement in food prep

• rise in purchase of convenience foods

female participation in ag.

• female-owned farms tend to be smaller, more diversified, less machanized