1/16: Lecture 1 - A Brief Review on the Complexities of Environment, Agriculture and Society
Use natural resources not abuse them
Society
Health, wealth/poverty, behavior, communities
Nutrition, food security, food safety, climate change, and bioenergy
Coarse Goals
Provide an intro to agriculture
Focus on the development of critical thinking skills
Most farmworkers are immigrants: 73%
Food Safety
1/18: Lecture 2 -
The Scientific Method
The Value of Science
Critical Thinking
Scientist?
Stereotypically a white man in a lab coat
Female Scientist Noble Prize Winners
Elizabeth H. Blackburn, genetics
Barbara McClintock, genetics
May-Britt Moser, physiology
Dorothy Crowfoot, chemistry
Marie Curie, chemistry
Scientific Method
Science isn’t simple, there are small details
Benefits and outcomes are important in science
Community feedback
Science -> complex
Some Scientific Assumptions
The world (our environment) is knowable
Basis patterns that describe events in the mural world are uniform throughout time and space
Where 2 equally plausible explanations for a phenomenon are possible, we should choose the simpler one
KISS : Keep It Simple Stupid
Change in knowledge is inevitable because new evidence ,ay challenge prevailing theories.
New facts can disprove existing theories, science can never provide absolute proof that a theory is correct
Even if there is no way to secure complex and absolute truth
Science can determine mechanisms of processes and t can help find practical solutions
Hypothesis testing
In scientific research the hypothesis is always stayed in the null form
The null hypothesis is accepted or rejected
Formally H: mu - X = 0
The control value= the values for the treatments
Dr. Carl Sagan’s “Baloney Detection Kit”
How reliable are the sources of the claim?
Have the claims been verified by other sources?
What position does the majority of the scientific community hold in these issues?
How does this claim fit with what we know about how the world works?
Are the arguments balanced and logical?
What do you know about the sources of funding for a particular position?
Where was evidence for competing theories published?
Critical Thinking
An ability to evaluate information and opinions in a systematic, purposeful, efficient manner
Based on logic and reason, critical thinking brings context, empathy, history and values to bear in…
Ten steps to Critical Thinking
What is the purpose of my thinking
What precise questions am I trying to answer?
Within what point of view am I thinking?
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..
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What concepts or ideas are central to my thinking?
What conclusions am I coming to?
What assumptions am I making?
If I accept the conclusions, what are the implications?
What would the consequences be….
Personal Attitudes to Think Critically
Skepticism and independence
Openmindedness and flexibility
Accuracy and orderliness
Persistence and relevance
Contextual sensitivity and empathy
Decisiveness and courage
Humility
Apply Critical thinking
Identify and evaluate premises and conclusions in an argument
Acknowledge and clarify uncertainties vagueness, equivocations and contradictions
Distinguish between facts and values
….
1/23: Lecture 3 - Early Earth Environment
Early atmosphere was nitrogen, methane, and carbon dioxide
Early earth first warmed by high levels of CO2
The sun was weaker, but it was hotter
Perhaps life was on comets, europa, and enceladus
“Building Blocks of life Found on Samples Collected from Asteroids”
Life from space?
Nasa’s Kepler Project
Anthropomorphize - to give a nonhuman thing a human form or human characteristics
Anthropocentric
1.) regarding humans as the universe’s most important entity
2.) seeing things in human terms, especially judging things according to human perceptions, values, and experiences
The first life on earth lived of off sulfur
Sulphur reduction created energy consumption
CO2 levels were higher in the past than today
It's very little today
EVERYTHING IS LOOKED AT FROM A HUMAN PERSPECTIVE
Methanogens secrete mathate (CH4) as well as CO2
Methane + CO2 created a powerful greenhouse effect
To much methagones creates a snowball ear
Gets colder then the methagons go down
Temperatures keep decreasing
Biology affects the earth again
Many organisms live under antarctica
Coal
Fossilized plant material preserved by burial in sediments and compacted and condensed by geological forces into carbon-rich fuel
Life changs the earth - James Lovelock
Gaia Hypothesis - the theory that living organisms and their inorganic surrounding have evolved together as a single living system that greatly affects the chemistry and conditions of earth’s surface
Gaia - Goddess of the Earth
Dimethylsufide (DMS) may act as a governor for global climate
Natural source of sulphur
What is considered evolutionary success?
Anthropocene - declare dawn of human-influence age
Nuclear bombs?
Lunar Anthropocene
1/25: Lecture 4 - Animal Domestication
Fertile Crescent
Animals were domesticated in this area
Sheep, pigs, cattle, goats
Domestication
Adapting or taming of wild species of plants or animals to be used by humans
Agriculture as an approach to meeting food need was a gradual process likely lasting thousands of years
Domesticated animals are a great model for understanding genetics, adaptation to new environment etc
Are made to adapt for humans and cant survive in the wild
Study of Domesticated Organisms Crucial to Darwin’s Concept of Natural Resources
Gets theory by watching what humans did
Auroch - Wild Cattle
First appeared in europe around 25,000 years ago
Forest animals
Aurochs was one of Europe's most important mammal species
Large organisms
Magnalidians - they worshiped the aurochs
The Carta Marina
A map that showed everything that was and you can to in the swedish peninsula
Olaus writes about aurochs that were so strong and savage that with its horns it lifted a soldier from their horse and dash him to the ground
Cattle Domestications
Some say cattle were domesticated about 10,000 years ago followed by sheep, goat, pigs and dogs
There a theory that says they were domesticated for worship
Cattles were domesticated in the near east then migrated with humans to Europe
it was easier to domesticate near eastern cattle than europeans cattle
At least 2 distinct domestication ever for Bos primigenius
Taurin and Zebu
Bos primigenius taurus
Angus, charolais, fighting bull, texas longhorn
Bos primigenius indicus
Boran, indo-brazilian …
Cattle became completely depended on humans
The genetic diversity mirrored the activities of humans
Domestication of Pigs
Paintings and carvings of pigs have been found over 25,000 years ago
Have been one of agriculture best income source and a good source of protein
Relatives:
African Warthog
Barbarosa - SE Asia
Peccary
Pigs were made in to statuettes in ancient Persia
The pics spread across Asia, Europe and Africa
Pigs like eating about anything so you can stay longer in one place while sheep and cattle like micing to get the best grass
Dna data suggest
The time of divergence of the ancestors for the European and Chinese pigs is about 500,000 YBP
Pigs are domesticated more because its easier
European domestication was a direct consequence of the introduction of Near Eastern domestic pigs into Europe by early farmer
Domestication in middle east was different than in Europe
Once European wild boar were domesticated it worked better for European farmer
Wild Hogs live mostly in the south; they are very feral
Chicken Domestication
All come from Red Junglefowl - Gallus gallus murghi
Chickens are different because human made rice and chickens come to take it so humans domesticated them
Chickens were breed for eggs in milk until the 1900s
Chickens were grown to grow fast
1/20: Lecture 5 - Plant Domestication
More food = more people
larger population means larger intellectual population
Higher complex societies
Daniel Webster “When tillage begins,other arts follow. The farmers, therefore, are the founders of human civilization.”
All domestication happens at the same time
Genetic Variation: not all plants are identical some break easter than other
Domestication started out as an accident
Then they start selecting which ones they want to domesticate
Instead of natural selection humans our selecting it, we override what happens in natural selections but natural selection still happens 24/7
Wheat Domestication
2 wild wheat collected to eat and in the process humans put them together so it creates another type
They cross together and then humans select and make it better
It happened until humans made bread wheat
Wild wheat species break easily and because it has a smooth end it drops into the soil and dispurses
The domesticated ones have a coarse end so it doesn't dig into the groups since humans want plants to stay in one place
Sorghum contains sugar, used for fuel (?)
Domestication in wheat led to changed in grain size, shape, and etc
Egyptian Tomb Paintings
Chopping trees, cultivation land, along the Nile Delta agriculture
Let the Nile flood and then put the plant seeds and let animals walk on it
Beer Archeology
Alcohol is easier to make than bread
Alcohol came from fruits rotting on the ground
Humans had it and it made them feel good so they started making it themselves
They drank alcohol for “hydration” since it was safer than drinking most waters (waters has bacteria and etc)
Some theories say that people were in an unaltered state of mind which is why they thought of cave drawing, art, medicine, and wtc.
Egyptians had medicinal wine 5,100 years ago, healed mind and body
Corn Domestications
Corn is man's earliest inventions
Aztects made human sacrifices to the corn god
Pellagra is a disease from a lack of nutrition when europeans used corn for everything it was created
Diversity is important since different kinds of corn are used for different usages
First Domestication - Popping
Pop-corn
Movie theaters didn't sell popcorn until the depression, they has popcorn venders in front
Caverns in Mexico were good place for corn
They used sand to pop the corn so that it wasn't hard
Bat cave, New Mexico
Found many variation in kernel size in the caves
Mexico is where the first Maize (CORN) was developed
Maya Civilization
About 250 - 900 AD
Forest Gardens are complex
The forest hardens were around their houses
Polyculture (restrictions cuz they cant make much)
Lets environment stay stable
Around 900 AD the population was 500 people per square mile and more than 2000 people per square mile in the cities
They start growing corn/maize since they needed a lot of food because of population increase
Had to burn down forests for the fields
Started having malnutrition that was show in the mayan bones
DON'T wanna burn down tropical rainforest the soil doesn't sustain it self
Water was very important to the Maaya because of the geology of the land, depended on rainfall for survival
Yocunte was the Mayans water supply
As population grew Yocunute weren't enough
SO the constructed Chultuns (cisterns)
Maya civilization suffered through 100 years of low rainfall
3-9 years with little to no rainfall
Roman Waring/ Medieval Warming
Earth is wetter due to increase water in the atmosphere
Vandal Minimum/Little ice age
Droughts are worse and more frequent
Maya turned to religion as a defense against drought
Maya tradition, caves and cenotes are also home of chac, the maya god of rain, and the entrance to Xibalba, the Underworld
Sacrifice artifacts, animals, and humans
Back fires cuz their water gets polluted
Built water filters
Theories for the Collapse of Maya Civilization: (1) Peasant revolt (2)
There's a people that are collecting a lot of seeds of plants just in case some comes up they want to have a “seed bank”
2/1: Lecture 5 - Native American Agriculture
Native American Plan use Timelines
10-8k years ago picking sunflower but not cultivating it
8-5k years ago found squash
5-3k years ago grew sumpweed
Plant Cultivated by Native Americans
Sumpweed Maeshelder
32% protein and 45% oil
Strong odor and skin irritant
By the time Europeansa colonizing sumpweed disappeared
1,000 AD - COmplex Agricultural System Based on 3 Major Crops
First crop was Cucurbits - Squash and Pumpkins
Beans
Common Bean - Phaseolus 5000 BC
Maize (CORN)
Excellent Cultivating Combination
First grow corn
Then put beans on the hill
twined around the corn
Then put the squash on the floor
It keeps ground from being dry and keeps weeds from growing
Nitrogen
Organisms need it to make amino acids, proteins, nucleic acids and other essential organic compounds
Cannot be used by higher Organisms until it is changed
Nitrogen cycle
Nitrogen fixing bacteria fix N2 into ammonia
….
Plants have Leghemoglobin
Sends oxygen around
How they make plant based meat taste like meat
Amino Acids
Used for Protein synthesis
Twenty Total
Human can synthesize 11 in their body
9 amino acids must come from the diet and these are referred to as Essential Amino Acids
Believed land was a gift to each generation
Land tenure
Native americans believed land should be owned by the village not just one person
They migrated together as a community once they ran out of resources
All village member could use communal lands not under cultivation for hunting, fishing, berry picking, gathering wood etc
They used woodland to get protein from animals
Domesticated animals only replaced woodland animals starting the 19th century
The kand system was used to survive through many things
This system resulted in equal share of the land
Prevented land hoarding for wealth and status
2/6: Lecture 6 - Early American Agriculture
Europeans come over thinking wilderness = scary unknown
“Environment of evil” wilderness & the american mind
Colonial Philosophy
Farming is used to create a surplus to be sold at a profit
Land is owned by individuals
Land is a valued commodity that is bought ans sold to create profit
Land not being farmed is wasted land and therefore native americans do not have legitimate title
Civilized people are farmers
European-deprived agricultural methods, cropping and raising stock
Wilderness = waste of land
Economic Factor
The Europeans thought that native american farming resulted in inadequate and improper use of land, a waste of time
^^ These attitudes resulted in justification im the change in ownership from Native Americans to the colonist
Europeans Dealing with Native Americans
Native Americans no real centralized government – Europeans tended to refer to Native Americans sharing similar cultures as tribes
A few tribe representatives were easier to deal with than many representatives of small villages etc.
Spanish governments recognized Native Americans land rights and dealt with them accordingly
French never recognized the right of Native American titles. They claimed right if possession by force
Dutch recognized native american rights
British looked away as colonist took NA land
Agrarianism
The belief that farmers feed everyone; they're the backbone of our society
Thomas Jefferson Agrarianism
Country people are morally virtuous and superior to city dwellers
Ownership of land was a natural right and ade the small scale farmers the bastions of freedom and independence, the vanguard of American democracy
All Wealth and virtue derived from the land and family farmers
Thanksgiving
Sarah Josepha Hale describes thanksgiving in a novel
Novel published in Boston in 1827
Show how well you're doing
Show how a man is taking care of his family
Have a roasted turkey
Sarah gives credit for the “first American Thanksgiving” to the settlers of Massachusetts Bay and not the Pilgrims
American Agrarian Tradition = Myth
**American Farmers moved quickly from subsistence farming to commercial farming.
Philosophy of the 1800 election
The founding fathers didn't know what they wanted the government to be
“The future of the nation lay in its abundance of natural resources”
Because of all the natural resources if we keep it all together and distributing it to everyone we can live in harmony
Cotton production
Critical to the Developing United States
First cotton grown in the US -> Coastal COtton
Imported from the West indies and grown in the coastal areas
Produces long stone fiber that are easily separated from the seeds
Low yielding
Can only be grown along south carolina and Georgia (?)
Upland Cotton
Originated in Mexico
High Yielding
Adapted to wide range of environments can be grown throughout the US
Especially adapted to the rich solid of delta regions
Eli Whitney - Cotton Gin (1794)
Before a slave could clean 1 pound of cotton lint a day
After 1 slave could clean 50 pounds of lint a day. The economics were now very favorable for cotton production
Cotton production soon spreads across the South
Spread slavery after cotton gin
Before people don't believe slavery was useful
After slavery was seen as moral and useful
**As agriculture grows it gets more labor intensive
Evolution of American Agriculture
Rapid growth in technology
Midwest the plow made all the difference
The shiny, self-polishing steel shat did not adhere to the sticky, gumbo soil of the Midwest like the cast iron shares did! This new tool revolutionized farming
JOHN LANE invented the first steel breaking plow
JOHN DEERE perfected the steel plow
Up until deere people went to a black smith to get a plow
He started to produce it , i
Prairie lands that were difficult to clear could be quickly put into agricultural production
Agricultural Tools in Early America
Scythe
Sickle
cradle
Animal Power & Improved Technology
Mechanization
Number of horses go down and number of tractors go up
Because of mechanization wheat production didn't need as much labors; # of farms went down and # of workers went down
**Farm Production went up in the 1940
Why American Agriculture Changed
In 1970s Richard Nixon was facing re-election
He started corn fuels so that he gets more voters
He starts planning to make more corn
Everything from cereal, to biscuits and flour used corn
2/8: Lecture 6 -
Eviroment, Agriculture and Society - CPSC 113
1/16: Lecture 1 - A Brief Review on the Complexities of Environment, Agriculture and Society
Coarse Goals
Food Safety
1/18: Lecture 2 -
Scientist?
Scientific Method
Some Scientific Assumptions
Hypothesis testing
Dr. Carl Sagan’s “Baloney Detection Kit”
Critical Thinking
1/23: Lecture 3 - Early Earth Environment
1/25: Lecture 4 - Animal Domestication
Fertile Crescent
Domestication
Study of Domesticated Organisms Crucial to Darwin’s Concept of Natural Resources
Auroch - Wild Cattle
The Carta Marina
Cattle Domestications
Domestication of Pigs
Chicken Domestication
1/20: Lecture 5 - Plant Domestication
Wheat Domestication
Egyptian Tomb Paintings
Beer Archeology
Corn Domestications
Maya Civilization
There's a people that are collecting a lot of seeds of plants just in case some comes up they want to have a “seed bank”
2/1: Lecture 5 - Native American Agriculture
Native American Plan use Timelines
Plant Cultivated by Native Americans
1,000 AD - COmplex Agricultural System Based on 3 Major Crops
Nitrogen
Nitrogen cycle
Plants have Leghemoglobin
Amino Acids
2/6: Lecture 6 - Early American Agriculture
Colonial Philosophy
Economic Factor
^^ These attitudes resulted in justification im the change in ownership from Native Americans to the colonist
Europeans Dealing with Native Americans
Agrarianism
**American Farmers moved quickly from subsistence farming to commercial farming.
Philosophy of the 1800 election
Cotton production
**As agriculture grows it gets more labor intensive
Evolution of American Agriculture
Rapid growth in technology
Agricultural Tools in Early America
Animal Power & Improved Technology
Mechanization
**Farm Production went up in the 1940
Why American Agriculture Changed
2/8: Lecture 6 -