Ch.12 Review Questions: Food Production and the Environment

Core Case Study: Growing Power and Urban Food Oasis

• What is a food desert?A food desert is defined as an area that has limited access to affordable and nutritious food, often found in urban environments where grocery stores are scarce, leading to reliance on convenience stores and fast food options that typically offer unhealthy food choices.

• Benefits of Growing Power farm:Growing Power farm has positively impacted its community in multiple ways:

  1. Fresh Produce Access: It provides fresh, locally-grown produce, improving the overall diet and health of residents in the community.

  2. Combatting Food Deserts: By establishing a reliable food source, it addresses the issue of food deserts directly, making nutritious foods more available to those who previously had limited options.

  3. Educational Programs: The farm offers educational initiatives, teaching community members about sustainable farming practices, nutrition, and healthy cooking, empowering them to make healthier choices.

  4. Promoting Sustainable Agriculture: It showcases sustainable farming techniques, such as composting and polyculture, that can be adopted by others in the community.

  5. Community Involvement: The project fosters community spirit and involvement, encouraging local participation in farming and food production, enhancing social cohesion.

• How does the farm showcase the three scientific principles of sustainability?The farm exemplifies three key scientific principles of sustainability as follows:

  1. Environmental Health: It emphasizes practices that protect the ecosystem, such as maintaining soil health through composting and reducing chemical inputs.

  2. Economic Viability: The farm creates job opportunities and supports local economies by providing fresh produce and farming resources, promoting economic stability within the community.

  3. Social Equity: Growing Power farm promotes inclusiveness and improves access to healthy food for all community members, working to eliminate food inequality.

Section 12.1: Importance of Good Nutrition

• Key Concepts: Essential nutrition is critical for maintaining health and preventing diseases, highlighting the importance of balanced diets.

• Basic health requirement: Adequate nutrition is fundamental to health, enabling the body to resist diseases, support growth, and maintain appropriate bodily functions.

• Chronic undernutrition vs. chronic malnutrition:

  • Chronic undernutrition (hunger): Refers to insufficient food intake leading to starvation, energy deficiency, and vulnerability to infectious diseases.

  • Chronic malnutrition: Occurs when nutrient-rich foods are inadequate, resulting in deficiencies despite enough caloric intake. Chronic malnutrition can lead to impaired development and long-term health issues.

• Famine: A severe food shortage affecting a substantial portion of a population, resulting from factors such as drought, conflict, or economic instability, causing extreme hunger and often leading to mortality.

• Statistics on chronic hunger and malnutrition: An estimated 690 million people worldwide suffer from chronic hunger, and many more are affected by various forms of malnutrition, including stunting and wasting.

• Effects of Vitamin Deficiencies:

  • Vitamin A deficiency: Can lead to blindness and an increased risk of infectious diseases.

  • Iron deficiency: Causes anemia, fatigue, and reduced immunity.

  • Iodine deficiency: Results in thyroid issues and developmental delays in children.

• Overnutrition: Characterized by excessive intake of nutrients, particularly calories, leading to obesity and related non-communicable diseases such as heart disease and diabetes. Approximately 70% of U.S. adults over the age of 20 are classified as overweight or obese.

• Largest contributor to hunger and malnutrition: Poverty is the primary issue contributing to both hunger and malnutrition, highlighting the importance of food security, defined as universal access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food.

Section 12.2: Food Production

• Key Concept: Modern food production methods are vital to ensuring food security and sustainable practices in agriculture.

• Three systems supplying food: Industrialized agriculture, traditional subsistence agriculture, and plantation agriculture are the dominant systems for food supply worldwide.

• Definitions of agricultural practices:

  • Irrigation: The application of controlled amounts of water to crops to assist in growth.

  • Synthetic fertilizers: Manufactured substances that provide nutrients to crops, aiming to enhance soil fertility but can cause environmental issues if overused.

  • Synthetic pesticides: Chemical agents used to eliminate pests but can harm beneficial organisms and lead to pesticide resistance.

• Industrialized agriculture: Characterized by high input, high yield farming practices utilizing advanced technologies and extensive land use.

• Plantation agriculture: Large-scale cultivation of cash crops (like coffee, sugar, and rubber) primarily in tropical countries.

• Traditional agriculture distinctions:

  • Traditional subsistence agriculture: Small-scale farming to meet the needs of the farmer's family.

  • Traditional intensive agriculture: Involves more labor and resources for greater yields than simple subsistence farming.

• Polyculture: Growing multiple crops in the same space, promoting biodiversity, reducing pests, and improving soil health.

• Organic agriculture: Farming practices that avoid synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, focusing on ecological balance and sustainability. USDA Certified Organic food adheres to strict guidelines ensuring organic standards.

• Green revolution: Refers to significant agricultural advancements in the mid-20th century, particularly the development of high-yield varieties (HYVs) of crops and increased use of fertilizers and irrigation methods. Two notable green revolutions occurred in the 1940s and 1960s, greatly influencing global food production.

• Farm subsidies: Government support aimed at stabilizing farm income and ensuring food security, though they can lead to overproduction and market distortions.

• Hidden costs of food production: Include environmental damage, health impacts, and loss of biodiversity that are not reflected in food prices.

Section 12.3: Environmental Effects of Industrialized Food Production

• Key Concept: Industrialized food production creates substantial environmental challenges and risks.

• Harmful effects: Impacts include diminished biodiversity, pollution of soil and water sources, air pollution, and health risks from pesticide exposure.

• Soil erosion: Refers to the process of topsoil loss due to anthropogenic factors like deforestation, agricultural practices, and water runoff, leading to deterioration of soil health and agricultural productivity.

• Desertification: The transformation of fertile land into desert through drought, deforestation, and improper agriculture, reducing land’s agricultural potential and leading to loss of biodiversity.

• Water usage: Approximately 70% of the world's freshwater is used for irrigation, putting pressure on water resources.

• Dust bowls: Areas severely affected by soil erosion and degradation, leading to agricultural collapse and loss of productivity, notably observed during the 1930s in the United States.

• Soil pollution causes: Often result from excessive use of agricultural chemicals and poor waste management practices.

Section 12.4: Sustainable Pest Control

• Key Concept: Sustainable pest control approaches minimize ecological impacts and promote biodiversity while managing pest populations effectively.

• Pests: Organisms detrimental to crops; natural pest control mechanisms include predators and ecological balance.

• Synthetic pesticides: Chemical solutions that may lead to pest resistance, ecological harm, and negative health effects.

• Integrated Pest Management (IPM): A comprehensive strategy combining biological control, habitat manipulation, and the careful use of chemicals to manage pests sustainably, reducing reliance on harmful synthetic pesticides.

Section 12.5: Sustainable Food Production

• Key Concept: Identifying and implementing practices that improve the sustainability of food systems is critical for future food security.

• Soil conservation: Involves methods to prevent soil erosion and maintain fertility, such as no-till farming, cover cropping, and using organic amendments.

• Hydroponics: A method of growing plants without soil using mineral nutrient solutions in water, allowing for more efficient and controlled crop production.

• Organic fertilizers: Natural fertilizers derived from plant or animal sources; common types include compost, manure, and bone meal, promoting soil health without the chemical inputs of synthetic fertilizers.

• Preventing soil salinization: Managing irrigation practices, including drip irrigation and crop selection, helps mitigate soil salinization impacts.

Section 12.6: Improving Food Security

• Key Concept: Strategies aimed at ensuring food security for all populations are essential for combating hunger and improving public health.

• Government approaches: Involves providing subsidies, implementing regulations to support local agriculture, and investing in food assistance programs to improve access to food.

• Local food benefits: Buying locally supports local economies, minimizes transportation emissions, and enhances community resilience in food systems.

• Food waste: Approximately 30-40% of the food supply in the U.S. goes to waste; strategies to cut waste include better inventory management, meal planning, and improving distribution systems to donate surplus food.

• Urban farming: Initiatives that leverage city spaces for agriculture can significantly increase fresh food access, empower communities, and reduce food deserts.

Key Ideas of the Chapter:

1. The importance of sustainable food systems for individual health and environmental integrity.

2. The urgent need to improve food security to address global hunger and malnutrition issues.

3. Innovative practices and policies are critical to drive sustainable food production and ensure resilience in food systems.