Untitled Flashcards Set

Agricultural Revolutions

• First (Neolithic) Agricultural Revolution: The beginning of farming marked by plant and animal domestication; spread through routes like the Roman Empire, Silk Road, and Columbian Exchange from hearths such as the Fertile Crescent, Indus Valley, Southeast Asia, and Central America.

• Second Agricultural Revolution: Occurred during the Industrial Revolution (1600s–1700s); introduced new technology and farming methods that increased food production, led to better diets, longer lifespans, and larger farms.

• Green Revolution (Third Agricultural Revolution): Used high-yield seeds, chemicals, and mechanization to boost food output, especially in developing nations; however, it caused environmental damage and was costly.

Von Thünen Model

• A model explaining land use based on distance from a market:

  • First Ring: Dairy and market gardens (perishable)

  • Second Ring: Wood for fuel (heavy to transport)

  • Third Ring: Crops and pasture

  • Fourth Ring: Grazing livestock

• Assumes flat land, same climate, and one market.

• Today: Improved transport allows food to travel farther; wood replaced by other fuels; multiple markets exist.

Types of Societies & Farming

• Hunter-gatherer societies: People who hunt and gather food rather than farm; nomadic.

• Commercial farming: Growing crops or raising animals to sell.

• Subsistence farming: Growing food to feed one's family/community.

• Shifting Cultivation: Farmers clear and burn land, use it until nutrients are depleted, then move. Common in Southeast Asia, Latin America, and Sub-Saharan Africa.

• Pastoral Nomadism: Moving with animals seasonally in dry areas where crops can’t grow.

• Intensive Subsistence (Wet Rice Dominant): High-labor farming in areas with suitable climate for rice.

• Intensive Subsistence (Wet Rice Not Dominant): Farming of grains like wheat/barley where rice can’t grow.

• Plantation Agriculture: Large-scale, single-crop commercial farming in tropical areas.

• Mixed Crop & Livestock: Crops feed animals; animals provide manure and profit.

• Dairy Farming: Intensive agriculture focused on milk products; common in NE USA and NW Europe.

• Mediterranean Agriculture: Commercial farming in Mediterranean climates; crops like grapes, olives, and seasonal livestock movement (transhumance).

• Market Gardening: Small-scale fruit/vegetable farming for local markets; relies on migrant labor.

• Ranching: Extensive grazing of animals in dry regions; common in the Western US and similar climates.

Agricultural & Food Concepts

• Fair Trade: Ensures fair pay and benefits for farmers/workers in developing countries.

• Aquaculture: Farming of fish and aquatic organisms under controlled conditions.

• Environmental impacts of food production: Includes deforestation, water pollution, and loss of biodiversity.

• Luxury Crops: Non-essential, high-value crops like coffee, tea, bananas, and cacao.

• Desertification: Land degradation into desert-like conditions, often due to human activity.

• Gender roles in agriculture: Women make up 40% of the global agricultural labor force; 70% in subsistence-based regions.

• Organic Foods: Positives include job creation and natural practices. Drawbacks: costly, labor-intensive, requires more land, and may cause deforestation.

• Challenges of feeding the global population: Issues include population growth, climate change, water scarcity, food waste, and infrastructure limitations.

• Contemporary agriculture challenges: Include climate stress, soil/water damage, chemical reliance, and the need to produce more food sustainably.

• Bid-rent theory: Land value/use intensity decreases with distance from the market; closer land is used for high-value, perishable goods.

• Interdependence of regions: Different regions depend on each other for food, resources, and services.

• Intensive farming: Agriculture using high labor/capital on small plots (e.g., plantations, mixed crop/livestock, market gardening).

Food Deserts

• Food Deserts: Urban or rural areas with limited access to fresh, healthy food. Causes include:

  • Long distances to food stores

  • Poor public transport

  • Store avoidance in low-income areas

  • Health effects: More fast food consumption → obesity, etc.

  • Mapped by: comparing food access vs. population, income, transport, and demographic info

  • Reasons:

    • Economic: Poverty limits healthy food choices.

    • Political/historical: Zoning and discrimination prevent investment in certain areas.