346 MIDTERM #2 Flashcards
what is the difference between the idea of a good diet in the 1930’s compared to today and WHY?
1930’s: beef, sugar, dairy and veg
today: fruit, veg, lean meat, seafood
different because majority of people were under-fed so a “good diet” promoted food that would cause weight gain
today people are told to avoid sugar, dairy and red meat because the majority of people are over-fed and need to loose weight/avoid health issues
is there a relationship between income/education and obesity?
YES
- directly related
- inverse relationship (more money/education = u can afford better food and prolly have been taught to eat healthy)
what % of BC is self-sufficient?
~52%
that means we depend on imports for half of our food
how has the amount of farmland vs. the amount of farmers changed in BC since 1930ish?
- area of farmland DOUBLED
- number of farmers decreased from 15% of ppl to 2% of ppl in 2001 (100,000 famers down to 60,000 famers in 2001, prolly even lower now)
are agricultural areas spatially concentrated? if so, where?
YES
- concentrated around urban areas
- SW corner of BC and Peace river area (central northern far eastern)
- one quarter in all farms located in lower mainland
when did food welfare emerge and why?
1980’s
- gov’t funded welfare shut down so ppl began new approaches to feeding poor individuals
- food banks (salvation army)
- community gardens
Harold Innis and his theory
Economic geographer in 40’s-50’s
“staple theory” : Canada’s culture, history and economy have been shaped by the exploitation and exports of main staples (fur, wood, fish, mined metals and fossil fuels)
where was the shift of regional employees in BC in the 1960-70’s and WHY?
people moved from Van. Island and coast into interior
- old growth forests pretty much all exploited by 70’s
- development of power and other infra (pipelines, oil…) in the interior/north
how has the average farm size in BC changed since 1931?
1931 - very small farms, average size is ~50 acres
2001 - growing, average size about ~125 acres
BC has small farms compared to canada’s average BUT the land in BC has a higher value than the average value of the rest of canada’s farmland
how has the $ value of farmland in BC (per acre) changed since 1930?
1930 - ~50 bucks
2000- ~2,000 bucks
today probably WAY more expensive
which regions in BC have the highest % of farmland
Greater Van (13%) Fraser Valley (13%) Peace River (9%) Southern Okanagan (8%)
How many farms located on Van island?
~2,738 farms
13% of bc’s farms
how many farmers in BC earn more than 500,000 $$ per yr?
less than 5%
average gross earnings on farms in BC, Fraser Valley and Greater Van
BC: less than 100,000 $
Fraser/Van: 250,000-350,000 $
BC food production, export and import $$ relative rates (2007)
we produce about 3 billion $ worth of food
BC exports about 1.5 billion
BC imports about 2 billion
importing more than we export even tho we produce enough (monetary wise)
HOWEVER, pattern of production and imports very depending on WHAT TYPE OF FOOD it is
Types of food that BC imports, exports and produces the most
import: fish, fruits+nuts, veggies
export: fish
produces: fish, animals meat
% of production in dairy, meat, fish, fruit and veg (BC)
dairy - 98% (we good) meat - 75% (we mostly good) fish - 68% (we aight) fruit - 42% (half of the ppl aint gettin fruit) veg - 27% (only rich ppl gettin veg)
averaged out - BC is ~52% self sufficent
ALSO - these categories are spatially concentrated so regional self sufficiency is prolly higher/lower in each category in certain regions
LHA
local health area
HOW do ppl figure out the amount of self-sufficiency in a given LHA?
you need to know legit estimates of local production and consumption and then u can compare these rates to find out the level of self-sufficency
HIGH prod/LOW consump : high self-sufficiency
LOW prod/HIGH consump: low self-sufficency
which foods do we eat more of, less of or the same amount of (comparing 1999 to 2006)
(kgs/per capita/per year)
MORE: dairy, fruit
LESS: meat, milk, veg
SAME: eggs, grains
Food that we consume AND produce the MOST IN BC (IN ORDER FROM MOST TO LEAST)
- veg
- fruit
- grains
- meat
- dairy/milk
- eggs
VFGMDE
how are production amounts measured for crops vs. animals products?
crops: # of kg of food produced per hectare of land
animals: # of kg food produced per animal
most self-sufficient regions in BC from MOST to LEAST (FINVC)
- Fraser valley (89%)
- Interior (78%)
- Northern (50%)
- VIHA - Van Island (22%)
- Coastal (5%)
largest producers of plant/animal foods ON THE ISLAND
- Cowichan
2. Courtenay
what do differences between regions levels of self-sufficiency depend on?
population size and main agricultural product
which food group are we very self-sufficient in on VAN ISLAND and which groups are not?
self sufficient: dairy
not: veg, fruit, grain
how will local/global production be affected by climate change?
- hard to exactly predict
- most likely it will effect fruit in the okanagan the most b/c of decreased water supply
how much/from where do major sources of emissions occur?
doing aight in terms in emissions from ag….. in total ALL food production accounts for only 4% of BC emissions
BUT… of that 4%……….
agriculture = 33%
livestock = 50%
where does Canada import the most fruit and veg from and WHY could this become a problem in the future?
- USA (cali) - 60% fruit, 70% veg comes from USA
- Mexico
- China
- Chile
- could become a problem b/c drought in cali could possibly effect fruit/veg growth in future
(and others)
aspects of food production with lowest and highest emissions
low = transportation
high = manufacturing of fertilizer, heating and electricity in greenhouses
Health and nutrition policy makers need to take a more (term) approach in order to (what?)
HOLISTIC approach to food security, specifically by better understanding the dynamics of:
- food production
- import, export
- distribution
Nutritionists are increasingly advising people to eat more …. ?
vegetables, fruit, grain, and fish
in the last 20 years, Except in the case of fish, average production of grains and vegetables has….? and fruit production has……?
grain and veg production declined steadily over the past 20 years and fruit production has increased this is driven by wine production
what 3 main things do you need to know in order to identify the most “at risk” regions for food insecurity?
- regional food self-sufficency
- if the places we import from are going to be affected by climate change
- vulnerability of populations to diet-related illnesses
BC self-sufficiency % (GVFDEM)
Veg 45% Fruit 48% Grain 11% Meat 115% Dairy 57% Eggs 100%
balanced self-sufficiency
extent to which a give LHA produces a balance of plant and animal foods to meet consumption needs of it’s population
well balanced regions in BC
- concentrated in the southwest, southcentral AND northeast part of BC
- Okanagan (SC)
- Fraser valley (SW)
- peace river valley (NE)
*Van island is NOT very balanced except for courtenay and cowichan regions
how do we measure dietary health within a region?
Standardized Mortality Ratios (SMR): ratio between observed # of deaths and expected # of deaths
regions with highest risk of food insecurity/vulnerbaility to climate change AND characteristics of these regions
- most of west coast
- most of Van island
- diagonal from NW corner down to SE notch
CHARCTERISTICS:
- zero balance
- poor / rural
- low self-sufficency
- poor dietary health
Where are dairy self-sufficient regions spatially concentrated in BC?
Fraser Valley, Armstrong, Creston
Where are meat self-sufficient regions spatially concentrated in BC?
pretty evenly distributed throughout BC, tend towards the center tho
Where are veg self-sufficient regions spatially concentrated in BC?
Fraser valley
Where are fruit self-sufficient regions spatially concentrated in BC?
Okanagan Valley and lower Fraser valley
What are some predictions about change to veg and fruit production due to climate change and why?
- southern/interior fruit and veg production depends on irrigation from glacier-fed waterways
- predicted that glaciers will melt and waterways will dry out in the next few decades
- also threats from high risk of flooding in fraser valley/southern regions
what is ironic about the relationship between meat production and climate change in BC?
- meat prod. is the most resilient/largest food sector in BC
- reinforces climate change but is the least effected by climate change
WHAT needs to be incorporated into food planning in order to slow/reverse food insecurity?
- climate change adaptation strategies (fruit irrigation plans in interior, flood pland for fraser valley, less GHG emissive dairy and meat strategies…)
- better infra for food production in local areas to help make them more self-sufficient and resilient
WHAT can Van Island do to better out food situation?
- convert land used for non-food stuff into land that is used for food stuff
- better understand impacts of climate change on dairy production because dairy is the main sector of van island’s food system
differences in highest canadian food consumption types in 1920’s, 50’s and 70’s
20’s: wheat, milk, potatoes
50’s: wheat, meat, milk, potato
70’s: meat (specifically beef), wheat, milk, potato, sugar
changes in MILK consumption in canada since 1920’s
- peaked in 1945 (WW2)
- HUGE drop (50% decrease) in 1950’s
- 1962 starts to increase again
- steady decline from 80’s-today
pattern of potato, veg and fruit consumption 1920’s-today in Canada
- huge potato decline 1930’s-50’s, steady since then
- steady increase of fruit and veg since 1960
- slight decline of veg in 2000 until today
pattern of refined sugar consumption in Canada 1920’s-today
- rapid/steady increase 30-40’s (during the depression)
- dropped rapidly in WW2
- increased again in 1950, steady until 1970
- slow decline until today
- we still eat a shitload of sugar today tho
pattern of meat consumption in canada 1920’s-today
- meat consump DOUBLED (50-100 kg) from 1920’s to today
- poultry increased from 10% in 1930’s to 40% today
- mainly beef, pork and poultry
- lamb not really eaten alot ever
- fish increase in 1990, steady since then
specifically, beef, pork, poultry pattern of consump between 1980’s-today
beef: lil steady decline
pork: steady
poultry: steady increase
cheese consumption pattern since 1926
HUGE STEADY INCREASE (6x)
-from 2 kg/per capita to 12 kg/per capita
fat consumption pattern since 1926
1930: 15 kg/per capita - mostly butter
1960’s: major/steady increase in veg oils
1996: PEAKED - 30 kg/pc
today: decreased to 27.5 kg/pc
What were some major changes in canadian diets up until 1950?
less potatoes more beef and chx more refined sugar 30% more fat (veg oil) less milk
What were some major changes in canadian diets since 1950?
more veg and fruit more meat less refined sugar more cheese more cereal more total consumption
pattern of drink consumption from 1960-today
milk: slow/steady decline
soft drinks: increased from 70’s-2000’s, decreased since then
fruit juice: steady incline since 1960’s, steady from 1995-today
pattern of TOTAL FOOD AND DRINK consumption since 1960’s
-steady increase from ~575 kg/pc in 1960 to ~700 kg/pc today
= 1/3rd (33%) increase since 1960
-peaked in 2002: ~750 kg/pc
GOOD changes in diets over the centrury
more fruit and veg more cereals/grains more meat less sugar leveling off fat intake
BAD changes in diets over the century
more cheese (pizza effect)
replacement of milk by pop
increase in total amount eaten
increase in potatoes (french fries)
