5.2: Terrestial food production systems and food choices Flashcards
The type of farming chosen and levels of food production will dependent on:
- enviromental conditions (weather favouring one particular crop)
- acess to technology (vehicles, feeding systems)
- Available financial funds to purchase land and inputs, such as seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, equipment and labour
- Cultural and environmental value systems that influence methods of farming
- Government and political initiatives
Outline intensive commercial farming
- Large-scale cereal production methods that are used in many developed countries
- monocultures
- based on economies of scale, where high inputs and technologies are employed to produce the highest yields at minimum production cost
How is intensive commercial farming done?
- High-yielding crop varieties
- fertilizers
- herbacides (kill weeds that compete with crops for space)
- mechanical equipment for large scale farming
- Automated technologies (increase yield reduce labour)
Enviromental impacts of intensive commercial farming
- Pesticides kill non-target organisms (DDT)
- Fertilizers can result in nutrient run off → eutrophication
- Water abstraction for agriculture competes with other uses of limited water resources
- Mechanical equipment uses non-renewable fossil fuels
- mechanical equipment emits greenhouse gasses
- soil degradation → excessive irrigation, can cause salinisation
- loss of natural habitats
- loss of pollinators (bees endangered..)
Problems/impacts of intense animal production
- maximum input and minimum output
- high density = disease
- ethical impact
- growth hormones to promote faster growth
- might be residue in animal produce (milk)
- Use of antibiotics increases the risk of developing resistance within bacteria
State the inputs of the farming system
- Land
- Labor
- Resources (seeds, water, fertilizers, pesticides)
- Equipment
- Livestock
- Capital
State the outputs of the farming system
- Crops
- Livestock Products
- Income
- Environmental Impact
- Sustainability
- Food Security
- Employment
- Cultural Values
Organic farming- What are the differences with intensive commercial farming
- prohibits the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs)
- no chemical fertilizers
- restricts the use of chemical pesticides
Organic farming techniques
- Physical removal by hand of pests or weeds (no herbacide)
- Biological predators to reduce pests instead of synthetic pesticides
- green manure plants as a source of nutrients → alternative to synthetic fertilizers
- Crop rotation → mantains soil fertility
- livestock treated ethically. fed organically and not trapped
- more labour intensive
What do subsistence farming systems include
- shifting agriculture
- nomadic herding
- intensive subsistence farming
compare inputs and outputs of farming systems
Mira tablita 10 en el docs
What is inter-cropping
- when low growing crops can be planted between taller growing crops
- low crops provide ground cover and reduce weed growth, intercept water flow and prevent soil erosion
Factors that affect world hunger
- poverty
- poor infrastructure
- war
- food waste
Distinguish between thereasons for food waste in less economically developed countries and more economically developed countries (Give 2 for each)
(LEDCs)food loss tends to be associated with stages from production to the market.
1) transportation infrastructure may be poor
2) includessevere losses to pests
(MEDCs) food loss tends to be associated with consumer behaviour, together with food policies
- Food is unsold and disposed of as waste if it passes the ‘display by date’.
- Food is thrown away by the consumers if it exceedsthe ‘best before date’.
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Why does the demand for meat continue to rise
- Population growth
- Increase in affluence → ability to afford more meat
- Urbanisation
- Status value of buying and eating meat within some cultures
- in parts of Asia it can be prestigious to eat rare and expensive meat,demonstrating an individualswealth and position in society
- Increased levels of cheap meat production
- High protein content of meat
