Agriculture now and choice topics Flashcards
How much of the world’s food is still produced by small family farms?
~3/4.
What is the advantage of small farms vs large scale agriculture?
Small farms produce a larger variety of food but larger farms produce a huge amount of one particular crop.
Where was the greenhouse example given in class? How big was it?
RedSunFarms in Mexico, a greenhouse that is 30 hectares big (~42 soccer fields).
How is light intensity controlled in the greenhouses we talked about in class?
With GH plastic and different paints.
Why would higher than atmospheric CO2 be maintained in a greenhouse?
Increases photosynthesis in the plants.
How can greenhouses be heated?
Solar, geothermal, or natural gas.
What is the yield (in kg/m^2) of peppers grown in a high-tech greenhouse? What about a conventional greenhouse? A field?
High-tech: 45 Kg/m^2
Conventional: 20-25 Kg/m^2
Field: 5 Kg/m^2
If the highest quality vegetable products from greenhouses go to international exports, what happens to the second grade product?
The lesser quality product is distributed for national sale.
Why is it less efficient to grow vegetables in Canada that to truck them in from elsewhere?
The fuel cost of transport is less than the cost of heating a green house locally.
What is the significance of common camas here in the Pacific Northwest?
Eaten as a starch by local first nations.
What part of common camas is consumed?
The bulbs which make up the camas “roots”.
How is camas prepared before consumption? Why?
Must be cooked for a long time to be digestible. Often cooked with lichen to make carbohydrates more available.
What lichen is used in camas cooking? How much (%) does this improve carbohydrate availability?
Wila (Bryonia fremontii)(hair lichen), increases availability by ~74%.
Springbank clover, a pea-tasting first nations crop in the legume family, was often grown alongside ______, from the ____ family.
Grown alongside silverweed, from the rose family.
What family does northern rice root (indian rice, eskimo potato, etc) belong to? How was it historically consumed?
From the lily family, steamed or boiled for consumption.
What plant produces canola oil? What family is this from? How much of the seed is oil?
Produced from the rape plant in the mustard family. The seed can contain 44% oil.
What molecule is canola oil particularly rich in?
Mono-unsaturated fatty acids.
What plant product is refined to make maple syrup?
Sap from trees in the maple family, mainly sugar maple.
Where is most of the world’s maple sugar produced?
3/4 of the world’s maple sugar is produced in Quebec.
What plant family do apple trees belong to? Where did they originate?
Part of the rose family, native to central and western Asia.
What characteristic of the apple tree life cycle means that it cannot be grown in warm climates?
It needs cold temperatures in order to flower.
How much of the world’s apple production is sold as fresh fruit? How many varieties are widely cultivated?
Only ~12 commonly sold varieties. 50% of production eaten as fresh fruit.
How many apple varieties are grown at the Plant Genetic Resource Unit of Cornell University? How many more are stored as seeds?
2500 varieties grown, 500 more stored as seeds.
When might apples have been brought to North America?
Brought over by early settlers with the intention of making cider.
What is Johnny Appleseed known for?
Spreading apple seeds throughout the US East coast and Midwest.
What are the most commonly fermented foods?
Dairy, cabbage (kimchi, sauerkraut), soy (miso), etc.
How is kombucha fermented?
Using a symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast (SCOBY).
Why might foods have been traditionally fermented?
A method of preservation.
What are the natural benefits of food fermentation.
Increases micro-nutrients, improve gut microbiome, aid digestion, improve health/immune system.
