Chapter 9 - Geography of Agriculture

Question 1

globalization

Answer 1

complex combination of economic, political and cultural changes that have long been evident but that have accelerated markedly since 1980, bringing about seemingly ever-increasing interconnectedness of people and places

Question 2

T/F: Spatial variations in agriculture have been indelibly impacted by globalisation*

Answer 2

True

To eat a traditional American breakfast, we require the products/supplies from numerous places around the world

Question 3

subsistence ag

Answer 3

production is not for sale but is consumed by the producer; requires manual labour, small scale production, limited technology/machinery

Question 4

commercial ag

Answer 4

production is primarily for sale, and profit; uses heavy machinery and technology, and is highly mechanised

Question 5

World Ag Regions: Subsistence ag

Answer 5

shifting, wet rice farming, pastoral nomadism, mediterreaneann

ALL in tropical areas + Africa, Asia, Southeast Asia

Question 6

World Ag Regions: Commercial ag

Answer 6

mixed farming, dairying, large scale grain, ranching, plantations

ALL in North America, Europe and areas of European expansion

Question 7

describe differences in Developed vs. Developing Countries Agricultural Production

Answer 7

In developed world, farmers typically favour security and a relatively constant income over a life dedicated to the unlikely goal of profit maximisation

In the less developed world, they typically maximise product output for subsistence rather than profit

Question 8

culture’s impact on agriculture production

Answer 8

In some religions, animals are sacred and aren’t to be eaten, like pigs in Islam or cows in Muslim cultures

The need for wine in Christian cultures encouraged the spread of viticulture (wine production)

Question 9

profitability of land and its effect on cost of land

Answer 9

Different topography, different soil types, and elevation contribute to different crops suited for production, and this contributes to the amount a farmer can make by producing on that land

–> all influenced the rent ceiling

Question 10

economic rent

Answer 10

The income made above the minimum needed to bring a unit of new land into production at the margins of production is called the economic rent; it explains why land is or is not used for specific forms of production

Question 11

rent ceiling

Answer 11

the maximum rent a piece of land can be charged for using the land

Question 12

T/F: we have passed peak agricultural land

Answer 12

True

Question 13

T/F: agricultural production is decoupling with ag land use

Answer 13

True

Question 14

T/F: Back in 1950 it took 150 hours to produce 1 hectare of crop, now that figure is down to 1 hour

Answer 14

True,

through ag mechanization, fertilizers, and crop varities

Question 15

agribusiness

Answer 15

Agribusiness: A highly integrated form of transnational corporation in the agricultural, or food production, sector; typically highly capitalised, operating on a large scale (often across various regions), corporately owned, and vertically integrated (encompassing the growing, processing, and marketing of food)

Question 16

location theory

Answer 16

“competition among land uses, fought according to rent-paying abilities, results in a spatial patterning of those land uses”

Question 17

von Thunen agricultural theory

Answer 17

Developed a normative/ideal model that showed where agricultural activities should be practised (at what distance from the hypothetical market)

Question 18

von Thunen: crop theory & intensity theory

Answer 18

crop theory: argued that production location was influenced by weight and perishability of goods

intensity theory: argued intensity of production decreases the further away you are from market

Question 19

normative theory

Answer 19

optimal / ought to be outcome

'’the theory that represents what would ideally happen in a hypothetical situation; relates to Von Thunen’s theory of how an economic operator would react in certain situations’’

Question 20

economic operator theory

Answer 20

Economic operator: A model of human behaviour in which each individual is assumed to be completely rational; economic operators aim to maximise returns and minimise costs

Question 21

Rational choice theory

Answer 21

Rational choice theory: how people would act based on completely rational decisions; an application of economic operator to other aspects of life

Question 22

satisficing behaviour

Answer 22

since people do not operate in complete rational form in practice, this theory describes how people really would act

assumes that the objective is to reach an acceptable level of satisfaction for the individual

Question 23

T/F: In North America, our diets consist of more proteins like milk, meat, and wheat; other parts of the world have more carbohydrate-heavy diets like rice and wheat

Answer 23

True

Question 24

T/F: Livestock is the fastest growing segments of ag

Answer 24

True

Question 25

Raj Patel argued that food consumption around teh world can be divided into __________ and __________

(both start with ‘s’)

Answer 25

stuffed and starved

Access to food in developing countries is limited, and calorie consumption is much lower than developed countries

Question 26

food insecurity

Answer 26

Food Insecurity: the inadequate or insecure access to food due to financial constraints; a serious public health problem in Canada; affects physical, mental and social health and costs our healthcare system considerably

Question 27

where in the world is food waste highest

Answer 27

Highest in less developed countries, like Sub-Saharan Africa, where they don’t have facilities to preserve food (refrigerate or dry it)

Question 28

foodscape

Answer 28

spaces of food consumption, production and retailing that exist at a range of scales from global to local

Question 29

food deserts
food swamps

Answer 29

low access to food

disproportionate access to unhealthy food items

Question 30

urban agriculture

Answer 30

Urban Agriculture: the practice of growing fruits and vegetables on small plots or shred community gardens within city limits

Question 31

food sovereignity

Answer 31

all people have the right to sufficient, healthy, and culturally appropriate food
Community supported agriculture: direct to consumer arrangement (farm to table), farmers guaranteed buyers at certina prices

Question 32

fair trade

Answer 32

a third-party certification program that supports good crop prices for farmers in less developed world and to support environmentally sound practices

Question 33

community-supported agriculture

Answer 33

direct to consumer arrangement (farm to table); farmers guaranteed buyers for fresh produce at guaranteed prices

Question 34

ag restructuring

Answer 34

In agriculture, this could be movements of capital from one level of the production process to another, or the reorganisation of production

Question 35

does the importance of agriculture increase/decrease with economic growth

Answer 35

decrease