Chapter 9 - Geography of Agriculture Flashcards
globalization
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
T/F: Spatial variations in agriculture have been indelibly impacted by globalisation*
True
To eat a traditional American breakfast, we require the products/supplies from numerous places around the world
subsistence ag
production is not for sale but is consumed by the producer; requires manual labour, small scale production, limited technology/machinery
commercial ag
production is primarily for sale, and profit; uses heavy machinery and technology, and is highly mechanised
World Ag Regions: Subsistence ag
shifting, wet rice farming, pastoral nomadism, mediterreaneann
ALL in tropical areas + Africa, Asia, Southeast Asia
World Ag Regions: Commercial ag
mixed farming, dairying, large scale grain, ranching, plantations
ALL in North America, Europe and areas of European expansion
describe differences in Developed vs. Developing Countries Agricultural Production
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
culture’s impact on agriculture production
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)
profitability of land and its effect on cost of land
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
economic rent
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
rent ceiling
the maximum rent a piece of land can be charged for using the land
T/F: we have passed peak agricultural land
True
T/F: agricultural production is decoupling with ag land use
True
T/F: Back in 1950 it took 150 hours to produce 1 hectare of crop, now that figure is down to 1 hour
True,
through ag mechanization, fertilizers, and crop varities
agribusiness
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)
location theory
“competition among land uses, fought according to rent-paying abilities, results in a spatial patterning of those land uses”
von Thunen agricultural theory
Developed a normative/ideal model that showed where agricultural activities should be practised (at what distance from the hypothetical market)
von Thunen: crop theory & intensity theory
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
normative theory
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’’
economic operator theory
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
Rational choice theory
Rational choice theory: how people would act based on completely rational decisions; an application of economic operator to other aspects of life
satisficing behaviour
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
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
True
T/F: Livestock is the fastest growing segments of ag
True
Raj Patel argued that food consumption around teh world can be divided into __________ and __________
(both start with ‘s’)
stuffed and starved
Access to food in developing countries is limited, and calorie consumption is much lower than developed countries
food insecurity
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
where in the world is food waste highest
Highest in less developed countries, like Sub-Saharan Africa, where they don’t have facilities to preserve food (refrigerate or dry it)
foodscape
spaces of food consumption, production and retailing that exist at a range of scales from global to local
food deserts
food swamps
low access to food
disproportionate access to unhealthy food items
urban agriculture
Urban Agriculture: the practice of growing fruits and vegetables on small plots or shred community gardens within city limits
food sovereignity
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
fair trade
a third-party certification program that supports good crop prices for farmers in less developed world and to support environmentally sound practices
community-supported agriculture
direct to consumer arrangement (farm to table); farmers guaranteed buyers for fresh produce at guaranteed prices
ag restructuring
In agriculture, this could be movements of capital from one level of the production process to another, or the reorganisation of production
does the importance of agriculture increase/decrease with economic growth
decrease
