EEB 498- Agroecology Flashcards
At the time of the Industrial Revolution, what was the general attitude toward the development of agriculture?
Generally very excited for the future of agriculture, agriculture would soon be like a factory
How did the wartime effort of WWII contribute to the attitude about farming in the US?
A very militant attitude towards “pests” and the sort.
Agriculture was seen as a part of the war effort – farmers were producing food as a weapon.
What was the attitude of the major pesticide companies toward the farming sector in the face of the anticipated underconsumption crisis of post WWII?
Companies stated that their products were a weapon in the war against insects
Farmers have to fight!
Put out lots of propaganda comparing Farmers to Soldiers fighting against Insects (represented as the Communists)
What was the general effect of the publication of Silent Spring?
Silent Spring pointed out the negative impacts of pesticides (biocides - killing all the biology not just pests)
Made people more critical about the use of pesticides
“Birth of agroecology” and “Birth of the environmental movement”
The chemical industry spent a lot of effort to not publish the book
Brought environmentalism, specifically pollution, into mind of the American public
In addition to the book Silent Spring, what may have been (according to lecture speculations) Rachel Carson’s main contribution to agroecology?
The use of possible biological pest control (natural pest control)
Describe George Washington Carver’s work – include all aspects and emphasize how they contributed to the current discourse on agroecology.
A scientist, educator became a professor at Tuskegee University and did research on plant physiology, the idea of agricultural expansion and brought the Jesup wagon to black farming communities to demonstrate to them the new technologies of agriculture (1906).
He particularly emphasized planting alternative crops to cotton (e.g. sweet potatoes and peanuts) to improve soil health and farmer livelihoods.
Describe the Howard/Matthaei team and what they did and how it contributed to the development of organic agriculture and eventually agroecology.
India: goal was to bring to Indians the wonder of modern agriculture. Once they arrived, they found out that they already knew what they were doing. They decided to study what the Indian farmers were practicing instead and wrote “An agricultural testament”
supported the idea Traditional agriculturists know what they are doing and we can learn from them
Who were the Diggers and what did they do and how is that related to agroecology?
Group of rural farmers: associated with utilization of the land since they didn’t have much access to their own land
protested/took political action against the current use/control of land by England
Describe the four pillars of agroecology and how they are related to Carver, Howard/Matthaei, the Diggers, and Rachel Carson.
Political Power: Challenging power in the agricultural sector
The Diggers: Protesting England’s use of land
Rachel Carson, challenging the chemical industry
Science: Bringing in science to the small-scale farming community
George Washington Carver, utilizing the Jesup Wagon to bring science education to farmers.
Nature: Introducing the ideas of ecological complexity
Rachel Carson: Direct observation of lessons from nature
Traditional Knowledge: Bringing farmers’ knowledge to the science community
Howard/Matthaei bringing Indian farmers’ knowledge to the “world” through “An agricultural testament”.
What does the sculpture “Departure” by Rowin Gillespie represent?
People during the Famine
The sculpture is a commemorative work dedicated to those Irish people forced to emigrate during the 19th century Irish Famine.
What was the population of Ireland before the potato famine, how many people died/left because of the famine, and what is the population today?
8.5 million before, today it’s 5 million
1 million died and 2 million emigrated during the famine.
Generally describe the geography of Ireland before the potato famine (location of industry, agriculture).
Agriculture was practiced throughout the country; based in both uplands and lowlands
Discuss the importance of peat, seaweed and sheep manure in Irish agriculture.
All important forms of fertilizer, each with infrastructure surrounding it
Discuss the notion of “infield” and “outfield” in the traditional Baille system.
Infield: Where plants grew, and where animals were brought to fertilize fields; Wheat and Barley
Outfield: Where animals grazed, and not much was grown; Pasture
What was the Rundale and Clatchan system?
Rundale: Land divided into discontinuous plots, cultivated and occupied by tenants who jointly lease it.
Clatchan: poor quality land where animals grazed
according to the Whelan paper - the clachan is the “village” where farmhouses were and where families lived, land holdings were organized communally and a kinship existed between families
Discuss the relationship between the collop and “commons” in the Baille system.
Communal land for grazing cows; 1 collop = 1 cow’s grazing area worth of land
Explain the interaction between infield and outfield in the Baille system.
Animals essentially brought what nutrients were in outfields (usually much larger area) to the infields via fertilization, making it good farming land.
Balance between the infield and outfield was carefully and communally managed
How does the work of Elinor Ostram relate to the operation of the Baille system?
“Managing the Commons” - Ostram studied traditional societies around the world. Ran counter to misanthropic (anti-human) ideas of western ecologists. Empirically demonstrated that traditional societies were highly ecologically sound.
Discuss the major changes imposed on Ireland with the expansion of potato production.
While Ireland exported wheat, Irish people grew and ate potatoes which were cheaper and easier to produce.
Population grew and was increasingly dependent on the potato
Irish farmers worked at starvation wages
How did the style of production of potatoes set the stage for the expansion of the pathogen, Phytophthera infestans?
Monocropping led to those issues
Increased potato production interrupted the traditional Baille system
What was the British response generally to the potato famine?
To supply alternative food sources
Partition bad from good potato parts
Food processing of bad potato parts
Alternative grains (mainly “Indian corn”)
Maintain grain from the east for industrializing England
Malthusian argument: too many Irish people - resulted in the government not wanting to do anything at all (not the fault of the British, but the Irish (too many kids)).
British felt responsible for taking care of all these colonies nearby
Malthusian argument – Evolved an excuse that placed the blame on the irish. Argument they reproduced too much, had too many kids, otherwise they wouldn’t have this problem
Why was grain production so important to the Industrial Revolution in England?
To feed the workers who worked in the industries of the IR
India, Ireland, China, US and other colonies all provided Grain imports to England
Who was Charles Edward Trevelyan and what was his ideology?
Fixed on the idea that the problem was too much population. “Malthusian”
Not colonialisms, but over population
Tied to ideas of racism against the Irish “they just keep breeding”
What was the experience of the Irish who migrated to the US at the time of the crisis?
Irish migrants came during a time of war and males were welcomed if they would join the military
There was lots of prejudice towards Irish people (The Irish were regarded as being in the same class as Black people in the United States)
By the 19th century, the population of Ireland was 8 million
About a million died and 2 million emigrated
Summarize the “lessons” from the Irish potato famine
Monocultures do not exist in nature (agriculture!)
Example of what happens in monocultures (little/no genetic variation leads to vulnerability and crops easily fall to disease)
Exporting food (has its problems): no example where there isn’t a famine without exporting food.. only exception is England
Cheap food policy: there was a political reason for the desire to have cheap food and feed the working class
Free trade vs. Fair Trade: invisible hand would solve everything
Racism and agriculture: Irish as inferior
Discuss the role of the English in Ireland, India and China with respect to agriculture, in the 19th century.
- Did not understand other systems of agriculture, and as such, tried to make them “better” via industrialization and favoring of English ideas over traditional ones
- Ultimately wanted agricultural products to go to their industry
A lot of starvation, but still considered a highly successful system
Ireland, India and China supplied England with grain
Between 19.5-30million people died of famine in India and China 30 years after irish potato famine; all while they were exporting grains to england
How did agriculture and colonialism make it possible for the British to rule the world?
By exploiting other countries, they were able to supply massive amounts of industry and military power. This allowed them to exercise control in places far away.
What was the impact of the Cuban Revolution on the Cold War?
In 1959, Fidel led the revolution against the colonial empire of the U.S., overthrew Batista who had implemented a police state
US (middle of Cold War) started saying that they would attack Cuba, so Cuba began focusing its efforts with the USSR
US response helped move Cuba towards the Soviet sphere
Threat of a good example if the anticolonial revolution actually worked
Soviet union defeated the nazi at the time and was very powerful.. they were in agreement about one thing
In the US it should be modernize, technolized, mechanized to show the benefit of capitalism, power status
In the soviet union it was the same to show the benefit of communism
What was the Special Period in Cuba?
A period of transition after the cold war characterized by many changes made to Cuba’s agricultural sector
In one year, 70% of ag production disappeared
Loss of inputs from the Soviet Union caused the collapse of industrial agriculture
Describe the state of agriculture in pre special period Cuba
Monoculture, heavy machinery, lots of use of pesticide
Heavy reliance on exports from Powerful countries - primarily USSR
Why did Cuban agriculture develop the way it did between 1959 and 1989, and how was that related to international politics?
Because that was seen as the way to modernize - new agritechnology was meant to show the “wonders of capitalism/communism” depending who was pushing it.
Despite the wish to become more self-sufficient, increased reliance on USSR
What are today’s (as of 15 years ago) “pillars” of the Cuban Revolution?
a. Universal Health Care
b. Universal Education
c. Defense
d. Ecology
What are organoponics?
Cuba’s new agricultural movement which started during the special period
Using a large proportion of organic matter to grow plants in, rather than just soil
Sophisticated Irrigation System
70% organic matter in the soil
What is the role of compost in Cuba’s agroecological transformation?
They always make/utilize compost - it’s very standard practice, to the point that it’s not considered ag without it
Describe the attitude of Cuban scientists toward soil fertility in the agroecological transformation.
People are highly educated in Cuba
Soil fertility is considered the highest indicator of agricultural productivity
Discuss the general philosophy of pest management in Cuba’s agroecological transformation.
Gradually making the change from artificial pesticides to microbiological “pesticides” - growing bacteria and fungi to kill the pests
CREES centers that are focused on developing these for pest management and geared to the specific crop
What is the role of agronomic education in Cuba today?
Agronomic education is central to education in Cuba today. Even very small “farm villages” have dedicated teachers and students are very advanced in their knowledge.
Some farmers behave more like capitalist, others seek a lot of gov’t help and give out the products to farmers for free
How does Cuba regulate farm markets?
State sector (cheaper and lower quality) vs. private (more expensive and better quality)
The private sector needs to give the gov’t a portion of the production as tax, and this is what becomes what the state sells
This discourages the market to stabilize prices because they sell right next to each other
Price varies on quality, hence why the state is cheaper
You can’t hire someone from outside your family to work at your farm stand
What is the “attitude” (as expressed in lecture) of Cubans about the rules and regulations surrounding the agricultural economy?
It’s constantly changing/flexible
They follow the laws, but if there are laws that don’t make sense they don’t follow them
What is the role of urban agriculture in the Cuban transformation?
Urban agriculture plays a vital role in Cuba’s food system, particularly in the form of farms closely surrounding urban centers and towns.
Farmers are seen as low class, so more people have moved to cities
High level of education at all ages
Small, garden plots assisted by organoponics
Countryside – bigger, can’t produce enough for the people. Hard to produce corn or rice, wheat has to be imported
They do grow sorghum, but it’s mostly for livestock
Cuba is still not self-sufficient – they depend on import for some crops
Discuss the political transformation initiated by President Obama and changes made by the Trump regime.
bama made great strides to mend the relationship between the U.S. and Cuba
Trump did not advance relations and reinstated the blockade
Biden is very unpopular because of what happened at the Summit of the Americas
Because Biden excluded Cuba, Mexico refused to participate
Third vignette: the Cuban system
Similar evolution as western conventional ag
Forced change in philosophy
Underlying political structure permits dramatic evolution (respond rather than plan)
Ecological focus emerges as dominant
Uncertain future - blockade is greatly impeding growth
Discuss the idea that agriculture is really nothing more than an extreme form of environmental management.
Classic concept agriculture
1. Hunting & gathering
2. Agriculture
3. Modern agriculture
Agriculture as extreme environmental management
Runs a spectrum from traditional aboriginal “hunting & gathering” to modern industrial agriculture (e.g. Monsanto)
Example: Huaorani “gathering” palm peach fruit, but actually planting 20 years before gathering
All people manage their environment in some way, agriculture as we typically conceive it is extreme in that it relies on short-term, intensive, management, control, and production for specific outcomes.
