Feeding Humanity

Question 1

pop growth

Answer 1

has started to decline, most prominent in Asia and Africa, decreases are mostly in developed nations

Question 2

population pyramid

Answer 2

describes the age distribution of a pop across diff years

Question 3

stages of the population pyramid

Answer 3

1. high birth and death rate, short life expectancy
2. high birth rate, declining death rate, slightly longer expectancy, higher proportion of middle-aged ppl
3. declining birth rate, low death rate, long expectancy, increasing proportion of older ppl
4. low birth and death rate, longer expectant, higher dependency ratio

Question 4

4 significant periods of societal change that altered relationship with the env and led to rapid pop growth

Answer 4

• Paleolithic Period: humans learned to control fire, developed stone tools, promoted longer lifespans, capacity of tribes to hold ppl extended
• Agricultural Revolution: after the last ice age, groups of ppl congregated around water sources, formed communities that eventually became cities, transitioned from nomadic hunter-gatherer societies into settled agricultural communities, led to intensification of relationships between ppl and land
• Industrial Revolution: rural-to-urban transition, heavy reliance on fossil fuels and natural resource extraction, fueled more ag growth, better machinery, higher production, and more food to support a growing pop
• Medical-technological Revolution: increases in global communications, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, sanitation, and ag

Question 5

soil

Answer 5

living system, vital nexus in biogeochemical cycling of N, P, and C, involved in physical, chemical, and biological processes (like decomposition and respiration), has many organisms that interact, facilitates nutrient release, storage, and uptake

Question 6

layers/horizons of the soil

Answer 6

1. Organic - top layer with the most organic matter
2. Surface
3. Subsoil
4. Substratum
5. Bedrock - the lowest layer, mostly inorganic matter

Question 7

pedogenesis

Answer 7

slow and complex process of soil formation, begins with sediments and are often layered, can be easily interrupted, reversed, or nullified by changing inputs or catastrophes, soil is composed of mineral matter, organic matter, soil air, and soil water, developed by weathered parent material, organisms, optimal temp and moisture regimes, low rates of erosion or deposition

Question 8

soil classification

Answer 8

associated with bioclimatic conditions in which they form, key classification properties include colour, texture, pH, and structure

Question 9

desert soils

Answer 9

thin organic layers, top layer tends to be rocky

Question 10

grassland soils

Answer 10

thicker organic layers, contains salt layers

Question 11

tropical rainforest soils

Answer 11

low organic matter, prone to decay

Question 12

deciduous forest soils

Answer 12

thick layers, podzols, slightly acidic, humus layer, porous

Question 13

coniferous forest soils

Answer 13

acidic, low in minerals, nutrients, organic matter, and invertebrates, podzols, humus

Question 14

agriculture

Answer 14

domestification of flora and fauna, intensified thru the expansion of uses of soil and surfaces

Question 15

traditional agriculture

Answer 15

largely biologically-powered (human and animal muscle power), subsistence ag (done by families and communities to feed themselves), labour intensive, low input costs

Question 16

industrial agriculture

Answer 16

focuses on market commodities for profit, mechanized, commercialized, largely based on annual plants grown in monocultures (lack of biodiversity degrades the soil which requires fertilizers), high-cost inputs to boost yields

Question 17

green revolutions

Answer 17

involve a package of inputs and techniques (requires high energy and results in significant GHG emissions, large increases in synthetic fertilizers, and biocide inputs), allows the development of higher-yielding crop varieties thru hybridization (leads to significant yields but loss of biodiversity of crops), led to the creation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs, which may be unsafe and damage the env), involves irrigation (ag is the largest consumptive water user, requires large-scale water diversions)

Question 18

undernourishment

Answer 18

consuming little calories, mainly found in developing countries

Question 19

malnutrition

Answer 19

inadequate (amount and types of) calories, vitamins, and minerals

Question 20

overnutrition

Answer 20

consuming too many cals a day, mainly found in developed countries

Question 21

food systems

Answer 21

involves privatizing, processing, promoting, profiting, vertical integration, patenting, and monopolization; results in the loss of family farms, reduction of local community self-reliance, and an increase in contribution of food to ecological footprints

Question 22

livestock revolution

Answer 22

global shift towards intensive livestock operations (like feedlots and factory farms), involves high energy use and other inputs like water, grain feed, antibiotics, and fossil fuels, shift has driven growth in meat production and consumption, ethical concerns surrounding manure management, pollution, impacts of production inputs, and antibiotics/animal abuse

Question 23

impacts of overgrazing

Answer 23

• compacts soil and damages structure
• decreases water infiltration and aeration
• removes native grass
• exposes bare topsoil
• wind and water erosion
• invasive species can outcompete natives in the altered env
• decreases grass growth and survival

Question 24

impacts of agriculture on the soil

Answer 24

• compaction
• wind and water erosion
• desertification (transition from a productive landscape into a desert-like landscape)
• salinization
• waterlogging
• chemical contamination
• organic matter loss
• nutrient depletion
• reduced soil biodiversity

Question 25

impacts of ag on water

Answer 25

• consumptive uses and source depletion leads to extraction from surface waterbodies and aquifers, human-generated reservoirs, irrigation channels, and drainage, interbasin transfers, disruption of aquatic, riparian, and wetland food web stribution
• contamination from fertilizers, manure, eroded sediments, and biocides

Question 26

impacts of ag on the atmosphere

Answer 26

• increased particulates like dust and smoke (degrades air quality)
• polluting emissions of GHGs, VOCs (volatile organic compounds), nitrogenous compounds, and biocides
• climate modification on a micro and mesoscale
• desertification

Question 27

problems associated with biocides

Answer 27

• persistence of residues which don’t break down easily
• bioaccumulation (builds up in soils, waters, and organisms)
• biomagnification (accumulation transfers across webs)
• residues in food
• pest resistance (leads to adaptation and evolution amongst pests, which requires new chemicals and creates a cycle)

Question 28

impacts of ag on biota (the natural world)

Answer 28

• leads to habitat destruction
• disrupts natural food webs by introducing invasive species, suppressing pest species
• biodiversity loss in product species

Question 29

fisheries

Answer 29

involves the capture harvest of wild fish and shellfish pops, and production of cultivated (aquaculture, mariculture) animals and plants, can be small-scale or large-scale, involves unsustainable practices due to overfishing

Question 30

solutions: building sustainable agroecosystems

Answer 30

• mimicking natural ecosystem
• maximize use of organic ag
• reclaim degraded land
• restore and maintain soil health (thru organic matter, microbial diversity, infiltration and water-holding capacity, minimal tillage, and protection from erosion)
• maximize crop and land cover diversity (thru intercropping, perennial polycultures, and agroforestry)
• using integrated pest management

Question 31

solutions: organic ag

Answer 31

• emphasizes prevention of soil erosion
• use of organic fertilizers
• crop rotation and biocontrol
• no genetically-modified seeds
• reduced fossil fuel use
• renewables for generating electricity
• lower GHGs
• less pollution
• no antibiotics of growth hormones

Question 32

solutions: food-focused community design

Answer 32

• urban ag
• community gardens
• edible landscaping
• local food systems

Question 33

solutions: sustainable food systems

Answer 33

• maximize efficiency of production
• minimize transport and processing
• eliminate food waste