Food Animal Production

Question 1

Algal bloom

Answer 1

A rapid increase in the population of algae, often the result of excess nutrients in the water. Some algal blooms are toxic to humans and marine life. See runoff.

Question 2

Aquaculture

Answer 2

The farming of aquatic organisms for food, using tanks, constructed ponds or enclosures where their living conditions and feeding are controlled.

Question 3

Climate Change

Answer 3

A significant, lasting change in temperature, precipitation, humidity or other measures of climate.1 The term often refers to the current trend toward higher average global temperatures (global warming) alongside increased frequency and severity of droughts, heat waves, flooding, hurricanes and other weather events. See greenhouse gases.

Question 4

Concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO)

Answer 4

A large industrial food animal production facility. A CAFO might at any one time be raising hundreds of dairy cattle,2 thousands of hogs3 or hundreds of thousands of chickens4 in crowded indoor spaces. Large beef CAFOs house thousands of cattle in outdoor feedlots.2

Question 5

Dead Zone

Answer 5

An area of the ocean where most aquatic life cannot survive because the water is depleted of oxygen. Nutrient pollution from fertilizer and manure runoff contributes to dead zones.5,6

Question 6

Field to retail

Answer 6

The span of activities from food production through food retail. See supply chain.

Question 7

Food Safety

Answer 7

The science and practice of protecting the food supply from contamination by disease-causing organisms, harmful chemicals and other threats to health.

Question 8

Greenhouse gases

Answer 8

Gases that trap heat in the atmosphere. The accumulation of these gases causes global warming, an increase in average global temperatures. Greenhouse gases from human activities and natural processes include carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O). See climate change.

Question 9

Grower

Answer 9

In industrial food animal production (IFAP), growers are people who own facilities in which they raise hogs and chickens indoors until they are ready for slaughter. See integrator.

Question 10

Horizontal integration

Answer 10

The expansion of a corporation, through mergers or takeovers, to include other businesses competing in the same type of enterprise. For example, a sports drink manufacturer may acquire a competing brand of sports drink. See industry concentration.

Question 11

Industrial food animal production (IFAP)

Answer 11

A model of breeding, feeding, raising and processing animals and animal products for food. It is characterized by housing large numbers of animals under confinement in densely packed, highly specialized facilities. Animals receive specially formulated grain-based feeds that often contain growth-promoting drugs.3,4,11,12 See concentrated animal feeding operation.

Question 12

Integrator

Answer 12

In industrial food animal production (IFAP), integrators are the corporations that typically own the animals, supply specially formulated feed and specify how animals will be housed and maintained.15 See grower and vertical integration.

Question 13

Manure lagoon

Answer 13

An outdoor pool for storing and treating animal waste. See manure and waste treatment.

Question 14

Open ocean aquaculture (OOA)

Answer 14

Raising fish in offshore pens or cages that are free-floating, secured to a structure, anchored to the ocean floor or towed by a boat.17

Question 15

Pathogens

Answer 15

Microorganisms that cause disease upon infecting a host organism. Pathogens include certain viruses, bacteria and fungi.

Question 16

Recirculating aquaculture system

Answer 16

A closed-loop system of raising fish in indoor tanks. Water flows from the fish tank to a treatment process and then back to the tank. See aquaculture.

Question 17

Rotational grazing

Answer 17

Moving animals to new areas of pasture on a regular basis. Rotational grazing helps to prevent soil erosion, promote pasture growth and spread manure evenly over land.18

Question 18

Runoff

Answer 18

Water from rain, snow and other natural or human sources that flows over land and washes into waterways. Runoff often carries pollutants it encounters along the way, such as excess nutrients and agricultural chemicals.

Question 19

Sustainable

Answer 19

Able to be maintained in the long term. It has been argued that for agriculture to be sustainable, it must be ecologically sound20 (practiced in ways that minimize harms to the environment), economically viable (allowing farmers to make an adequate living and produce sufficient food supplies) and socially just.21 Sustainability has been described more broadly as “meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.”22