Human Geography: Food and Agriculture Flashcards
What are the three factors affecting food consumption?
- Level of development
- Physical conditions (climate)
- Cultural preferences
Amount of food an individual consumes
Dietary Energy Consumption
What are the three leading cereal grains?
- Maize (corn)
- Wheat
- Rice
What is the leading crop in the world?
Maize (corn)
Where is wheat the main crop?
- Developed countries
- Central Asia
- Southwest Asia
Where is rice the main crop?
- East Asia
- South Asia
- Southeast Asia
What country has the highest consumption of food?
United States
What is a cause for the high obesity rates in the U.S.?
Pesticides in produce
Protein needed for growth and maintenance of human body
Nutrients
What source of food do developed countries get most of their protein/nutrients?
Meat products
What source of food do developing countries get most of their protein/nutrients?
Cereal grains
Dietary energy consumption continuously below minimum requirement for maintaining a healthy life and carrying out light physical activity
Undernourishment
____ million people in the world that are considered undernourished
780
On average, world produces _______ food to meet dietary needs
enough
Deliberate modification of Earth’s surface
Agriculture
Characteristics of Agriculture
- Cultivation (to care for) of plants
- Rearing of animals to obtain sustenance or economic gain
Any plant cultivated by people
Crop
Characteristics of Subsistence Agriculture
- Developing countries
- Provides food for direct consumption for farmer and family
Characteristics of Commercial Agriculture
- Developed countries
- Production of food primarily for sale off farm
What is the farm size like for commercial agriculture compared to subsistence agriculture?
- Larger
- Smaller number of farms
- Mechanization (fertilizers, herbicides, and GPS)
- Largest amounts of capital
% of farmers in developed countries
3%
% of farmers in North America
1%
% of farmers in developing countries
42%
What are tropical regions of Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, and Southeast Asia being replaced by?
- Logging
- Cattle ranching
- Cash crops
Characteristics of Pastoral Nomadism
- Herding of domesticated animals
- Dry climates
Characteristics of a Plantation
- Form of commercial agriculture in developing regions
- Tropics and subtropics
- 1 or 2 crops: cotton, sugarcane, coffee, rubber, and tobacco
Where is wet rice dominant
East and South Asia
Characteristics of Developing Agricultural Regions
- Shifting Cultivation
- Pastoral Nomadism
- Plantation
- Wet Rice Dominant
What are the 6 developed agricultural regions?
- Mixed Crop and Livestock
- Dairy Farming
- Grain Farming
- Livestock Ranching
- Commercial Gardening and Fruit Farming
- Mediterranean Agriculture
Characteristics of Mixed Crop and Livestock
- Integration of crops and livestock
- Corn (#1), soybeans (#2)
- Most crops fed to animals
- Involves crop rotation
Where is dairy farming located?
- Near population clusters (Northeast U.S.)
- Milkshed
What is a milkshed?
ring surrounding a city
Characteristics of Grain Farming
- Primarily for human consumption
- Regions too dry for mixed crop and livestock farming
–> Ex: Great Plains of North America
______ is most important for flour
Wheat
Characteristics of Livestock Ranching
- Commercial grazing of agriculture over an extensive area
- Arid or semi-arid lands
- U.S. is leading producer of chickens and beef
Characteristics of Commercial Gardening and Fruit Farming
- Truck Farming (tomatoes, apples, lettuce)
- Southeast U.S.
- Specialty Farming
Crops that have limited by increasing demand
Specialty Farming
Examples of specialty farming crops
- Strawberries
- Mushrooms
- Peppers
Lands border Mediterranean Sea and places that share similar physical geography (California)
Mediterranean Agriculture
What are examples of crops grown in Mediterranean Agriculture?
Olives and grapes
Capture of wild fish and other seafood living in waters
Fishing
Cultivation of seafood under controlled conditions
Aquaculture
World’s oceans divided into ___ major fishing regions
16
___ areas with largest fishing yield in Pacific
3
About ____ of fish caught from ocean is consumed directly by humans
3/4
Fish consumption increased _______ rapidly than population growth
more
Capturing of fish faster than they can reproduce
Overfishing
Overfishing causes ___ reduction in some fish (tuna)
90%
What are the 4 challenges farmers face?
- Loss of agricultural land
- Agriculture and Water Supply
- Food Prices
- Drug Trade
About ___ of world’s land area used for agriculture
38%
Highest demand for water is __________
agriculture
What is the greatest challenge to world food supply?
food prices
What things could affect food prices?
- Poor weather
- High demand
- Smaller productivity
- Use of crops as biofuel
Some ________ countries grow crops for drugs
developing
What are examples of crops grown for drug trade?
- Heroin
- Cocaine
- Marijuana
Practice that preserves and enhances environmental quality
Sustainable Agriculture
What kind of agriculture is organic farming an example of?
Sustainable Agriculture
____ seeds are genetically modified to survive
GMO
