Unit 3 Flashcards
How many hunger deaths are cause by famine?
Fewer than 10%
What is starvation?
Extreme hunger that occurs over a long period of time
What is malnutrition?
A medical condition from poor health cause by a diet of too little or too much nutrition
What is chronic hunger?
A decrease in food supply because of an inability to earn enough money or grow enough food
How many hunger deaths are cause by chronic hunger?
Over 90%
What started the green revolution?
1943 - Rockefeller foundation set up a research group to develop more productive varieties of wheat that could help feed the growing population of Mexico
Who headed the Rockefeller project? What year did he win the Nobel Peace Prize?
Dr. Norman Borloug, 1950
What did Dr. borloug create?
High-yield varieties (HYV)
- Dwarf plants - focused energy on
seeds and not inedible parts
(stems)
- respond better to fertilizers
- grew faster - more than one crop
per yearWhat were the successes from the high-yield varieties?
World grain production increased
Rice and wheat prices dropped
Developing countries focused on social issues instead of food issues
Helped preserve rain forsests
What were some concerns of the Rockefeller projects?
Wealthy farmers benefited because they could afford special fertilizers
Loss of genetic diversity
Soil loss ability to grow food after multiple harvests
Small farmers lost their jobs
Developed countries benefited by selling pesticides
What is biotechnology with regards to food?
The application of biological processes to creat GMOs to increase food production
Explain the concerns of GMOs.
- super bugs (immune to pesticides)
- its new, so unknown long term side effects
- GMO seeds lose ability to product crops in the log term
- “terminator seed” gene could escape and devastate the gene population
What percentage of Canadian farmers
Grow food organically?
1.5%
What are the pros of of organic farming?
No pesticides, GMOs or herbicides are used
What are the cons of organic farming?
- more expensive, so less affordable
- use of manure could lead to water contamination
- need bigger pieces of land to create lower crop yields
Whats a locavore?
An individual that only eats foods that has been grown locally
What is a freegan?
A person who eats only what other people throw out
What is monoculture?
Growing one crop of large plots of land because it is more profitable and efficent
What are the negatives of monoculture?
Heavy reliance on pesticides, loss of biodiversity, habitat destruction
What is colonialism?
Europe colonizing the world
What is the Mercantile System?
Colonies provided natural resources to European countries to put on sale
What are examples of biotechnology in real life?
Enviropig - doesn’t let off greenhouse gases
Franken Fish- grows extremely large to produce more food
What is neo-colonialism? How can it use foreign aid?
- Developed after WWII
- strong counties dominate weak country by using money and trade
- country gives foreign aid to manipulate them (i.e. WTO giving Madagascar money to not cut down the rain forests and set-up reserves)
What is keynesian economics? Give examples
The government has to prevent unemployment during hard times by increasing spending
I.e. Roosevelt’s New Deal, Harper’s Canada Action Plan, Obama’s Stimulus package
