Unit 4 Flashcards
1
Q
Food System
A
- People involved in the food system is more than grocery store workers
- The whole food system needs sustainable practice for economic success
- Sustainable = Contributes to health and well-being of these people
2
Q
What is Agriculture
A
The practice and science of farming, including growing crops and raising livestock
3
Q
What is Aquaculture
A
The cultivation of aquatic animals and plants (fish, shellfish, seaweed) in natural or controlled environments
4
Q
Why do we Need Agriculture and Aquaculture
A
- To make enough food to survive
- 2nd greatest source of employment after tertiary industry
5
Q
Topography
A
- It is the physical features of the surface of the earth (eg, mountains, valleys bodies of water)
- It influences the types of crops and animals that can be raised in that area
- Is the land flat/sloped, rocky/soil, well-drained/swampy, and elevation
6
Q
Latitude (Climate)
A
- Distance from the equator
- Determines temperature, amount of rainfall, winds
7
Q
Climate
A
- Average long term weather conditions
- (weather = day-to-day)
- Determines growing season ( >7 degrees celsius)
- Growing period: The period of time between the last frost in spring and first frost of the fall
- Frost kills annual plants
8
Q
Microclimates
A
- Can be as small as one, as large as many hectares
- Eg, Peace Valley, B.C.
- Rocky mountains funnel warm Pacific air into an area typically dominated by Arctic air
- Eg, Annapolis Valley, N.S.
- Located between 2 mountains ridges
- Results in mild temperatures perfect for fruits and vegetables
- Eg, Osoyoos, Southern B.C.
- The only desert in Canada
- Has 2 microclimates
- Harvests the earliest fruits and vegetables in all of Canada
9
Q
Climate Change
A
- Climate change = Long term weather patterns that are altered through himan activity
- Impacts agriculture by altering the growing conditions of a region (eg, flooding, drought, intense summer heat)
- Drought and extreme rain can lessen crop yields
- Rising temperatures and longer growing season can be positive locally but globally it is more negative than positive
- Farmers in less developed countries are more dependent on climate than other countries that have a greater capacity to “Change the climate”
10
Q
Water
A
- If there is not enough rain, you need to plant a different crop or use irrigation (water provided artificially)
- If not rain, maybe groundwater (water held underground in the soil or in pores and crevices in rock)
- Eg, Oasis in Asif Imini Valley, Morocco - water seeps from the slope to the dry river bed, providing just enough water for crops to survive
11
Q
Soil
A
- Contains organic matter (plant and animal residue in different stages of decomposition)
- Contains living organisms
- The organic matter and living organisms in the soil contribute to soil health (= the capacity of a soil to provide plants with nutrients and water)
- Ideal farmland has nutrient rich soil that holds water well and resists erosion by wind and water
- Eg, Holland Marsh - was a swamp that was drained in the 1930s
- Part of Ontario’s Greenbelt
- Greenbelt = Large area that is protected greenscape made of farmland, rural communities, forests, wetlands (protected from urban development, supports local economy)
12
Q
Subsistence Agriculture
A
- Growing food to feed oneself, rather than sell to profit
- Usually farmers were only growing food and raising animals to support their own fam
- Possible trading for foods and other goods
- Common: Developing countries
- Not common: North America
13
Q
2 Types of Subsistence (usually) Agriculture
A
- Existence
- Intensive
14
Q
Existence (General Info)
A
- Type of subsistence agriculture
- Use a lot of land to produce small amounts of food
- Eg, nomadic herding of animals, moving where crops are grown
- When nutrients exhausted, move onto another area
- Eg, slash and burn (swidden) - nutrients in soil gets washed away in warm wet climates so farmers clear trees by burning them to grow crops for a few seasons
- Ash from the burned vegetation adds another layer of nutrients to the soil, allows the soil to regenerate…repeat across large areas of land
15
Q
Intensive
A
- Type of subsistence agriculture
- Use small amount of land
- Work efficiently
- Produce relatively large quantities of food
- Common in densely populated countries eg, East, South, and Southeast Asia
- Don’t waste land
- Paths are as narrow as possible
- Very little crop is grown to feed animals
- Eg, rice paddies
- Eg, terrace hillsides of river valleys
- Double cropping = When growing season is long enough plant 2 crops in succession of each other
- Eg, factory farms = Intensive automated system of raising animals for human consumption started in the 1930s
16
Q
Problems with Existence
A
- Deforestation:
- Maturing age of the removed trees is much longer than the following period used by the farmers. (Swidden rotation is between 5 and 8 years, and the rainforest trees have a 200-700 year cultivation cycle)
- Erosion:
- Roots and temporary water storages from trees are lost and unable to prevent nutrients from leeching away
- Nutrient loss:
- As a result of erosion, fields may gradually lose the fertility they once had. The result may be desertification (land becomes a desert)
- Biodiversity loss:
- Various plants and animals that lived there are swept away (result in extinction) slash and burn often practiced in tropical regions where biodiversity is extremely high, so extinction may be magnified
17
Q
Why Do We Need To Keep Trees
A
- Need to keep carbon in trees, or huge carbon release in the air –> greenhouse gas effect
18
Q
Problems with Intensive
A
- Produce large amounts of animal waste (air and water pollution)
- Large amounts of animal waste –> ammonia harmful to people (cancer, cardiovascular disease, stroke)
- Perfect place for viruses to mutate and spread to humans
- Inhumane - large number of animals live in extremely small space with no sun or fresh air, and no regard for their welfare (eg, chickens de-beaked, pig and cow tails are docked, dehorned)
19
Q
Conventional Farming Methods
A
- All other types of farming that is not an alternative method
- Try to grow as much as possible (high crop yield)
- Use of fertilizer and pesticides
- Monoculture = growing large quantities of only one crop (easier)
- But difficult to control weeds and pests depletes nutrients in soil, soil erosion … not sustainable
- Conventional Tillage
- When farmers use machines to turn over and loosen soil
- It leaves soil exposed to rain, win –> erosion of topsoil needed to grow crops
- Also kills the microbes and insects that form healthy soil biology
20
Q
Cash Crops
A
- Growing crops only for selling it
- Farmers forced to meet yields as per their contract
- Success is dependent on world supply + demand
- Choice of crop becomes not for food purpose (animal feed, make ethanol for fuel, plastics, fabrics)
21
Q
Water
A
- If there is not enough rain, you need to plant a different crop or use irrigation (water provided artificially)
- If not rain, maybe groundwater (water held underground in the soil or in pores and crevices in rock)
- Eg, Oasis in Asif Imini Valley, Morocco - water seeps from the slope to the dry river bed, providing just enough water for crops to survive
22
Q
What is a Sustainable Food System Comprised Of
A
- Meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs
- Environmental Sustainability
- Economic Sustainability
- Social Responsibility
23
Q
Environmental Sustainability
A
Ecologically sound food systems (doesn’t deplete natural resources), protect and conserve natural environment (soil, water, air)
24
Q
Social Responsibility
A
- Build human health and enhance the quality of life of farmers and workers through the system
- Nutritious food is available accessible + affordable to all
25
Q
Economic Sustainability
A
Farmers obtain a price for their products that covers the cost of production and allows them financial well-being, agriculture must generate employment
26
Q
Guerilla Gardening
A
Planting in areas not allowed to (illegal)
27
Q
Greenhouse Food Production
A
- Canada greenhouse food production increased a lot since 1990s because demand for off season vegetables
- Its own ecosystem, grows all year round
- Ontario law has high standards so that it doesn’t harm environment (eg, permits and licenses, for water use and gas/fuel for heating)
- Some use solar panels, biomass (decomposition of organic material gives off heat) for heating
28
Q
Hydroponics
A
- When veggies are grown in a greenhouse but only in nutrient rich water (no soil)
- Farmers monitor water nutrient levels
- Water is recycled back to the plants
29
Q
Aquaponics
A
- Similar to hydroponics
- Except with fish
- The waste from fish is used as nutrients for plants
- Self-watering, closed loop system
30
Q
Vertical Gardening
A
- Can be hydroponics or not
- Can be freestanding or attached to a wall
- Indoors or outdoors
31
Q
Sack Garden
A
- Very productive, low cost sack planter garden
- Small, portable garden is good for areas where the gardener may have to continually relocate
- Also good for areas where there is little or no healthy soil
- Due to their vertical nature, they are efficient in terms of using water
- Started in Kenya to combat food security issues
32
Q
Keyhole Garden
A
A raised garden bed that has composter in the middle
33
Q
Aquaculture
A
- AKA fish farming
- Fastest growing food production activity in the world
- Provides 20% of animal protein that people eat
- Increase in Canada 4x in the last 20 years
- Produced for Canadians and for export
- Can be indoors (tank) or outdoors (pens)
- Salt water or fresh water
- Problem: Salmon aquaculture infecting Pacific wide Salmon with parasites
34
Q
Cultured Meat
A
- Meat grown in a lab (no slaughter of animals)
- Addresses factory farming pollution –> ween meat-eaters off traditional meat cuz vegan diets unappealing, and plant-based meat replacements (eg, Beyond Burger, Plant-Life) are not healthy and not good replicating the texture and flavour of conventional meat
- Small scale of cultured meat production requires a relatively high use of energy and therefore carbon emissions
35
Q
Crop Rotation
A
- When you change the crop that is grown on the same land over a number of successive years
- Helps control weeds, insects, disease
- Most importantly, replenish soil nutrients and reduce soil erosion
- You need to know what crop needs what nutrient
- Then also need to know what crop will leave that nutrient after harvesting
36
Q
Cover Crop
A
- Crops grown but not for harvest
- Planted off-season
- In Canada, plant cover crops during the fall to protect the soil from erosion from melting snow or heavy rainfall that happens in spring right before planting (via roots)
- During planting, don’t rip it out… It decays and releases nutrients into soil
37
Q
Intercropping
A
- When 2+ crops are planted in the same field at the same time
- Support biodiversity, limit pest outbreak
- Maximize space (tall plants = short plant shade)
- Companion planting
38
Q
Companion planting
A
When 2 diff plants support each other’s growth
- Use/provides certain nutrients to each other
- Ex: Marigold
39
Q
No Till
A
- Instead of turning over the soil, just make holes in the field and drop seeds in them
- Soil will hold more moisture, keeps the nutrients and beneficial microbes
- Save time, labour, money
40
Q
Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
A
- Use mulch to suppress weeds
- Introduce beneficial organisms that will attack the pests
- Use fans in orchards so that mild breeze stops pests from landing on the fruit
- Put netting on the plants to prevent animals and birds from eating them
41
Q
What are some of the stumbling blocks John and Molly encountered as they began to establish the farm
A
42
Q
What was Alan York’s goal for the farm
A
- Highest biodiversity level possible
43
Q
What steps were taken to heal the soil
A
- Ripped out trees
- Build composte piles
- Rebuild irrigation pond
- Bring in animals to revive nutrients
44
Q
What types of animals did John and Molly bring to the farm
A
- Chickens
- Live stock gardening dogs
- Ducks
- Cows
- Sheep
- Pigs
45
Q
How many varieties of fruit trees did they plant
A
75
46
Q
Why does Alan keep stressing the importance of biodiversity
A
Self regulating
