Unit 5 - Agriculture Vocab Flashcards
Commercial agriculture
characterized by the integration
of different steps in the food-
processing industry, usually
through ownership by large
corporations
Agribusiness
The deliberate effort to modify
a portion of the Earth’s surface
through the cultivation of crops
and the raising of livestock for
sustenance or economic gain
Agriculture
The cultivation of seafood
under controlled conditions
Aquaculture (aquafarming)
Agriculture undertaken
primarily to generate products
for sale off the farm
Commercial agricultural
Any plant gathered from a field
as a harvest during a particular
season
Crop
The practice of rotating use of
different fields from crop to
crop each year to avoid
exhausting the soil
Crop rotation
Degradation of land, especially
in semiarid areas, primarily
because of human actions such
as excessive crop planting,
animal grazing, and tree cutting. Also known as semi arid land degradation
Desertification
The amount of food that an
individual consumes, measured
in calories
Dietary energy consumption
Harvesting twice a year from
the same field
Double cropping
Physical, social, and economic
access at all times to safe and
nutritious food sufficient to
meet dietary needs and food
preferences for an active
healthy life.
Food security
A living organism that possesses a novel combination of genetic material obtained through the use of modern biotechnology
Genetically modified organism
Rapid diffusion of new
agricultural technology,
especially new high-yield seeds
and fertilizers
Green revolution
The growing of fruits, vegetable,
and flowers
Horticulture
The area surrounding a city
from which milk is supplied
(how far the milk can travel
without spoiling)
Milkshed
A farming practice that leaves
all of the soil undisturbed and
the entire residue of the
previous year’s harvest left
untouched on the fields.
No Tillage
Capturing fish faster than they
can reproduce
Overfishing
A system of planting crops on
ridge tops in order to reduce
farm production costs and
promote greater soil
conservation
Ridge tillage
Agriculture designed primarily
to provide food for direct
consumption by the farmer and
the farmer’s family
Subsistence agriculture
The seasonal migration of
livestock between mountains
and lowland pastures
Transhumance
Dietary energy consumption
that is continuously below the
minimum requirement for
maintaining a healthy life and
carrying out light physical
activity
Undernourishment
A plant that is deliberately planted, protected, cared for, and used by humans and is genetically distinct from its wild ancestors
Domesticated plant
An animal that depends on people for food and shelter and is different from its wild ancestors in looks and behavior as a result of close contact with humans
Domesticated animal
The arrangement of shapes on earths surface
topogroghy
A farming operation wholly owned by a family of family corporation that sells its products to some defined market, either directly or through a cooperative
family farm
In agriculture, a primary product that can be bought and sold, such as coffee, rice, or milk
commodity
A series of links connecting a commodity’s many places of production, distribution and consumption
commodity chain
cost advantages to manufacturers that arise from high volume production because the average cost of production falls with increasing output
economies of scale
a commitment to satisfying human food and textile needs and to enhancing the quality of life for farmers and society as a whole, now and an the future; it requires a balance among feeding the growing population, minimizing environmental impacts and ensuring social justice
sustainable agriculture
a living organism, including crops and livestock, that is produced through genetic engineering
Genetically modified organism; GMO
The cultivation and harvesting of aquatic organisms under controlled conditions
aquaculture
the farming of saltwater species such as shrimp, oysters, and marine fish farmers
mariculture