UNIT 5: Chapter Fourteen - 5.11, Pgs. 343-335

Question 1

Challenges of GMOs

Answer 1

• GMO seeds are too expensive for poor farmers to use, in part because they are often sterile, so new seeds must be purchased each year.
• GMO seeds that are resistant to pests and herbicides might lead to the development of superpests or superweeds.
• GMOs might have potential long-term risks to consumers, such as organ problems or reduced immunity to diseases, that have yet to be identified and studied.

Question 2

Blue Revolution

Answer 2

Aquaculture is now the fastest-growing form of food production on the planet and is responsible for approximately 50 percent of the world’s seafood.

Question 3

Challenges to aquaculture

Answer 3

• High fish density in enclosures means diseases and parasites thrive and spread easily.
• Parasites and diseases can easily spread from fish in the enclosures to the nearby wild stock.
• Chemicals and antibiotics used to counter parasites and diseases can damage the ecosystem around the enclosures.
• Fish can escape pens and may breed or compete with native stocks of fish.
• Excess feed and the concentration of fish waste can produce dangerously high levels of organic matter in local bodies of water.

Question 4

Environmental challenges

Answer 4

Much of the environmental impact of farming comes from the use of chemicals. If too much fertilizer is applied, then the excess contaminates nearby water supplies, causing significant environmental damage. Pesticides, insecticides, and herbicides also destroy the natural ecosystem.

Question 5

Overgrazing

Answer 5

Occurs when farmers or herders have too many animals, they control too little land, or climatic conditions worsen and there is less pasture available than usual.

Question 6

Organic Foods

Answer 6

Crops must be non-GMO, produced without pesticides or synthetic fertilizers, and use sustainable growing practices.

Question 7

Value-added crops

Answer 7

Crops for which consumers are willing to pay more because of special qualities or because they are difficult to acquire: Organically grown crops and meats; Rare subtropical plants, such as passion fruit, cherimoya, longan, and star fruit; Grass-fed beef and free-range chickens and eggs.

Question 8

Value-added farming

Answer 8

Occurs when farmers process their crops into high-value products, rather than simply selling them as it comes from the field.

Question 9

Local-food Movement

Answer 9

Seeking out food produced nearby.

Question 10

Urban Farming

Answer 10

The production of farm goods within an urban area with the goal of providing locally grown food.

Question 11

Community Gardens

Answer 11

Use these to share agricultural products with family, friends, and perhaps those in need rather than as a business. Allow people to grow and harvest their own fresh food, grown organically.

Question 12

Vertical Farms

Answer 12

Grow crops inside in stackable trays, using greenhouses, artificial lights, and hydroponics.

Question 13

Hydroponics

Answer 13

Allows crops to grow without soil using mineral-enriched solutions.

Question 14

Community-Sponsored Agriculture

Answer 14

Brings producers and consumers into a type of partnership.

Question 15

Food Insecurity

Answer 15

When households lack access to adequate food because of limited money or other resources.

Question 16

Food Desert

Answer 16

A neighborhood where residents have little to no access to healthy and affordable food.

Question 17

Food Distribution System

Answer 17

A network of trade and transportation that get food from farms to consumers.

Question 18

Food Processing

Answer 18

The transformation of agricultural products into food or taking food items and transforming them into a different type of food.

Question 19

Tariff

Answer 19

Tax on imports.

Question 20

Quota

Answer 20

Limit the quantity of a good imported.