Unit 5.2 Terrestrial food production systems and food choices Flashcards
Types of farming
- Pastoral (only animals)
- Arable (only crops)
- Mixed
Types of terrestrial food production systems
- Commercial farming
- Subsistence farming
Subsistence farming
provision of food by farmers
for their own families or the
local community (no surplus)
Commercial farming
takes place on a large, profit-making
scale, maximizing yields per area.
Intensive farms
take a small area of land, aim to have very high
output per unit area of
land.
Extensive farms
Large in comparison to the money and labour put into it
e.g. the cattle ranches of central Australia, where only a few
workers are responsible for thousands of acres of land
Cash crops
crop grown for direct sale or for market sales
cotton, coffee, cacao, tea or rice
Best agricultural land used and local farmers forced to use marginal land to grow food.
Lack of Food Security
Geographical imbalance between food production and food consumption.
Three main strands of food security:
- Food availability: sufficient quantities of food available on a consistent basis
- Food access: having sufficient resources to obtain appropriate foods for a nutritious diet.
- Food use: appropriate use based on knowledge of basic nutrition and
care, as well as adequate water and sanitation
Choice of food production systems influences
- Social factors
- urban/rural areas
- gender inequalities
- location
- consumer power - Physical factors
- temperature
- precipitation
- soil type
Geography
3. Economic factors
- cost of growing crops/livestock
- investment
- transport
- markets
- technology
- Political factors
- government policies - Cultural factors
- tradition
- diet requirements - Environmental factors
- evs - Religious factors
- requirements and restrictions
Sustainable farming methods
should cause a minimum impact to natural systems and involve the responsible use and management of global resources.
- Crop Rotation: growing different types of crops in the same area
- Agroforestry: Integrating trees and shrubs into agricultural landscapes
- Organic Farming: Avoiding synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, genetically modified organisms (GMOs)
How can we improve sustainability of food production systems
- Altering human activity to reduce meat consumption
- Increasing the consumption of locally, organically and seasonal food products
- Planting buffer zones
- Improve accuracy of food labels
Food waste
decrease in the quantity or quality of food resulting from decisions and actions by retailers, food service providers and consumers.
prevalent in both LEDCs and more MEDCs
Ways food is wasted
- Fresh produce that deviates from what is considered optimal removed from supply chain during sorting operations.
- Foods close to “best-before” date
often discarded - Large quantities of wholesome edible food unused from household kitchens and eating establishments.
CASE STUDY: Intensive beef production in the Cerrado and nomadic cattle grazing of the Himba
Primary farming methods
Cerrado uses intensive, mechanized farming with high input of resources.
The Himba practice traditional, nomadic grazing with minimal external inputs.
CASE STUDY: Intensive beef production in the Cerrado and nomadic cattle grazing of the Himba
Compare environmental impacts
- Intensive farming in the Cerrado leads to habitat loss, higher greenhouse gas emissions, and water usage.
- Nomadic grazing by the Himba has a lower environmental footprint, promoting biodiversity but can cause desertification if not managed properly.
