Chapter 8 Lecture

Human Geography: Places and

Regions in Global ContextSixth Edition

Wendy A. Mitteager

State University of New York, Oneonta

Food and Agriculture

Figure: Chapter 8 Opener: Farmers in Ecuador prepare sustainably grown potatoes for market.

Key Concepts

• Agricultural practices: From Agrarian to Globalized Agriculture

• Agricultural revolutions I, II, & III

• Industrialization of agriculture: The transition from Colonial to

Conventional Agricultural systems

• Biotechnology - Genetic engineering of crops for yields & medicine

• Globalized agriculture & Agribusiness

• The environment and agriculture – population pressure, soil

degradation, desertification, deforestation in Tropical regions, Global

warming.

The Study of Traditional Agricultural Geography

• Agrarian – describes a way of life that

is traditionally embedded in demands of

production, a culture of land tenure or

landholding determining who has land

access & what is cultivated.

• Hunting and gathering – pre-

agricultural activities involving hunting of

animals & gathers of fruits, roots, nuts &

edible plant material.

• Subsistence agriculture - replaced

hunting & gathering with the

domestication of plants & animals

approx. 12,000 years ago.

• Agriculture – the science, art &

business of cultivation of crops &

livestock raising for sustenance & profit.

• Commercial agriculture – Farmers

produce crops/animals for sale vs.

family/community consumption.

Figure 8.1 Genetically-modified soybeans in Brazil,

planting a foreign crop in a former rainforest, very

shallow soils require fertilizers & pesticides.

Figure 8.4 Shifting cultivation helps maintain soil fertility. Figure 8.5 Slash-and-burn in China

Agriculture – Population PressureShifting cultivation – practiced in Tropical Forests, farmers maintain soil

fertility by field rotation, only supports smaller groups of villagers holding land in

common tenure.

• Central & West African Rainforests

• Amazon Rainforest – South America

• Southeast Asia: Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia, & Indonesia

Crop rotation – Crops changed on plots to balance soil nutrient use

Slash-and-burn – burning portions of tropical & subtropical forests to plant

crops – results in soil erosion, Tropical soils are shallow & loose nutrients

without forest canopy & ecosystem. Burning releases nutrients to soil as

organic potash/fertilizer – cleared land is called swidden; text notes that

swidden overuse results in deforestation. Also, labor intensive.

Figure 8.7 Gender division of labor in rice processing in India.

• Women most vulnerable to changes in labor & food prices.

Figure 8.6 Intertillage: staggered planting &

harvesting of different crops to increase

nutritional balance, diversity, & reduce hunger

from crop failure.

Traditional Agriculture, (cont’d)

Figure 8.2

Global Distribution of Agriculture, 2005

Global spatial distribution of agricultural practices: Shifting cultivation in Tropical

Rainforests, Pastoral nomadism in Subtropical Deserts, Mixed crop & livestock in humid

continental regions, Dairy in mid-latitude regions. Rice intensive subsistence in humid

subtropical Asia

Traditional – Periphery Agriculture, (cont’d)

Intensive subsistence agriculture –

innovative techniques maximize crop

yields in humid subtropical world

regions

Pastoralism – breeding/herding of

animals for food, shelter, clothing,

meat, milk, etc.

• North Africa & Middle East:

Subtropical Deserts & dry Savanna

• Central Asia: High elevation

Steppes, cold winters, dry summers

• Transhumance – movement of

herds according to seasons,

continuance movement of families,

women, children involved in family

economy.

Figure 8.8 A terraced rice field in Bali

Agricultural Revolutions

Figure 8.10 Animals were important in the first agricultural revolution.

1st Agricultural Revolution – domestication of plants & animals &

emergence of Agricultural systems, enabled food storage of food

surpluses, emergence of civilizations in Subtropical Arid Regions –

major River valleys & deltas.

Nile River – Africa Tigris & Euphrates Rivers -Turkey & Iraq

Ganges River - India

Brahmaputra River - India

© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc.

Agricultural Revolutions

• Second revolution

– Transformation via

industrial practices

– Distribution & marketing

of Food as a

Commodity

• Third revolution– Mechanization of farming

– Chemical farming – use of

pesticides & fertilizers

– Food manufacturing –

standardized food products

sold in Core countries

Figure 8.14 A bread factory in Iowa.

States continue to be

essential in mediating

food crises. Govt. grants direct &

indirect subsidies to

agricultural producers to

control supply & flow of

crops.

Figure 8.13 Worldwide growth in fertilizer use, 2005-2007.

The 3rd Agricultural Revolution

Core nations & developing nations with

largest Populations have greatest

Fertilizer use

• Colonies became major

sources of exportable

foodstuffs supplying

industrializing Europe

with cheap food supplies

in form of wheat & meat.

• Movement toward

integration of

Agriculture & Industry

• Known as Agro-

Industrialization

Transformation from Agrarian to Industrial Agriculture

• Colonial Agriculture &

Food Production created a

crisis of efficiency;

– Forced local people out

of work

– Undercut prices of

locally produced crops

– Forced industry to

become more efficient

drove down prices to food

production costs

– Less Labor, low wages

for agricultural workers

Increased yields of protein crops and other crops ,such as rice, was a result of

the Green Revolution – environmental impacts of monoculture crops,

introduced pesticides into ecosystem, decreased natural biomass fuels,

created debt due to reliance on imported oil. Forces small Farmers off land,

disrupts national cultures.

Figure 8.B

Figure 8.C

Green Revolution

Bio-revolution for Profit vs. Green Revolution -

Monoculture

Global Organization of Agribusiness:

• Globalized agriculture –

dependence on set of

regulations on a global scope to

prevent issues.

• Incorporation of Agriculture

into global capitalism.

• Transnational Corporations

control Food Supply Chain.

• Global food problems – when

prices get too high, foments

revolt in poorer nations

• Subsidies to food producers

– dumping of crop Surpluses on

world market, undermines

nations’ local price structures

destabilizes local economies.

Figure 8.19 Demonstrators in Yemen, spring 2011

Organization of the Agro-Food System

The food supply chain

Core States

granting

Subsidies &

manipulate

global

agricultural

markets-

destabilize

periphery

markets.Global

Financial

Markets

control food

production.

Conventional Agriculture &

Mid-latitude soils vs.

Subsistence Agriculture on

shallow Tropical Soils

Core Nations demand

year-round shipping of

fresh fruit/vegetables.

5 Central connected Sectors: Inputs, Production, Processing, Distribution & Consumption

4 Contextual Elements – State, International Trade, Physical Environment, & Credit / Finance

Alternative Food Movements / Food Regimes

• Organic farming – food grown

without synthetic fertilizers or

pesticides – isn’t dominant mode

of food production

• Conventional farming – use of

synthetic fertilizers & pesticides to

protect crops, dominates global

food production.

• Local food – Farming within 100-

mile radius or “food shed” to

encourage localization of food

economy.

• Urban agriculture – practice in

periphery nations to support

families.

• Slow food – reaction to fast food

and commercial agriculture. Using

local food & farmer’s markets.

Figure 8.22 Local food advertisement

Food Regime – A specific set of

linkages that exist between food

production & food consumption.

• The ways a type of food is

dominant during a time period.

1960s – Wheat & Livestock

Current – Fresh fruits & vegetables

serving Core populations via

transport & refrigeration, exotic foods

available year-round.

Conventional Food vs. Alternative Food

CSA’S – Farmers & Consumers agree to collect subscriptions or pay upfront for cost of growing

local food, seeds, labor, cultivation period, livestock, harvest without relying on interest-bearing loans.

Members receive locally-grown food & dairy products reflecting local seasonal growing conditions.

Fast Food – Health & Environmental

Consequences

Figure 8.23 Economic costs of obesity in the U.S., 2009

Figure 8.I Urban gardening movement

in Detroit, Michigan

Figure 8.J Urban rooftop gardens in China

Urban Agriculture – 800 Million People in

Periphery – Sustenance for Families

Figure 8.24 Modern irrigation system

The Environment and Agricultural

Industrialization

Figure 8.25 - Impact of pesticides on

pollinators – Bees populations are

decreasing in alarming numbers. Use

of Pesticides attacks Bee species

nervous systems, affects reproduction

& productivity.

The Environment and Agricultural Industrialization

Figure 8.26 Desertification in China

Population pressure on land results in removal of plant growth,

destabilizes soil, soil erosion & loss of arable land.

Global Food Security & Human Rights

• Food and health

– Under-nutrition

– Malnutrition

– Famine

– Food security

– Food sovereignty

Figure 8.27 Almost one in seven people

worldwide is chronically undernourished.

• Loss of GLOBAL cropland acreage to Biofuels for energy markets.

Future Geographies

Figure 8.30 Government investments