geo 20 oct exam
Compare and Contrast subsistence and commercial farming.
Subsistence:
-Farmers who grow crops and raise livestock on small plots of land to meet the immediate needs of their families.
-Popular in the 19th century
-Has little to no surplus for sale or trade
-Minimal use of machinery, pesticides, and fertilizers
Commercial:
-A crop that is grown by a farmer to be sold commercially to local and world markets.
-Most food production around the world.
-Popular in 21st century
-There is intensive and extensive commercial farming
With connection to how food is grown, how have we become disconnected from our food?
-We have gone from mainly subsistence to mainly commercial farming.
-We have gone from minimal to high mechanisation
-We have gone from minimal to high usage of chemicals
-We have gone from small to large acreage
-We have gone from highly to minimally labour intensive
-We do not know how our food is produced
-We do not know where it comes from
-We do not know issues in the agribusiness
Explain how we have gone from subsistence to surplus farming.
-Improved tools and machinery
-In the past, farmers used basic tools like hand ploughs and hoes, so they could only farm small plots of land. Today, machines like tractors and harvesters allow farmers to work on much larger areas and produce way more food.
-Fertilisers and pesticides
-The introduction of chemical fertilisers gave plants more nutrients, making them grow faster and stronger. Pesticides also helped protect crops from insects and diseases, reducing crop loss and allowing for bigger harvests.
-High yield crops
-Scientists have developed high-yield crops that produce more food from the same amount of land. For example, GMOs grow faster, are more resistant to diseases, and produce more crops. This helps farmers grow a surplus—more than they need.
-Access to markets
-Improved transportation helped farmers sell their extra food to cities or other regions. Instead of just growing food for themselves, they could now sell surplus crops for profit.
Canada is such a vast country, but why is so little of the nation’s lands farmable?
-Canada’s climate makes it hard to farm
-We have a cold climate, and climate change is unpredictable and has added a lot of moisture
-Soil quality is a limitation
-There is a low percent of Canada’s area that has fertile soil for farming
-A lot of land in Canada is part of the Canadian Shield, which isn’t farmable
-The canadian shield is covered in rocks, so there is not good soil
-Canada’s terrain makes it hard
-A lot of the ground is either rocky or freezes in winter
What makes soil healthy?
-Minerals
-Minerals provide nutrients
-Bacteria and organic materials
-Bacteria and organic materials help with decomposition into nutrients that feed the plants
-Air
-Air around the roots of plants helps them thrive
-Moisture
-Moisture is vital for plant growth, transports nutrients
Compare and contrast the pros of both free range and feedlot farming.
Free range-
Healthier animals and meat
Less pollution
Animals are treated better
Large acreage, lots of space to roam
Feedlot-
Increase in meat production
Decrease in land cost
Farmers make more money
Maximise weight gain
Compare and contrast the negatives of free range and feedlot farming.
Free range-
Costs farmers more money
Produces less meat
Drops farmer’s profits
Doesn’t maximise animal growth
Feedlot-
Animals have worse living conditions
Less healthy animals/meat
Bad for the environment, pollutes water
Excessive use of antibiotics
What is the environmental impact of meat and or animal-based protein production?
-Leads to soil degradation
-Soil degradation is the decline in soil health because of poor management, usually for agricultural purposes
-Damage to rainforests, deforestation
-Rainforests are being burnt to make room for cattle farms
-Greenhouse gas emissions
-Meat production is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, for example, cows produce methane during digestion
-Water pollution
-Animal waste, fertilisers, and pesticides used to grow animal feed often run off into nearby rivers and lakes, causing water pollution.
Identify and explain the benefits of using GMOs in agriculture.
-Increase yields
-Increase yields because they are more resistant to herbicides and harsh climates, so they get damaged less
-Easier to grow
-Easier to grow because they require less pesticides
-Survive harsh conditions
-They are genetically modified to survive in harsh conditions so they can increase yields and grow during climate change
-Fit market preferences
-GMOs enhance the crop’s appearance, nutrients, and taste
Identify and explain solutions to help combat Nunavut food insecurity.
-Nunavut came up with 6 ideas to help food insecurity.
-Country food: hunting has a critical role in inuit culture, nutrition, and self-reliant communities
-Store bought food: Store bought food promotes affordability, doesn’t spoil, and has led to people eating more today than in the past
-Local food production: igloo-shaped greenhouses make farming achievable, increase food security and self-reliance. In 2013, this method produced 48 kilos of food.
-Life skills: youth need to learn how to cultivate country food
-Programs and community initiatives: enhance and extend programming for kids in Nunavut
-Policy and legislation: founded on Inuit values and knowledge
Discarded food is a waste of resources. Explain.
-Food is not distributed equally. ⅓ of food in the world is wasted, 1/7 people in the world are hungry.
-Water Waste
-Growing food uses huge amounts of water. When food is thrown away, all the water used to grow it is wasted. For example, it takes a lot of water to grow fruits, vegetables, and grains, as well as to raise livestock.
-Land Waste
-When food is discarded, the land that was used to grow that food becomes wasted. This is especially damaging when land is cleared from forests or grasslands to expand agriculture, as it leads to the loss of natural habitats, reduced biodiversity, and more deforestation. Farming also leads to soil degradation.
-Energy Waste
-A lot of energy is required to produce food. This wasted energy contributes to higher greenhouse gas emissions, which drive climate change. Food waste contributes to methane production
-Economic Cost
-All the money that goes into agriculture is wasted. For consumers, it means wasted money spent on groceries that are never eaten. Food waste hurts the economy and the environment.