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Chapter 12 Agriculture and Food Think of a Food Memory… Our Global Kitchen

Agriculture and Society •  Foraging • Agriculture: growing of food plants and the

husbandry of animals for food • Began ~ 10,000 years ago in Middle East • Brainstorm: How do you think the food system

has changed since then?

Early Humans

• Originated around 150,000 years ago

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Transition to Agriculture •  Production of food and goods • Growing crops raising animals •  11,000 BCE: ▫  Fertile Crescent

•  6000 BCE: ▫  Animals

domesticated •  5000 BCE: ▫  Practiced on most

continents

History of Farming • We farmed animals before grain ▫  Dogs: hunting and herding ▫  Sheep, goats and pigs hunted and then corralled ▫  Cattle, reindeer, horses donkeys, yaks, camels and

llamas used as food and beasts of burden ▫  Other uses: clothing, tools, etc.

Transition to Agriculture

• What motivated the shift to agriculture? ▫  Change in climate à wild food shortages ▫  Population change à increased food demand ▫  New technology à agriculture easier to do

Effects of Agriculture

• How did agriculture affect lifestyles of people? ▫  Required more time, energy ▫  Provided more stable and abundant food supply ▫  Spurred population growth �  10,000 BCE: 4 million �  1000 BCE: 50 million �  1 CE: 200 million ▫  Clumped growth created

cities

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New Technologies and Growth

•  1650-1850: Population doubles • What kept hunger at bay? ▫  New imported plants ▫  Better food distribution networks ▫  Good Climate, fertile soil ▫  New innovation �  Irrigation �  Plow

Synthetic Fertilizers

•  Introduced early 1900s

• Way more food being grown

•  Population doubles again

•  There were ecological consequences ▫  DDT

Why Synthetic Fertilizes?

•  Fuel for the new industrial economy! ▫  Free Americans from farming so they could join

labor force ▫  Lower costs of food à

increase spending on products

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Traditional Food Production

•  Small Scale •  Independently owned • Access to pasture (fields) • Diversified

Industrialization

•  The food system in the US became industrialized •  Themes: ▫  Specialized ▫  Simplified ▫  Routine ▫  Mechanical ▫  Standardized ▫  Consolidated

Specialized

• Corn Monoculture: One crop being grown ▫  Biodiversity?

Specialized: Beef Supply Chain

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Simpler, Routine, Mechanized Greater Use of Off-Farm Inputs Synthetic Fertilizers Chemical Pesticides Antibiotics, Hormones

Standardized

• All food should be the same… Consolidation

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Food Inc. 13  Minutes  

Lunch Survey Think about what you had for lunch today or yesterday. Put a X next to each of the following factors you considered when you decided what to eat for lunch.

q It was fast or easy q It was what I usually eat q It was nutritious q It tasted good q It was a good price q It was in season q My friends liked it q I didn’t have a choice q Other:

Raising Chickens •  Circle the individual

that is most valued in our society.

•  Put an X over the individual who is least valued

•  Rank the individuals based on who has the most rights. 1 for the highest 5 for the lowest.

•  Are value and rights the same?

Discussion Question • Do animals have the right to a certain quality of

life?

•  Share with a partner, has your view changed? Why or why not?

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Consolidation • Only a few large corporations control most of the

food industry ▫  Over 80% of beef packing industry owned by

four corporations ▫  Over 50% of corn seed industry owned by three

corporations

Consolidation

Benefits Costs •  Increased food

production •  Less human labor •  Lower food prices • Usually more efficient

•  Public health concerns

•  Farmers have less choice

• Companies have influence over laws

• Environmental degradation

• Animal welfare concerns

Food Inc. 8  Minutes  

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What do all these foods have in common? Discussion Question • Do people have the right to know what is in their

food?

•  Share with a partner, has your view changed? Why or why not?

Which is cheaper? (Prices from Giant sales flier) $0.40 per oz $0.20 per oz

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Which is cheaper? (Prices from Giant sales flier) $0.07 per oz $0.02 per oz

Measuring Food Environments

• Diet Related Deaths ▫ Heart Disease ▫  Cancer ▫  Stroke ▫ Diabetes ▫ Hypertension

Measuring Food Environments •  Types of Stores ▫  Supermarket ▫  Small Grocery or Corner Store ▫  Convenience Store ▫  Behind Glass Store

Measuring Food Environments

Neighborhood Deaths Household Income

Family Poverty Rate

Avertible Deaths

Roland Park Low $90,000 0% 0%

Clifton Medium $25,000 18% 46%

SW Baltimore High $27,000 26% 57%

 Avertable deaths are deaths that could have been avoided if all Baltimore communities had the same opportunity at health. -Baltimore City Health Department

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Food System Supply Chain

Production (growing food)

Processing (Transforming raw material into product for consumers)

Distribution (shipping to retailer)

Retail (selling to consumer)

Consumption

Food Supply Chain: Apple What happens to an apple between when it is grown in an orchard and when it is eaten? Think of as many steps as you can. For each step along the supply chain, draw a box, label it and briefly describe the activity taking place at that step. Use arrows to connect each box. Use one box for each step.

  Growing: apples grown on trees

  Consuming: apples are eaten

Food Supply Chain: Apple

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Food Supply Chain: U.S. Chicken What happens to a chicken between when it is hatched and when it is eaten? Complete the same process as you did with the apple. Hint: you must also account for the chicken’s food, which would most likely be corn.

  Corn is grown

  Consuming: Chickens are eaten

Food Supply Chain: U.S. Chicken

Food Supply Chain: U.S. Chicken Food Miles

•  Food Miles: Distance a food product travels from production to consumer. ▫  Measure of environmental impact of a food

product…WHY? • Compare: (Bring in 2 foods) ▫  What are the main ingredients in each? ▫  Where do you think these ingredients are from? ▫  How does this impact our ecosystems? ▫  Our global economy?

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Top Producers for US Markets FOOD PLACE

Nuts Country:

Pork State:

Wheat State:

Coffee Country:

Avocados Country:

Potatoes State:

Oranges State:

Blueberries State:

Chickens State:

Cocoa Beans Country:

Top Producers for US Markets: WHY? FOOD PLACE

Nuts Vietnam

Pork Iowa

Wheat Kansas

Coffee Brazil

Avocados Chile

Potatoes Idaho

Oranges Florida

Blueberries Maine

Chickens Georgia

Cocoa Beans Cote d’Ivoire

Food Inc.

•  You may close your eyes, some scenes are a little intense.

9  Minutes  Stop  at  53:19  

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Discussion Question • When deciding what to eat, how much should we

consider the workers who pick, process, and transport it?

•  Share with a partner, has your view changed? Why or why not?

Fertilizers and Aquatic Ecosystems • Eutrophication • Nutrient run off à Agal blooms à Dead zones

• Example of Positive Feedback

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Pesticides and Ecosystems

• Bioaccumulation and Biomagnification

• Resistance ▫  Similar to antibiotics

• Deformities in amphibians • Declining pollinator populations •  Immune systems of many animals

harmed ▫  Dolphins, seals, whales, etc

Agricultural Chemicals and Health

• Cancers • Reproductive harms • Endocrine disruption • Nervous system impacts •  Poisoning • Death

Food Inc. 8  Minutes  

For which product is low cost a priority? What other priorities are there?

• Backpack

• Jeans

• Shoes

• Car

• Pencil

• Socks

• Cell Phone

• Shampoo

• TV

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Discussion Question •  Does it matter to you which food companies produce

your food? Place yourself on the following scale.

•  Share with a partner, has your view changed? Why or

why not?

Continued

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Loss of Biodiversity

•  Insecticides ▫  Impacts pollinators

• Monocultures ▫  Growing mostly corn and soy

Climate Change

Loss of Farmland

•  Two acres per minute paved for developments Consolidation Issues

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Food Inc. 7  Minutes  

Summer Reading

Discussion Question •  “How we eat determines, to a considerable

extent, how the world is used.” –Wendell Berry

•  Share with a partner, has your view changed? Why or why not?