GEG 100 ONLINE! Cultural Geography Review Exercises - Chapter 8 - ANSWERS

~/~ Home ~/~ Syllabus ~/~ Schedule ~/~ Discussion ~/~ Chapters ~/~ Review ~/~ Textbook Website ~/~

Question 1

 What is "agriculture" and how is it different from "food production"?

It is important to recognize that agriculture, defined as intentional planting of crops and raising of domesticated animals (livestock), is not synonymous with food production (Figure 8.1). Some crops and livestock are raised for nonfood purposes: corn for ethanol, rubber for tires, and minks for fur coats. Likewise, many food (and nonfood) products are produced from plants and animals through methods other than agriculture. They can be artificially synthesized—as are Nutrasweet® (a sweetener), Tang® (a breakfast drink), and Simplesse® (a fat-free oil)—or collected from nature via hunting and gathering of wild plants and animals. (p. 213)

 

 [top]

Question 2

Describe the three "agricultural revolutions". Discuss what happened and where it happened.

In the first agricultural revolution during the Neolithic era some 8 to 14 thousand years ago, humans first planted and harvested edible plants and domesticated wild animals. The Fertile Crescent (see Chapter 2) was one important area of agricultural origins, but archaeological evidence also points to other and perhaps earlier source regions in China, Southeast Asia, the Indus Valley (present day Pakistan), the Ethiopian highlands, West Africa, the Andes Mountains of South America, and Central America (Figure 8.2). From these source regions, agriculture diffused (see Chapter 3) to other peoples around the world. (p. 213)

A second agricultural revolution began in Western Europe in the 1600s. The second phase of agrotechnological change intensified agriculture in the sense of promoting higher yields per acre and per farmer and helped feed the growing urban populations in European cities. The second revolution actually began before the invention of machines with ideas like crop rotation for sustaining soil fertility, increased use of fertilizers, and improved collars for draft animals to pull heavier plows. Then, in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the industrial revolution introduced machines to do the work of people and animals, like tractors for plowing soil, reapers for cutting crops, threshers for separating grain from stalks, and motors for pumping water—not to mention better transport, storage, and barbed wire fencing. The twentieth century also introduced industrially produced chemicals for fertilizers, herbicides (weed killers), and pesticides (insect killers). (p. 214)

A dramatic third agricultural revolution began in the 1960s and continues to this day. The Green Revolution, as it is now known, introduced and diffused hybrid strains of staple grains by cross-pollinating different native strains of grain. These hybrids, known by names like “miracle rice” and “miracle wheat,” mature in a shorter time period than conventional seeds, which means that farmers can grow an extra crop each year. Hybrid crops also are able to withstand less-than-ideal environmental conditions, respond better to chemical fertilizers, and provide more nutrition. Yields in both more-developed countries and less-developed countries increased by 50 to 100 percent in the space of a few years, which has so far allowed global food production to keep pace with the exponential growth of population in the twentieth century. Unfortunately, the benefits of the Green Revolution have not spread to farmers everywhere: poor farmers lack the savings to invest in seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides. Critics also decry the Green Revolution’s reliance on artificial fertilizers made from fossil fuels, the less-flavorful grains, and the focus on corn, wheat, and rice, none of which are important crops in Africa.

The science of genetic engineering has breathed new life into the Green Revolution. (p. 215)

[top]

Question 3

On page 216 the authors write: "Thus, crops are not necessarily grown in their ideal bioclimate. Although wheat is better suited to the Ohio River valley, it is mainly grown in the Great Plains because other crops can make a greater profit in the Ohio Valley and few crops besides wheat can make a profit in the Plains.". Explain by discussion the three factors mentioned in the textbook that determines what is grown where. (REMEMBER: Geography doesn't just study WHERE, but more importantly it studies WHY THERE.)

See pages 215-216

This explains why even though the soil and climate is better in Wisconsin for growing wheat than it is in Northern Minnesota, they grow more wheat in Minnesota and Wisconsin specializes in the dairy industry.

[top]

Question 4

"Why trade for something that could be produced more cheaply at home?" (p. 220) Why would a lawyer hire a secretary even though the lawyer is a faster typist?  Answer these questions and explain why they are similar. Also, if the products are of similar quality, would a domestically produced item or an imported item be cheaper to the consumer? Explain.

Globalization thrives under free trade. Markets must be accessible to the supplier that can produce the best product for the lowest price. Absent restrictive trade barriers, regions around the world now produce those products in which they have a comparative advantage and trade with other regions for what they need. Comparative advantage depends on the relative efficiency with which a region can produce a product compared with other products and other regions. Comparative advantage can lead to beneficial trade even when one region can produce all products for a lower cost. Why trade for something that could be produced more cheaply at home? Well, think about a lawyer who also happens to be a very fast typist and a sparkling receptionist. It still makes financial sense for the lawyer to hire someone to type documents and answer the phones, which would allow the lawyer to spend more time billing clients at a lawyer’s high hourly rate. Likewise, regions can afford a higher standard of living by specializing in products in which they have a comparative advantage, and using the profits to import other products. (p. 220)

[top]

Question 5

Our textbook discusses the "Five Universal Dimensions" of the agricultural sector:

1. labor intensive versus capital intensive
2. intensive versus extensive land use
3. commercial versus subsistence
4. sedentary versus nomadic
5. irrigated versus non-irrigated

For each picture below, describe the agricultural activity using the concepts listed above.

CATTLE

labor intensive versus capital intensive intensive versus extensive land use commercial versus subsistence sedentary versus nomadic irrigated versus non-irrigated

WHEAT

labor intensive versus capital intensive intensive versus extensive land use commercial versus subsistence sedentary versus nomadic irrigated versus non-irrigated

RICE

labor intensive versus capital intensive intensive versus extensive land use commercial versus subsistence sedentary versus nomadic irrigated versus non-irrigated

BANANAS

labor intensive versus capital intensive intensive versus extensive land use commercial versus subsistence sedentary versus nomadic irrigated versus non-irrigated

VEGETABLES

labor intensive versus capital intensive intensive versus extensive land use commercial versus subsistence sedentary versus nomadic irrigated versus non-irrigated

FISH

labor intensive versus capital intensive intensive versus extensive land use commercial and subsistence sedentary versus nomadic irrigated versus non-irrigated

HOGS

labor intensive versus capital intensive intensive versus extensive land use commercial versus subsistence sedentary versus nomadic irrigated versus non-irrigated

 

[top]

Question 6

Geography studies WHERE things are and WHY they are there. Below is a map showing the areas of the world where subsistence agriculture is dominant. Why there? Use the maps that follow and the chapter vocabulary/concepts to explain why subsistence agriculture is dominant in these areas.

USE THESE MAPS

 

Mountainous Areas

The areas of subsistence agriculture tend to have the following characteristics as seen in the maps above:

• tropical climates
• higher rainfall
• flatter terrain
• not densely populated (Except maybe west Africa)
• low income economies
• shifting or slash and burn cultivation (except east Africa)

 

[top]

E-Mail instructor: mhealy@harper.cc.il.us
Office: J-262, 847-925-6352
Home: 815-728-1571