In this episode of the Byte-Sized Human Geography Podcast, we discuss everyone’s favorite topic—food! Most specifically, we look at the relationship between a country's economic development and the way in which food is produced focusing on subsistence and commercial agriculture.
This is Human Geography byte-sized -- big concepts in small chunks of time for all learners at every level. It's Human Geography, made simple!
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Listener Notes:
Ecumene - (Greek term) habitable part of the Earth
- Great chunks of Earth aren’t habitable 70% is water, of the land surfaces 30% are deserts
- Most stats say we live on about 2% of the Earth’s surface
- Agricultural density - higher the number, the more people are involved in food production; lower, less. Tells you about development of a region.
- Higher = less developed, less technology, more people have to work to bring in the harvest. Also tells you lower education levels across the board — you don’t have time for school if you are trying to feed your family.
- Lower = more developed, more technology, GIS, amazing machines, high tech stuff! Fewer people are needed leaving them to pursue other interests like education; also leads to rise in leisure time
- Comparison - 2-3% of United States are directly involved in agricultural production India, China, most Sub-Saharan Africa - 60% involved in agriculture
- Countries cannot continue to develop unless you get food supply is stabilized
High Agricultural Density - Subsistence Farming
- More people are fed by this than any other type of farming, just enough to feed your family, most farmers are women.
- Think about the social standing of women in most LDCs-very low, not able to own land, get loans, buy equipment
- Uses a process called shifting cultivation—“slash and burn”, not the same as letting field lay fallow
- Process = Cut trees -> burn and nutrients go into soil ->lasts only for a few seasons and then farmers have to shift.
- Because of low education levels, poor farming practices, lots of waste at production end, raw food never makes it to market
Low Agricultural Density - Commercial Farming
- Highly technical, tons of schooling involved, not just putting something in the ground and watching it grow
- High tech - drones, GIS, GMOs, fertilizers, vertical farming
- Agribusiness own all layers of production which is vertical integration Archer Daniels Midland, Cargill, Nestle, Conagra
- Strictly regulated/guidelines, have to buy their seeds, chemicals, etc.
Final Thoughts - in LDCs 30% raw food rots before it can get to market due to poor infrastructure - roads, bridges in bad shape; in MDCs - 50% of food is thrown out at the point of consumption — its never eaten. think about water waste, chemical waste;
Experiment — Look at your dairy and food with expiration dates. Use your senses rather than the date before you throw it out. This is a great way to help you reduce your food waste.
Books - Michael Pollan - The Omnivore’s Dilemma, Cooked
Documentaries - Cooked on Netflix (my favorite episode is “Water”)
