Geog129_lecture05_Agricult...pdf

06/04/2011 1 Lecture 5: Agriculture GEOG 129 Chapter 8: Agriculture and Food Production Outline 1. First Agricultural Revolution: Plants and Animals ? Hunter-Gather ? Shifting Cultivation and Swidden ? Intensive Subsistence Agriculture ? Pastoralism 2. Second Agricultural Revolution: Industrial Revolution ? New crops ? New tenure relations ? Urban (commercial) markets and Von Thunen 3. Third Agricultural Revolution: Mechanization, Chemicals, Value- added ? Green Revolution: Industrialized and Industrializing ? Agro-food System 4. Fourth Agricultural Revolution: Biotechnology 5. Agriculture in Canada 6. Environmental Impacts Definitions ? Agriculture ? a science, an art, and a business directed at the intentional cultivation of crops and the raising of livestock for sustenance or profit ? Agrarian ? referring to the culture of agricultural communities and the type of tenure system that determines access to land and the kind of cultivation practices employed there Hunting and Gathering ? Small groups, fewer than 50 people ? Today, only ¼ million people still survive by hunting and gathering 06/04/2011 2 The First Agricultural Revolution: Plants and Animals ? Accidents and deliberate experiments ? Two types of cultivation: ? Vegetative planting: cloning from existing plants ? Coppicing ? Root cuttings ? Other ? Seed agriculture: came later, planting of seeds, practiced by most farmers today The First Agricultural Revolution: Plants and Animals ? Hearths: agriculture began in multiple, independent hearths (points of origin) (Carl Sauer) ? Vegetative planting ? Southeast Asia ? West Africa ? South America ? Seed agriculture ?Hearths in the Eastern Hemisphere ? Western India ? Northern China ? Ethiopia ?Hearths in Western Hemisphere ? Southern Mexico/Mesoamerica (squash and corn) ? Northern Peru 06/04/2011 3 Definitions ? Subsistence agriculture ? farming for direct consumption by the producers, not for sale ? Commercial agriculture ? farming primarily for sale, not for direct consumption Subsistence Agriculture Two main types of subsistence agriculture: shifting cultivation and intensive subsistence agriculture. ? Shifting cultivation ? a system in which farmers aim to maintain soil fertility by rotating the fields within which cultivation occurs. Lowers labor costs, but only supports small populations. ? Swidden ? land that is cleared using the slash-and-burn process and is ready for cultivation. ? Burning adds potassium (potash) to the soil. Subsistence Agriculture ? Intensive subsistence agriculture ? practice that involves the effective and efficient use ? usually through a considerable expenditure of human labor and application of fertilizer ? of a small parcel of land in order to maximize crop yield. Often entails animal labor., supports higher populations. ? Crop rotation ? method of maintaining soil fertility in which the fields under cultivation remain the same but the crops being plants are changed ? Intertillage 06/04/2011 4 Rice Paddy ? Intensive, multi-cropping ? Good basis for commerce Ester Boserup Intensification contradicts Malthus. Boserup wrote, The Conditions of Agricultural Growth: The Economics of Agrarian Change under Population Pressure (1965) ? The most important difference between pre- industrialized world?s agricultural systems was the crop planting frequency. ? Population increases put pressure on the farmers to plant more frequently to order to accommodate the increased demand (land as limiting factor). ? Technology was invented when labor became the limiting factor. Ester Boserup Malthus? theory says that the size and growth of the population depends on the food supply and agricultural methods. When population out grows food, people die. Boserup?s theory opposes this by saying that the agricultural methods depend on the size of the population. In times of food pressure people will find ways to increase the production of food by increasing workforce, machinery, fertilizers, etc. 06/04/2011 5 TIME Pastoralism ? Pastoralism ? subsistence activity that involves the breeding and herding of animals to satisfy the human needs of food, shelter, and clothing ? Thought to be a response to dramatic changes in climate or population change which impacted sedentary communities. War ? We could also argue that invasion and pillaging became a viable subsistence strategy due to agriculture. Stockpiles enough to feed a standing army... ? The Zulu kingdom of Shaka, the Vikings, and many others could create armed collective violence that had different goals and magnitudes than Hunter-Gatherers usually would have seen. 06/04/2011 6 Impacts of First Agricultural Revolution ? More stable food sources ? Higher dependent on limited number of crops ? Micronutrient deficiencies ? Higher levels of tooth decay in agricultural communities than hunter-gather ? Shorter people ? Exposure to diseases ? Changing population ? Changing social, cultural, economic, and political structures The Second Agricultural Revolution ? 1700s-1900s (in North America and Europe) ? Dramatic improvements in outputs, such as crop and livestock yields ? Such innovations as the improved yoke for oxen and the replacement of oxen with horses or mules ? New crops (potatoes, turnips, ?) ? New inputs to agricultural production, such as the application of fertilizers (Justus von Liebig)and field drainage The Second Agricultural Revolution ? Industrial Revolution led to new markets and market based relations ? New land ownership relations ? moving away from commons? ? Enclosure (or inclosure) is the process which was used in order to end some traditional rights, such as mowing meadows for hay, or grazing livestock on land which is owned by another person, or a group of people. ? Land is fenced (enclosed) and deeded or entitled to one or more owners. By the 19th century, unenclosed commons had become largely restricted to rough pasture in mountainous areas and in relatively small parts of the lowlands. 06/04/2011 7 Von Thunen?s Model of Agricultural Location ? Pattern of agricultural land use changed in relation to market location. ? High value, perishable crops are grown closer to the markets. Von Thunen?s Model of Agricultural Location ? Omitted many other variables (like soil quality!) and may not relate to the changing values that some commodities have in today?s markets or the more diffuse nature of market locations. ? Despite the omissions/assumptions, some urban agriculture still follows these main determinants (price, perishability). The Third Agricultural Revolution ? Began in late 1800s- early 1900s all beginning in North America. ? Started in the New World rather than the Old World ? In many ways it was like the ?Second Revolution? ? 3 important criteria set it apart ? Mechanization ? Chemical farming ? Food manufacturing 06/04/2011 8 The Third Agricultural Revolution ? Mechanization: ? Replacement of human farm labor with machines (and more animal labor) ? Started in 1880s and continues now ? Tractors ? Combines ? Reapers ? Pickers ? Etc. ? European mechanization really took off after WWII. Why? The Third Agricultural Revolution ? Chemical Farming: ? Application of synthetic fertilizers to the soil and herbicides, fungicides, and pesticides to crops in order to enhance yields ? Became widespread in 1950s in North America ? 1960s in Europe ? 1970s in peripheral countries The Third Agricultural Revolution ? Food manufacturing: ? Adding value to agricultural products through a range of treatments- such as processing, canning, packing, and packaging ? that occur off the farm and before they reach the market (?Value-added?). Also creating industrial food products. ? Began in 1960s ? This final phase affects the output of the agricultural revolution NOT the inputs ? It relates to the interlinkage of agriculture into vertical economic processes? Industrialization of Agriculture. 06/04/2011 9 Health impacts of processed food started to become more evident during this period too. We lost control of our food chains as they extended further and further? fast food chains became abundant, corn syrup in everything, and obesity began to rise. Agricultural Industrialization ? Process whereby the farm has moved from being the centerpiece of agricultural production to becoming one part of a chain of vertically organized industrial processes including production, storage, processing, distribution, marketing and retailing. ? Resulted in: ? Indirect and direct altering of the agricultural outputs ? Changing rural societies (2nd exodus from the farm to the city) 06/04/2011 10 Agricultural Industrialization ? Changes in rural activities as machines replace or improve speed of human labor. ? Introduction of innovative inputs more chemical fertilizers, hybrid seeds, agrochemicals, and biotechnologies- to supplement, alter, or replace biological outputs ? Development of industrial substitutes for agricultural products (artificial sweeteners instead of sugar, thickeners instead of corn starch) Green Revolution ? Part of the Third Agricultural Revolution ? taking it to the periphery countries. ? Takes place in late 1940s-1970s ? Norman Borlaug works on wheat hybrids in Mexico ? Core countries exported technological packages of fertilizers and high yield seeds to peripheral areas (Asia and Mexico) to increase agricultural production ? This also included new machines and institutions moved from core to periphery to increase global agricultural productivity Green Revolution ? Created more food, but?. ? Food is not equally dispersed ? Plant varieties and important knowledge from indigenous cultures are lost ? Quality of diets suffer (less diversity, less micronutrients) ? Planting cash crops rather than food crops (lower food security) ? Pesticides and fertilizers impacts on environment ? Impacts on sociocultural relations between and within communities ? More population specifically in urban areas 06/04/2011 11 Green Revolution ? This model of development is still quite common. However, it has fallen from favor with many agronomists. ? It was part of the larger industrialization of food system. ? There were unequal impacts as food regimes changed due to this industrialization. ? Yet, some people say that we should have a Second Green Revolution now. ? They see the revolution in biotechnology as the Fourth Agricultural Revolution and a possible new Green Revolution. ? See short video? The Fourth Agricultural Revolution? The Green Revolution leads us to what I consider a Fourth Agricultural Revolution: Biotechnology (Genetic Engineering) The Fourth Agricultural Revolution? ? It revolutionizes the relationship between humans and their environment. ? Many people have said this should be our Second Green Revolution. ? Yet, it may have the same problems as the First Green Revolution. ? These types of technological fixes are not enough and sometimes worse than nothing... ? Uncertain ecological impacts? ? 1990s wave of suicides throughout India was related to many changes, but thought to be closely connected to spread of Bacillus thuringiensis (or Bt) Cotton among farmers. 06/04/2011 12 Show Video The Fourth Agricultural Revolution? ? Other aspects of biotechnology than just Bt? ? Biofortification is a method of breeding crops to increase their nutritional value. This can be done either through conventional selective breeding, or through genetic engineering. ? Touted as a socially just way of increasing nutrition for the poor. ? Golden Rice (ß-carotene) and Iron Rice. ? Other crops? bean, cassava, maize, rice, sweet potato, and wheat. The Fourth Agricultural Revolution? ? Biotechnology and packages similar to the first Green Revolution are now supported by large institutions like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. ? How have industrializing countries reacted to ?biofortified foods? or GE foods? The Fourth Agricultural Revolution? 06/04/2011 13 The Fourth Agricultural Revolution? ? If biotechnology is not the answer? Will we fall in to a Malthusian trap or continue with Boserup?s technological trajectory? ? Well, as Pollan pointed out, biotechnology is not the only type of technology? ? Many aid institutions emphasize commercializing farmers instead of providing more resilient strategies and adaptive capacities to the farmers. ? Farmer options might include techniques from agroecology, permaculture, or other new ecological approaches that can take us into new food regimes?. Agroecology ?So far, eco-farming projects in 57 nations had shown average crop yield gains of 80 percent by tapping natural methods for enhancing soil and protecting against pests, it said. Recent projects in 20 African countries had resulted in a doubling of crop yields within three to 10 years. Those lessons could be widely mimicked elsewhere, it said.? http://www.iol.co.za/scitech/science/environment/i s-eco-farming-the-solution-1.1038558 Agroecology Agroecology ? The application of ecological principles to the production of food, fuel, fiber, and pharmaceuticals. ? Ideas date back over a century if not longer, but modern movement stems from the 1960-70s. ? Ethnobotany and work on indigenous agricultural practices revealed some issues with modern ag. ? In 1977, Prof. Efraim Hernandez X. explained that modern agricultural systems had lost their ecological foundation when socio-economic factors became the only driving force in the food system. 06/04/2011 14 Permaculture ? Very similar to agroecology. ? 1980s ? Japanese, Australian, Tasmanian, and New Zealand practitioners (Bill Mollison, David Holmgren, Geoff Lawton, Masanobu Fukuoka). ? Understand ecology and nature and bring those influences and powers (biomass, wind? energy) into the farm design. Food Regimes ? These new approaches demand a shift in our food regime. ? What is a food regime anyway? ? What do all these changes in agriculture mean to how we live and organize our normal day- to-day lives? ? First we need to understand food chains, then we can look at food regimes. 06/04/2011 15 Organization of the Agro-food System ? Food chain: five central and connected sectors (inputs, production, product processing, distribution and consumption) with four contextual elements acting as external mediating forces (the state, international trade, the physical environment, and credit and finance) Food Regimes ? Food regime: specific set of relations that maintain certain food chains. This is a broader approach than a particular food chain analysis in that regimes describe the sociocultural, political, ecological, and economic context in which food production, distribution, exchange, and consumption occur. ? 100s of food chains may exist at any one time ? Some food regimes dominate periods of time and space. ? Subsistence farming vs. agribusiness would require two totally different food regimes. Food Regimes ? A new global food regime came about as a result of three major forces: ? 1) emergence of independent nation-states ? 2) industrialization of agriculture ? 3) expansion of colonization ? There were widespread political and economic changes that enabled colonies to become sources of exportable commodities and food stuff for colonizers. ? Plantations were developed and cash crops emphasized. 06/04/2011 16 ? Plantations ? A large farm that specializes in one or two crops ? A form of commercial agriculture in tropics and subtropics (Latin America, Africa, Asia) ? Mostly in LDCs, but many owned by people in MDCs, and most products for sale in MDCs ? Shift of production to periphery countries: costs, transport, storage, labor, lack of regulations, special tropical crops, etc. Plantation agriculture Plantation agriculture ? The plantation system ? Relies on large amounts of hand labor ? Originated in the 1400s on Portuguese-owned islands of the coast of tropical West Africa ? Today, the greatest concentration is in the American tropics ? Most plantations lie on or near seacoasts and shipping lanes ? Produce is carried to non-tropical lands?Europe, United States, and Japan ? Cash Crops ? Crops grown to for exportation, to earn cash. ? Cotton, Flax, Hemp, Coffee, Tobacco, Rubber, Cloves, Cardamom, Bananas, etc. ? In the past (previous regime), these were often non-food products or products that could last a long voyage. ? Shift from less perishable goods (wheat and meats) to more perishable fresh fruits and vegetables. Plantation agriculture Plantation agriculture ? Plantation workers ? Most live on the plantation ? Rigid social and economic segregation of labor and management ? Two-class society?wealthy and the poor ? In the past?as in the antebellum southern United States?slaves were relied on to provide the labor ? Today tension between labor and management is not uncommon ? Because of the necessary capital investment, corporations or governments are usually owners of plantations ? Societal ills of the system remain far from cured 06/04/2011 17 Plantation agriculture ? Most crops are partially processed before shipping to distant markets ? Neo-plantation?mechanized plantations ? Require less labor, cause underemployment and displacement of local people ? People flock to urban centers ? Contribute to massive growth of cities in developing countries Food Regimes ? In the modern system, increases of transport and preservation technology mean that perishable goods can be grown and exported from periphery countries. ? Integrated networks of food chains use refrigeration systems to succeed in delivering fresh fruits and vegetables to core regions of Western Europe, North America, and Japan. 06/04/2011 18 Food Regimes ? Globalization of Agro-Food Regimes has led to 3 major changes to previous agricultural practices: ? Agribusiness ? Different, longer food chains ? Integration of agricultural with other firms in manufacturing, service, finance, and trade sectors ? Any alternative (subsistence, non-Mcdonalds, etc.) food regimes become overwhelmed by agribusiness system. ? See ?Life in Debt? by Stephanie Black. Agribusiness ? Agribusiness: set of economic and political relationships that organizes agro-food production from the development of seeds to the retailing and consumption of the agricultural product ? Corporations are dominant in the food production process able to negotiate complex production and distribution procedures Long Food Chains and Vertical Integration ? Demand in core countries continues to dictate production in periphery countries ? Often expensive, capital intensive practices ? Since the second agricultural revolution, agricultural has become more and more influenced and integrated with industrial practices. ? Food chains have become longer, more complex, and more anonymous? Where does your food come from? 06/04/2011 19 Food Resistance ? We thought the counter movement was ?organic? but then the definition of ?organic? was changed. ? Originally organic referred to small, independent farmers. ? Certification put cost barriers in the way of these small farmers, and lowered standards for industrial farmers. Food Resistance ? In the US, federal organic legislation defines three levels of organics. ? Products made entirely with certified organic ingredients and methods can be labeled "100% organic". ? Products with at least 95% organic ingredients can use the word "organic". ? A third category, containing a minimum of 70% organic ingredients, can be labeled "made with organic ingredients". Food Resistance ? In Canada, the laws are slightly different: ? Only products with organic content that is greater than or equal to 95% may be labelled as: "Organic" or bear the organic logo. ? Multi-ingredient products with 70-95% organic content may have the declaration: "contains x% organic ingredients." These products may not use the organic logo and/or the claim "Organic". ? Multi-ingredient products with less than 70% organic content may only contain organic claims in the product's ingredient list. These products may not use the organic logo. ? There are numerous certification bodies throughout the country. 06/04/2011 20 GE Alfalfa ? Medicago sativa ? Organic movement is fighting against GE Alfalfa. ? Alfalfa is an important crop for organic farmers. It is the basis of organic livestock systems and it is used as a cover crop by most organic farmers. They consider GE Alfalfa a threat to organic standards. ? 27th January, USDA approved GE Alfalfa. GE Alfalfa ? Bill C-474 was introduced by Alex Atamanenko, NDP Agriculture Critic and MP for BC Southern Interior in November 2009. Bill C-474 calls for an amendment to the federal Seeds Regulations Act that requires ?an analysis of potential harm to export markets?. ? Jean Crowder, MP for Nanaimo-Cowichan:?GE will destroy our export market?? our export markets do not want crops grown from GE seeds because these are considered ?contaminated.? Canada?s flax exports collapsed because of GE flax seeds. ? On February 9, 2011, this bill was voted down 178-98. Critics say that many of the MPs not present for the vote were in Guelph attending a meeting with the president of Monsanto!! GMO News updates and Events from Kelowna's True Food Foundation Announcement: Bill C-474?s defeat was a kick in the teeth to the organic food industry, non-GMO farmers and eaters alike. The True Food Foundation is fighting back by bringing Percy Schmeiser, the legendary Canadian farmer who fought the corporate giant Monsanto to Kelowna. Percy will be speaking in the theatre at the Okanagan College Campus on KLO Road Saturday April 9th 2011 at 6:30pm. Admission by donation. Refer to the attachment for details. The very next day on Sunday April 10th 2011 the TFF is hosting a massive say ?NO to GMO? Demonstration featuring Percy Schmeiser from 2pm-3pm @ the Sails statue downtown Kelowna. ? www.truefoodfoundation.org Food Resistance ? It turns out being local is important. ? Know Your Food ? Counter movements include: 1. Slow Food 2. Spin Farming 3. Food Miles 4. Permaculture 5. Agriburbia 6. Community Supported Agriculture ? ?The Garden? (film by S.H.Kennedy) 06/04/2011 21 Agriculture in Canada ? See your textbook. Environmental Impacts ? See your book and see ?Dirt! The Movie? End GILL Geog129_lecture05_Agriculture