GEOG 5 Gillespie Thomas 2012 Fall Week 3 Lecture 7 October 18 2012 Announcements Required readings Chapters 12 and 14 Outline of Last Lecture I Discussion of important agricultural plants Outline of Today s Lecture 1 Discussion of drugs 2 Agriculture in CA 3 Genetically Modified Food 4 Ethno botany Today s Lecture 1 Name Tobacco nictonia tabacum Origin New World History been used for 8000 years First discovered by Columbus on Tobago Jamestown established by the British How it s grown it s a perennial but it is harvested annually Impact Good as far as agriculture very highly regulated and many Bad for humans 1 in 5 deaths in U S occur from smoking diseases 2 Name Opium Poppy Papavera Somniferom Origin Southern France History 18th century was wildly grown became illegal in 1718 in Europe Opium Wars 1839 forced importation of opium into China How it s grown Harvested by slicing the top of capsule and tar oozes out It has over 50 alkaloids including morphine Impact Bad heroin 3 Name Hemp Cannabis sativa Origin China History 8500 BC used as rope and paper Illegal in the U S in 1934 How it s grown Dioecious one plant is male and other is female female plant has the highest THC sold in the bud form Impact Good because grown so locally environmental impact Good it doesn t kill you Social justice issue Agriculture in California These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute 2010 California s agriculture totaled 43 5 billion dollars Top 10 Exports from CA 1 Milk 2 Grapes 3 Almonds 4 Strawberries 5 Lettuce 6 Tomatoes 7 Pistachio nuts 8 Walnuts 9 Flowers 10 Hay Problems with water resulting in a big water war in CA 2009 750 000 acres in CA went without water causing loss of 1 5 billion and 40 000 jobs New plants which need less water e g olives 252 pecans 163 pistachios 95 all increased by huge percentages Genetically Modified Food Incorporates desired traits of food and animals to transgenic foods Benefits of GM Foods 1 These new plants have larger yield better nutrition Green Revolution 2 Disease and pest resistant Increases environmental tolerance can be modified to grow plants in more climates 3 Add vaccines to crops can add a vaccine against diarrhea to tomatoes Is this good or bad 1 Environmental problems harmful to the ecosystems animals native plants 2 Food safety contamination 3 Terminator technology Bad if you eat these foods We are already eating them o 90 corn sugar boats soybeans are genetically modified o 2010 National Academy Sciences NAS report reduces pesticides and erosion Their summary was to not go overboard we cannot really see the impact yet it takes time Ethno botany How humans learn about plants Shamans Druids Herbalists still employ ethno botany by testing out plants Wade Davis o Graduate student at Harvard in 70s o Goes to Haiti and follows up on story about zombies o Finds out about a potion which supposedly makes someone into a zombie o Puffer fish causes your heart to slow down to very slow so it cant even be detected Native American Indians Use of plants and herbs for medicinal and other purposes o Bay leaves keeps fleas and insects away o Yucca used to make baskets and as a needle and thread o Willow tree where we get aspirin acts as a painkiller o California buckeye used in fishing Smash into a powder then throw the powder into the water forcing the fish to float to the service as gets rid of oxygen