Guided Data Exploration: Agriculture Copyright © 2016 Pearson Education Inc. AG-1 Name Date Guided Data Exploration: Agriculture Introduction In this exercise, you will examine data and answer questions about trends in food consumption, specifically calorie consumption, in various countries across the globe to begin to understand how global diets, and consequently global agricultural practices, have changed and continue to change. The “calorie” that is used throughout this activity and that most of us are familiar with from food packaging is actually 1 kilocalorie (1,000 calories), abbreviated as kcal. A kilocalorie can also be designated as Calorie with a capital “C” (Cal). 1. Discuss: Although agriculture, or the cultivation of plants and animals for human consumption, currently produces enough food to support the global population of over 7 billion people, nearly 1 billion people suffer from undernourishment, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Consider some of the major reasons for the uneven distribution of food across the globe and where widespread undernourishment or even famine is most likely to occur. Part 1: Calorie and Nutrient Content of Various Foods Before we look at calorie consumption across the globe, let’s begin by looking closely at a few food items and their calorie and nutrient content. Open the Agriculture Guided Data Exploration entitled “Global Diets” and locate the first simulation showing a plate and various food items. Examine the calorie and nutrient content for the each food shown on the right by dropping a food item onto the plate and observing the changes in the chart below. You can drop the same food item onto the plate up to three times to represent three 100 g servings of that food. You can also remove a food from the plate by dragging it off the plate. Three of these foods in particular—wheat, corn, and rice—provide the majority of the world’s calories. You will notice that below the “Total” line, which calculates the nutrient content for the foods you place on the plate, there is a line that displays a recommended daily allowance for each category. These are based on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) dietary reference intakes for a moderately active male in his early 20s. 2. Approximately how many 100 g servings of soybeans would a person have to eat in order to derive the same amount of protein as a 100 g serving of beef? servingsGuided Data Exploration: Agriculture AG-2 Copyright © 2016 Pearson Education Inc. 3. Create a meat-based diet by first placing all three available servings of beef on the plate. Now, add a variety of other foods to the plate to create a diet that provides approximately the recommended daily calorie allowance for a young adult male (2,800 calories). List how many 100 g servings of each food item are included in your diet below and the total amount of calories they provide. apple rice beef soybeans corn wheat potato total calories 4. Examine the “Total” and “Recommended daily allowance” lines for the diet you created. What can you assume about a young adult male who regularly eats a 2,800-calorie diet that includes three servings of meat in relation to the recommended daily allowances protein, carbohydrates, and fats? 5. Now, create a primarily grain- and plant-based diet that only includes one serving of beef. Create a slightly lower-calorie diet (about 2,600–2,700 calories) by adding servings of other foods to the plate. List how many 100 g servings of each food item are included in your diet below and the total amount of calories they provide. apple rice beef soybeans corn wheat potato total caloriesGuided Data Exploration: Agriculture Copyright © 2016 Pearson Education Inc. AG-3 6. Examine the “Total” and “Recommended daily allowance” lines for the diet you created. What can you assume about a young adult male who regularly eats a primarily grain- and plant-based 2,600- to 2,700-calorie diet in relation to the recommended daily allowances for protein, carbohydrates, and fats? Part 2: Calorie Consumption across the Globe Now that you are familiar with the calorie and nutrient content of different types of food, let’s examine trends in food consumption in various countries across the world (measured in average daily calorie consumption per person). Open the Agriculture Guided Data Exploration entitled “Global Diets” and locate the second simulation, a graph entitled “Daily calorie consumption by country.” Select the dropdown menu option that allows you to view the total calories consumed (from both animal and plant products combined), and examine the trends for all countries. 7. Describe the general trend in average daily calorie consumption between 1961 and 2011 for the five countries shown here. 8. Now select the dropdown menu option for the years 2001–2011 to see a more detailed view of the trends for that decade. Examine the trend in average daily calorie consumption (total) for each of the countries. Mark whether the average daily calorie consumption generally increased () or generally decreased () over the decade for each of the countries. Brazil India China United States France 9. Discuss: What factor(s) differentiate(s) the countries in which average daily calorie consumption decreased from those in which it increased?Guided Data Exploration: Agriculture AG-4 Copyright © 2016 Pearson Education Inc. 10. In order to figure out what is driving the trends in average daily calorie consumption across the countries from 2001–2011 that you just discussed, examine the total average daily calorie consumption graph, as well as the average daily calorie consumption from animal products and from plant products (on the y-axis dropdown menu). Based on the graphs, describe what factor(s)