GEOG 1101 Lecture 19 Outline of Last Lecture I. Energy consumption II. Climate Change III. Nuclear Power IV. Three Gorges Dam V. Renewable Energy VI. Deforestation and Desertification VII. Environmental sustainability VIII. Land use Outline of Current Lecture I. Pre Green Revolution Agriculture II. Seeds III. Green Revolutiona. Success or Failure? IV. Agriculture in USV. Government subsidies VI. Cheap Food/ Foreign policy VII. Food Miles Current Lecture Pre Green Revolution Agriculture Diversified Largely Rain-fed Substance Based Fertilizers from animal/plant sources Traditional cultivars Seeds Open Pollinated: Natural pollination by insects, etc. Seeds breed true, but may contain genetic diversity Some species may produce seeds with wide variety if open-pollinated F-1 Hybrid: varieties bred for particular traits, created through selective inbreeding of different varieties of same species Seeds do not reed true and exhibit trait variability in next generation Genetically modified: Seeds whose genomes have been altered by inserting genetic material from a different species 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.Green Revolution Found that there is a need to produce more food, but did not see that people did not have enough money to buy the food International effort to improve productivity, starting with corn, went and rice, high yield varieties Started around 1960 with an effort to breed and distribute enhanced seeds High yielding varieties, particularly targeted toward developing countries Eliminate hunger, increase agricultural yields, and increase technological know-how The food supply has increased along with population growth Green revolution success or failure? Population is still increasing Urbanization causes mega cities in developing countries Lack of transportation infrastructure is causing crop losses Poverty and food insecurity are still with us In India, 90% of population in some areas Cost prohibitive production practices for poor farmers Loss of arable land from subsistence uses to cash crops Chicken and egg question about whether agricultural surpluses actually create population growth Agriculture in US Post WWII Chemical/ mechanical intensive and vs labor intensive production practices Surplus nitrogen is used in agricultural chemicals Increase in size of farms while decrease in number of farms Production of commodities/ export crops Top commodities: cattle, dairy, corn, soybeans, etc. Top exports: soybeans, feed grains, live animals and meat, wheat Government subsidies/tax moneyKeeps the costs of production downFarmers overproduce to see a profitSurpluses drive prices downFacilitates industrialization processKeeps food prices low=keeps wages low=increases profits in industrial sectorDrives farmer bankruptcy, consolidation of farmland AND the production of cheap foodCheap food=foreign policyAmericans= 10% of disposable income on food The CPI for food increased 3.4 percent in 2004 and, over the past ten years, has increased at an average annual rate of 2.6 percent (1996-2005).The buyers from large chain super markets do not want to deal with small farmers which drives the consolidation of farms.There are 8 big companies, which own many of the popular brands. Food Miles: average food bite travels 2000 Miles within the US A lot of greenhouse gasses from transportation and processing of