1. Farming Systems and Food Choice
Action movie

2. Farming Systems Subsistence Commercial (Industrialized)
The provisions of food by farmers for their own family or the local community (no surplus)
Usually mixed crops with a lot of human labor
Low input of energy (fossil fuels and chemicals)
Little food is stored so vulnerable to shortages
Commercial (Industrialized)
Large profit making scale
Often a monoculture of one crop or animal
Goal is to maximize yield
High levels of energy and technology input = Usually large outputs

3. Farming Systems Extensive Intensive
Uses more land with a lower density of stock
Lower inputs/outputs
Intensive
High levels of inputs and outputs per unit area
Ex: feed lot

4. Farming Systems Pastoral Arable Mixed Raising animals
Usually on land not suitable for crops
Arable
Growing crops on good soils to eat directly or feed to animals
Mixed
Both!
Animal waste fertilizes crops and crops are fed to animals

5. Commercial vs Subsistence

6. Malnutrition General Term for the result of a poor diet. Can be…
Lacking (Undernourishment; lack of calories; LEDCs)
925 million people in the world (FAO)
2% in MEDCs and 98% in LEDCs (Asia, Africa, Oceana)
Excessive (Overnourishment; obesity; MEDCs)
Unbalanced (Wrong proportion of nutrients; Rice Heavy Diets in LEDCs)
About 13% of the world does not have enough food
MEDCs
Food is cheap
Food is a choice
LEDCs
Struggle to produce enough food
Cash Cropping: some crops are grown for export/profit instead of feeding indigenous populations!
Coffee, Flax, biofuels, some cereal grains

7. Food Choices Influenced by… Climate Culture/Religion Politics
Ecological conditions determine what will grow where
Greenhouses and irrigation can simulate different climates
Culture/Religion
Some religions forbid (proscribe) certain foods
Tradition often determines preference
Politics
Governments can subsidize certain foods while putting tariffs on others
This encourages or discourages production
Socio-economic status
Supply and demand
Farmers grow what is in demand
Which increases supply
Which decreases demand …

8. Enough Food?
There is an average of 2,780 calories available per human per day on in food.
23% more than in 1961
Technology has continued to allow food supply to outpace population growth…
…So far… (Some feel we may be near the limit of productivity and doubt if we can feed a world of 9 billion)

9. Hmm……..