eee ee ee eee reer Tod sue siness Influenced the Contemporary...2_342 HOGS AND PIGS IN THE UNITED STATES, 2012 (ne dat represents 20,000 hogs and pigs “The United States totals 66,026,785 eases mm Figure 11.22 Hogs and Pigs in the United States, 2012. Hog snd pig production is concentrated in the Corn Belt in and around Jowa and in North Carolina, The earliest stages of hog production are done inside buildings using systems designed to reduce the possibilty of disease spreading among the livestock, Coury of United States Census of Agere, Nelnal Agicultural Sistis Servic, farmers in distant lands have real control aver land-use deci- sions, or the bette-off people in the global economic core play «a disproportionate role in deciding what will be bought at what price. The colonial era may have come to an end, but asthe map, ‘of agricultural regions reminds us, its imprint remains strong. Environmental Impacts of Commercial Agriculture Commercial agriculture produces significant environmental changes, The growing demand for protein-rich foods and more efficient technologies are leading to overfishing in many regions of the world, In many places fish stocks are declining. at an alarming rate. From mid-century to the late 1980s, the fish harvest from oceans and seas increased fivefold, and there seemed to be no limit to it. Countries quarreled over fishing, rights, poorer countries leased fishing grounds to richer ones, and fleets of trawlers plied the oceans, International attempts, to regulate fishing industries failed. Then in the 1970s and 1980s, overfishing began destroying fish stocks. The cod fish- cries on Canada’s Grand Banks off Newfoundland collapsed. In 1975, biologists estimated the Atlantic Bluefin tuna popu- lation at 250,000; today the western stock is listed as criti- cally endangered, and the stock in the Mediterranean is listed as endangered. From ocean perch and king crabs off Alaska to rock lobsters and roughies off New Zealand, fish and shellfish populations are depleted. The total annual catch is also dec ing and may already be beyond the point of recovery. Much of the damage has already been done, and fishing industries in ‘many parts of the world have reported dwindling harvests, and missing species. If you travel to Mediterranean Burope today you will see a landscape that reflects the clearing of forests in ancient, times to facilitate agriculture and trade, Look carefully at ‘many hillslopes and you will see evidence of terraces cut intoCHAPTER 11 Agricul ‘and the Rural Landscape the hills many centuries ago, The industilization and com- rmercialization of agriculture has accelerated the pace and extent of agriculture’ impact on the environment in recent times, Moreland has been cleared, and the land that is under cultivation is ever more intensively used. Significant agriculturally driven changes tothe environ rent go far beyond the simple clearing of land. They range fom sol erosion to changes in the organic content of sols to the presence of chemicals (herbicides, pesticides, even atii ates and growth hormones from livestock feces) in soils and feroundvater. In places where large commercial crop farms ciominat, the greatest concerns often center on the introduction of chemical fertilizers and pesticides into the environment— as wel as soll erosion. And, as we have seen, the movement toward genetically modified crops carries with it another set ‘of environmental concerns. “The growth of organi farming (discussed atthe begin- ning ofthe chapter) and the move toward the use of local foods in some communities can benefit the environment. Yet such ni- tatves have had only modest impacts on the majority of the world’s peoples and places. telling sig is that the organic ‘movement has had little effect on the production of the staple ons of people depend. Moreover, large cor~ Porat entities are playing an increasingly prominent role in the organic movement—raising concerns about standards and rea dering illsory the ideal of an independent organic farmer engaged in “sustainable” agriculture, Nonetheless, better regu- lated organic farming and local food initiatives are clearly on the rise. Thee proponents argue that they are priced out ofthe mar- ket by subsidies favoring large farms and by the failure of most agribusiness to incorporate the environmental and health costs of large-scale, intensive farming, into their production costs, ‘The environmental impacts of large-scale intensive agriculture canbe particularly severe when agricultare moves into marginal environments as has happened withthe expen sion of livestock herding into arid or semiarid areas (sce the snap of world climates, Fig. 11.17). The natural vegetation in these areas cannot always sustsin the herds, especially during prolonged droughts. As a result, ecological degradation and, in some areas, desertification ae the result In recent decades, the popularity of fast-food chains that serve hamburgers has led to the deforestation of wooded areas in order to open up additional pastres for beef cattle, notably in Central and South Americ, Livestock ranching i= and energy-intensive proces. Significant land must be turned over to the cultivation of cattle feed, and the animals themselves need extensive grazing areas, By stripping away vegetation, the animals can promote the erosion of river banks, with implications for everything from water quality to wildlife habitat. foods on which fan extremely land:, wate The Challenge of Feeding Everyone Food riots that break out in low-income countries and stories of famine in countries such as Somalia, Sudan, Malawi, and Zimbabwe remind us that food security remains a challenge for millions of people around the globe. Although food pro- diction has expanded in some pats of the world, food pro- duction per capita has setually declined in Afriea over the past decade, Worldwide, neatly 1 billion people are malnoucished. Currently, enough food is produced worldwide o feed Barth's population, but inthe face of inadequate distribution systems and widespread poverty, food security looms as a significant issue for the twenty-frst century ‘The United Nations World Food Program defines hun- ger as ving on les than the daily recommended 2100 calories the average person needs to live «healthy life. While news stories focus on starving populations in the wake of wars and natural disasters, acute emergencies account for less than 8 percent ofthe global hungry. Chronic undernourishment is a much greater problem, impeding childhood development, ‘weakening immune systems and undermining the social fabric of communities. Malnutrition is key factor in the death of ‘more than 2.3 million children who do not reach the age of 5 In response to widespread malnourishment and famine, Jn 1985 the US. Agency for International Development created the Famine Early Warning System, which now collaborates with other organizations worldwide to monitor food stores and pre- dict food insecurity. Many governments and nongovernmental organizations provide food aid to populations in need. The UN World Food Program is the largest source of food aid in the world. It delivers food that is tailored to meet the nutritional needs of particular groups. A typical food basket includes a staple food such as wheat lout or tice; a protein, often enti or other legumes; vegetable oll sugar; and salt. Despite these initiatives, the batle against malnutrition is far from won, and climate change i introducing new chal- lenges in places that are confronting extended droughts exacerbated threats from new pests, and altered growing conditions for traditional crops (see Chapter 13). For the moment, however, the global food supply remains adequate to meet the needs of the human population, meaning that malnu- twtion and famine are at heat political and social problems, In their landmark work on vulnerability, geographers Michael ‘Watts and Hans Bohl point to three interrelated causes of food insecurity: declining control over local food resources, lack of politcal power, and poitical-economic structures that foster inequality. With government corruption, institutional inf ciencies,and power struggles layered on top of thes, the stage is sot for the hunger problems described above. OF course, many people in poorer countries do not suf- fer from malnutrition, and malnutrition is not listed to the periphery. There are children in vietully every county inthe United States who do not have access to adequate food. That reality gave rise tothe No Kid Hungry Campaiga, which pro- vides breakfasts to children who come to school hungry. Research shows that students who are hungry do not perform well in school, and that breskfast is critical to academic success. No Kid Hungry also helps ensure children receive lunches during the summer, when school is out and children cannot take advantage of school lunch programs. vl aoa aae =|Mm seme ig anki farina TE etcrtiren (eel ann nd pets ‘Fouiee mm Figure 11.23, [J] oter Farming on the Edge: High-Quality Farmland in the Path of Development, 2002. This map from American Farmland ‘rust, whose charge is to preserve farmland, highlights farmland that is endangered of being suburbanized as cities expand into neighboring farmlands. Coury of American Fares Ts, pnw farmlandorgfarmingonthesdge/mapshn a accessed November 2005, Looking ahead, there is growing concern in the United States and beyond over the loss of fertile, productive farm- lands to housing and retail developments (Fig. 11.23). Many cities were established amid productive farmlands that could supply the needs of their inhabitants, Now the cities are absorbing the productive farmlands as they expand, Between 1987 and 1992, China lost more than one million hectares of farmland to urbanization. Inthe United States, the American, Farmland Trust identified 12 U.S. areas where farmland was giving way to urban uses ata rapid rate inthe 1990s, includ- ing California's Central Valley, South Florida, California's, coastal zone, North Carolina's Piedmont, and the Chicago~ Milwaukee-Madison triangle in Ilinois-Wisconsin. These 12 areas represent only 5 percent of US. farmland, but they pro- duce 17 percent of total agricultural sales, 67 percent of all fruit, 58 percent ofall vegetables, and one-quarter of all dairy products. Figures for other countries in the richer parts ofthe ‘world (such as Japan) as well as for poorer countries (such as, Egypt) prove that urban expansion into productive farmland isa global problem with serious implications for the future. ‘The conversion of farmlands into housing develop- ments is not confined to areas close to major cities that could become suburbs, Expendable wealth and the desire to have a place to “get away from it all” have led highly productive commercial agricultural areas to be converted into regions for second homes. On the Delmarva Peninsula in the United States, for example, where poultry production is concen- trated, the price of land rose as urbanites from Pennsylvania, ‘Washington, D.C, Maryland, and New York bought land on the eastern shore to build second homes, Many of the new residents on the peninsula are demanding higher environmen- tal standards, Rising land prices and stricter environmental standards are placing a squeeze on the cost of chicken production, As urban population continues to grow and expendable wealth increases for the wealthiest of the popula- tion, more agricultural lands will be converted to housing,344 CHAPTER 11 _ Agriculture and the Rural Landscape Go-21 MMos. 26 MN 190-151 MM 195-216 + ZCTAcontroids containing 21-43 MMM 90-t0s MM 151-173 [_]couny iat atari Hi 43-65 MM) 108-130 MN 173-105 [ZZ] Metro county i wm Figure 11,24 Food Deserts in Oregon, 2010. Mean distance (km) from population-weighted Z1P Code Tabulation Area (ZCTA) centro containing large or medium supermarkets in Oregon. developments, especially lands in beautiful areas with recre- ational amenities, Population growth, the loss of agricultural land, and the types of political-economic factors highlighted by Watts and Bohle help explain why global food prices have been on the rise for more than a decade. Further pressure on food prices is coming from consumption increases in countries experienc- ing rapid development (eg, China) and from a trend toward using food crops for biofuel production, These factors were behind an almost 50 percent surge in global food prices between April 2007 and March 2008. Food riots brake out in some cities, and the specter of large-scale famine grew, Another more recent spike in food prices was one factor in the outbreak of revolutions in North Africa and Southwest Asia in spring 2011. A convergence of changing land use, increasing use of grains for fuel, corrupt governments, and environmental impacts works against the provision of ade- quate food at reasonable prices for the world’s poor. Despite the severity of the situation, in today’s world it is possible for many people to put farming largely out of their minds, As a result of the industralization of agriculture and improvements in transportation, consumers come in contact with farmers much less frequently than did previous generations. On a freezing cold winter day in Cincinnati, a 8=6—e Map courtier of Aki Micki, 2011 Ohio, consumers can purchase fresh strawberries grown in Chile, Consumers can also purchase highly processed foods with long shelf lives and forget where the item was pur- chased, much less think of the farm work that went into the ingredients. As a result of the growing distance between farmers and consumers, geographers have sought to draw attention, to food deserts—areas where people have limited access to fresh, nutritious foods (Fig. 11.24). Urban food deserts, are typically found in low-income neighborhoods where medium-size and large grocery stores are largely absent; instead, the only grocery stores within easy reach are small, ones filed mainly with processed, energy-dense but nutrient- poor food. British geographer Hilary Shaw (2008) found that consumers in urban food deserts were more Likely to purchase unhealthy foods because these foods were cheaper than fresh fruits and vegetables. Geographers Akihiko Michimi and Michael Wimberly found that rural food deserts lack not only larger grocery stores but also public transportation to reach larger grocery stores. In their study of food deserts and access to fruits and. vegetables, the geographers found that since the 1980s in rural areas of the United States a “restructuring of food retail industries has occurred such that local grocery stores thatconce served small rural communities have been closed” and replaced with larger national chains in regional trade centers. Michimi and Wimberly also found a difference between food deserts in metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas of the | | TT ‘Agricultural production has changed drastically since the First Ageicultural Revolution. Today, agricultural products, even perishable ones, are shipped around the world. Agriculture has industrialized, and in many places, food pro- duction is dominated by large-scale agribusiness. A major commonality between ancient agriculture and modern agri- culture remains: the need to change. Trial and error were the norms of early plant and animal domestication; those same processes are at play in the biotechnology-driven agriculture Watch it Online 245 United States, In metropolitan areas, obesity rates increased and the rate of fruit and vegetable consumption decreased with increasing distance from grocery stores. They did not find the same correlation in nonmetropolitan areas. landscape, from land surveys to land ownership to land use. Globalization has made an imprint on landscapes and agri- business. What is produced where is not simply a product of the environment and locally available plants; the modern ‘geography of agriculture depends on factors ranging from ‘climate and government regulation to technology and shifting ‘global consumption patterns, \ | ‘ofthe contemporary era. Whatever the time period or process involved, agriculture leaves a distinct imprint on the cultural Geographic Concepts eee | | organic agriculture agriculture primary economic activity secondary economic activity tertiary economic activity quaternary economic activity quinary economic activity plant domestication shifting cultivation yon Thilnen model biotechnology Green Revolution slash-and-burn agriculture Second Agricultural Revolution ‘Third Agricultural Revolution ‘genetically modified organisms primogeniture commercial agriculture monoculture Képpen climatic classification system climatic regions plantation agriculture livestock ranching, Mediterranean agriculture root crops (GMOs) cash crops { seed crops rectangular survey system luxury crops First Agricultural Revolution township- and range-system agribusiness animal domestication subsistence agriculture Learn More 0) (16 A cc About food production and development wwwfoodfrstong metes-and-hounds system Tong-lot survey system food desert [About the preservation of agricultural lands ‘wow farmland org | Watch It Ori @ aman Guns, Germs, and Steel www pbs.org/gunsgermsstee! Loss of agricultural land to suburbanization in Chicago ‘wwrwlearner.org/resources/series180.htmléprogram_. descriptions click on video on demand for program 24 Russia's Farming Revolution www learner org/resources/series 80 htmlsprogram_. descriptions click on video on demand for program 7 Sustainable agriculture in India | www learner.org/tesources/series 80 htmléprogram_. descriptions click on video on demand for program 17 | |