ANTHROP 1AA3 Lecture 3: Food Production
8 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Food Production & Global Change
Vertical Farming
- Present way food production, changing the way we farm
- Integrating farming and urban architecture
- Increase yield
Aspects of Food Examined in Anthropology
- Production
- Preparation (e.g., cooking)
- Distribution – gifts, exchange, feasts, festivals, markets
- Disposal – what is considered trash; who gets leftovers?
Just Eat It Documentary
- Supermarkets accept food based on aesthetics
- There used to be propaganda not to waste food
How Humans Are Transforming the Earth – Contemporary Global Trends
Pessimists vs Optimists
- Optimists: logic-of-Growth model
o Technology, modernity, and economic growth will solve our problems
- Pessimists: Doomsday model
o Malthus (a person) Malthusian Theory of Population
▪ Positive checks (diseases, war)
▪ Preventative checks (postponing marriage, delaying children)
Contribution of Anthropology
- Understanding relationship between humans and their environment, past and present
- Example – zoonoses
o Decreasing biodiversity increases our chances of getting infectious diseases
Technological Trends
Environmental Trends
- Myth of the “ecological noble savage”
- We have been modifying/damaging the environment for a long time (small scale)
- Modern humans – happening on a larger scale
The “Green Revolution”
- Began after WWII (1945)
- New high yield crop varieties, fertilizers, pesticides, & mechanized equipment
Mechanized Agriculture and the Green Revolution
- Crop rotation
- Natural & chemical fertilizers
- Commercial seed production
- Winter feeding
Food Production & Global Change
Vertical Farming
- Present way food production, changing the way we farm
- Integrating farming and urban architecture
- Increase yield
Aspects of Food Examined in Anthropology
- Production
- Preparation (e.g., cooking)
- Distribution – gifts, exchange, feasts, festivals, markets
- Disposal – what is considered trash; who gets leftovers?
Just Eat It Documentary
- Supermarkets accept food based on aesthetics
- There used to be propaganda not to waste food
How Humans Are Transforming the Earth – Contemporary Global Trends
Pessimists vs Optimists
- Optimists: logic-of-Growth model
o Technology, modernity, and economic growth will solve our problems
- Pessimists: Doomsday model
o Malthus (a person) Malthusian Theory of Population
▪ Positive checks (diseases, war)
▪ Preventative checks (postponing marriage, delaying children)
Contribution of Anthropology
- Understanding relationship between humans and their environment, past and present
- Example – zoonoses
o Decreasing biodiversity increases our chances of getting infectious diseases
Technological Trends
Environmental Trends
- Myth of the “ecological noble savage”
- We have been modifying/damaging the environment for a long time (small scale)
- Modern humans – happening on a larger scale
The “Green Revolution”
- Began after WWII (1945)
- New high yield crop varieties, fertilizers, pesticides, & mechanized equipment
Mechanized Agriculture and the Green Revolution
- Crop rotation
- Natural & chemical fertilizers
- Commercial seed production
- Winter feeding
Document Summary
Present way food production, changing the way we farm. Distribution gifts, exchange, feasts, festivals, markets. There used to be propaganda not to waste food. How humans are transforming the earth contemporary global trends. Optimists: logic-of-growth model: technology, modernity, and economic growth will solve our problems. Pessimists: doomsday model: malthus (a person) malthusian theory of population, positive checks (diseases, war, positive checks (diseases, war, preventative checks (postponing marriage, delaying children) Understanding relationship between humans and their environment, past and present. Example zoonoses: decreasing biodiversity increases our chances of getting infectious diseases. We have been modifying/damaging the environment for a long time (small scale) Modern humans happening on a larger scale. New high yield crop varieties, fertilizers, pesticides, & mechanized equipment. 1950-1985: world grain supplies increase nearly 3x. Countries that had regular famines prior to green revolution now had grain reserves in supply for lean years ( e. g. , india & latin america) Goal increase production to end world hunger.
