Global trends in agriculture

Global trends in agriculture

• 1.
  GLOBAL TRENDS INAGRICULTURE FOOD PRODUCTION
• 2.
  WHAT IS AFOOD SYSTEM?  A food system includes all processes involved in feeding a population  Growing  Harvesting  Processing  Packaging  Transporting  Marketing  Consumption  Disposal of food and food-related items.
• 3.
  TYPES OF FOODSYSTEMS  Conventional- a production model geared toward maximizing efficiency in order to lower consumer costs while increasing production i.e. industrialized agriculture  Alternative- smaller scale specialized markets, local systems, organic systems and cooperatives. This depend less on consumer cost and more on consumer satisfaction
• 4.
  CONVENTIONAL SYSTEMS  Conventionalfood systems allow for consumers to pay less for their food and generally create jobs, however the quality of the food and the concern for the land and animals it effects are generally not a major concern. Land is often over used, animals are confinement and greenhouse gas production and fertilizer run off are common problems
• 5.
  ALTERNATIVE SYSTEMS  Local-reduce food transportation by using direct marketing i.e. farmers markets  Organic- reduces chemical input. Produce is grown without chemical fertilizers and animals are produced without hormones or antibiotics  Cooperatives- occur where farmers pool their resources to reduce production costs and increase efficiency or production
• 6.
  AGRICULTURAL TRENDS  Inthe beginning when populations were small with less mouths to feed and the majority of Americans lived in rural areas where they could produce their own food Local Systems ruled the industry however as Americans migrated to cities, populations increased and technology improved corporate or industrial farming has removed the majority of local farms. In recent years do to health and environmental concerns alternative systems are making a come back, but they have a long way to go.
• 7.
  ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT  Conservationand Agriculture must go hand in hand  Every food system, conventional or alternative, must be aware of environmental impact, which includes feedlot lagoons, crop rotation, air quality, fertilizer run off etc.
• 8.
  GLOBAL RELATIONSHIPS  Dueto increased technology global trade has become more and more common. American farmers ship food to almost every country in the world and in return we import coffee, cocoa, exotic fruits, spices, silk and much, much more.
• 9.
  CULTURAL PERSPECTIVES  Consumersdetermine demand, therefore the culture of consumers determines what agriculturalists produce.  Lamb and olives are popular in Greek populations  Goat is popular with populations from Mexico and Islamic countries  Japan prefers Prime beef, or beef with larger amounts of fat  Beans are popular in Hispanic populations