Human Geography: Places and Regions in Global Context, 7e (Knox/Marston)
Chapter 9 Geographies of Food and Agriculture
9.1 Multiple Choice
1) The practice of land grabbing — foreign investment in agricultural land in the world’s
periphery — is designed to
A) improve rural development.
B) alleviate world hunger.
C) make a profit and feed the core.
D) help stabilize world food prices and maintain world food supply.
2) For a Midwestern family that wishes to eat from the local food shed, they would most like
have to do without
A) corn
B) beef
C) apples
D) milk
E) bananas.
3) Commercial agricultural systems in the core are especially efficient in terms of food
production per unit of
A) area.
B) labor.
C) fuel energy.
D) water.
E) both area and labor.
4) Plantations—from coffee, cocoa and tea to rubber, palm oil and bananas—typically practice
A) monoculture.
B) polyculture.
C) silviculture.
D) aquaculture.
E) multiculture.
5) Which of the following is NOT one of the major changes occurring globally in agriculture?
A) increase in the use of chemicals
B) increase in the use of machinery
C) increased integration into wider economic and industrial systems
D) increase in the number of people employed in agriculture
E) both increase in the use of chemicals and machinery
6) An agrarian culture is one (in) which
A) agricultural production is predominant in daily life.
B) is reliant on food imports.
C) agricultural production results in plentiful food exports.
D) has gone through First, Second and Third Agricultural Revolutions.
E) has benefitted from the Green Revolution.
7) Subsistence agriculture is characterized by agriculturalists who
A) consume what they produce.
B) farm on swiddens.
C) practice transhumance.
D) reject globalization and monoculture.
E) live on their farms.
8) Shifting cultivation is characterized by the practice of rotating ________ to maintain soil
fertility.
A) crops
B) fields
C) chemicals
D) farm animals
E) ownership
9) The benefits of intertillage include all except
A) reduced risk of crop failure.
B) spreading out food production over the farming season.
C) increased ability to replace people with equipment, like tractors.
D) soil erosion control.
E) soil moisture retention and maximization.
10) Characteristic of intensive subsistence agriculture is the great amount of ________ required
for attaining high yields.
A) labor
B) fertilizers
C) land
D) both labor and land
E) both land and fertilizers
11) Compared to large, industrial farms, traditional intensive subsistence farms tend to
A) be a more sustainable form of production.
B) rely more on sophisticated forms of mechanization.
C) use chemical fertilizers rather than manure and compost.
D) have low yields.
E) lack agricultural and environmental understanding.
12) Pastoralism
A) involves wandering around harsh environments hoping to find water and forage for their
animals.
B) is increasing as the nomadic life-style appeals to people tired of the city.
C) is found only in the Middle East and North Africa.
D) depends on animals rather than crops for their livelihood.
E) is both found only in the Middle East and North Africa and depends on animals rather than
crops for their livelihood.
13) The dramatic increase in yields associated with the second agricultural revolution coincided
with
A) a commercial market for food created by the growing urban labor force.
B) the advent of communism and the emergence of communal farming systems.
C) the arrival of crops (potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, chocolate) from the New World.
D) the introduction of hybrid seeds and GMOs (genetically modified organisms).
E) the large influx of migrants from peripheral to core countries.
14) In contrast to the first two agricultural revolutions, the third one originated in the
A) New World.
B) Old World.
C) core.
D) periphery.
E) laboratory.
15) Which of the following is NOT characteristic of the Third Agricultural Revolution?
A) mechanized inputs — replacement of human farm labor with machines
B) chemical inputs — use of inorganic fertilizers and pesticides
C) occurred in the 20th century and continues through today
D) ended with the arrival of the Green Revolution
E) turned agricultural outputs into secondary sector inputs
16) The industrialization of agriculture has made the farm
A) the center of agricultural production.
B) the center of the service sector of the economy.
C) the cutting edge of new technology.
D) a component in the agro-commodity production system.
E) an unnecessary part of food production.
17) The industrialization of agriculture involves all of the following except
A) the replacement of labor with machines.
B) technological changes in inputs that affect the biological outputs.
C) the replacement of agricultural products with manufactured (synthetic/artificial) products.
D) the globalization of the food chain.
E) the replacement of chemically-oriented agriculture with organic production.
18) The Green Revolution innovations in agriculture are based on a package of inputs including
all of the following except
A) high yielding seed varieties.
B) synthetic fertilizers.
C) chemical pesticides.
D) irrigation.
E) natural fertilizers (compost, green manure, animal manure).
19) The primary worldwide benefit of the Green Revolution has been an increase in
A) food production.
B) environmental benefits.
C) land reform.
D) wages for farmers.
E) conflicts between the primary and secondary sectors.
20) For the most part, at least in its first decades, the Green Revolution targeted ________ for
improvements.
A) grains like rice, corn and wheat
B) agricultural production in Africa
C) export luxury crops like coffee, tea, and cocoa
D) nontraditional agricultural exports (NTAEs) like fruit, flowers and vegetables
E) both grains like rice, corn, and wheat, and export luxury crops like coffee, tea, and cocoa
21) In the context of agribusiness and the globalization of agriculture, the food supply chain is a
way of understanding complex connections between
A) agricultural producers and food consumers.
B) foods in the major food groups.
C) governments and transnational food corporations.
D) monoculture and polyculture.
E) consumption, behavior and health.
22) A food regime is the specific set of links that exists among food production, consumption,
capital investment and accumulation opportunities. Since the 1960s, global agriculture has
changed from a wheat and livestock food regime to a
A) fast food regime.
B) fish regime.
C) fresh fruits and vegetables regime.
D) poultry regime.
E) hot dish and casserole regime.
23) The advantage(s) of biotechnology is (are) that it
A) has improved environments through reduced use of agricultural chemicals.
B) enabled the development of plants outside of their natural/most suitable habitats.
C) provides small farmers with the means to sustain their livelihoods.
D) isn’t more susceptible to disease.
E) both isn’t more susceptible to disease and has improved environments through reduced use of
agricultural chemicals.
24) An organism that has had its DNA modified in a laboratory rather than through cross-
pollination or other forms of evolution is known as a(n)
A) GMO.
B) DDT.
C) HBO.
D) GOP.
E) CSA.
25) Because the health and environmental impacts of GMOs are not well-understood,
A) the United States allows GMOs to be used only in research.
B) Europe severely limits GMO food imports.
C) farmers in the United States refuse to use them.
D) they are not widely used and were just another passing fad.
E) Europe severely limits GMO food imports, and the United States allows GMOs to be used
only in research.
26) As a whole, the core cause of global undernutrition is
A) poverty.
B) famine.
C) the green revolution.
D) food security.
E) GMOs.
27) For a person, household or country to be food secure means that
A) access to enough food is assured.
B) enough food is available.
C) the person, household or country is self-reliant.
D) the food supply is safe and disease- and bacteria-free.
E) enough food is available and the person, household, or country is self-reliant.
28) In metropolitan areas around the world, ________ is (are) critical in supporting food security
for around 800 million.
A) urban agriculture
B) U.S. food aid
C) CSAs
D) the food chain
E) NTAEs
29) The biorevolution is expected to lead to more
A) corporate control of plants and genetic material.
B) agricultural jobs.
C) widely accessible seed varieties.
D) organic foods.
E) environmental protection.
30) From the following, the most characteristic product of the Blue Revolution is
A) fish.
B) poultry.
C) dairy products.
D) berries.
E) wine.
31) Which of the following is in proper historical sequence?
A) subsistence agriculture, commercial agriculture, hunting and gathering
B) hunting and gathering, subsistence agriculture, commercial agriculture
C) hunting and gathering, commercial agriculture, subsistence agriculture
D) commercial agriculture, subsistence agriculture, hunting and gathering
32) Which of the following has dominated food-generating practices in the twentieth century?
A) hunting and gathering
B) commercial agriculture
C) subsistence agriculture
D) pastoralism
E) swidden agriculture
33) Subsistence agriculture
A) produces food for the direct consumption of the growers and their families.
B) is designed to produce a surplus for sale.
C) does not include the raising of livestock.
D) has grown in importance over the course of the twentieth century.
34) Shifting cultivation is most commonly practiced in
A) core countries.
B) tropical and subtropical regions.
C) southern Africa and Australia.
D) Siberia.
35) Subsistence agriculture is most common in
A) Asia.
B) Europe.
C) Australia.
D) North America.
E) South America.
36) Shifting cultivation
A) technology and practice has changed dramatically over the last three centuries.
B) requires more expenditure of energy than modern farming methods.
C) works best with low population densities.
D) is experiencing a revival among organic agriculturalists.
37) Which continent has the most mandatory genetically modified food labeling requirements?
A) North America
B) Latin America
C) Europe
D) Africa
E) Asia
38) Practitioners of shifting cultivation usually begin the process of clearing a new field when
A) the government tells them to do so.
B) they are certain the last frost is past.
C) the soil of the old field is depleted of nutrients.
D) the women vote to do so.
E) seasonal and annual rainfall patterns shift.
39) Intensive subsistence agriculture
A) is used primarily in parts of the world with small populations.
B) involves more human labor than swidden agriculture.
C) usually achieves only low productivity.
D) is most commonly practiced in areas with little rainfall.
E) relies on chickens and geese as draft animals.
40) ________ dominate subsistence agriculture.
A) Lettuces and other leafy vegetables
B) Various varieties of squash
C) Potatoes, yams, and other tubers
D) Rice and other grains
E) Pigs and chickens
41) Pastoralism
A) requires elaborate fencing networks and patterns to manage herds.
B) is most commonly practiced in drier climates unsuitable for subsistence agriculture.
C) is increasing in important in most parts of the world.
D) has largely replaced intensive subsistence agriculture in Southeast Asia.
42) Which agricultural revolution is characterized by the emergence of a commercial market for
food and the beginnings of the industrialization of agriculture?
A) first
B) second
C) third
D) fourth
43) The network of relationships between food producers and consumers, and all the places and
regions involved in this network, is known as the
A) food shed.
B) food supply chain.
C) food desert.
D) food regime.
44) The industrialization of food has resulted in a complex food system that prioritizes and
emphasizes
A) farmer health and well-being.
B) fruits and vegetables.
C) environmental sustainability.
D) distribution and marketing.
E) consumer health and well-being.
45) In the middle of the eighteenth century in Europe, peasant agriculture was characterized by
A) communal farming practices borrowed from Russia.
B) an ever-tightening grip by feudal landlords on the peasants.
C) crop rotation that increased yields and soil fertility.
D) the first use of the tractor.
46) Generally speaking, the third agricultural revolution occurred when?
A) about 2,000 years ago
B) about 1,000 years ago
C) in the 18th century
D) in the 20th century
E) It just started with the introduction of GMOs.
47) Which of the following does NOT characterized one of the three phases of the third
agricultural revolution?
A) significant surplus production
B) food manufacturing
C) chemical farming
D) mechanization
48) Which phase of the third agricultural revolution affected agricultural outputs rather than
inputs?
A) food manufacturing
B) chemical farming
C) mechanization
D) surplus production
49) Crop forecasts that attempt to anticipate the impacts of global climate change show that
agricultural output is going through decline the most
A) in the Midwest, USA.
B) across Europe.
C) across Africa and the Indian subcontinent.
D) in East Asia.
50) Which of the following is NOT one of the three important developments in the
industrialization of agriculture?
A) the development of industrial substitutes for agricultural products
B) the introduction of agrochemicals, biotechnologies, fertilizers, and hybrid seeds
C) increased focus on the family farm as the centerpiece of agricultural production
D) changes in rural labor activities
51) The Green Revolution
A) has been an unqualified success.
B) began with the peace and environmental movement of the 1960s.
C) has led to only slight increases in crop yields.
D) has not been most successful in Africa.
E) began with the peace and environmental movement in the 1960s and has led to only a slight
increase in crop yields.
52) The initial goal of Green Revolution scientists was to develop
A) more efficient irrigation systems.
B) more effective fertilizers.
C) higher yielding seeds.
D) non-toxic pesticides.
E) training manuals in local languages of the periphery.
53) Which region or country has benefited the least from the Green Revolution?
A) Africa
B) India
C) East Asia
D) Latin America
E) Mexico
54) Though the Green Revolution began with the attempt to develop high yielding hybrid seeds,
it became apparent that a whole “package” of inputs became part of the change — these included
the seeds and all of the following except
A) water
B) fertilizer.
C) pesticides.
D) labor.