Chapter 11—Feeding the World
Objectives
1. Describe human nutritional needs and the challenges of overcoming hunger and
malnutrition.
2. Explain the difference between malnutrition and undernutrition.
3. List the possible reasons for food insecurity in the world today.
4. Explain the development of modern industrial agriculture, the role played by inputs such
as irrigation water, fertilizers, and pesticides, and the environmental consequences of
modern farming methods
5. Explain the energy subsidy in agriculture.
6. Describe the major features of the Green Revolution.
7. List the pros and cons of pesticide use.
8. Identify the benefits and costs of using genetically modified organisms in agriculture.
9. Describe alternatives to industrial farming methods.
10. Describe the benefits and disadvantages of alternatives to industrial farming methods.
11. Explain the basic principles of organic agriculture.
12. Explain the environmental impacts of various approaches to raising and harvesting meat
and fish.
13. Explain how the concept of the tragedy of the commons applies to modern fisheries.
Do The Math
Use dimensional analysis to determine approximately how much land it would take to feed one
person in the U.S.
Vocabulary Terms
malnourished
food scarcity
food insecurity
famine
anemia
agroforestry
meat
Industrial agriculture (agribusiness)
persistent
energy subsidy
Green Revolution
bioaccumulation
nonpersistent
economies of scale
waterlogging
monocropping
pesticides
insecticides
herbicides
broad-spectrum pesticides
contour plowing
selective pesticides
crop rotation
no-till agriculture
intercropping
sustainable agriculture
Integrated pest management (IPM)
organic agriculture
nomadic grazing
fishery
resistant
salinization
pesticide treadmill
bycatch
conventional
aquaculture
organic fertilizers agriculture
desertification
fishery collapse
shifting agriculture
inorganic fertilizers
Individual transferable quotas (ITQ’s)
Concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFO’s)