Term
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
| stated that subsistence is a basic need |
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Term
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Definition
| Food Collecting vs. Food Producing |
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Term
| Important Lesson in History I |
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Definition
| Humans may have walked the earth for as long as 5,000,000 years. Domestication of food commenced only 10,000 years ago. Industrial agriculture is less than 100 years old. |
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Term
| Important Lesson in History II |
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Definition
| If humans have lived on the earth for 1,000,000 years* then for 94% of that time humans were hunter-gatherers, for 6% of that time we were producers of domesticated plant foods, and for <1% of that time we have been industrial agriculturists. |
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Term
| Hunting and Gathering (Foraging) Step 1 |
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Definition
| Roam over and exploit a very extended territory or range. The San bushmen of the Kalahari Desert region exploit a very extensive territory in Southern Africa. |
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Term
| Hunting and Gathering (Foraging) Step 2 |
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Definition
| Nomadic = non sedentary. The San bushmen move frequently. This fact is reflect in the impermanence of their shelter and homes. |
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Term
| Hunting and Gathering (Foraging) Step 3 |
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Definition
| rely on human muscular energy. The San busmen stalk their prey on foot, and kill it with a spear or a bow. |
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Term
| Hunting and Gathering (Foraging) Step 4 |
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Definition
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Term
| Hunting and Gathering (Foraging) Step 5 |
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Definition
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Term
| Hunting and Gathering (Foraging) Step 6 |
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Definition
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Term
| Hunting and Gathering (Foraging) Step 7 |
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Definition
| Egalitarian social structure - which does not mean "equal," it means that everyone enjoys the same access to critical resources. |
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Term
| The Story of the Empty Coke Bottle |
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Definition
| Coke bottle and the Bushmen. Book about it was called "The Gods Must be Crazy" |
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Term
| Hunting and Gathering (Foraging) Step 8 |
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Definition
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Term
| Hunting and Gathering (Foraging) Step 9 |
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Definition
| Hunting and Gathering is a negative feedback system - stable systems in which the expansion of one element is limited by the action of another element(s). |
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Term
| 10,000 Years Ago Everything Changed |
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Definition
| domestication of plants occurred simultaneously around world and the domestication of animals. |
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Term
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Definition
1. Fencing - largely to protect against domesticated animals
2. Weeding - to eliminate competing non-food plants
3. Watering - early horticultural societies invariably located by waterways. |
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Term
| Consequences of Domestication - Horticulture |
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Definition
1. Larger populations
2. Denser populations
3. Emergence of villages
4. Sedentary lifestyle
5. Emergence of craft specialization
6. Emergence of class differentiation
7. Slash and Burn/Swidden
8. Horticulture is still a negative feedback system |
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Term
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Definition
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Term
| Consequences of Domestication - Intensive/Industrial Agriculture |
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Definition
1. Appearance of cities
2. High degree of craft specialization
3. Complex political organization
4. Differences in status and wealth
5. Tendency for cash markets to exist
6. Larger population sizes and densities
7. Artificial additives to the system: fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides
8. Heavy reliance on water technology: pivot irrigation (Kansas)
9. Agriculture is a POSITIVE FEEDBACK SYSTEM - expanding in stability |
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Term
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Definition
| Hunting and Gathering was an extremely stable for of subsistence. Domestication, even horticulture, required additional labor. Increased population produced increased conflict, disease, and environmental degradation (among other populations) |
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Term
| The Worldview of Agriculturists |
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Definition
1. Humans can generate the greatest crop yields per unit of land
2. Humans can make nature more productive
3. Humans dominate nature through technology |
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Term
| Agriculture: The Great Paradox |
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Definition
1. Hunger and Starvation on massive scale for the 1st time in history
2. Decreased food security
3. Increased population pressure
4. Increased environmental degradation
5. Increased productivity actually leads to decreased
6. Productivity relative to need
7. Increased demand for scarce resource: water
8. Agriculture as practiced in unsustainable |
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Term
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Definition
| Agriculture is unsustainable. Some form of transition will be required. Mortality to increase due to disease and starvation. |
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Term
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Definition
| maxed out resources. Extraterritorial land areas that give the mistaken impression of increased efficiency and productivity at home. |
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Term
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Definition
| Large scale commercial fishing is a form of ghost acreage. Factory ships process fish on board and offload as "exports" without ever returning to the ships' home port |
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