ECO 190 pop quiz 2

In general, what is happening to 1) the size of firms and 2) the geographic scope of input procurement, production, processing, and distribution as one goes from Tier 1 to Tier 2 to Tier 3 to Tiers 4/5?

1) Increase; 2) Increase.

According to Dr. Kimura who wrote Chapter 4 (Food and Nutrition), what is the more promising solution to addressing hidden hunger in developing nations in the long run?

Addressing systemic inequities related to gendered access to education, jobs, food production, health care, etc.

According to the USDA (2014) report "Global Drivers of Agricultural Demand and Supply," what are the main finding(s) from the FARM model of global food demand and production from now until 2050?

All answers a, b and c. a) Adequate increases in agricultural productivity so there are not substantial increases in demand for new land to produce food and so there are not higher crop prices. b) If agricultural productivity does not increase as projected and/or if global population grows more than expected, crop prices will increase which will increase demand for new crop land. c) Any increase in demand for new crop land is limited by competitive uses with pasture and forest.

What is/are technical determinants of farming systems?

All answers a, b and c. a) Climate, land and access to water., b) Capital availability and distance to market. c) Biological factors such as insect pests to livestock used for traction.

What distinguishes value chains that are "values-based" from those that are not?

All answers a, b and c. a) Open transparency of budgets for firms in chain to determine fair pricing. b) Respect / relationship cultivation despite power differences between firms. c) Seeking greater personal connections between producers and consumers.

What plant characteristic(s) and associated benefit are attributed to Green Revolution crop cultivars ("cultivated varieties") such as Norman Borlaug's hybrid wheat and IR8 rice?

All answers a, b and c. a) Short stalks to prevent crop loss from lodging. b) Higher degree of crop yield responsiveness to applications of chemical fertilizers. c) Higher yielding compared to traditional varieties resulting in substantial increases in wheat (3x) and rice (10x) productivity.

What are examples of "nutritionism"?

All answers a, b, and c. a) Macro-nutrients requirements. b) Addressing micro-nutrient deficiency for hidden hunger in developing nations. c) Emphasis on cutting calories in ones diet.

What do Dr. Glenna and Dr. Tobin describe as impact(s) of the increased privatization of agricultural research over the past 30 years and subsequent reduced reliance on public land grant universities for basic research?

All answers a, b, and c. a) Post Green Revolution plateau of wheat yields. b) Increased university reliance on private sector funding and research agendas. c) Private sector favoring men over women thus increasing gender gaps in developing countries.

What natural disaster caused and who was impacted the most by the 1942-43 famine in Bengal?

Cyclone and flooding; Landless poor.

In general, what is true for income elasticities for all agricultural products modeled by FARM in developed nations (e.g. United States) compared to developing BRICS nations (e.g. Brazil, Russian and other former Soviet republics, India, China, and South Africa)?

Developed nations (e.g. U.S.) have less responsiveness of agricultural products to income compared to developing BRICS nations, however this gap in responsiveness will close over time.

What is the order of Maine firms used as examples of the input, producer, marketing (processing), and marketing (distribution) sectors respectively? Note that Thirty Acre Farm buys organic cabbages from other Maine organic farms in order to produce and bottle pickled vegetables like sauerkraut.

Fedco → ME organic farm → Thirty Acre Farm → Natural Living Center.

According to the economist Dr. Amartya Sen, what was the primary cause of starvation during the 1942-43 Bengal famine?

Hyperinflation and speculation out-pricing food for the poor.

Value chains are a sequence of firm(s) that produce agricultural inputs, raise and process food, and deal with transport and distribution of such food. In other words, the sequence of firms follows food from inputs to farm to fork. These firms can be lumped into "sectors." What is the logical sequence of sectors in a value chain?

Input → Farming → Marketing(Processing) → Marketing(Distribution).

What type of nutrient cycling is typical of Tier 4/5 food systems compared to the other tiers?

Linear.

What type of farming system can be susceptible to degradation due to a lack of incentives to conserve common property?

Pastoral nomadism.

After reading Norton, Chapter 8, what is the predominant type(s) of farming system(s) practiced in the U.S.? This type of system can include conventional (i.e. Cargill), industrial organic (i.e. Earthbound Farms), and local (i.e. Farmer Bob at the European Farmers Market in Bangor, ME) agriculture.

Settled agriculture.

What type of farming system involves clearing land and growing crops for short periods of time before repeating the process elsewhere?

Shifting cultivation.

Which of the following agricultural cases would BEST deviate from "technological determinism" (failure to prioritizing the negative social consequences of agricultural technology)?

Theoretical agricultural technology development that does NOT require any science of repair.

In the sequence of videos on "Tiers of the Food System," Eric Bendfelt discusses the 5 tiers of the Food System. What tier would farmers at the Orono Farmers' Market and farmers in Maine that do Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) fall into?

Tier 2: Producer Local Market.