ECO 190 Answers

What is the cause of Blue Baby Syndrome in the Midwest where the oxidation of hemoglobin to methemoglobin compromises the body's ability to transport oxygen?

Nitrates in groundwater.

Given population before (Pt-1), births (B), deaths (D), immigration (I), and emigration (E), current population (Pt) is mathematically defined as:

Pt = Pt-1 + B - D + I - E

What is/are technical determinants of farming systems?

-A,B,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 justification did Perry Lilly give for everyone to be concerned about limiting agricultural soil erosion?

Not controlling soil erosion is a contributing factor to historical societal collapses.

An economic way for the government to force Midwest farms to internalize (pay for) their negative externalities from Dead Zone non-point source pollution is to:

Place a tax on fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides used on farms.

After the outward shift in demand for food and the outward shift in supply of food, more food is available at the new equilibrium point. What happens to the new equilibrium price level compared to the initial equilibrium price level before demand and supply shifted out to the right?

-A,B,C- a. Increase. b. Decrease. c. Stay the same.

Since Nature's Circle Farm is organic, how are weeds controlled since chemical herbicides (like Round-Up and Atrazine) cannot be used?

-A,B,C- a. Mechanical cultivation. b. Rotating vegis with small grains. c. Stale-seed bedding using repeated cultivation.

Which of the following is/are example(s) of non-point source pollutants?

-A,B,C- a. Nutrients. b. Agricultural chemicals. c. Sediment and salts.

As people in developing countries (i.e. Ethiopia) get richer, their demand increases most for foods with what income elasticity coefficients?

Positive but > 1.

A cap and trade system for methane for large conventional dairy farms like Stonyvale in Exeter, Maine would involve:

-A,B,C- a. Setting a regional limit (Q) on the amount of methane that can be emitted. b. Breaking up this Q into many little q's or permits where each permit is an allowance to emit an amount of methane equal to Q divided by the number of permits issued. c. Creating an open market for these polluting permits that can be bought and sold between dairy farms. Dairy farms with advanced technologies to control methane (i.e. cap on manure pit lagoon for bio-digestion) can sell their methane allowances while dairy farms without such new technological investment can buy allowances.

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?

-A,B,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 potential benefits of genetically modified organisms (GMO's)?

-A,B,C- a. Cheaper pizza for college students (GM rennet for cheese and GM yeast). b. Potential for increasing vitamin content (Golden Rice) of food and providing vaccines to the developing world. c. Reducing erosion in the Midwest by using Round-Up Ready corn and soy in conjunction with the herbicide Round Up so farmers do not have to plow or till (NO-TILL AGRICULTURE).

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?

-A,B,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 distinguishes value chains that are "values-based" from those that are not?

-A,B,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 are example(s) for NON-POINT SOURCE POLLUTION?

-B,C- b. The Dead Zone (NOT the Stephen King book) in the Gulf of Mexico. c. Florida gator endocrine disruption.

What happens to Sensei's demand for the following foods if Sensei's income increases?: 1) Sushi and 2) Ramen noodles by the pallet load.

1) Increase; 2) Decrease.

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.

In the online article "The Chain Never Stops," what 1) agricultural industry and 2) challenge regarding agricultural worker safety and health are featured?

1) Meat processing; 2) Accidents at slaughterhouses due to increased line speeds.

What is/are potential 1) benefit and 2) disadvantage of no-till corn (i.e. Roundup Ready corn) versus non-GMO corn at Lilley Farms?

1) Reduce erosion; 2) More herbicide used.

The human body needs omega-3 and omega-6 fats. What is 1) the U.S. dietary challenge and 2) consequence of feeding lots of grain to animals such as beef cattle?

1) Too much omega-6 in diet; 2) Reduction in omega-3.

What is 1) the current shape of the population pyramid and 2) the area between birth rates and death rates on a demographic transition graph hypothetically like if population is expected to expand for a country 20 years from now?

1) like a pyramid; 2) big.

The recent decline in Monarch butterfly populations over the past 15 years is attributed to less milkweed in agricultural fields due to:

Both Roundup Ready GMO crops and Roundup.

What BEST explains why death rates decrease under Demographic Transition Theory?

Both b and c. [(b. Places like Eastern Maine Medical Center. c. Sanitation.)]

Why are hunting and gathering and indigenous food systems valuable?

-A,B,C- a. Hunting and gathering fosters appreciation for the generally higher food productivity of settled agricultural systems (both indigenous and modern). b. Better connection with and appreciation of food from wild game, which along with the hunter is intricately involved in a respectful and sacred relationship. c. Maya milpa system of swidden agriculture when done properly (1 hot burn to establish followed by smaller lower temperature burns over 25-year cycle) can be agriculturally productive and improve soil fertility via biochar.

In the movie, Food, Inc., what are mentioned as externalities (i.e. external costs or downsides) of conventional meat production.

-A,B,C- a. Dead Zone. b. E.Coli O157:H7. c. Migrant worker injuries.

Which of the following are negative externalities (could be either environmental or social) that are highlighted in the film "Big River"?

-A,B,C- a. Groundwater contamination with nitrates. b. Cancer in farming families. c. Eutrophication in the Gulf of Mexico.

Michael Pollan discusses "industrial organic" agricultural systems on pages 123-184 in The Omnivore's Dilemma. What is / are characteristic(s) of industrial organic agriculture discussed by Pollan?

-A,B,C- a. Reliance on economies of scale and mechanization. b. Substitution of conventional inputs such as conventional fertilizer (10-10-10) with organic ones (Chilean nitrate). c. Nationwide transport of salad greens made possible by advances in bagging technology.

Which of the following would be considered part of a local food system to UMaine students living both on campus and in downtown Orono?

-A,B,C- a. UMaine greenhouse on campus growing vegis for the Student Union. b. Orono community garden. c. Orono farmers' market in the steam plant parking lot.

Max Fairweather who runs agricultural programming at the University of District of Columbia (D.C.) Agricultural Experiment Station identifies what challenge(s) to urban agriculture in the D.C. Community Garden - Background video?

-A,B,C- a. Urban residents don't think they can garden. b. Urban gardeners are disappointed with the output from their garden. c. Still underground movement requiring intensive one-on-one guidance.

Mennonite produce auctions have recently been started to stabilize these farmers' dairy farm incomes. Similar initiatives to diversify dairy farm income by growing mixed vegetables in other states (i.e. Vermont) have been challenging. What allows old-order Mennonite dairy farm communities like the one shown in Dayton, VA to successfully add mixed vegetable enterprises?

-A,B,C- a. Use of modern dairy equipment even though horse and buggy and bicycles are used for personal transport. b. Successful direct marketing to institutional buyers through auctions. c. Having many children who can pick summer squash with latex gloves.

In the video you watched called "Future of Food," what types of farmers expressed concerned about past, current, and future lawsuits brought by Monsanto for copyright infringement of their proprietary GM crops?

AB a. Canadian commodity crop farmers raising canola. b. Mexican peasant farmers growing landrace (traditional varieties of) corn.

Which of the following are examples of negative externalities imposed on people and the environment by GMO's?

ABC a. Impact of Roundup Ready crops on declining Monarch butterfly populations plus Roundup Ready resistant weeds. b. Patenting life and subsequent Monsanto lawsuits on farmers to protect GM patents as well as genetic pollution of landrace corn in Mexico. c. Allergen potential if a peanut gene is used to produce a GMO.

What are potential benefit(s) of GMO's that have been or are currently being developed?

ABC a. Increased crop disease resistance (e.g. GM papaya in Hawaii). b. Enhanced nutritional quality of food (e.g. Golden Rice for the developing world). c. GM crops that are resistant to extreme conditions due to climate change (e.g. drought resistant corn and flood resistance "scuba" rice).

What are potentially negative impacts of climate change on agriculture?

ABC a. Lower production of milk cows from heat stress and reduced crop yields if global temperatures increase 4 degrees Celcius. b. Northern migration of insect pests such as Africanized honey bees. c. Extreme rain events flood and kill crops.

What types of challenges do migrant works face in the United States?

ABC a. Injuries in meat packing plants. b. Exposure to agricultural chemicals during field operations. c. Worker abuse.

What are negative impact(s) on Punjab agricultural farm workers, farmers and farm families resulting from conventional Green Revolution production of crops (esp. cotton and rice)?

ABC a. Cancerous tumor on farm worker Sima Singh from spraying chemical pesticides on cotton and paddy rice. b. The 257,000 Indian farmers who committed suicide over 16 years (1995 to 2010) many of who lost their farms due to plateauing conventional crop yields combined with higher industrial agricultural input costs. c. High incidences of cancer (e.g. breast cancer and leukemia) among farm family members using pesticide containers to store food including Tej Kaur and her deceased grandson.

What factors contribute to outbreaks of E. Coli O157:H7?

ABC a. High corn diet of beef cattle plus routine use of antibiotics in feed creating a favorable environment for E. Coli O157:H7 to become resistant to antibiotics. b. Rapid line speeds at industrial slaughterhouses increasing probability of getting E. Coli O157:H7 in manure on animal carcasses. c. Combining parts from thousands to beef carcasses to make industrial batches of frozen hamburger patties.

Strip cropping to reduce soil erosion typically aligns crop strips perpendicular to the flow of runoff gullies. Which of the following 3-year sequence of crop strips would most limit erosion? Assume corn grain stalk residue left behind, corn silage cut to 2 inches, alfalfa is a perennial crop cut three times, barley grain combined with no straw baled, soybeans combined, and plowed land is fallow.

Alfalfa -> Corn silage -> Barley.

According to the video, "Forks over Knives," what does mounting scientific evidence indicate is strongly associated with triggering cancer if it makes up 30% or more of dietary intake?

Animal Protein

According to Malthus, over population and starvation is associated with ________________ increases in food production associated with ________________ increases in human population.

Arithmetic; geometric.

By the year 2050, it is projected that global population will be between what range?

Between 7.5 to 10.5 billion.

How is the Mennonite produce auction in Dayton, VA conducted in the D.C. Shenandoah Valley Produce Auction (SVPA) videos?

By tractor drive through of lots sold to institutional buyers and by also using a silent auction under shelter sold to smaller buyers.

What do farmers typically have higher incidence of compared to the rest of the U.S. population likely due to greater exposure to pesticides and herbicides?

Cancers like leukemia and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

In the movie, Food, Inc., what is mentioned as a negative impact of Monsanto's practice of GM-technology from the perspective of a family farmer?

Copyright infringement litigation.

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

Cyclone and flooding; Landless poor.

What type of farm is Lilley Farms?

Dairy

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

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

Over the 20th century, where has population growth on Earth been the greatest?

Developing world.

Unlike many conventional food system farms, Polyface Farm is managed more like a(n):

Ecosystem

For conventional industrially produced food, society decides negative environmental costs (i.e. non-point source pollution) and negative social costs (i.e. deaths from E. Coli) need to be internalized in the market price of conventional food. If these negative externalities are accounted for (i.e. internalized), where is the new equilibrium point and what happens to the market supply for conventional food after accounting for these externalized costs? Assume conventional food companies are directly taxed.

Eec+sc and conventional food supply shifts in due to increased costs.

Which are negative environmental (versus social) impact(s) of the increased planting of corn in the U.S. Corn Belt for ethanol? These negative impacts are also known as negative "externalities" and can be both environmental and social in nature.

Erosion since land that used to be in the U.S. Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) has been opened up to plant more corn.

Which of the following statements regarding GMO aquaculture is TRUE?

Farmed fish may escape and breed with wild fish, reducing genetic diversity.

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.

How is a diversified organic farm like Nature's Circle able to expand to about 300 acres when management time is devoted to more than one or two crops?

Focus on several root crops with similar storage requirements.

Which of the following is / are potential problems raised by opponents of genetically modified organisms (GMO's)?

GMO's when used in monoculture without planting refuges of non-GMO crops encourage insect and weed resistance.

Under Demographic Transition Theory, countries transition from pre-industrial society (i.e. Stone Age) to post-industrialization (i.e. Developed) by going from:

High birth rates and high death rates to low birth rates and low death rates.

The potential for crop production in Maine in the future due to climate change is expected to be _______ (assume extreme rain events are manageable).

Higher

In "The Trouble with Antibiotics," what is the negative social externality associated with feeding sub-therapeutic doses of antibiotics to livestock in order to enhance these animals' weight gain?

Human exposure to antibiotic resistant pathogens.

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.

The potential for rapid population growth is greatest in which stage(s) of the Demographic Transition Theory?

II & III

How could a socially-optimal equilibrium point after accounting for negative external costs be achieved by government policy makers?

Imposing a Pigouvian tax on conventional industrial food.

Why would organic farmers be opposed to crops genetically engineered to express for the production of Bt toxin?

Potentially renders foliar application of organic formulations of Bt useless due to insect resistance from 24-hour exposure to Bt over the lifetime of the engineered crop.

What agricultural response and subsequent environmental impact has been driven by China's recent increase in pork production and consumption?

Increase in Chinese soybean demand resulting in Brazilian deforestation in Amazon and Cerrado biomes to grow no-till GMO soybeans for export to feed Chinese hogs.

Increases in human population usually do what to DEMAND for food (this may not necessarily mean that people actually get the food they need)?

Increase it.

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).

Which of the following is / are potential problems raised by opponents of GMO's?

Insects may develop resistance to Bt-corn and become harder to control.

Who orchestrates the grass-based local food system highlighted in Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma, p. 185-276?

Joel Salatin

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

Linear

Why does herbicide resistance in weeds in Roundup Ready crops theoretically take longer to happen than insecticide resistance in insect pests on Bt crops?

Longer time typically required for a plant versus insect generation.

What is/are challenge(s) associated with genetic pollution of transgenes to traditional crop cultivars?

Loss of crop genetic diversity.

After reading "The Pasta Crisis" by Mark Hertsgaard, assume current anthropogenic climate change projections are true. What factor(s) related to future climate could cause global wheat yields to decline which would potentially make pasta both scarce and expensive?

More erratic climate with increased temperatures and rainfall in traditional wheat growing regions.

Negative production externalities are defined and exemplified as:

Negative social costs from E. coli NOT included in price of hamburger.

Which of the following BEST summarizes the LAW OF DEMAND for food?

Other things held equal, as the price of chicken McNuggets rises, the amount that consumers will be willing to buy decreases (and vice versa).

If Sensei has a BMI=27.5 (this is true), what would Sensei be classified as?

Overweight

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

Pastoral nomadism

Bea Trickett who organizes an urban community garden in Washington D.C. suburbia explains that the garden uses what type of production system in the D.C. Community Garden video?

Raised beds with mulched/grassed paths and no wooden border.

If the income elasticity of demand for food for UMaine's mascot (Bananaa) is negative, the food item Bananas is eating is most likely:

Ramen which is an inferior good.

What BEST explains why birth rates decrease under Demographic Transition Theory?

Reconsidering cultural and religious beliefs encouraging large families.

Which of the following changes in replacement rates (number of children on average for each couple) is NOT true?

Reduction from 5 to 2.1 for Iran over the past 50 years (slowest demographic transition).

Michael Pollan discusses "conventional" agricultural systems on pages 15-119 in The Omnivore's Dilemma. What is / are characteristic(s) of conventional agriculture discussed by Pollan?

Reliance on fossil fuels to run machinery and produce fertilizers.

According to the video, "Forks over Knives," what happened with patients with heart disease (some of which had triple bypass surgeries) were put on a plant-based whole foods diet?

Reversal of symptoms

You watched the video streams of Nature's Circle Farm (MOFGA certified organic) in southern Aroostook County, Maine. What crops does the farm grow?

Roots crops such as carrots, beets, and potatoes.

Which of the following action taken by a farmer would result in GM patent infringement and most likely a lawsuit from Monsanto?

Saving Roundup Ready canola seed in Canada.

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

What type of genetically modified (GM) crop had to be recalled (it was found in processed products humans eat) due to concerns about human allergen potential? This GM crop was eventually approved for human consumption.

Starlink corn used for animal feed.

If the income elasticity of demand for food for Bill Gates is positive, the food item Bill Gates is eating is most likely:

Steak, a normal good.

In the article "Waste into Profit," what local farm and agricultural industry is featured regarding bio-digestion of organic wastes to improve sustainability?

Stonyvale Farm in Exeter, Maine; Dairy.

What is a potential GMO technological solution to insure that genetic pollution from Roundup Ready corn does not happen (assuming this new genetic modification does not transfer to Mexican landrace corn)?

Terminator gene

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.

There has been a recent increase in both Tier 1 and 2 food production through personal gardening (Tier 1) and consumers purchasing produce at farmers' markets and CSA's (Tier 2)?

True.

Who orchestrates the local food system in the Teams on the farm and on the ice video?

University of Maine Black Bear Food Guild.

Malthus' forecast of human starvation is inevitable unless people:

Use technology (e.g. Haber-Bosch industrial nitrogen fixation).

Michael Pollan in The Omnivore's Dilemma, p. 277-333, hunts what type of wild animal and gather what type of food?

Wild pig and mushrooms.

The global supply curve for food shifts outward. What BEST explain(s) this outward shift in global supply for FOOD all other things being equal (ceretis paribus). You may select more than one answer.

b. More people start new farms. c. Technologies boosting yields. d. Drop in hay price relative to price of food. e. Lower taxes for farmers.

What is the omnivore's dilemma?

c. Uncertainty from eating a varied diet.

Due to various reasons, global demand for FOOD shifts outward over the past 30 years. What BEST explain(s) this INCREASE in global demand for FOOD all other things being equal (ceretis paribus). You may select more than one answer.

c. Relative decrease in the price of pots and pans (used to cook food). d. Increased population over past 30 years so more people in the market for food.

What food chains are outlined in the introduction to The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollen that will be covered by the entire book?

d. All answers a, b and c. [(a. Conventional corn to beef used by McDonalds. b. Globally sourced crops for Whole Foods contrasted with pastoral beef. c. Personal hunting and gathering.)]

Due to the outward shift in global demand for FOOD, what happens to the equilibrium price and quantity for food?

d. Increase, Increase.

In Chapter 7 of the Bourne text, what are current and future challenges to increasing food production in order to feed 9 to 10 billion people on Earth in 2050?

d. All answers a, b and c. [(a. Erosion of soils and urbanization or suburbanization of prime farmland. b. Groundwater depletion. c. Climate change benefits of higher carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere (more plant growth during photosynthesis) being less than costs associated with climate change such as lower crop yields due to higher temperatures and permanent flooding of existing cropland (e.g. rice) in river deltas in Asia.)]