SAS002 Final Exam Questions

What is a "Calorie" (kcal) a unit of?

Energy

Agriculture is the largest single producer of US greenhouse gases

False

Air bubbles caught in the ice sheet of Antarctica give us a history of atmospheric and climatic conditions; specifically they have allowed us to determine that CO2, CH4, and temperature changes follow completely divergent (different) trends

False

Americans spend about 50% of their disposable income on food

False

Approximately 2.5 billion people (about 1/3 of global population) suffer from hunger and/or malnutrition in the world

False

Biotechnology, whereby a living organism or system derived from a living organism(s) is directed to generate a product or service, is a very recent field of innovation, with the first examples becoming available only about 20 years ago.

False

In developing countries, young people raised in rural areas tend to stay on the farm and do not contribute to the increasing percentage of city dwellers (urban population)

False

Major cities are almost completely self sufficient in producing enough food to sustain the demands of their population through community gardens and agricultural zones located within the cities

False

Methane (CH4) remains in the atmosphere for hundreds of years, but is a weaker greenhouse gas than CO2

False

Sustainable farming practices are never used conventional/industrial farms

False

The majority of future populations growth will be in developed regions such as Europe and North America

False

The vast majority of the 2.1 million farms in the US hire migrant farm workers

False

Today, small retirement farms are the most productive farms in the US

False

With industrial farming and current technology as practiced in wealthy countries, and using current cropland and modern food distribution systems, everyone on earth at our current population could eat like the typical American eats (western or "meat-sweet")

False

Which of the following statements about the Dietary Guidelines for Americans is false?

In general, since 1999, Americans have made dietary choices that very closely align with the Dietary Guidelines, with adherence (Healthy Eating Index) scores greater than 75/100

Which of the following statements regarding greenhouse gases is true?

On a time scale of centuries, a significant percentage of CO2 remains in the atmosphere

What two events are likely to occur on a global scale in about 50 years?

The population of the world will be 9-10 billion and conventional oil supplies may be depleted

The NOVA documentary "Harvest of Fear" described how the coat protein gene of a particular plant virus was used by plant pathologists and plant molecular biologists at Cornell University

To engineer resistance to papaya rings pot virus in papaya trees in Hawaii

The overall US trade balance is currently negative (the value of all US exports is less than the value of imports), but the trade balance for US agricultural products is positive

True

The two most commonly grown GMO crops contain genes to confer the transgenic phenotypes that were originally found in bacteria.

True

The two most commonly used transgenic traits in U.S. crop agriculture are herbicide tolerance and the engineered Bt toxin for resisting insects.

True

While processing can greatly extend the safety and shelf-life of food, a common consequence is a reduction in nutritional quality of the processed food

True

Shade coffee is:

a practice where the coffee plants are grown under a canopy of trees, more like the way the coffee plants grow naturally

Match the following vitamins or minerals with disease that results if the diet is deficient in that vitamin or mineral

Vitamin C-Scurvy Vitamin D-Rickets Niacin-Pellagra Iron-Anemia

Volcanoes have what effect on global warming?

Volcanoes emit particulate pollution and dust that shades the earth from solar radiation, cooling the planet

Comprehensive immigration reform includes

-Increase enforcement to prevent further illegal immigration -Legalize some unauthorized immigrants currently in the US -Implement guest worker programs

Carbohydrates:

Are the major nutrient found in the "grains" food group, of which greater than 1/2 of total grains consumed should be whole grains

Which of the following statements about food processing and packaging is false?

-The "wet milling" process separates the different components of corn kernels -Processing and packaging enables distribution and conservation of food resources -Energy inputs for processing and packaging can be much higher than the energy content in the actual food -None of the above!!

Which of the following statements about certified color additives is TRUE?

-They are required to undergo certification every time a new batch is manufactured -Food labels must list the names of any FDA-certified color additive -FD&C yellow No. 5 might cause hives in fewer than one out of 10,000 people

Which of the following statements about the different food groups is true?

-Both the vegetable and fruit food groups provide fiber, vitamin C, and potassium -Low-fat and fat-free milk and yogurt are recommended dairy foods and provide protein, calcium, and phosphorous -Recommended choices from the protein foods group include seafood, lean, unprocessed forms of meats, poultry, and eggs, and unsalted nuts and seeds

Mycotoxins

-Can cause acute and chronic diseases -Sometimes can be found at higher levels in organic peanut butter vs conventional peanut butter -Levels are often deceased as a result of genetic engineering (for example by preventing insect damage where fungi can then enter)

Essential nutrients:

-Consist of both macronutrients and micronutrients and are essential for life (energy, growth, renewal of tissues) -When removed from the diet result in failure to thrive and deficiency diseases such as anemia, pellagra, and scurvy

Farm subsidy programs in the US have traditionally included

-Direct income payments -Counter cyclical payments -Crop insurance programs

Plant pests and diseases can

-Directly impact both he file dan dopest-harvest stages of food production -Result in economic losses in tens of billions of dollars each year in the US from lost production and pest management costs -Result in the temporary or permanent displacement of a crop from a particular growing region

Which of the following is an example of a genetic method used in crop improvement that does not involve transgenic technology?

-Generational selection -Radiation mutagenesis -Protoplast fusion

Examples of recent innovations in packaging include:

-MAP packaging in which the atmosphere is modified during the process by removal of oxygen and replaced with nitrogen or CO2 to reduce oxidation -Active packaging that actively absorbs moisture or odors -Self-heating containers that heat the food contents by crushing a packet within the container that creates an exothermic chemical reaction -Packaging that informs the consumer of the status of the contents, such as "aroma-domes"

The Milankovitch cycles explain or refer to

-Periodicity (timing) in the earth's movement in relation to the sun that accounts for glacial and interglacial periods -Earth's wobble (axial precession), tilt, and orbital shape -Largely influenced by the gravitational pull of other planets

The average food stuff travels how many miles from where it was produced to your table

1500 miles

Which of the following statements is not true?

A reason why California is so agriculturally productive is that there are very few regulations on the practices that growers use to farm

Atmospheric CO2 and methane levels, instead of continuing a long decline during this most recent interglacial period, began to increase 6-8000 years ago. This is best explained by:

Agriculture

The Haber-Bosch process refers to:

An industrial synthetic process for the production of the

Oils (fats that are liquid at room temperature):

Are good sources of essential fatty acids (polyunsaturated linoleic acid and a-linolenic acid) and vitamin E

Which of the following describes Stage 3 of demographic transition?

Birth rate declines, begins to approach replacement

What distinguishes "organic" agriculture from "conventional" agriculture?

Conventional agriculture uses synthetic fertilizers, while synthetic fertilizers are not allowed in organic agriculture

The terms toxicity, hazard and safe have specific meanings when used in the context of food safety. Which of the following statements would best describe how caffeine is regarded with respect to its safety for human consumption?

Caffeine is toxic and thus can pose a hazard to human health, but is generally regarded as safe with normal or moderate consumption

The principle reason that California uses a lot of hired farm labor is because

California has many specialty crops (FVH, fruits, vegetables and horticultural crops) that are labor intensive and often not amenable to mechanized farming practices

Which are the three most populous country in the world today (and will be in 2050)

China, India, and the US

A factor that influenced the British to switch from coffee to tea as a favorite drink in the late 1800's was

Coffee rust, a plant disease that decimated coffee production in Ceylon (Sri Lanka)

What are the 3 revolutions that enable international migration

Communications, transportation, and rights

Which of the following statements is correct?

Global cultivated area on the planet is not increasing significantly, due to high efficiency modern farming practices

According to the current Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which of the following is a recommend nutrient-dense food from the appropriate food group?

Grains: Oatmeal (unsweetened, cooked with water)

Which of the following changes to a plant's genome would cause it to be considered "GMO" (i.e., transgenic) by the USDA and triggering a regulatory process for approval?

Insertion of a gene from an unrelated organism through transformation by Agrobacterium

Conversion of feed to fresh weight is:

More efficient in a chicken than in a cow

Most of the energy required to make 16 oz. (455 g) can of sweet corn, which provides 375 Cal of food energy, is associated with:

Packaging

Which one of the following is not a major sector of the food industry as we discussed in class?

Stocking sector

All of the following are core principles that define sustainable agriculture, EXCEPT:

Technologically superior

One of the most important contributions by the British David Ricardo (1772-1823) to the economic principle associated with trade between countries is

The theory of comparative advantage

A challenge for organic agriculture is to achieve yields that are comparable to conventional agriculture production systems

True

Agricultural economists believe that California's diverse agriculture and our focus on and success in growing specialty crops (vegetable, fruit and nut crops, grapes, etc) will help sustain our state's preeminent position in US agriculture for the near future

True

Challenges to agriculture now and in the future include fossil fuel depletion, environmental degradation, and climate change

True

Community Supported Agriculture links farmers and local residents

True

Conversion of natural ecosystems to croplands releases CO2 from biomass and soils

True

Corn yields are less dependent on synthetic nitrogen fertilizers following a crop of soybeans because bacteria on soybean roots capture nitrogen from the air

True

Current use/consumption of natural resources (freshwater, arable land, etc) for agricultural purposes is having a major impact on the planet and is not sustainable in the long term

True

Development of agriculture allowed for the formation of communities and centers of power

True

Development of agriculture allowed for the formation of standing armies

True

Humans have been genetically modifying plants for use as food crops using various methods for thousands of years

True

Humans have been genetically modifying plants for use as food crops using various methods for thousands of years.

True

In Earth's climate cycles, high amounts of methane (CH4) are associated with high temperatures

True

In genera, a crop is produced largely by human labor rather than by fossil-fuel driven machinery will have a more favorable energy return (i.e. more kcal output available to us relative to kcal input)

True

In the US food demand is an example of what economists call inelastic demand, and helps explains why the overall market price for foodstuffs in real dollars has declined as agricultural productivity (food supply) has increased

True

Mechanization resulted in dramatic gains in crop yields, especially in the early part of the 20th century, gains that preceded those resulting from improved crop genetics and widespread use of synthetic nitrogen of fertilizer

True

Most of our remaining fossil fuel oil reserves are unconventional oil (e.g. oil sands, oil shale, very deep deposits)

True

No model of the current trends of global warming makes sense without including human-caused increases of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases

True

One strategy to preserve wilderness area on the planet while our population increases, along with food demand is to reduce meat consumption and move towards vegetarianism

True

One strategy to preserve wilderness areas on the planet while our population increases along with food demand is to move towards vegetarianism

True

Rich countries subsidize their farmers while poor countries tax their farmers

True

The North Pacific Gyre is an area of the ocean between North America and Asia where plastic waste is accumulating and getting into the food chain

True

The disease triangle illustrates a concept in plant pathology that the interaction of a virulent pathogen, a susceptible plant, and a conducive (favorable) environment are required for disease to occur.

True

Increases of BT resistance in insect populations surrounding BT crops

are the result of extensive use of BT with increased selection for BT tolerant insects that are already present in the insect population

Increases of glyphosate (round up) resistance in weed populations surrounding herbicide-tolerant (HT) crops

are the result of extensive use of Round-u[ with increased selection for herbicide tolerant weeds that are already present in the weed population

Combines, such as those pictured in the lecture slides,

are used to harvest cereal crops (e.g. wheat, rice) combine in one machine the actions of reaping, threshing and winnowing the grain

Herbicides

are used to kill weeds in farm fields and other areas

Bioconcentration (or biomagnification) as discussed in this course refers to:

the increasing concentration of a chemical such as a pesticide as it moves up the food chain

The process that converts about 20% of the field corn grown in the US into more than a dozen products such as high fructose corn syrup and modified starches is called:

the wet milling process