1. History of Agriculture
1.1. Crop Hearths
1.1.1. Sub-Saharan Africa
1.1.1.1. Sorghums, yams, rice, and millet grew in Sub-Saharan Africa's rainforests
1.1.1.2. These rainforests also created a wet climate, allowing these plants to domesticate
1.1.2. Latin America
1.1.2.1. Mexico had a warmer climate, allowing plants like beans, cotton, potatoes, and corn to domesticate
1.1.2.2. Peru had a cooler climate in the Andes Mountains, which allowed potatoes to domesticate
1.1.3. Asia
1.1.3.1. East Asia
1.1.3.1.1. Rice and millet domesticated through the Yellow and Yangtze river valleys.
1.1.3.1.2. Monsoons created a wet climate which allowed rice to domesticate
1.1.3.2. Southwest Asia
1.1.3.2.1. Barley and Wheat domesticated through river valleys and Mediterranean climate
1.1.3.2.2. The Mediterranean climate consisted of mild and rainy winters or hot and dry summers
1.2. Animal Hearths
1.2.1. Central Asia
1.2.1.1. Horses were domesticated in Central Asia as horses can graze through snow in harsher winters.
1.3. Agricultural Revolution
1.3.1. Southwest Asia
1.3.1.1. Cattle, goats, pigs, and sheep were domesticated in Southwest Asia as these animals prefered the dry climate where their diet of wheat and grass grow
1.3.2. Many people believe that agriculture first began after the last ice age, as temperatures rose and redistributed plants and animals
2. Sustainability of Agriculture
2.1. Humans changing Agriculture
2.1.1. Intensification
2.1.1.1. Fallow Land
2.1.1.1.1. Land is left fallow for shorter periods increasing the amount of land devoted to farming at one time.
2.1.1.2. New Farming Methods
2.1.1.2.1. Subsistence Farmers are now using plows as opposed to hand tools
2.1.1.2.2. Subsistence farmers work the land harder and now spend more time weeding; fertilizing, and working in the fields than before
2.1.1.3. Why Intensification?
2.1.1.3.1. Population Growth -->
2.1.1.3.2. Human population growth has led to a demand on the environment for more food. The only way to get that is by working the land harder.
2.1.2. Green Revolution
2.1.2.1. GMOS
2.1.2.1.1. Miracle Wheat Seeds
2.1.2.1.2. Legacy of GMOS
2.2. Fertilizers
2.2.1. The land
2.2.1.1. Fertilizers are now necessary for farming but they can runoff into local streams and rivers hurting the local ecosystem.
2.2.2. The Farmers
2.2.2.1. Farmers are now reliant on fertilizers and their prices to grow their crops.
2.3. Humans changing the Environment
2.3.1. Urbanization
2.3.1.1. Urbanization expansion has lead to a loss of valuable land for agriculture
2.3.2. Desertification
2.3.2.1. Overuse of agricultural land has strained the water supply of many local ecosystems
2.3.2.1.1. People are simultaneously overusing and underusing agricultural land. Leading to greater environmental strain
2.3.3. Soil Depletion
2.3.3.1. Soil in agricultural areas is now less nutrient rich because farmers are planting more crops more often
3. Why do People Consume Different Foods?
3.1. Level of Development
3.1.1. Developed countries often consume far more than their developing counterparts.
3.1.2. Undernourishment
3.1.2.1. This is evident in nations that are devloping.
3.1.2.1.1. Occurs often because of lack of resources and access to crops.
3.1.3. Many developing countries such as Chad lack access to certain resources leading to problematic environmental conditions.
3.1.3.1. This can lead to phenomena such as droughts which can lead to starvation and malnutrition.
3.1.3.1.1. In turn, this can cause political issues such as the Revolution of Rising Expectations, where the people start to expect more and more from their government and ultimately overthrow it if it cannot provide.
3.2. Physical Conditions
3.2.1. The environment itself also presents many conditions. Climate can affect the different foods grown. For example, rice is abundant in South and Southeast Asia because of suitable conditions.
3.2.1.1. Places that grow rice have abundant water and rainfall. Monsoons in South Asia assist with this and the humidity and water logged land in Southeast Asia contribute to growth there.
3.2.1.2. Food produced from these foods also varies region to region.
3.2.1.2.1. Products that include carbohydrates such as pasta, cakes, and breads are common in the Mediterranean because of the growth of wheat.
3.2.2. Environmental factors such as the presence of rivers generally influence the diet a lot in the surrounding region.
3.2.2.1. River Valleys such as the Nile grow crops like wheat and barley, which can be utilized for beer and to make breads.
3.2.2.1.1. In Mexico, the conditions the environment provides leads to the growth of crops ushc as maize.
3.3. Cultural Preferences
3.3.1. Each culture has its taboos on food. Cultures such as the Middle East have banned alcohol and pork for religious reasons, and places like India don't eat beef for similar reasons.
3.3.1.1. Many of these taboos have to do with environment. For example, hogs are taboo in Islam because of the economic feasibility of pigs in the Middle East.
4. Types Of Agriculture
4.1. Mixed Livestock and Crop Farming
4.1.1. Uses a rotating field system
4.1.1.1. Manure feeds the crop's soil, crops feed the livestock.
4.1.2. No offseason for year round yields.
4.2. Diary Farming
4.2.1. World wide agriculture field because milk cannot be shipped very far.
4.2.1.1. Keep this in mind
4.2.2. Also needs incredibly high amounts of labor, not a very popular field, but a necessary one.
4.2.2.1. This leads to Diary farming being one of the most revered forms of agriculture.
4.3. Grain Farming
4.3.1. Carbs, Carbs, Carbs.
4.3.1.1. The U.S. Breadbasket grows grasses as far as the eye can see. Wheat, barley, and corn are some of the most prominent.
4.3.1.1.1. Fun Side Fact: A lot of this is made into alcohol, drink up!
4.4. Livestock Ranching
4.4.1. Please Advert your eyes if you are vegan, vegetarian, or really like cows.
4.4.1.1. Huge U.S. Southwest culture and food frenzy
4.4.1.2. COWBOYS BABY!
4.4.1.3. The people of those Southwest states love ranching so much that they fought the government over it
4.4.1.3.1. The U.S. tried to give their land to crop agriculture and the cowboys and Southwesterners rioted.
4.5. Commercial Gardening
4.5.1. The U.S. Southeast pumps perfect plums, peaches, and pears to prudent people all year round.
4.5.1.1. Lots of places make these fruits and veggies, but the sun belt makes them for human consumption.
4.5.2. Commercial Gardening, or "Fruit Gardening"
4.6. Mediterranean Agriculture
4.6.1. Europe and California produce the mediterranean climate for growing grapes and olives.
4.6.1.1. Another Fun Fact: Lots of those grapes get made into wine, Drink Up!
5. The Von Thünen Model
5.1. The Von Thünen Model relates to all of these subjects, but dairy especially.
5.2. The Von Thünen Model has several circles of places where a certain point gets its food. This dictates where a city gets the food.
5.2.1. This matters to dairy especially because dairy can't travel very far.