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32 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
- 3rd side (hint)
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What are the main causes for the shortfalls of the food supply (not of hunger, of the food supply itself)?
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-Loss of good cropland to erosion and nonfarm uses
-Inefficient agrarian structures -Lack of investment in agriculture by city-oriented government -Cutbacks in agricultural research -Too many people -It takes several times as much grain to produce a pound of human flesh from meat as it would if we ate the grain directly. |
pgs 96-97
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What is the single largest factor in determining food demand?
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Population growth.
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pg 96
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What has greatly contributed to world food demand?
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The rising personal income that has characterized economic development in most industrialized countries, because it changes the type of food and the amount of food that people eat, as well as increasing the demand for high-quality food.
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pgs 96-98
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What is the basal metabolic rate (BMR) and why was it developed?
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It's the minimum amount of energy required to power human body maintenance, not including energy required for activity.
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It was developed by the UN in an attempt to establish some basis for comparison between "hungry" and "starving."
pg 98 |
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Who is most at risk for malnutrition?
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Children and women.
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pg 98
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Are periods of severe famine the biggest problem in world hunger? Why or why not?
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No, the chronic, undramatic, daily under-nutrition is the biggest problem.
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pg 99
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What are the two biggest factors that contribute to over 800 million people suffering from inadequate diets?
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Uneven distribution of food, and poverty.
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pg 99
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Describe what's going on with the population in many regions where hunger is an endemic problem?
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-There is a widening gap between food production and population growth.
-The rich still eat quite well. |
pg 100
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What are some factors that influence food price fluctuation, which determines who eats & who goes hungry?
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-Political instability
-Regional conflicts -Greater variability in agricultural production due to climate change |
pg 101
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What is protein-energy malnutrition (PEM), and what is its impact on the poor in developing countries?
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It's a chronic deficit of calories and essential nutrients, that can lead to stunted physical development, brain development, or death.
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It leaves people underweight, weak, and vulnerable to infection, and is the leading cause of death and disease to the poor in developing countries.
pg 101 |
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What are the two most common clinical manifestations of PEM in children? Describe them.
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Kwashiorkor, which is a protein deficiency disease that is usually associated with food supply emergencies (droughts, floods), but it can develop in areas where babies are weaned early and given only starchy, low-protein foods (rice, cassava, bananas). It is common in tropical areas.
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Marasmus is an indication of overall protein-calorie deprivation (the child is starving).
pg 105 |
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Discuss the relationship between hunger & poverty.
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Studies in developing countries show that nutritionally deprived adults earn lower wages - proof that while poverty may be a cause of hunger, hunger can also cause poverty.
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pg 107
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What % of American children are overweight or obese?
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25%
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pg 102
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What are some basic factors that are causing this?
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The changing of the American meal, too much calorie-dense food and too little exercise --> humans' innate love of sweet & fatty foods and the propensity to lounge about when action isn't necessary.
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pgs 101-102
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How has the American meal changed?
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-The supersizing of food portions at restaurants
-School cafeterias now offer fast-food and soda -1 of 3 meals is eaten outside the home -Snacking has become continuous -Even when eating at home, Americans cook from scratch less. |
pg 102
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Discuss the relationship between obesity & the poor in America.
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-The cost once associated with a high-fat diet is down because of things like HFCS, so obesity today disproportionately plagues the poor, especially blacks & Latinos.
-Because the poor live in neighborhoods lacking public parks (or that are considered too dangerous for outdoor play), children are usually in front of TV's snacking. |
pgs 102-103
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What are some options for reducing obesity in American children?
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-Change the lunch menus in schools & take out vending machines
-Remove high-calorie snack foods at home -Prohibit ads for soda, candy, etc on TV shows commonly watched by children -Limit the number of meals eaten outside of home -Serve from the kitchen instead of the table so it's harder to get additional portions -Limit hours children are allowed to watch TV or play video games -Reinstate daily physical education classes at school -Local governments encourage recreation by providing hiking/jogging trails, bike paths, swimming pools, etc. -Levy small taxes on junk foods, soda, and TV's |
pg 103
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What are micronutrient deficiencies and what are some causes?
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Inadequate intake of essential vitamins and minerals.
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-The biggest cause is a lack of variety in diet
-Affects both undernourished poor and people who receive adequate, even excess, daily calories. pg 107 |
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Discuss Vitamin A deficiency (VAD)...what does it lead to? How do we combat it?
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It is the single most important cause of childhood blindness in low-income countries and also leads to child mortality because it affects the immune system.
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-Promoting breast-feeding of infants
-Administering mega-doses of vitamin A twice a year -Fortifying common foods such as sugar -Educating parents to grow vitamin A-rich foods in home gardens pgs 107-108 |
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Discuss iron deficiency...what are causes of it? how do we combat it?
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-Iron deficiency anemia is the most common of all nutritional deficiency diseases, due primarily to inadequate intake of iron, often exacerbated by malaria and worm infections.
-Can also be from over-consumption of calorie-rich "junk foods" that lack iron. -Women need 3 times as much iron but often don't get as much because men and male children eat first. |
Supplying ferrous salt tablets.
pg 108 |
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Discuss iodine deficiency...what does it cause? How do we combat it?
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It's the single most important cause of preventable brain damage and mental retardation, often impacting economic productivity in regions where most people are affected (because their intellectual capacity is lower).
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Salt iodization
pgs 108-109 |
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What are some thoughts about ways to reduce world hunger?
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-Expand the amount of land under cultivation
-Increase world fish catch -Use aquaculture -Reduce post-harvest food losses -Eat lower on the food chain -Improve yields per acre -With a shrinking cropland base, falling water tables, diminishing impact of chemical fertilizers, and the long-term specter of adverse climatic change, farmers will be hard-pressed to provide food a prices people can afford. The best option will be to stabilize the population and reverse land degradation. |
pgs 109-122
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Discuss the prospect of expanding the amount of land under cultivation as a way to reduce world hunger.
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-The world's prime farmland is in finite supply, and mostly already being cultivated.
-There is "marginal land" left, but may only contribute negligible amounts of food to the supply for a short time, and the long-term ecological damage caused may have an adverse impact on better lands elsewhere. -There are substantial amounts of good cropland that are currently being lost every year to erosion, desertification, salinization, water-logging, and urban development, so maybe we should focus on stopping that. |
pgs 109-110
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Discuss the prospect of increasing the world fish catch or using aquaculture as a way to reduce world hunger.
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-The annual world fish catch has been gradually declining since the late 1980s, due mostly to over-exploitation by industrial fishing fleets, pollution, and destruction of coastal habitats due to development.
-The declining capacity of the world's coastal and marine ecosystems to meet the growing demand for seafood will lead to higher prices, which will further boost fish exports from developing nations, leaving fewer fish for local communities. -Using aquaculture (fish farms) may increase cropland loss to provide land for the fish farms. |
pgs 110-115
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Discuss the impact of reducing post-harvest food losses as a way to reduce world hunger.
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-Enormous amounts of food harvests are lost to pests and spoilage.
-In wealthier countries, consumers demand cosmetically perfect produce. |
pgs 115
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Discuss the impact of eating lower on the food chain as a way to reduce world hunger.
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-10% of the US corn crop goes to the manufacturing of corn syrup.
-There is an inefficiency in converting a substantial portion of the world grain harvest into meat or poultry. |
pg 116
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Discuss the prospect of improving yields per acre as a way to reduce world hunger.
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-The largest gains in food supply have been obtained by dramatically increasing per acre yields on existing farm lands.
-The laws of nature will most likely impose an upper ceiling on production. -Chemical pesticide is proving less effective than several decades ago due to overuse. -Since most areas have already reaped benefits of the Green Revolution crops, we may need to spend time with on-site research to develop seed varieties adapted to local growing conditions, more attention to efficient use of water and proper planting dates, and a greater emphasis on educational outreach programs. -Even bountiful harvests alone will not eradicate hunger among those too poor to buy food. |
pgs 116-122
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"Miracle wheat" and "mircale rice" lead to the "Green Revolution." Explain this.
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-Yields 2-3 times greater than the best formerly obtained traditional strains.
-Most areas have already reaped the full potential offered by these crops, and in other areas, lack of water or inadequate technology transfer may prevent them from using these crops. |
pgs 116-119
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What are some negative consequences of farming salmon?
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-The pelleted feed is made primarily of fish meal and fish oil, produced by grinding up "industrial fish," harvested from already over-exploited fisheries, and it takes 3 lbs of feed to produce 1 lb of salmon.
-The excess feed, along with large amounts of salmon feces, drift downward from pens to the ocean floor, so the sea bottom frequently becomes a "dead zone." -Infectious diseases and parasitic infestations are common because pens are so tightly stocked, so farmers make heavy use of vaccines, antibiotics, and parasiticides, which all enter our environment. -Aquaculture pens are usually located adjacent to wild salmon migration routes, so infestations spread to the wild stocks as well. Fish that escape compete for food and habitat with native fish. |
pgs 112-113
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What was the implication of the 1980 Supreme Court Case Diamond vs. Chakrabarty?
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Patent rights for living organisms --> the "Second Green Revolution," making the resource-intensive lab work of developing GMOs profitable.
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pg 120
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What are some potential negatives to GMOs?
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-Developing countries that lack the scientific & technical infrastructure to carry out their own research may grow ever more dependent on imported agricultural commodities and technologies that can't afford.
-Important Third World crops have been ignored by corporate scientists, as have desirable crop-improving traits such as drought resistance and enhanced nutritional value. |
pgs 120-121.
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What is the relationship of malnutrition to a child's susceptibility to infectious disease?
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It increases susceptibility by reducing bodily defenses.
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pg 105
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