THE CULTURAL EBOOK

322 THE CULTURAL LANDSCAPE

Alternative Energy Sources expensive alternative. About 20 percent of energy con-
sumed in the world, and 15 percent in the United States, is
Learning Outcome 9.3.5 generated by sources other than the three main fossil fuels.
Describe the distribution of nuclear energy and
challenges in using it. The two principal sources other than fossil fuels are nu.
clear and hydroelectric energy. But both of these v.idely
used energy sources have limitations when viiewed from a
sustainable development perspective.

An especially strong challenge in the quest for sus- NUCLEAR ENERGY
tainable development is substituting renewable en-
ergy resources for nonrenewable ones. Although renew- Nuclear power is not renewable, but some view it as an al.

able resources can be harnessed for energy, continued ternative to fossil fuels. The big advantage of nuclear power
reliance on the three main nonrenewable fossil fuels- is the large amount of energy released from a small amount

petroleum, natural gas, and coal-continues to be the less of material. One kilogram of enriched nuclear fuel contains
more than 2 million times the en-

ergy in l kilogram of coal.

Nuclear power supplies 14

60' • 60' percent of the world's electricity .
Two-thirds of the world's nuclear

---10' power is generated in developed
countries, with Europe and North
PACIFIC ~t !l~~'!~!.'!f -- America responsible for generat-
OCEAN ing one-third each. Only 30 of
the world's nearly 200 countries
• make some use of nuclear power,
including 19 developed countries
• -l PACIFIC -Z( and only 11 developing coun-
tries. The countries most highly
l ,. )) OCEAN dependent on nuclear power are
L ~..~,,..~.J-1r.¥-"~.t.,-.,.---f-q-u,1.1. o• clustered in Europe (Figure 9-41),
O' 2C" 100' where it supplies 80 percent of
160' IND/AN .,__~ , • J.;,"t""••.

Percenetlectricity OCEAN /"r-1
fromnuclearpower
_ __..........Trol)4ie1c.,ooc~m,
• 40 andabo\le O' 2
10-39 ._ _Z_.0,_00 _,

1-9 0 4,000 ◄ 000 ~,jam1ltn
Nonuclearpower 40' r,o, 80' 100' 120" 140'

A FIGURE 9-41 ELECTRICITY FROM NUCLEAR POWER Nucleapr owerisusedin 37 countriesp.rimarilyin all electricity in France and more
EuropeandNorthAmerica. than 50 percent in Belgium, Slo-
vakia, and Ukraine.

Dependency on nuclear power

varies widely among U.S. states

(Figure 9-42). Nuclear power ac-

counts for more than 70 percent

of electricity in Vermont and more

than one-half in Connecticut, New

Jersey, and South Carolina. At the

other extreme, 20 states and the

District of Columbia have no nu-

-~-•• • clear power plants. Nuclear power
presents serious challenges, as de-
"' • • A TLANTIG scribed in the following sections.

••'\_ OCEAN...~ POTENTIAL ACCIDENTS. A nu-

PACIFIC •• clear power plant produces
OCEAN I electricity from energy released
•• by splitting uranium atoms in a
~ S00Mlt1 IO',\ t!>'" controlled environment, a process
O 250 500fCJMc1er,
.. called fission. One product of all
IJ !5 Ii nuclear reactions is radioactive
75 IV waste, certain types of which are
Nuclearpowerplant lethal to people exposed to it.
120'1' • Currennoyperating Elaborate safety precautions are
• Closed
Percentelecb'lcltyfromnuclearpower(2012)

40 andabove 1-19

20-39 Hone

A FIGURE 9-42 NUCLEAR POWERBY U.S. STATE One-thirdof electricityisgeneratedfromnuclear taken to prevent the leaking of

powerin theNortheastc.omparedto lessthanone-tenthin theWest nuclear fuel from a power plant.

Chapter 9: Development 323

Nuclear power plants cannot explode, like a nuclear atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, ending
bomb, because the quantities of uranium are too small World War II. No government has dared to use these bombs
and cannot be brought together fast enough. However, it is in a war since then because leaders recognize that a full-scale
possible to have a runaway reaction, which overheats the nuclear conflict could terminate human civilization.
reactor, causing a meltdown, possible steam explosions,
and scattering of radioactive material into the atmosphere. The United States and Russia (previously the Soviet
This happened in 1986 at Chernobyl, then in the Soviet Union) each have several thousand nuclear weapons.
Union and now in the north of Ukraine, near the Belarus China, France, and the United Kingdom have several hun-
border. The accident caused 56 deaths due to exposure to dred nuclear weapons each, India and Pakistan several
high radiation doses and an estimated 4,000 cancer-related dozen each, and North Korea a handful. Israel is suspected
deaths to people who lived near the plant. of possessing nuclear weapons but has not admitted to it,
and lran has been developing the capability. Other coun-
Following an earthquake and tsunami in 2011, three tries have initiated nuclear programs over the years but
of the six reactors at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear have not advanced to the weapons stage. The diffusion of
power plant experienced full meltdown, resulting in re- nuclear programs to countries sympathetic to terrorists has
lease of radioactive materials. Three workers died; the been particularly worrying to the rest of the world and has
death toll among nearby residents exposed to high levels been a major factor in long-time tensions between Iran
of radioactivity won't be known for years. and other countries that do not want Iran to gain the ca-
pability of building a nuclear weapon.
RADIOACTIVE WASTE. The waste from nuclear fission is
highly radioactive and lethal, and it remains so for many Pause and Reflect 9.3.5
years. Plutonium for making nuclear weapons can be Iran has claimed that it is interested in nuclear
harvested from this waste. Pipes, concrete, and water near power for peaceful uses. Review the maps and
the fissioning fuel also become "hot" with radioactivity. charts of fossil fuel production and proven reserves
No one has yet devised permanent storage for radioactive on the previous two spreads. Does Iran appear to
waste. The waste cannot be burned or chemically treated, have other resources for generating electricity?
and it must be isolated for several thousand years until it
loses its radioactivity. Spent fuel in the United States is stored LIMITED URANIUM RESERVES. Likefossil fuels, uranium
"temporarily" in cooling tanks at nuclear power plants, is a nonrenewable resource. Proven uranium reserves will
but these tanks are nearly full. The United States is Earth's last about 124 years at current rates of use. And they are
third-largest country in land area, yet it has failed to find not distributed uniformly around the world: Australia
a suitable underground storage site because of worry about has 23 percent of the world's proven uranium reserves,
groundwater contamination. In 2002, the U.S. Department Kazakhstan 15 percent, and Russia 10 percent (Figure 9-43).
of Energy approved a plan to store the waste in Nevada's The chemical composition of natural uranium further
YuccaMountains. But soon after taking office in 2009, the aggravates the scarcity problem. Uranium ore naturally
Obama administration reversed the decision and halted contains only 0. 7 percent U-235; a greater concentration
construction on the nearly complete repository. is needed for power generation.

BOMB MATERIAL. Nuclear power has been used in warfare A breeder reactor turns uranium into a renewable re-
twice, in August 1945, when the United States dropped source by generating plutonium, also a nuclear fuel. How-
ever, plutonium is more lethal than uranium and could
cause more deaths and injuries in an accident. It is also
easier to fashion into a bomb. Because of these risks, few
breeder reactors have been built, and none are in the
United States.

Canada7.7% HIGH COST. Nuclear power plants cost several billion
UnitedStates8.3o/o dollars to build, primarily because of the elaborate safety
measures required. Without double and triple backup
Kazakhst1a4n.9% Russia10.0% systems at nuclear power plants, nuclear energy would
be too dangerous to use. Uranium is mined in one place,
M01demlopedcountries refined in another, and used in still another. As with coal,
mining uranium can pollute land and water and damage
Ill lessdevelopec~ountnes
miners' health. The complexities of safe transportation add
A FIGURE9-43 WORLD URANIUM RESERVES to the cost. As a result, generating electricity from nuclear
plants is much more expensive than from coal-burning
AustraliaK, azakhstaann, dRussihaavethemosturaniumreserves.
plants. The future of nuclear power has been seriously hurt
by the high costs associated with reducing risks.

324 THE CULTURAL LANDSCAPE

RENEWABLE ENERGY

Learning Outcome 9.3.6

Identify challenges to increasing the use of
alternative energy sources.

By a wide margin, hydroelectric power is currently the
leading source of renewable energy for sustainable devel-
opment in both developed and developing regions. Bio-
mass and wind power have some usages, and geothermal
and solar trail even further in current usage.

HYDROELECTRICPOWER. Generating electricity from the 4 FIGURE9-45 BIOMASS FUELIN BRAZIL Ethanoils producedfrom
movement of water is called hydroelectric power. Water sugarcanein BrazilT. hisethanol-producinpglantis in Piracicaba.
has been a source of mechanical power since before recorded
history. It was used to turn water wheels, and the rotational hydroelectric power is Brazil. Overall, Brazil has made coi
motion was used to grind grain, saw timber, pump water, and
operate machines. Hydroelectric is now the world's second- siderable progress towards sustainable development t
most-popular source of electricity, after coal. Worldwide
generation of hydroelectric power is approximately 30 quad generating approximately 85 percent of its electricity fro·
BTU, compared to 150 quad BTUfor coal. renewable energy sources. Among developed countrie
Canada gets two-thirds of its electricity from hydroelect1
Two-thirds of the world's hydroelectric power is gener- power; although the United States is the fourth-leading pr
ated in developing countries and one-third in developed ducer of hydroelectric power, it obtains only 8 percent
countries. A number of developing countries depend on its electricity from that source. And this percentage may d
hydroelectric power for most of their electricity (Figure 9- cline because few acceptable sites to build new dams rernai
44). The most populous country to depend primarily on
BIOMASS. Biomass fueJ is fuel derived from pla
't' FIGURE9-44 ELECTRICITY FROM HYDROELECTRIC POWER material and animal waste. Biomass energy sources inclu
Hydroelectricitpyrovidesa largepercentageof electricityin a numberof wood and crops. When carefully harvested in fores
developingcountriese, speciallyin LatinAmericaandsub-SaharaAnfrica.The wood is a renewable resource that can be used to gener,
Itaipuhydroelectridcamison the ParanaRiverin Brazil. electricity and heat. The waste from processing woe
such as for building construction and demolition, is a
available. And crops such as sugarcane, corn, and soybea
can be processed into motor-vehicle fuels. Worldwi
production of biomass fuel is approximately 3 quad BTl
including one-third each in North America, Europe, a
developing regions (Figure 9-45). Brazilin particular ma:
extensive use of biomass to fuel its cars and trucks.

The potential for increasing the use of biomass for f
is limited, for several reasons:

• Burning biomass may be inefficient because the ene
used to produce the crops may be as much as the
ergy supplied by the crops.

• Biomass already serves essential purposes other tl
energy, such as providing much of Earth's food, clc
ing, and shelter.

• When wood is burned for fuel instead of being lef
the forest, the fertility of the forest may be reduced.

WIND POWER. Wind has also long been a soum
energy, the most obvious examples of its uses being sailb1
for travel and windmills for grinding grain. Like mo,
water turning a water wheel, moving air can turn a ttub

Chapter 9: Development 325

Classesof wind powerdensity ◄ FIGURE9-46 WIND POWER
Windsare especiallystrongenoughto
•-s6Windenergyproducingreolons supportgenerationof powerinthe U.S.
Plainsstates.
- 7 (111ghewSl1Mpower)

3
•···- -···· ,unstJitablfeorw,nd

2 energyproduction
I (loweswt indpowerf

,

The benefits of wind-generated power seem irresistible. other plate boundary sites are being explored. Iceland
Construction of a windmill modifies the environment and Indonesia make extensive use of geothermal energy.
much less severely than construction of a dam across a Ironically, ln Iceland, an island named for its glaciers,
river. And wind power has greater potential for increased nearly all homes and businesses in the capital of Reyk-
use because only a small portion of the potential resource javik are heated with geothermal steam (Figure 9-47).
has been harnessed. However, wind power has divided the Worldwide production is less than 1 quad BTU, divided
environmental community. Some oppose construction of about evenly between developed and developing regions.
windmills because they can be noisy and lethal for birds
and bats. They can also constitute a visual blight when NUCLEAR FUSION. Some nuclear power issues could be
constructed on mountaintops or offshore in places of addressed through nuclear fusion, which is the fusing
outstanding beauty. of hydrogen atoms to form helium. Fusion releases
spectacular amounts of energy: A gnat-sized amount of
Wind usage is similar to the pattern for biomass: World- hydrogen releases the energy of thousands of tons of
wide production is 3 quad BTUs, divided one-third each coal. But fusion can occur only at very high tern peratures
among North America, Europe, and developing regions. (millions of degrees). Such high temperatures have
Hundreds of wind "farms" consisting of dozens of wind- been briefly achieved in hydrogen bomb tests but not
mills each have been constructed across the United States; on a sustained basis in a power-plant reactor, given
one-third of the country is considered windy enough to present technology. Sources such as fusion are not yet
make wind power economically feasible (Figure 9-46), es- practical, so do not appear in statistics of current energy
pecially North Dakota, Texas, Kansas, South Dakota, and production.
Montana. Twenty percent of Denmark's electricity is being
generated through wind power. Wind power has been used T FIGURE9.47 GEOTHERMALGeothermapllantnearKrafla,Iceland.
only to a limited extent in developing countries. A signifi-
cant obstacle is the cost of constructing the wind turbines.

Pause and Reflect 9.3.6

Chicago is nicknamed "the Windy City." Based on
Figure 9-46, does the Chicago area appear to be a
good location for wind power?

GEOTHERMAL ENERGY. Natural nuclear reactions make
Earth's interior hot. Toward the surface, in volcanic areas,
this heat is especially pronounced. The hot rocks can
encounter groundwater, producing heated water or steam
that can be tapped by wells. Energy from this hot water or
steam is called geothermal energy.

Harnessing geothermal energy is most feasible at sites
along Earth's surface where crustal plates meet, which
are also the sites of many earthquakes and volcanoes.
Geothermal energy is being tapped in several locations,
including California, Italy, New Zealand, and Japan, and

326 THE CULTURALLANDSCAPE

SOLAR ENERGY that of windows that have just air between the panes.
Phase-change technologies can also switch the glass from
Learning Outcome 9.3.7 opaque to translucent when a voltage is applied.

Compare and contrast passive and active solar ACTIVE SOLAR ENERGY. Active solar energy systems
energy. collect solar energy and convert it either to heat energy or
to electricity. The conversion can be accomplished either
The ultimate renewable resource for sustainable develop- directly or indirectly.
ment is solar energy supplied by the Sun. Sola{ energy of-
fers the possibility for countries at low levels of develop- In direct electric conversion, solar radiation is captured
ment to promote sustainable development. Through solar with photovoltaic cells, which convert light energy to elec-
energy, people and businesses in developing countries trical energy. Bell Laboratories invented the photovoltaic
currently unable to obtain electricity can generate energy cell in 1954. Each cell generates only a small electric cur-
needed to operate businesses, schools, and hospitals. rent, but large numbers of these cells wired together pro-
duce significant electricity. These cells are made primarily of
Solar sources currently supply the United States with silicon (also used in computers), the second most abundant
only 1 percent of electricity, but the potential for growth element in Earth's crust. When the silicon is combined With
is limitless. The Sun's remaining life is estimated at 5 bil- one or more other materials, it exhibits distinctive electrical
lion years, and humans appear to be incapable of destroy- properties in the presence of sunlight, known as the photo-
ing or depleting that resource. The Sun's energy is free and voltaic effect. Electrons excited by the light move through
ubiquitous and cannot be exclusively owned, bought, or the silicon, producing direct current (DC) electricity.
sold by any particular individual or enterprise. Utilizing
the Sun as a resource does not damage the environment In indirect electric conversion, solar radiation is first
or cause pollution, as does the extraction and burning of converted to heat and then to electricity. The Sun's rays
nonrenewable fossil fuels. are concentrated by reflectors onto a pipe filled with syn.
thetic oil. The heat from the oil-filled pipe generates steam
PASSIVE SOLAR ENERGY. Solar energy is harnessed to run turbines. In heat conversion, solar radiation is con-
through either passive or active means. Passive solar centrated with large reflectors and lenses to heat wate1
energy systems capture energy without using special or rocks. These store the energy for use at night and or
devices. These systems use south-facing windows and cloudy days. A place that receives relatively little sunligh
dark surfaces to heat and light buildings on sunny days. can use solar energy by using more reflectors and lense
The Sun's rays penetrate the windows and are converted and larger storage containers.
to heat. Humans act as passive solar energy collectors
when they are warmed by sunlight. And since dark objects Pause and Reflect 9.3.7
absorb more energy than light ones, wearing dark clothing
warms a person exposed to sunlight even more. Why are people warned not to leave a dog or child
unattended in a parked car during the summer?
Reliance on passive solar energy increased during the
nineteenth century when construction innovations first GENERATING ELECTRICITY THROUGH SOLAR POWEi
permitted the hanging of massive glass "curtains" on a Solar power can be produced at a central station ar
thin steel frame. Greenhouses enabled people to grow and distributed by an electric company, as coal- and nucle,
view vegetation that required more warmth to flourish generated electricity are now supplied. However, with cc
than the local climate permitted. Early skyscrapers made still relatively cheap and investment in nuclear faciliti
effective use of passive solar energy. During World War II already substantial, public and private utility compani
when fossil fuels were rationed, consumers looked for al- have had little interest in solar technology.
ternative energy sources. A major glass manufacturer,
Libbey-Owens-Ford Glass Co., responded by publishing a In developed countries, solar-generated electricity
book in 1947 entitled YourSolar House. But with electric- used in spacecraft, light-powered calculators, and at
ity and petroleum cheap and abundant after World War ll mote sites where conventional power is unavailable, su
and through most of the twentieth century, passive solar as California's Mojave Desert. Solar energy is used prim
energy rarely played a major role in construction of homes ily as a substitute for electricity in heating water. Ro
and commercial buildings. top devices collect, heat, and store water for apartm,
buildings in Israel and Japan and individual homes in
In recent years, building construction and remodel- United States (Figure 9-48). The initial cost of installin
ing have made more use of passive solar energy through solar water heater is higher than hooking into the cen
advances in glass technology. Double- and triple-pane system but may be justified if an individual plans to !
windows have higher insulating values, and low-E (low in the same house for a long time.
emissivity) glass can be coated to let heat in but not out.
Window panes made with this glass are filled with argon Electricity was popular in early motor vehicles. Of
or other gases that increase their insulating values beyond 4,000 cars sold in the United States in 1900, 38 perc
were powered by electricity, 40 percent by steam, and c

..t.FIGURE 9.49 SOLAR ENERGY IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES Solar
panelsaregeneratingelectricitfyorthisfamily'shouseInRumbekS, outh
Sudan.

..t.FIGURE9-48 SOLAR PANELS Solarpanelsinstalledon apartment In developing countries, the largest and fastest-growing
roohopsinthe OldCityofJerusalemareusedto heatwater,whichisstoredin market for photovoltaic cells includes the 2 billion people
the adjacentanks.Thedomesare theChurchof theHolySepulchreb,uiltat the who lack electricity, especially residents of remote villages.
sitewhereJesusisthoughtto havebeencrucifiedb,uried,andresurrected(see For example, in sub-Saharan Africa, more homes have been
Chapter6). electrified in recent years using photovoltaic cells than by
hooking up to the central power grid (Figure 9-49). In Mo-
rocco, solar panels are solcJ in bazaars and open markets,
next to carpets and tinware.

Solar energy currently accounts for only 0.3 quad BTU
worldwide. The cost of cells must drop and their efficiency
must improve for solar power to expand rapidly, with or
without government support. Solar energy will become
more attractive as other energy sources become more ex-
pensive. A bright future for solar energy is indicated by the
fact that petroleum companies now own the major U.S.
manufacturers of photovoltaic cells.

22 percent by gasoline. The electric car was especially pop- CHECK-IN: r :y ISSUE ':l
ular in 1900 in large cities of the Northeast, such as New
York and Philadelphia, where their relative quietness and Why Are Energy Resources Important
cleanliness made them popular as taxicabs. Women also
preferred electric cars because they were easier to start than for Development?
gasoline- or steam-powered ones.
✓ Energy is supplied primarily by three fossil
The main shortcomings of the electric car in the early fuels: coal, petroleum, and natural gas.
1900s remain unchanged a century later. Compared to
gasoline power, the electric-powered vehicle has a more ✓ The three fossil fuels are nonrenewable, and
limited range and costs more to operate. Recharging the production and reserves of these fuels are not
battery can take several hours. To address these issues, car- distributed uniformly across Earth.
makers offer a variety of vehicles that combine electric and
✓ Alternative energy sources include solar,
gasoline power. Hybrid vehicles conserve gasoline by run- nuclear, biomass, hydroelectric, geothermal,
and fusion.
ning on electricity at low speeds. Other vehicles operate
exclusively on battery-powered electricity and use the gas-
oline engine to recharge the battery (see Chapter 13).

327

328 THE CULTURAL LANDSCAPE

KEY ISSUE SELF-SUFFICIENCY PATH

Why Do Countries Key elements of the self-sufficiency path to development
include the following:
Face Obstacles to
Development? • Barriers limit the import of goods from other places
Three widely used barriers include setting high taxe
■ Two Paths to Development (tariffs) on imported goods to make them more expen
■ Financing Development sive than domestic goods, fixing quotas to limit th1
quantity of imported goods, and requiring licenses it
■ Making Progress in Development order to restrict the number of legal importers.

Learning Outcome 9.4.1 • Fledgling businesses are nursed to success by being isc
lated from competition with large international corpc
Summarize the two paths to development. rations. Such insulation from the potentially advers
impacts of decisions made by businesses and goven
The gap between rich and poor countries is substantial. ments in developed countrie:s encourages a country
Poorer countries lack much of what people in richer fragile businesses to achieve independence.
countries take for granted, such as access to electricity,
safe drinking water, and paved roads. To reduce dispari- • lnvestment is spread as equally as possible across ,
ties between rich and poor countries, developing coun- sectors of a country's economy and in all regions.
tries must develop more rapidly. This means increasing
per capita GNT more rapidly and using the additionaJ • Incomes in the country side keep pace with those in tJ
funds to make more rapid improvements in social and city, and reducing poverty takes precedence over e
economic conditions. Developing countries face two fun- couraging a few people to become wealthy consume
damental obstacles in trying to encourage more rapid
development: The pace of development may be modest, but the s:
• Adopting policies that successfully promote
tern is fair because residents and enterprises throughc
development the country share the benefits of development.
• Finding funds to pay for development
CASE STUDY: INDIA'S QUEST FOR DEVELOPMENT.
Two Paths to Development
several decades after it gained independence from Brit
To promote development, developing countries choose in 1947, India was a leading example of the self-sufficie,
one of two models: strategy. India made effective use of many barriers to tra
• Self-sufficiency. In the self-sufficiency model, countries
• To import goods into India, most foreign compar
encourage domestic production of goods, discourage
foreign ownership of businesses and resources, and pro- had to secure a license, which was a Jong and cuml
tect their businesses from international competition.
• International trade. In the international trade model, some process because several dozen government a~
countries open themselves to foreign investment and
international markets. cies had to approve the request (Figure 9-50). ·
Each has important advantages and faces serious chal-
lenges. • Once a company received an import license, the !
For most of the twentieth century, self-sufficiency, or ernment severely restricted the quantity of gooc
balanced growth, was the more popular of the devel- could sell in India.
opment alternatives. International trade became more
popular beginning in the late twentieth century. How- • The government imposed heavy taxes on imported gc
ever, the global economic slowdown since 2008 has which doubled or even tripled the prices to consume
caused some countries to question the international
trade approach. l' FIGURE 9·50 SELF-SUFFICIENCY: INDIA Clerksworkon the street
DelhiI,ndia.

Chapter 9: Development 329

• Indian businesses were discouraged from producing 3. Takeoff. Rapid growth is generated in a limited num-
goods for export. ber of economic activities, such as textiles or food
products. These few takeoff industries achieve techni-
• Indian money could not be converted to other currencies. cal advances and become productive, whereas other
sectors of the economy remain dominated by tradi-
Effectively cut off from the world economy, businesses tional practices.
were supposed to produce goods for consumption inside
India: 4. Drive to maturity. Modern technology, previously con-
fined to a few takeoff industries, diffuses to a wide vari-
• A business needed government permission to sell a new ety of industries, which then experience rapid growth
product, modernize a factory, expand production, set comparable to the growth of the take off industries.
prices, hire or fire workers, and change the job classifi• Workers become more skilled and specialized.
cation of existing workers.
s. Age of mass consumption. The economy shifts from
• If private companies were unable to make a profit _sell-
ing goods only inside India, the government provided production of heavy industry, such as steel and en-
subsidies, such as cheap electricity, or wiped out debts. ergy, to consumer goods, such as motor vehicles and
refrigerators.
• The government owned not just communications,
transportation, and power companies, which is com- According to the international trade model, each coun-
mon around the world, but it also owned businesses try is in one of these five stages of development:
such as insurance companies and automakers, which
are left to the private sector in most countries. INTERNATIONAL TRADE EXAMPLES. When most
developing countries were following the self-sufficiency
Byfollowing the self-sufficiency path, India achieved only approach during the twentieth century, two groups of
modest development. countries chose the international trade approach:

INTERNATIONAL TRADE PATH • The Four Asian Dragons. Among the first places to adopt
the international trade path were South Korea, Singapore,
fhe international trade model of development calls for a Taiwan, and Hong Kong known as the "four dragons,"
country to identify its distinctive or unique economic as- Singapore and Hong Kong, British colonies until 1965 and
sets. What animal, vegetable, or mineral resources does the 1997, respectively, were large cities surrounded by very
country have in abundance that other countries are will- smalJ amounts of rural land and had virtually no natural
ing to buy? What product can the country manufacture resources. Lacking many natural resources, the four drag-
and distribute at a higher quality and a lower cost than ons promoted development by concentrating on produc-
other countries? According to the international trade ap- ing a handful of manufactured goods, especially clothi~g
proach, a country can develop economically by concen- and electronics. Low labor costs enabled these countnes
trating scarce resources on expansion of its distinctive to sell products inexpensively in developed countries.
local industries. The sale of these products in the world
market brings funds into the country that can be used to • Petroleum-rich Arabian Peninsula states. The Arabian
finance other development. Peninsula includes Saudi Arabia, the region's largest
and most populous country, as well as Kuwait, Bahrain,
ROSTOW MODEL. A pioneering advocate of the inter- Oman, and the United Arab Emirates. Once among the
national trade approach was W. W. Rostow, who in the world's least developed countries, they were transformed
l 950s proposed a five-stage model of development. overnight into some of the wealthiest countries, thanks
Several countries adopted this approach during the 1960s, to escalating petroleum prices beginning in the 1970s.
although most continued to follow the self-sufficiency Arabian Peninsula countries used petroleum revenues to
approach. The five stages were as follows: finance large-scale projects, such as housing, highways,
hospitals, airports, universities, and telecommunicati?ns
1. Traditional society. A traditional society has not yet networks. Their steel, aluminum, and petrocherrucal
started a process of development. It contains a very factories competed on world markets with the help of
high percentage of people engaged in agriculture and government subsidies. The landscape of these countries
a high percentage of national wealth allocated to has been further changed by the diffusion of consumer
what Rostow called "nonproductive" activities, such goods, such as motor vehicles and electronics. Supermar-
as the military and religion. kets in Arabian Peninsula countries are stocked with food
imported from Europe and North America.
2. Preconditions for takeoff. An elite group initiates inno-
vative economic activities. Under the influence of these Pause and Reflect 9.4.1
welJ-educated leaders, the country starts to invest in
new technology and infrastructure, such as water sup- Many countries that have adopted the international
plies and transportation systems. Support from inter- trade model are relatively small states (see Chapter 8).
national funding sources often emphasizes the impor- Why might a nation's size be a factor in the early
tance of constructing new infrastructure. These projects adoption of the international trade path?
wilJ ultimately stimulate an increase in productivity.

330 THE CULTURAL LANDSCAPE and other necessities for their own people. Rather tha
finance sustainable development that is envirorune 1
.. ,.,•·,-.,-._------------------------ tally sensitive, these countries may need to use fun1
generated from the sale of products to other countri
SHORTCOMINGS OF THE TWO
DEVELOPMENT PATHS to buy these necessities from developed countries fi

Learning Outcome 9.4.2 the employees of the take off industries.
Analyze shortcomings of the two development
paths and give reasons why international trade has • Market decline. Countries that depend on selling lo
triumphed. cost manufactured goods find that the world mar
for many products has declined sharply in recent yea·
Shortcomings have been identified with both the self- Even before the recent severe recession, developed cou
sufficiency and international trade paths to development. tries had limited growth in population and market si!

SELF-SUFFICIENCY CHALLENGES. The experience of INTERNATIONAL TRADE APPROACH
India and other developing countries with self-sufficiency
revealed two major difficulties: TRIUMPHS

• Protection of inefficient businesses. Businesses could Most countries embraced the international trade approa
sell all they made, at high government-controlled as the preferred alternative for stimulating developme
prices, to customers culled from long waiting lists, so in the late twentieth century. During the late twentie
they had little incentive to improve quality, lower pro- and early twenty-first centuries trade increased more re
duction costs, reduce prices, or increase production. idly than wealth (as measured by GDP), a measure oft
Companies protected from international competition growing importance of the international trade approa(
were not pressured to keep abreast of rapid technologi- especially in developing countries (Figure 9-51).
cal changes or give high priority to sustainable develop-
ment and environmental protection. Optimism about the benefits of the international tra
development model was based on three observations:
• Need for large bureaucracy. The complex administra-
tive system needed to administer the controls encour- • Developed countries in Europe and North America w,
aged inefficiency, abuse, and corruption. A large number joined by others in Southern and Eastern Europe a
of people were employed in countries such as India to fill Japan during the second half of the twentieth centu
out documents that other countries considered unneces- If they could become more developed by following t
sary intrusions into the prerogatives of private businesses. model, why couldn't other countries?
Potential entrepreneurs found that struggling to produce
goods or offer services was less rewarding financially than • Developing countries contained an abundant sup
advising others how to get around the complex govern- of many raw materials sought by manufacturers ~
ment regulations. Other potential entrepreneurs earned producers in developed countries. In the past, EuropE
more money by illegally importing goods and selling colonial powers extracted many of these resources wi
them at inflated prices on the black market. out paying compensation to the colonies. In a glo
economy, the sale of these raw materials could genet
funds for developing countries with which they co
promote development.

INTERNATIONAL TRADE CHALLENGES. Three difficul- 30 - Developecdountries
ties have hindered countries outside the four Asian dragons - Developingcountries
and the Arabian Peninsula from developing through the 25
international trade approach:
gc..
• Uneven resourcedistribution. Arabian Peninsula coun- 20
tries achieved successful development by means of ris- 0
ing petroleum prices. Other countries, however, have
found that the prices of their commodities have not ~..
increased and in some cases have actually decreased.
Developing countries that have depended on the sale ~"
of one product have suffered if the price of their lead-
ing commodity did not rise as rapidly as the cost of the ~
products they needed to buy. For example, Zambia has
5
extensive copper reserves, but it has been unable to use
this asset to promote development because of declining 0 L...1..--'-L-1-...J.....J--'-....._.__,__._. ................................._...._ ...........J.....JL-I.-........_..._ ........
world prices for copper.
1980 1990 2000

Year

• Increased dependence on developed countries. Build- .l FIGURE9-51 WORLD TRADEAS A PERCENTAGEOF INCOME
ing up a handful of take off industries that sell to Tradeasa percentagoef GDPincreaserdapidlyin developingcountriest,
people in developed countries may force developing ningin the 1990sT. hesevererecessiotnhat beganin 2008causeda shar
countries to cut back on production of food, clothing, clineintrade.

Chapter 9: Development 331

• Acountry that concentrates on international trade ben- WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION
efits from exposure to the demands, needs, and pref-
erences of consumers in other countries. To remain To promote the international trade development model,
competitive, the take off industries constantly evaluate countries representing 97 percent of world trade established
changes in international consumer preferences, market- the World Trade Organization (WfO) in 1995. The WTO
ing strategies, production engineering, and design tech- works to reduce barriers to international trade in two prin-
nologies. Concern for international competitiveness cipal ways. First, through the WTO, countries negotiate re-
in the exporting take off industries can filter through duction or elimination of international trade restrictions on
other sectors of the economy. manufactured goods, such as government subsidies for ex-
ports, quotas for imports, and tariffs on both imports and
Longtime advocates of the self-sufficiency approach exports. Also reduced or eliminated are restrictions on the
converted to international trade during the l 990s. India, international movement of money by banks, corporations,
for example, dismantled its formidable collection of barri- and wealthy individuals.
ers to international trade:
The WTO also promotes international trade by enforc-
• Foreign companies were allowed to set up factories and ing agreements. One country can bring to the WTO an
sell in India. accusation that another country has violated a WTO agree-
ment. The WTO is authorized to rule on the validity of the
• Tariffs and restrictions on the import and export of charge and order remedies. The WTO also protects intellec-
goods were reduced or eliminated. tual property in the age of the 1nternet. An individual or a
corporation can also bring charges to the WTO that some-
• Monopolies in communications, insurance, and other one in another country has violated a copyright or patent,
industries were eliminated. and the WTO can order illegal actions to stop.

• With increased competition, Indian companies have Critics have sharply attacked the WTO. Protesters rou-
improved the quality of their products. tinely gather in the streets outside high-level meetings of
the WTO (Figure 9-53). Progressive criti.cs charge that the
During the self-sufficiency era, India's auto industry was WTO is antidemocratic because decisions made behind
dominated by Maruti-Udyog Ltd., which was controlled by closed doors promote the interests of large corporations
the Indian government. Nursed by import duties that rose rather than poor people. Conservatives charge that the
from 15 percent in 1984 to 66 percent in 1991, Maruti cap- WTO compromises the power and sovereignty of individ-
tured more than 80 percent of the Indian market by selling ual countries because it can order changes in taxes and
cars that would be considered out-of-date in other coun- laws that it considers unfair trading practices.
tries. In the international trade era, the government sold
control of Maruti to the Japanese company Suzuki, which Pause and Reflect 9.4.2
now holds only 45 percent of India's market.
Top WTO officials meet every two years in a so-
Countries like India converted from self-sufficiency called ministerial conference. Where was the most
to international trade during the 1990s because of over- recent conference held? Google "WTO ministerial
whelming evidence at the time that international trade bet- conference" to find out and to see if there were
ter promoted development (Figure 9-52). After converting protests at the conference.
to international trade, India's GNl per capita increased on
average 6.5 percent per year, compared to 1.8 percent per "YFIGURE9-53 WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION PROTESTSouthKorean
year under self-sufficiency. Worldwide, GNJ increased more farmersmarchin protestduring2005WTOmeetingsin HongKong.
than 4 percent annually in countries strongly oriented to-
ward international trade compared with less than 1 percent
in countries strongly oriented toward self-sufficiency.

12

10 Self-suttlcienC'/

~8

i6

·Ja! 4
B2

&o~~~~~~~-~--~--~-~
ga.

-2

·4

-6U...,u...l. ......................................................... ~w...... ............................................i.................................,
1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010
Year

.i FIGURE9-52 GDP PERCAPITACHANGEIN )NOIA India'spercapita
GDPhasgrownmuchmorerapidlysincethecountryconvertefdromthe self-
sufficiencmy odetlo theinternationatrlademodel.

332 THECULTURALLANDSCAPE

Financing Development LOANS

Learning Outcome 9.4.3 The two major lenders to developing countries are the
Identify the main sources of financing development. World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF):

Developing countries lack money to fund development, so • World Bank.The World Bank includes the International
they obtain financial support from developed countries. Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD)and
Finance comes from two primary sources: direct invest- the International Development Association (IDA). The
ment by transnational corporations and loans from banks IBRDprovides loans to countries to reform public admin-
and international organizations. istration and legal institutions, develop and strengthen
financial institutions, and implement transportation anct
FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT social service projects (Figure 9-55). The IDA provides
support to poor countries considered too risky to qualify
International trade requires corporations based In a partic- for JBRDloans. The IBRDhas loaned about $400 billion
ular country to invest in other countries. Investment made since 1945, primarily in Europe and Latin America
by a foreign company in the economy of another country (Figure 9-56), and the IDA has loaned about $1SObillion
is known as foreign direct investment (FDI). since 1960, primarily in Asia and Africa.The IBRDlends
money raised from sales of bonds to private investors;
Foreign direct investment grew rapidly during the the IDA lends money from government contributions.
1990s, from $130 billion in 1990 to $1.5 trillion in 2000
and 2010. FDI does not flow equally around the world • International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF provides
(Figure 9-54). Only two-fifths of foreign investment in loans to countries experiencing balance-of-payments
2010 went from a developed country to a developing coun- problems that threaten expansion of international
try; the other three-fifths went from one developed coun- trade. IMF assistance is designed to help a country
try to another. And FOi is not evenly distributed among rebuild international reserves, stabilize currency ex-
developing countries. In 2010, nearly 40 percent of all change rates, and pay for imports without the imposi-
FDl destined for developing countries went to China, and tion of harsh trade restrictions or capital controls that
20 percent went to Brazil, Russia, and Singapore. could hamper the growth of world trade. Unlike de-
velopment banks, the IMF does not lend for specific
The major sources of FDIare transnational corporations projects. Funding of the IMF is based on each member
that invest and operate in countries other than the one country's relative size in the world economy.
in which the company headquarters are located. Of the
500 largest transnational corporations in 2011, 384 had The World Bank and lMF were conceived at a 1944
headquarters in developed countries, including 133 in the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference ir
United States and 164 in Europe. China was the location of Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, to promote economi<
61 of the 116 with headquarters in developing countries. development and stability after the devastation of Worlc
War II and to avoid a repetition of the disastrous economi1
Pause and Reflect 9.4.3 policies contributing to the Great Depression of the 1930s
Fortune magazine names the 500 largest The IMF and World Bank became specialized agencies a
transnational corporations every year. What is the the UN when it was established in 1945.
world's largest transnational corporation?
Developing countries borrow money to build new ir
2.5 frastructure, such as hydroelectric dams, electric transmi:
sion lines, flood-protection systems, water supplies, road
2.0 LatinAmerica and hotels. The theory is that new infrastructure will ma~
- EaslAsia conditions more favorable for domestic and foreign bus
i:! - Altotherdeve,opinrgegions nesses to open or expand. After all, no business wants 1
be located in a place that lacks paved roads, running watE
i , .5 and electricity.

"0 In principle, new or expanded businesses are attractE
to an area because improved infrastructure will contri
gC ute additional taxes that the developing country will u
in part to repay the loans and in part to improve its ci
;£ 1.0 zens' living conditions. 1n reality, the World Bank itself h
judged half of the projects it has funded in Africa to be fa
0.5 ures. Common reasons include the following:

0 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 • Projects don't function as intended because of fau
1980 engineering.

Year • Recipient nations squander or spend aid on armamer.
or the aid is stolen .
.& FIGURE9-54 GROWTHIN FOREIGNDIRECTINVESTMENT EastAsia
• New infrastructure does not attract other investmen
and LatinAmericahavereceivedthe mostFOi.

Chapter 9: Development 333
-~--~•-~o-••~~~~~·-C'llO'
---~ ~ ..,_~~ ~ao• ◄ FIGURE 9-55 WORLD BANK DEVELOPMENT
.~:t~~
~C-. . -;:,~ ...~.. ~ ASSISTANCE IraqandAfghanistanhavebeenthe
;:~~arr♦- . ·• leadingrecipientsof aid.

..A'<-l"

. j\ '. ·-

411 ,0'

PACrFIC i' MlANTIC ~
OCEAN OCEAN
4;:;-------- Trol)i'ci m:e,r...
ii;'" \JO' 120'
20'
~.
PACJFtC
W01ldBank );
OC"-"" '

OevelopmenAtssistance -bac-------1---+-•ITJ ~· . "·rJ,.t..~f.~,.I).,'.-.,/'1'_ I

Sl billionandabo,e ~:

$100-999 million 20' - • 4-20'

Below$100 million r,QPltoreil!lfiom ""t ..-.

Developecdountry

(EuropeN, orthAmerica, fI - ~,, ,r../J,. -w
•~,/ I
SouthPacillc) ! 1,G!)O 2,DpDt.alle,
.\f-..1.__, 10' 60' •ll' 20' O' 211'
nodata t.oho• (I 2.000.:i1e1tmitr11>

L,_ ______ W fJ:1' 80" 100' l20" 140" 160"' lstr'

~. -_-_..,;;;:.c;;;.. Many developing countries have
been unable to repay the interest on
A FIGURE 9-56 WORLD BANK INVESTMENT PROJECT TheWorldBankhasassistedin the their loans, let alone the principal
reconstructionof Haitiafter the devastatingearthquakein 2010. (Figure 9-57). Debt actually exceeds an-
nual income in a number of countries.
When these countries cannot repay
their debts, financial institutions in
developed countries refuse to make fur-
ther loans, so construction of needed
infrastructure stops. The inability of
many developing countries to repay
loans also damages the financial stabil-
ity of banks in developed countries.

The economic downturn that
started in 2008 also revealed that
many developed countries also have
extremely high debts. Among devel-
oped countries, especially high debts
have been incurred by European coun-
tries, including Ireland, Italy, Greece,
Portugal, and Spain.

◄ FIGURE 9-57 DEBT AS A

PERCENTAGE OF GNI

Developedcountrieshavejoineddeveloping
countriesin accumulatingsubstantialdebts.

err--'--

160' 1~0' 120' 100'

Debat s~ercentage 20

ofGNI

50andabove

25-49 ~-.::--)t._'11'·z.~D1I
4,000Miles .., 1 ~
Below25 2,000

nodata 0 4;000l(Jlome!e~

SO' 10' O' 20' 40' 60' 80' 100' 110' 140' 160' 160

334 THE CULTURAL LANDSCAPE

FINANCING CHALLENGES IN DEVELOPING • Cuts in health, education, and social services that ben-
COUNTRIES efit the poor

• Higher unemployment
• Loss of jobs in state enterprises and civil service

Learning Outcome 9.4.4 • Less support for those most in need, such as poor preg-
nant women, nursing mothers, young children, and el-
Explain problems with financing development in derly people
developing and developed countries.
In short, structural reforms allegedly punish Earth's poor-
The IMF, World Bank, and developed countries fear that est people for actions they did not commit, such as waste,
granting, canceling, or refinancing debts without strings corruption, misappropriation, and military buildup.
attached will perpetuate bad habits in developing coun-
tries. Therefore, to apply for debt relief, a developing coun- International organizations respond that the poor suf-
try is required to prepare a Policy Framework Paper (PFP) fer more when a country does not undertake reforms. Eco-
outlining a structural adjustment program, which in- nomic growth is what benefits the poor the most in the
cludes economic goals, strategies for achieving the objec- long run. Nevertheless, in response to criticisms, the IMF
tives, and external financing requirements. and the World Bank now encourage innovative programs
to reduce poverty and corruption and consult more with
A structural adjustment program includes economic average citizens. A safety net must be included to ease
"reforms" or "adjustments." Requirements placed on a short-term pain experienced by poor people.
developing country typically include:

• Spending only what it can afford FINANCING CHALLENGES IN DEVELOPED
• Directing benefits to the poor, not just the elite COUNTRIES

• Diverting investment from military to health and edu- Developed countries were especially hard hit by the severe

cation spending economic downturn that began in 2008. GDP per capita

• Investing scarce resources where they will have the declined between 2008 and 2009 in nearly all developed
most impact countries (Figure 9-58). The economic difficulties in de-
veloped regions spilled over into developing regions that
• Encouraging a more productive private sector were especially dependent on international trade, espe-
cially Latin America with North America and Southwest
• Reforming the government, including making the civil Asia with Europe. Citizens and political leaders in many
service more efficient, increasing accountability in ac- developed countries questioned the benefits of orienting
countable fiscal management, implementing more pre- a country's economy to facilitate international trade, espe-
dictable rules and regulations, and disseminating more
information to the public cially in Europe.

Critics charge that poverty worsens under structural ad- WIDENING INEQUALITY. Through most of the
justment programs. By placing priority on reducing gov- twentieth century, the gap between rich and poor narrowed
ernment spending and inflation, structural adjustment in developed countries. Inequality was reduced because
programs may result in the following:
developed countries used some

of their wealth to extend health

care and education to more

people, and to provide some

60' financial assistance to poorer

people.

Since 1980, however, in-

equality has increased in most

developed countries, includ•

ing the United States and the

United Kingdom (Figure 9-59)

ChangeIn GDP In 2010, the richest 1 percen
2008-2009 of Americans held 20 percent o
the wealth, and 421 billionaire
Increase
Worethan4•,1,

Lessthan4% (representing 0.0001 percent o

the population) held more tha1

10 percent of the wealth in th

United States.

A FIGURE 9-58 GDP PERCAPITACHANGE, 2008-2009 GNI percapitadeclinedinnearlyalldeveloped The severe recession exace
countriesE. astandSouthAsiaweretheprinciparlegionws ithincreases. bated an inequality trend th,

Chapter 9: Development 335

had begun a quarter-century earlier. Many Americans per- Economic difficulties call into question the region's
ceived that it was unfair for very large banks to be rescued ability to continue supporting the international trade
by the government and to quickly resume making sub- development path.
stantial profits, at a time when the income of most Ameri-
cans was stagnant or declining. Most Europe.an countries had adopted the euro as their
common currency in 1999. Europeans believed that if
Pause and Reflect 9.4.4 every country in the region operated with the same cur-
rency, trade within the region would be enhanced. In re-
What government policies have helped to increase ality, once the severe economic downturn hit, having
the share of wealth held by the top 1 percent? What each countiy saddled with the same currency proved to
policies have tried to reduce that share? be a burden for the countries in Europe that had weaker
economies.
STIMULUS OR AUSTERITY? Political leaders and inde-
pendent analysts have been sharply divided on the optimal Consider Germany and Italy. Germany has a strong
strategy for fighting the severe economic downturn: economy, with businesses producing cars, electronics, and
other goods at higher quality and lower cost than can be
• Stimulus strategy. Proponents of stimulus argue that
during a downturn, governments should spend more done in Italy. If Germany and Italy had two different cur-
money than they collect in taxes. Governments should
stimulate the economy by putting people to work rencies, as in the past, Italy could lower the value of its cur-
building bridges and other needed infrastructure proj- rency so that German goods cost more and Italian goods
ects. Once the economy recovers, they say, people and cost less. But with both countries using the same currency,
businesses will be in position to pay more taxes to pay the euro, Italy no longer has that option.
off the debt.
The Northern European countries argue that the South-
• Austerity strategy. Proponents of austerity argue that ern European countries with weaker economies need to
government should sharply reduce taxes so that people adopt austerity programs, similar to those imposed on
and businesses can revive the economy by spending their developing countries through structural adjustment pro-
tax savings. Spending on government programs should grams. The Southern European countries argue that iorth-
be sharply cut as well in order to keep the debt from ern European countries with stronger economies should
sweBing and hampering the economy in the future. fund stimulus programs that would in the long run lead to
more prosperity through Europe as a whole.
In the United States, the stimulus strategy was initially
employed by Presidents Bush and Obama. After the suc- HOUSING BUBBLE
cess of Tea Party candidates in 2010, more attention was
paid to the austerity strategy. European countries divided The heart of the global economic crisis was the poor con-
between supporting stimulus and austerity. The lack of dition of many banks and other financial institutions in
agreement has led to serious difficulties in Europe and may developed countries. A number of financial institutions
possibly result in the demise of the euro currency. closed or were rescued by governments in North America
and Europe. The shaky status of many financial institutions
EUROPE'S SOVEREIGN DEBT CRISIS. Europe has faced resulted from making loans to businesses and individuals
an especially difficult challenge in responding to the sharp that could not be repaid, especially after the bursting of
economic slowdown of the early twenty-first century. the housing bubble beginning in 2007.

25 As discussed in Chapter 1, a housing bubble is a rapid
increase in the value of houses followed by a sharp decline
20 in their value. In 1637, the world's first recorded bubble
occurred in the Netherlands, when tulip bulbs rapidly in-
15 UnitedStates
~ UnitedKingdom creased greatly in price and just as suddenly decreased.
Refer ahead on the next page to Figure 9-60, which
.~,
shows the housing bubble that occurred in the United
C. 10 States during the first decade of the twenty-first cen-
tury. The price of an average house in the United
5 States increased rapidly from 1998 to 2006 and then
decreased rapidly between 2006 and 2009 down to
the level in 2002. Most developed countries and some
developing ones experienced housing bubbles during
the first decade of the twenty-first century.

o~-....__ _ _.____ ~-~--~-~-~-~-~

1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

Year

.t.FIGURE9-59 TOP 1% INCOME SHAREThepercenot fnationawl ealthheld
bytheriches1t percenot fpeopleintheUnitedStatesandtheUnitedKingdom
dedinedduringmostofthetwentiethcenturyb,uthasincrea~ since1980.

336 THE CULTURAL LANDSCAPE

FAIR TRADE goes to the wholesaler who imports the item and for th
retailer's rent, wages, and other expenses.
Learning Outcome 9.4.5
Fair trade advocates work with small businesses, esp1
Explain the principles of fair trade. cially worker-owned and democratically run cooperative
Small-scale farmers and artisans in developing countri1
Fair trade has been proposed as a variation of the inter- are unable to borrow from banks the money they need·
national trade model of development that promotes sus- invest in their businesses. By banding together, they c,
tainability. Fair trade is commerce in which products are get credit, reduce their raw· material costs, and mainta
made and traded according to standards that protect work- higher and fairer prices for their products. Cooperativ
ers and small businesses in developing countries. thus benefit the local farmers and artisans who are me1
bers rather than benefit absentee corporate owners int,
In North America, fair trade products have been pri- ested only in maximizing profits. Because cooperatives 2
marily craft products such as decorative home accessories, managed democratically, farmers and artisans learn le2
jewelry, textiles, and ceramics. Ten Thousand Vi!lages is ership and organizational skills. The people who grew
the largest fair trade organization in North Amenca, spe- made the products thereby have a say in how local
cializing in handicrafts. In Europe, most fair trade sales are sources are utilized and sold. Safe and healthy worki
in food, including coffee, tea, banana, chocolate, cocoa, conditions can be protected.
juice, sugar, and honey products.
Consumers pay higher prices for fair trade coffee th
Two sets of standards distinguish fair trade: One set for grocery store brands, but prices are comparable to th1
applies to workers on farms and In factories and t~e other charged for gourmet brands. However, fair trade coffee p
applies to producers. Standards for fair trade are set 1nt~rna- ducers receive a significantly higher price per pound U
tionally by Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International traditional coffee producers. North American consumers J
(FLO). A nonprofit organization, TransFair USA, certifies $4 to S11 a pound for coffee that is bought from growers
the products sold in the United States that are fair trade. about 80 cents a pound. Growers who sell to fair trade
ganizations earn $ 1.12 to S1.26 a pound. Because fair tr
FAIR TRADE PRODUCER STANDARDS. Critics of organizations bypass distributors and work directly \'
international trade charge that only a tiny percentage of producers, they can cut costs and return a greater percc
the price a consumer pays for a good reaches the individual age of the retail price to the producers. In ~ome cases'.
in the developing country who is responsible for making or quality is higher because fair traders factor ~n the en~11
growing it. A Haitian sewing clothing for the U.S. market, mental cost of production (Figure 9-61). For mstance, 111
for example, earns less than 1 percent of the retail price of
the garment, according to the National Labor Committee. T FIGURE9-61 FAIRTRADE Fairtradecoffeeiswidelyavailable.
In contrast, fair trade returns on average one-third of the
price to the producer in the developing country. The rest

200

,aq,

160

..0 140

.".,'.>!!
-= 120

100

80

60 1995 2000 2005 2010
1990

Year

"- FIGURE9-60 HOUSING BUBBLEHousepricesdoubledinthe United
Statesbetween1998and2006anddeclinedbyone-thirdbetween2006and
2009.Thegraphdisplayspriceas anindexset at 100in2000.forexample,
a housethatsoldforS100,000in2000wouldhavebeensoldfor$80,000in
1995,$190,000in 2006,and$125,000in 2012.

Chapter 9: Development 337

case of coffee, fair trade coffee is usually organic and shade
grown, which results in higher-quality coffee.

Pause and Reflect 9.4.S
Do you have any fair trade products?

FAIR TRADE WORKER STANDARDS. Protection of A FIGURE9-62 MICROFINANCE Microfinancehelpedthesewomenopena
workers' rights is not a high priority in the international tailorshopin northBenin.
trade development approach, according to its critics. With
minimal oversight by governments and international South Asian countries, and only 1 percent of the borrow-
lending agencies, workers in developing countries allegedly ers have failed to make their weekly loan repayments,
work long hours in poor conditions for low pay. The an extraordinarily low percentage for a bank. Several
workforce may include children or forced labor. Health million loans have also been provided to women by the
problems may result from poor sanitation and injuries from Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee. The average
inadequate safety precautions. Injured, ill, or laid-off workers loan is about $60. The smallest loan the bank has made
are not compensated. was $1, to a woman who wanted to sell plastic bangles
door to door.
In contrast, fair trade requires employers to pay work-
ers fair wages, permit union organizing, and comply with
minimum environmental and safety standards. Under fair
trade, workers are paid at least the country's minimum
wage. Approximately two-thirds of the artisans provid-
ing fair trade hand-crafted products are women. Often
these women are mothers and the sole wage earners in the
home. Because the minimum wage is often not enough for
basic survival, whenever feasible, workers are paid enough
to cover food, shelter, education, health care, and other
basic needs. Cooperatives are encouraged to reinvest prof-
its back into the community, such as by providing health
clinics, child care, and training.

Paying fair wages does not necessarily mean that prod-
ucts cost the consumer more. Because fair trade organiza-
tions bypass exploitative intermediaries and work directly
with producers, they are able to cut costs and return a
greater percentage of the retail price to the producers. The
cost remains the same as for traditionally traded goods,
but the distribution of the cost of the product is differ-
ent because the large percentage taken by intermediaries is

removed from the etuation.

DEVELOPMENT T ROUGH MICROFINANCE. Many A FIGURE9-63 GRAMEENBANK
would-be business bwners in developing countries are A representativoef the GrameenBankcollectsloanpaymentsfromwomenin
too poor to qualify for regular bank loans. An alternative Bangladesh.
source of loans is microfinance, which is provision of
small loans and/5ther financial services to individuals and
small businesses in developing countries that are unable to
obtain loansJrorn commercial banks (Figure 9-62).

A prominent example of microfinance is the Grameen
Bank, which was established in 1977 (Figure 9-63). Based
in Bangladesh, Grameen specializes in making loans to
women, who make up three-fourths of the borrowers.
Women have borrowed money to buy cows, make per-
fume, bind books, and sell matches, mirrors, and bananas.
For founding the bank, Muhammad Yunus was awarded
the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006.

The Grameen Bank has made several hundred thou-
sand loans to women in Bangladesh and neighboring

338 THE CULTURAL LANDSCAPE

200

Making Progress in ~t!el ., 150
Development
~!
Learning Outcome 9.4.6
Eo.-? 100
Describe ways in which differences in development
have narrowed or stayed wide. r=~"§-

Since the UN began measuring HDI in 1980, both devel- C: & 50
oped and developing regions have made progress (Fig-
ure 9-64). The overall HD! score has increased by about the :,
same level in developed countries and in developing coun-
tries with high HD! scores (primarily Russia and countries Ve,yHiq~

in Latin America) and low HDl scores (primarily coun- 0 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010
1980 Year
tries in sub-Saharan Africa). The HDI score for developing
countries with medium HDI scores, which includes most A FIGURE 9-65 INFANT MORTALITY RATE CHANGE BY HDI LEVEL,
of East and South Asia, has increased more rapidly than for 1980-2011
the other regions.
Developinrgegionshaveclosedthe gap ininfantmortalityrates.
Progress in reducing the gap in level of development
between developed and developing countries varies de- to $5,000 in developing countries with medium HDI.
pending on the variable. Consider differences among Progress in improving GNI per capita has been modest
these three prominent variables: in developing countries with high HD! and developing
countries with low HDI.
• Infant mortality rate. The gap between developed and
developing countries has narrowed considerably since 50 .__ __ ....___L_O_W_ ___.___ .._ __ ....___ _.___
1980. The infant mortality rate has decreased from 17
to 6 (per 1,000) in developed countries and from 107 to 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010
44 in developing countries with medium HDI, which
includes most of East and South Asia (Figure 9-65). Year

• Lifeexpectancy. The number of years a baby is expected I. FIGURE9-66 LIFE EXPECTANCYCHANGE BY HOI LEVEL, 1980-2011
to live has increased by 8 years in developing countries
(Figure 9-66). However, life expectancy at birth has in- Allregionshave·seensubstantiapl rogressinincreasinlgifeexpectancy,
creased by 7 years in developed countries. So the gap
between developed and developing countries has not
narrowed.

• GNI per capita. The gap in wealth between developed
and developing countries has widened (Figure 9-67).
Since 1980, GNI per capita has increased from $20,000
to, $33,000 in developed countries and from $1,000

I

I

,/ 1.0

/' $35,000

/ V8!Vl1,gh ..~ $30,000

0.8 l\1gh ;;: $25,000

..
:, aa.E.. $20,000

iii

c> 0.6
::c IA~•um ,i $15,000
-0.4
LOW ~ __ ;:;;._.--

l S10,0001-----..:....-

z
===:.:::==:s:::::=I1980
0.2 2010 c, $5,00$0 I:::

1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2(

Year Year

I. FIGURE 9-64 HDI CHANGE BY HDI LEVEL, 1980-2011 TheHDIhas A FIGURE9-67 GNI PERCAPITACHANGE BY HDl LEVEL, 1980-201'

improvedrelativelryapidlyindevelopincgountriews ithmediumHDsIcores. Thegapinwealthbetweendevelopedanddevelopinrgegionshasincreasec

MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS Chapter 9: Development 339

Toreduce disparities between developed countries and devel- Pause and Reflect 9.4.6
oping countries the UN has set eight so-called Millennium Based on Table 9-1, which Millennium Development
Development Goals, which all UN members have agreed to Goal appears to be making the most limited
achieve by 2015. Table 9-1 displays the goals and the prog- progress?
ress that has actually been made, according to the UN:

TABLE 9-1 MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS ANO PROGRESSTOWARDS ACHIEVEMENT

Goal1:Eradicateextremepovertyandhunger

• Prior to the severe recession, the depth of poverty had diminished in almost every region. The global economic crisis has slowed
progress, as more workers found themselves and their families living in extreme poverty.

• One of the consequences of the severe recession was an increase in hunger, and progress to end hunger has been stymied. One in
four children in developing countries is underweight.

Goal2:Achieveuniversapl rimaryeducation

• Sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia are home to the vast majority of children out of school, as shown in Figure 9-11. Although
progress has been made, the UN concludes that the goal is not being achieved.

Goal3: Promotegenderequalityandempowewr omen

• The UN concludes that major barriers to gender equality remain, as discussed in Key Issue 2 of this chapter. The UN cites higher levels
of poverty, fewer education opportunities, and lack of political representation. Top-level jobs still go to men, whereas women are
rele9ated to jobs with low pay, limited benefits, and little security.

Goal4: Reducechildmortality

• The UN concludes that child deaths are falling, but not quickly enough to reach the target. Infant mortality rates remain especially
high in sub-Saharan Africa, as shown in Figure 9-65.

Goal5: Improvematernahl ealth

• Progress has been made In reducing maternal mortality, but as shown in Key Issue 2, giving birth is especially risky in Southern Asia
and sub-Saharan Africa, where most women deliver without skilled care.

• Progress has stalled in reducing the number of teenage pregnancies, putting more young mothers at risk.
• Progress in expanding the use of contraceptives by women has slowed. Use of contraception is lowest among the poorest women and

those with no education.
• Inadequate funding for family planning is a major failure in fulfilling commitments to improving women's reproductive health

Goal6: CombatHIV/AIDSm, alaria,andotherdiseases

~ The spread of HIVappears to have stabilized in most regions, as discussed in Chapter 2. Many young people still lack the knowledge
I to protect themselves against HIV,especially in sub-Saharan Africa. However, the rate of new HIV infections continues to outstrip
\ the expansion of treatment.
• More drugs to fight malaria are being distributed. Expanded use of insecticide-treated bed nets is protecting communities from

malaria, especially in sub-Saharan Africa.
Tuberculosis prevalence is falling in most regions, but TB remains the second leading killer after HIV.

Goal7: Ensureenvironmentaslustainability

• The rate of deforestation is decreasing, but is still alarmingly high, and a decisive response to climate change is urgently needed,
according to the UN.

• Key habitats for threatened species are not being adequately protected, and the number of species facing extinction is growing by
the day, especially in developing countries.

• The world is on track to meet the drinking water target, though safe water supply remains a challenge in many parts of the world,
especially in rura I areas.

• With half the population of developing regions without sanitation, the 2015 target is out of reach, according to
the UN.

• Slum improvements, though considerable, are failing to keep pace with the growing ranks of the urban poor, as discussed in
Chapter 13.

Goal8: Developa globalpartnershipfor development

• Aid from developed countries continues to rise, but relatively little of it Is reaching sub-Saharan Africa.

340 THE CULTURAL LANDSCAPE

CORE AND PERIPHERY Europe, and those of Asia to Japan and to a lesser ei
tent Europe and North America. As countries like Chin
The relationship between developed countries and devel- India, and Brazil develop, relationships between core an
oping countries is often described as a north-south split, periphery are changing, and the line between core an
because most of the developed countries are north of the periphery may need to be redrawn.
equator, whereas many developing countries are south. Im-
manuel Wallerstein, a U.S. social scientist, depicted the re- CHECK-IN: l<'EYISSUE4
lationship between developed and developing countries as
one of "core" and "periphery." According to Wallerstein's Why Do Countries Face Obstacles
world-systems analysis, in an increasingly unified world to Development?
economy, developed countries form an inner core area,
whereas developing countries occupy peripheral locations. .I Two paths to development are self-sufficiency
As a result, global development patterns are sometimes re- and international trade; international trade has
ferred to as uneven development, with countries at the becomemoreimportant in recentdecades.
core benefiting at the expense of countries on the periphery.
✓ Development is financed through foreign
The unorthodox north polar map projection in Fig- direct investment by corporations and loans by
ure 9-68 emphasizes the central role that developed coun- governments and international organizations.
tries play in the world economy. North America, Europe,
and Japan account for a high percentage of the world's ✓ The severe recession of the early twenty-first
economic activity and wealth. Developing countries in century has posed challenges to developing
the periphery have less access to the world centers of con- countries and developed countries to continue
sumption, communications, wealth, and power, which are development policies.
clustered in the core.
✓ Progresshas been made in achieving
The unorthodox projection in Figure 9-60 also shows development in most regions.

connections between particular core and periphery re-
gions. The development prospects of Latin America are
tied to governments and businesses primarily in North
America, those of Africa and Eastern Europe to Western

◄ FIGURE 9-68 COREAND PERIPHERYThisunorthodoxworldmap.

,. projectionemphasizesthecentralrolethat developedcountriesplayat thec<
of theworldeconomy.

JO'

SOUTH
PACIFIC\

Chapter 9r Development 341

Summary and Review

1KEY ISSUE KEY ISSUE2

\ Vhy Does Development Vary among Countries? Why Does Development Vary by Gender?

Development is the process oy which the ma,terial condifi0ns The UM has not found a single country in the world where the
of a country's people are improved. The world is divided into women are treated as well as the men.
developed countries and developing ones. 0eveloped and
developing counaies <.an be compared acrnrding to a number of LEARNINGOUTCOME9.2.1: Describe the UN'smeasures of gencrer
indicators.
inequality.
LEARNINGOUTCOME9.1.1: Identify the RD! standard of living • The GU measures the extent of gender inequality.
factor.
• The GU combines measures of empowerment, lab0r force
• The HDI, whicn measures the level of development of each participation, and ref)roductive ri.ghts.

country, is calculated by combining three measures. LEARNINGOUTCOME9.2.2: Describe changes since the 199Os in

• Standar,d of living is measured through gross national income gender inequality.
per capita at purchasing power parity.
• Gender ineq.uality has declined in mo.st countries since 1990,
LEARNINGOUTCOME9.1.2: Identify the HDJ health factor. although not in the United Stat-es.
• The HDI health factor is life expectancy at bj,th.
THINKING GEOGRAPHICALLY9.2: Review the major economic,
LEARNINGOUTCOME9.1.3: Identify the HDI access to knowledge social, and demogral?hic characteristics that contribute to a
factor. country's level of development. Which indicators can vary sig-
nificantly by gender within countries and between countries at
• The HD! knowledge factors are years of schooling and various levels of development? Why?
expected years of schooling.
GOOGLE EARTH 9.2: Women comprise nearly one-half of
LEARNINGOUTCOME9.1.4: Describe variations in level of devel- Sweden's Parliament. l'ly to Parliament of Sweden, Stockholm.
opment within countries and regions. What is the distinctive physical site on which the Parliament is
located?
• Some developing countries, especially larger ones, have large
variations among regions in level of development.

THINKING GEOGRAPHICALLY9.1: In what ways would you expect
the severe recession of the early twenty-first century to change
some of the development indicators?

GOOGLEEARTH 9.1: Vehicle ownership rates are extremely low
in Kenya, yet if you zoom into the center of Nairobi, what is the
volume of traffic on the roads?

KeyTerJ Demand (p. 314) The quanllty of something that consumers arc
/ willing and able to buy.

Active solar energy systems (p. 326) Solar energy systems that rollects Developed cow1try (more developed country [MDCI or relatively
energy through the use of mechanical devices such as pl10tovoltaic developed country) (p. 300) A country that has progressed relatively far
cells or flat-plate collectors. along a continuum of development.

Adolescent fertility rate (p. 312) The numbec of births per 1,000 Developing country (less developed country (LDC])(p. 300) A coun-
women ages 1S to 19. try that is at a relatively early stage in the process of economic
development.
Bioma~s fuel {p.324) Fuelthat derives from plant material and
animal waste. Development (p. 300) A process of improvement in the material
conditions of people tnrough diffusion of knowledge and technology.
Breeder reactor (p. 323) A nuclear power plant that creates tts own fuel
from plutonium. Fafr trade (p. 336) An alternative to international trade that empha-
sizes small businesses and worker-owned and democratically run

342 THE CULTURAL LANDSCAPE

KEY ISSUE 3

Why Are Energy Resources Important for LEARNINGOUTCOME9.3.6: Identify challenges to increasing th
Development? use of alternative energy sources.

Development depends on abundant low-cost energy. • Leading renewable energy sources include biomass, hyd1
electric, geothermal, wind, and solar.
LEARNINGOUTCOME9.3.1: Explain the principal sources of de-
mand for fossil fuels. LEARNINGOUTCOME9.3.7: Compare and contrast between pas
sive and active solar energy.
• Most energy is supplied by three fossil fuels: coal, petroleum,
and natural gas. • Active solar energy captures energy with special devices, sue
as photovoltaic cells, whereas passive solar energy does not.
• Developed countries and developing countries each consume
approximately half of the world's energy. THINKING GEOGRAPHICALLY 9.3: The average American co
sumes approximately 500 gallons of gas a year in his or her ca
LEARNINGOUTCOME 9.3.2: Describe the distribution of produc- Does your family use more or less than the average? To answ
tion of the three fossil fuels. the world, this, you need to know how many miles your or your famil~

• Fossil fuels are not distributed uniformly around vehicles are driven and the vehicles' fuel efficiency (average mil
and they are nonrenewable sources of energy.
per gallon). The fuel efficiency can be found by Googling "fu
LEARNINGOUTCOME9.3.3: Analyze the distribution of reserves efficiency,, plus the vehicle model and year.
of fossil fuels and differentiate between proven and potential
reserves. GOOGLE EARTH 9.3: If you fly to 1301 W 120 St., Chicago, wh!
type of energy is being supplied by the large rectangular featur{
• Reserves are divided into proven (fields already discovered)

and potential (fields thought to exist).

• Proven reserves are not distributed uniformly.

LEARNING OUTCOME 9.3.4: Describe the role of OPEC and
changes in the price and availability of petroleum.

• Much of the world's petroleum reserves are located in coun-
tries that belong to OPEC.

• The United States has increased its dependence on petroleum
imported from neighbors in the Western Hemisphere.

LEARNINGOUTCOME9.3.5: Describe the distribution of nuclear
energy and challenges in using it.

• Nuclear is the principal source of energy other than the three
fossil fuels in the United States and a couple dozen other
countries.

• Numerous problems limit the use of nuclear power, including
threat of accidents, disposal of waste, use in making weapons,

limited reserves, and high costs.

cooperatives and requires empioy~rs to pay workers tair wages, permit Gros, tl.llional income (G'\11)(p. 302) The value of the output of gc

union organi,.at1on, and comply with minimum emironmental and and ,en ices produced in a country inn year,indulllng mont?ytha

~.i.fet~~tamlards. leaves a11dcnrer, the lOuntry.

lemale labor force participation nrate (p .• 1) The per<:cn1<1goef women !lousing bubble 1p. 335/A rapid i11crea1ein the value of houses fo

holding full-time Jobs outside the home lowed bv a ,harp decline In their value.
II Fi~sion (p. J22) The ~plittmg ol an atomic nucleus lo release ~ner~,y. Human Oevclopment lndex (HDJ) (p 10 I/ An indttator ot the lc,
foreign direct investment {FOi) (p. 332) Investment mad.: by a foreign development for t:ach country, constructed by the l 'nited Nations
lhal ls based on income, lllerary, educ~tion, and life expectancy.
um1pany In tile ccnnomy of amither country.

Fossil fuel (p. Jl-tl An cnerg) sourct: tormt:tt from thi: r~s1dueof plants Hydroelectric power (p. 32-IJ Power generate<.lfrom moving walE

and ,miJnals huried million~ of year\ ago. Inequalilr-adjusted HDI (!HD!) (p. 301; \fodification of the Hr>

hacking (hydraulic rracturing) {p. 319) The pumping ol water at high account for lnequalitv within .1 countrv.

pressure to break apart ro<.k\in order to relea~enatural gas. Literacy rate (p. 1071The pcr,l'ntagr of a country, JJt'Oplewho lar

rusion Ip. 325) Creation of energy bv ioin1ng the nudei of two hydrogen ~nd \\Tile.

atoms to form helium. )l.!atemal mortality ratio (p. 312) Ihe numher of women who die E

Gender Inequality Index (Gill (p. 110) A measure of the extent of each blrth per 100.000 births.

country's gender inequality. t-.,iicrofinance (p. 33i) Provision ot rn1all loans and other finanll

Geothermal energy (p. 325) E.11ergfyrom ,team or hot water produced \ ices to ind!\ iduJls and ,mall busines~esin developing countrie~

from hot or molten underground rocks. \iillennium Dc1·elopment Goals Ip. 339) Eight international de

Gross domestic product (GOP) p 3021The \·alui:of the total output of ment goals that all members of the United '-ations have agreed t
goods and services produced in a country in a given time penud (nor- achieve by 2015.

mally one year).

Chapter 9: Development 343

KEY ISSUE4

t ~y Do Countries Face Obstacles to Development? THINKING GEOGRAPHICALLY 9.4: Some developing countries
claim that the requirements placed on them by lending organiza-
To develop more rapidly, developing countries must adopt tions such as the World Bank impede rather than promote de-
policies that successfully promote development and find funds velopment. Should developing countries be given a greater role
to pay for it. In deciding how much the international organizations should

LEARNING OUTCOME 9.4.1: Summarize the two paths to spend and how such funds should be spent? Why or why not?
development.
GOOGLEEARTH9.4: A portion of the Trans-African Highway can
ro promote development, developing countries choose either be seen in the center of Voi, Kenya, running east-west in a curv-
the self-sufficiency path or the international trade path. ing arc immediately south of the center. Drag to street view, exit

LEARNING OUTCOME 9.4.2: Analyze shortcomings of the two street view, and rotate so that north Is to the right. For approxi-
development paths and give reasons international trade has
triumphed. mately what distance is the highway divided?

Self-sufficiency has protected inefficient businesses. MasteringGeography™

lnternati.onal trade has increased dependency on declining Looking for additional review and test prep materials?
resources and developed countries. Visit the Study Area in MasteringGeography™ to
enhance your geographic literacy, spatial reasoning skills,
• Most countries have adopted international trade because of and understanding of this chapter's content by accessing
evidence that it promotes more rapid development. a variety of resources, including MapMaster"in' teractive
maps, videos, RSSfeeds, flashcards, web links, self-study
LEARNING OUTCOME 9.4.3: Identify the main sources of financ- quizzes, and an eText version of The Cultural Landscape.
ing development. www.masteringgeography.com

• Finance comes from direct Investment by transnational corpo-
rations and loans from banks and international organizations.

LEARNING OUTCOME 9.4.4: Explain problems with financing de-
velopment in developing and developed countries.

• Developing countries have been required to adopt structural
adjustment pr◊hrrams.

• Developed countries have had to choose between policies that
promote short-term growth and those that promote austerity.

LEARNINGOUTCOME 9.4.5: Explain the principles of fair trade.
• Fair trade attempts to protect workers and small businesses In
developing countries.

• Fair trade involves a combination of producer and worker
standards.

LEARNING OUTCOME9.4.6: Describe ways in which differences in
development have narrowed or stayed wide.

• Developing countries have closed the gap with developed
countries In some respects, such as health, but not In other
respects, such as income.

Nonrenewable energy (p .. H7) A source of energy thal has a finite people; therefore. the materials must be safely ston:d for 1housa11dsof
supply capable of being exhaust1?d. vear~

Passive solar energy systems fp ~26) S<Jlarenergy sy~tcrns that collect Renewable energy (p. 117) A resource th,1tha, a theoretically unlimited
energy without the use of mechanical device~. ~upply and Is not depleted when used by humans.

Photovoltaic ccU (p. 326) A solar energy cell, usually made from silicon, Secondary sector (p. J02) The portion of the economy concerned with
that collects solar rays to generate electricity. manufacturing useful products through proces)ing. transforming, and
assembling raw materials.
Potential reserve (p. 319) The amount of a resource in deposits not yet
identified but thought to exlsL Structural adjmtment prognm (p. H4J Economic poliue~ imposed on
less developed wuntrlcs by lnternational agencies to create con<liliom
Primary sector (p. 302) The port,on of the economy ,on~crned with the encouraging international trade, \uc.h a~ rahing taxe,. reducing gov-
direct extraction of materiah from Earth\ sm!Jce, general!~through ag- cmment spending. controllmg inllation, selling puulicly own<.>dutili-
nculture. although sometimes by mining, fishing, and forcstrv. ties to private corporations and charging citizens more fLH services.

Productivity (p 103) I he value of a pJrticular pro<luctwmpared to the Supply (p. Jl4) rhe quantity of something that producer\ have ~vailable
amount of labor needed to make il. for sale

Proven reserve (p 3 I81The amolint of a re)ource rt'ma1ning in discov- Tertiary sector (p.302)The portion of th<:economyconcern~d with tram-
ered deposits. portation. cornrnunicatiom, and utilities, sometimes extended to the
provision of all goods and services 10 people, in exchange for payment
Purchasing power parity (PPP) (p. 302) The amount of money needed
,none country to purchase the same goods and services in another Uneven development rp.. ~-10)Devdopment of core regions at the
country· PPPadjusts income figures to account for diffcn:nce, among expeme of those on th~ periphery.
countries in the cost of good,.
Value added (p. 303J·1he grossvalue of a product m111Uth, e costs of ruw
Radioactive waste (p. 3221\laterials from a nuclcJr reaction that emit materials and energy.
radiation; contact with )UChparticles may be harmful or lethal to

Chapterr

Food and Agriculture

What food is this Africangirl carrying?Page353 Whyis this field deliberatelyflooded?Page363

1KEYISSUE 2KEY ISSUE
--
Why Do People
Where Did Consume
Agriculture Different Foods?
Originate?
-....
Inventing Agriculture p. 347
.. -....l,IM..... -
Agriculture was inventedaround 10,000yearsago in multiple
hearths. t 'J.111 •.-~
The FoodsWe Consumep. 352

Humansconsumemostof their caloriesthrough grains.

344

West Brookly lpplnc,, p. 362 .AThese farmer-sin northwestern India ate
harvesting wheat seeds by beating the
KEY ISSUE3 .... stalks by hand. The farm produces about
---- 1,500 kilograms (3,300 pounds) of wheat
\ ,. pet year-enough to feed a family.In con-
Where Is trast, the average farmer in Kansas pro-
Agricuiture duces 175,000 kilograms (400,000pounds)
Distributed? of wheat a year. Ina developedcountry,the
work of separatingthe seeds fromthe stalks
is done by a machine,whereas in developing
countries,most farmerscan't afford machin-
ery,so they mustdo the work by hand.

KEY ISSUE4

Why Do Farmers
Face Economic
Difficulties?

AgriculturalRegionsp. 360 Challengesfor Farmersp. 374

Eleven major agricultural regions approach agriculture Farmershavetrouble makingends meet inboth developingand

differently. developed regions.

345

~r,1: l'"',11,,""I' rr ···~'lll[l'II 11 'Ii ·11I'll 1 11I I
"'1 11T',j l l : 111'iilI l 1 '11111111111'1II 1... I I 1 I r: l ' I
II I i I tt 11 1;
1• 1 '1 I I 1, l:"'
i~ II I I I
II
II ' I II II I 'I II II. I II I II I ' I I .I I

III I II ' I l

Introducing component of international trade co1111ectionins develo
ing cOLmtries(Figure 10-1).
Food and Agriculture
After examining the origins and diffusion of agricultu
The previous chapter divided economic ac- we will consider the agricultural practice!>used in dev
oping and developed countries. We will also examine t
tivities into primary, secondary, and tertiary problems fam1ersface in each type of region. Although ea
sectors. This chapter is concerned with the farm bas a unique set of physical conditions and choice
principal form of primary-sector economic crops, geographers group farms into several types by th
distinctive environmental and cultural characteristics.
activity-agriculture. The next two chapters
look at the secondary and tertiary sectors. 1• KEY ISSUE examines the origin and diffusion of a

Geographers study where agriculture is distributed across riculture. In each society, farmers possess very speci
Earth. The most important distinction is what happens to knowledge of their environmental conditions and c
farm products. In developing regions, the farm products tain technology for modLfying the landscape. With
are most often consumed on or near the farm where Lhey
are produced, whereas in developed countries, farmers sell the Limitsof their technology, farmers choose fro
what they produce.
variety of agricultmal practices, based on their perce
Geographers observe a wide variety of agricultmal tion of the value of each alternative.
practices. The reason why farming varies around the world
relates to the distribution of cultural and environmental 2• KEY ISSUE looks at local diversity in the consum
factors across space. I:.lements of the physical environ-
ment, such as climate, soil, and topography, set broad tion of food and nutrition, as well as the distribution
limits on agricultural practices, and farmers make choices global hunger. Values underlying the consumption
to modify the environment in a variety of ways. food are influenced by culture. Farmers select agric
tural practices based on cultural perceptions, becau
Farming is an economic activity that still depends very a society may hold some foods in high esteem wh·
much on the local diversity of environmental and cultural avoiding others.
conditions in each place. Despite increased knowledge of
alternatives, farmers practice distinctive agriculture in dif- 3• KEYISSUE describes wllere different types of agri~
ferent regions and, in fact, on neighboring farms. Broad
climate patterns influence lhc crops planled in a region, ture are practiced in developing and developed regio
and local soil conditions influence the crops planted on an We will consider the agricultural practices used in dev
individual farm. oping and developed countries. We will also examine ti
problems farmers face in each type of region. Althou
Although individual farmers may make specific deci- each farm has a unique set of physical conditions a
sions on a very local scale, agriculh1re is as caught up in choice of crops, geographers group farms into seve1
the globalization of the economy as other industries. Agri- types by their distinctive environmental ond cultu,
culture is big business in developed countries and a major characteristics.

• 4KEY ISSUE looks at reasons why farmers face <listin

tive challenge, in developing regions and in develop
regions. Allhough agricultural practices are diver
farming-as other industries-is caught up in Lheg
balization of the economy.

T FIGURE 10-1 U.S. WHEAT FARMTwocombinemachineson a U.S.fann emptygrainintoa truck.

346

Chapter 10: Food and Agriculture 347

EV ISSUE 1 HUNTERS AND GATHERERS

JVhere Did Agriculture Before the invention of agriculture, all humans probably
obtained the food they needed for survival through hunt-
Jriginate? ing for animals, fishing, or gathering plants (including ber-
ries, nuts, fruits, and roots). Hunters and gatherers lived
Invention of Agriculture in small groups of usually fewer than SOpersons because
a larger number would quickly exhaust the available re-
Comparing Subsistence sources within walking distance (Figure 10-2). The men
and Commercial Agriculture hunted game or fished, and the women collected berries,
nuts, and roots. This division of labor sounds like a stereo-
,griculture is deliberate modification of Earth's surface type but is based on evidence from archaeology and an-
-uough cultivation of plants and rearing of animals to ob- thropology. They collected food often, perhaps daily. The
1in sustenance or economic gain. Agriculture originated food search might have taken only a short time or much
,hen humans domesticated plants and animals for their of the day, depending on local conditions.
se. The word cultivate means "to care for," and a crop is
ny plant cultivated by people. The group traveled frequently, establishing new home
bases or camps. The direction and frequency of migration
Approximately one-half of the people in less developed depended on the movement of game and the seasonal
:>untries are farmers. The overwhelming majority of them growth of plants at various locations. We can assume that
row enough food to feed themselves, but little more. De- groups communicated with each other concerning hunt-
eloping countries are home to 97 percent of the world's ing rights, intermarriage, and other specific subjects. For
,rmers. In contrast, fewer than 2 percent of the people in the most part, they kept the peace by steering clear of each
1e United States are farmers. Yet the advanced technology other's territory.
~ed by U.S. farmers allows them to produce enough food
JC people in the United States at a very high standard, as Today, perhaps a quarter-million people, or less than
·ell as food for many people elsewhere in the world. 0.005 percent of the world's population, still survive by hunt-
ing and gathering rather than by agriculture. Examples in-
In each society, farmers possess very specific knowledge of clude the Spinifex (also known as Pila Nguru) people, who
1eir environmental conditions and certain technology for live in Australia's Great Victorian Desert; the Sentinelese peo-
1odifying the landscape. Within the limits of their technol- ple, who Jive in India's Andaman Islands; and the Bushmen,
gy, farmers choose from a variety of agricultural practices, who live in Botswana and Namibia. Contemporary hunting
~secton their perception of the value of each alternative. and gathering societies are isolated groups that live on the
hese values are partly economic and partly cultural. How periphery of world settlement, but they provide insight into
rmers deal with their physical environment varies accord- human customs that prevailed in prehistoric times, before
the invention of agriculture.
1gto dietary preferences, availability of technology, and

0her cultural traditions. Farmers select agricultural practices
1sed on cultural perceptions because a society may hold
imc foods in high esteem while avoiding others.

nvention of Agriculture

he origins of agriculture cannot be documented with cer-
inty because it began before recorded history. Scholars
y to reconstruct a logical sequence of events based on
agments of information about ancient agricultural prac-
:::esand historical environmental conditions. Improve-
ents in cultivating plants and domesticating animals
1olved over thousands of years. This section offers an ex-
anation for the origin and diffusion of agriculture.

A FIGURE 10-2 HUNTING AND GATHERING A Bushmain Botswana
preparehsisbowandarrowforhunting.

348 THE CULTURAL LANDSCAPE

AGRICULTURAL REVOLUTION living in a fixed place rather than as nomads may have
led hunters and gatherers to build permanent settle-
Learning Outcome 10.1.1 ments and to store surplus vegetation there. In gather-
Identify the major crop and livestock hearths.
ing wild vegetation, people inevitably cut plants anc
The agricultural revolution was the time when human be-
ings first domesticated plants and animals and no longer dropped berries, fruits, and seeds. These hunters proba-
relied entirely on hunting and gathering. When did the ag- bly observed that, over time, damaged or discarded fooc
ricultural revolution occur? About the year 8000 B.C., the produced new plants. They may have deliberately cu
world's population began to grow at a more rapid rate than plants or dropped berries on the ground to see if the,
it had in the past. Geographers and other scientists believe would produce new plants. Subsequent generation
that the reason for the sudden population increase was the learned to pour water over the site and to introduce ma
agricultural revolution. By growing plants and raising ani- nure and other soil improvements. Over thousands o
mals, human beings created larger and more stable sources years, plant cultivation apparently evolved from a com
of food, so more people could survive. bination of accident and deliberate experiment.

Scientists do not agree on whether the agricultural rev- CROP HEARTHS. Scientists also do not agree on ho1
olution originated primarily because of environmental agriculture diffused or why most nomadic groups convei
factors or cultural factors. Probably a combination of both from hunting, gathering, and fishing to agriculture. The
factors contributed: do agree that agriculture originated in multiple hearU
around the world:
• Environmental factors. Those favoring environmental
reasons point to the coinciding of the first domestica- • Southwest Asia. The earliest crops domesticated i
tion of crops and animals with climate change around Southwest Asia are thought to have been barley ar.
10,000 years ago. This marked the end of the last ice wheat, around 10,000 years ago (Figure 10-3). Len1
age, when permanent ice cover receded from Earth's and olive were also early domestications in Southwe
mid-latitudes to polar regions, resulting in a massive Asia. From this hearth, cultivation diffused west
redistribution of humans, other animals, and plants at Europe and east to Central Asia.
that time.
• East Asia. Rice is now thought to have been domes
• Cultural factors. Human behavior may be primarily re- cated in East Asia more than 10,000 years ago, alo1
sponsible for the origin of agriculture. A preference for the YangLze River in eastern China. Millet was cul
vated at an early date along the Yellow River.

• Sub-Saharan Africa. Sorghum was domesticated
central Africa around 8,000 years ago. Yams may ha

" FIGURE10-3 CROPHEARTHSAgricultureoriginatedin multiplehearths.Domesticationof somecropscanbe
datedbackmorethan 10,000years.

BARLEY m1rn. BREAOWHEAT

EINKOANWHEAT OATS BROADBEAN

ARCTIC EMMERWHEAT RYE OLIVE
OCEAN

,.,

SQUASH

PEPPER

CASSAVA ATLANTIC
OCEAN
COTTON

Ll~A BEAN

MAIZE

POT_A__T__O___ ~ f
IND/AN
~ J OCEAN

PACIFIC Latin .l--. YAM
OCEAN America SORGHUM
\L- COWPEA
Yearsago Hearth AFRICARNICE MAtlGO -},,
COFFEE TARO
9,000andabove Pnmary FINGEMR ILLET COCONUT r1
7,00~9,000 •secondal'/ PIGEONPEA
3,000-7,000 t.000 UOOM1le$ SLENDEMR ILLET
Unknown - Dispersraol ute
1,000 2,000Kllametl!IS

Chapter 10: Food and Agriculture 349

2!J'.

12,000
9.000
8,000
6,000
Unknown

80' 100' 1211' 140' 160" 180'

been domesticated even earlier. Millet and rice may Inhabitants of Southwest Asia may have been the first to
have been domesticated in sub-Saharan Africa indepen- integrate cultivation of crops with domestication of herd
dently of the hearth in East Asia. From central Africa, animals such as cattle, sheep, and goats. These animals
domestication of crops probably diffused further south were used to prepare the land before planting seeds and,
in Africa. in turn, were fed part of the harvested crop. Other animal
products, such as milk, meat, and skins, may have been
• Latin America. Two important hearths of crop do- exploited at a later date. This integration of plants and ani-
mestication are thought to have emerged in Mexico mals is a fundamental element of modern agriculture.
and Peru around 4,000 to 5,000 years ago. Mexico is
That agriculture had multiple origins means that, from
considered a hearth for beans and cotton, and Peru earliest times, people have produced food in distinctive
ways in different regions. This diversity derives from a
for potato. The most important contribution of the unique legacy of wild plants, climatic conditions, and cul-
Americas to crop domestication, maize (corn), may tural preferences in each region. Improved communica-
have emerged in the two hearths independently tions in recent centuries have encouraged the diffusion of
around the same time. From these two hearths, cul- some plants to varied locations around the world. Many
tivation of maize and other crops diffused north- plants and animals thrive across a wide portion of Earth's
ward into North America and southward into tropical surface, not just in their place of original domestication.
South America. Some researchers place the origin of Only after 1500, for example, were wheat, oats, and barley
squash in the southeastern present-day United States. introduced to the Western Hemisphere and maize to the
Eastern Hemisphere.
Pause and Reflect 10.1.1
Which crops appear to have reached the present-day T FIGURE 10·5 HORSES IN KAZAKHSTAN Thehorseisthoughtto have
United States first, according to Figure 10-3? been domesticatedin this regionroughly6,000yearsago.

ANIMAL HEARTHS. Animals were also domesticated
ln multiple hearths at various dates. Southwest Asia is
thought to have been the hearth for the domestication of
the largest number of animals that would prove to be most
.mportant for agriculture, including cattle, goats, pigs, and
;heep, between 8,000 and 9,000 years ago (Figure 10-4).
Domestication of the dog is thought to date from around

12,000 years ago or possibly earlier in Southwest Asia, East
<\sia,and/or Europe. The horse is considered to have been
fomesticated in Central Asia; diffusion of the domesticated

:i.orse is thought to be associated with the diffusion of
:he Inda-European language, as discussed in Chapter S
:Figure 10-5).

350 THE CULTURAL LANDSCAPE

for themselves and the rest of the region but also a surplus

Comparing Subsistence to feed people elsewhere.
The number of farmers declined dramatically in devel-

and Commercial Agriculture oped countries during the twentieth century. The United
States had about 60 percent fewer farms and 85 percent

Learning Outcome 10.1.2 fewer farmers in 2000 than in 1900. The number of farms
Describe the major differences between subsistence in the United States declined from about 6 million in 1940
and commercial agriculture. to 4 million in 1960 and 2 million in 1980. Both push and
pull migration factors have been responsible for the dedine:

The most fundamental differences in agricultural practices People were pushed away from farms by lack of opportunity
are between those in developing countries and those in to earn a decent income, and at the same time they wer~
developed countries. Farmers in developing countries gen- pulled to higher-paying jobs in urban areas. The number of
erally practice subsistence agriculture, whereas farmers in U.S. farmers has stabilized since 1980 at around 2 million.

developed countries practice commercial agriculture. Sub- USE OF MACHINERY

sistence agriculture, found in developing countries, is

the production of food primarily for consumption by the In developed countries, a small number of commercial

farmer's family. Commercial agriculture, found in devel- farmers can feed many people because they rely on ma-
oped countries, is the production of food primarily for sale chinery to perform work rather than on people or animals
off the farm. The main features that distinguish commer- (Figure 10-7). In developing countries, subsistence farmers

cial agriculture from subsistence agriculture include the do much of the work with hand tools and animal power.
percentage of farmers in the labor force, the use of ma- Traditionally, the farmer or local craftspeople made
chinery, and farm size.
equipment from wood, but beginning in the late eigh-
teenth century, factories produced farm machinery. The first

PERCENTAGEOF FARMERS IN all-iron plow was made in the 177Osand was followed in
THE LABOR FORCE the nineteenth and twentieth centuries by inventions that
made farming less dependent on human or animal power.

A priority for all people is to secure the food they need to Tractors, combines, corn pickers, planters, and other fac-
survive. In developing countries most people are subsistence tory-made farm machines have replaced or supplemented

farmers who work in agriculture to produce the food they manual labor.
Transportation improvements have also aided commer-
and their families require. In developed countries the rela-
tively few people engaged in farming are commercial farm- cial farmers. The building of railroads in the nineteenth
ers, and most people buy food with money earned by work- century and highways and trucks in the twentieth century
have enabled farmers to transport crops and livestock far-
ing in factories or offices or by performing other services.
In developed countries, around 5 percent of workers are ther and faster. Cattle arrive at market heavier and ln better
engaged directly in farming, compared to around 44 per- condition when transported by truck or train than when
cent in developing countries (Figure 10-6). The percentage driven on hoof. Crops reach markets without spoiling.
Commercial farmers use scientific advances to increase
of farmers is even lower in North America-only around
2 percent. Yet the small percentage of farmers in the produ.ctivity. Experiments conducted in university labo
United States and Canada produces not only enough food ratories, industry, and research organizations generati
new fertilizers, herbicides, hybric
~ FIGURE 10-6 AGRICULTURALWORKERS Thepercentageof theworkforceengagedin agricultureis higher plants, animal breeds, and farm

in developingcountriesthanin developedcountries. ing practices, which produce

\1igher crop yields and health

ier animals. Access to other sci

entific information has enablec
60' farmers to make more intelligen

decisions concerning proper ag

40''-,.------l --40" ricultural practices. Some farm
ers conduct their own on-farr

research.
Electronics also help comme:

II cial farmers. Farmers use Glob,
Positioning System (GPS) devicf
160' 140' 120' 100- O' to determine the precise coord

Percenot flaborforce
engagedInagricullura

• 50andabove 60' 40' 20' O' 20' nates for spreading different typE
-20-49 and amounts of fertilizers. 0
large ranches, they also use GI
5-19 devices to monitor the locatio
Below5
nodata

Chapter 10: Food and Agriculture 351

O' w\ • ----~~~- ,... 80' beginning operations. This money
~, is frequently borrowed from a bank
~_.. •~1~1~1w1w·1~ and repaid after output is sold.
~ -~
TIC _.,,,.
.;,__. · • .., ...__

w ----r- • 60' Commercial agriculture is in-
PAC IFJC
OCEAN .. \.-- creasingly dominated by a handful

.... AO' of large farms. In the United States,
\
the largest 5 percent of farms pro-
D~,,,___.,_r,__0_.1_·"._.!.'_rc.~'.-.-20' duce 75 percent of the country's

total agriculture. Despite their size,

160' 1'0' 120' 100"0', most commercial farms in devel-

Farmlandpertractor oped countries-90 percent in the
(hectares) United States-are family owned
and operated. Commercial farmers
• Below50 frequently expand their holdings
50-99
100-499

500andabove by renting nearby fields.

nodata Although the United States had

.a.FIGURE10-7 AREA OF FARMLAND PER TRACTOR Farmersin developingcountrieshavemorehectaresor fewer farms and farmers in 2000
than in 1900, the amount of land
acresof landper tractorthando farmersin developedcountriesT. hemachinerymakesit possiblefor commercial devoted to agriculture increased by
13 percent, primarily due to irriga-
farmersto farmextensiveareas,a practicenecessartyo payfor the expensivemachinery.

of cattle. They use satellite imagery to measure crop progress tion and reclamation. However, in
and yield monitors attached to combines to determine the the twenty-first century, the United States has been losing
precise number of bushels being harvested. 1.2 million hectares (3 million acres) per year of its 400 mil-
lion hectares (1 billion acres) of farmland, primarily because

Pause and Reflect 10.1.2 of the expansion of urban areas.

What other electronics, in addition to GPSdevices, CHECK-IN: KEY ISSUE 1
might help a farmer on a very large farm?
Where Did Agriculture Originate?

FARM SIZE ✓ Before the invention of agriculture, most
humans were hunters and gatherers.
l'he average farm is relatively large in commercial agricul-
ture. Farms average 161 hectares (418 acres) in the United ✓ Agriculture was invented in multiple hearths •
States, compared to about 1 hectare (2.5 acres) in China {Fig- beginning approximately 10,000 years ago.
ure 10-8). Largesize partly depends on mechanization. Com-
bines, pickers, and other machinery perform most efficiently ✓ Modern agriculture is divided between
at very large scales, and their considerable expense cannot subsistence agriculture in developing countries
be justified on a small farm. As a result of the large size and and commercial agriculture in developed
the high level of mechanization, commercial agriculture is countries. They differ according to the
an expensive business. Farmers spend hundreds of thou- percentage of farmers, use of machinery, and
sands of dollars to buy or rent land and machinery before farm size.

.,. FIGURE10-8 FARM SIZE Theaveragesizeof a familyfarm in Chinais muchsmallerthan in the UnitedStates.
(left) Familyfarm in AnhuiProvinceC, hina.(right)Familyfarmin WestBrooklyn,Illinois.

352 THECULTURALLANDSCAPE

KEY ISSUE 2 • Cultural preferences. Some food preferences and av
ances are expressed without regard for physical
economic factors, as discussed in Chapter 4.

Why Do People TOTAL CONSUMPTION OF FOOD

Consume Different Dietary energy consumption is the amount of food
an individual consumes. The unit of measurement o
Foods? etary energy is the kllocalorie (kcal), or Calorie in
United States. One gram (or ounce) of each food so·
■ Diet delivers a kilocalorie level that nutritionists can meast
■ Nutrition and Hunger
Most humans derive most of their kilocalories thro
Learning Outcome 10.2.1 consumption of cereal grain, or simply cereal, whic
Explain differences between developed and a grass that yields grain for food. Grain is the seed frc
developing countries in food consumption. cereal grass. The three leading cereal grains-wheat,
and maize (corn in North America)-together accoun
When you buy food in a supermarket, are you reminded nearly 90 percent of all grain production and more t
of a farm? Not likely. The meat is carved into pieces that 40 percent of all dietary energy consumed worldwide:
no longer resemble an animal and is wrapped in paper or
plastic film. Often the vegetables are canned or frozen. The • Wheat. The principal cereal grain consumed in tht
milk and eggs are in cartons. veloped regions of Europe and North America is wt
which is consumed in bread, pasta, cake, and rr
The food industry in the United States and Canada is other forms. It is also the most consumed grain in
vast, but only a few people are full-time farmers, and they developing regions of Central and Southwest ,
may be more familiar with the operation of computers where relatively dry conditions are more suitablt
and advanced machinery than the typical factory or office growing wheat than other grains (Figure 10-9).
worker. The mechanized, highly productive American or
Canadian farm contrasts with the subsistence farm found • Rice.The principal cereal grain consumed in the d•
in much of the world. The most "typical" human-if there oping regions of East, South, and Southeast Asia is
is such a person-is an Asian farmer who grows enough It is the most suitable crop for production in troJ
food to survive, with little surplus. This sharp contrast in climates.
agricultural practices constitutes one of the most funda-
mental differences between the more developed and less • Maize. The leading crop in the world is maize (c.
developed countries of the world. corn in North America), though much of it is gr
for purposes other than direct human consumptior
Diet pecially as animal feed. It is the leading crop in s
countries of sub-Saharan Africa.

• Other crops. A handful of countries obtain the la
share of dietary energy from other crops, especial
sub-Saharan Africa (Figure 10-10). These include
sava, sorghum, millet, plantains, sweet potatoes,

Everyone needs food to survive. T FIGURE10-9 DIETARY ENERGY BY SOURCE Wheat.rice,and maizearethe threemain sourcesof
Consumption of food varies around
the world, both in total amount kilocalories.
and source of nutrients. The vari-
ation results from a combination Leadinfgood 100' BO' 60' 10' !r~t1~'
of: energsyource
PACIF
• Level of development. People Maize OCEA
in developed countries tend to Rice
consume more food and from Wheat ~J~
different sources than do peo- Other ~
ple in developing countries. nodata T

• Physical conditions. Climate is 0~
important in influencing what
can be most easily grown and 0 "2,0004,o:)C)Kiam~,"5 I
therefore consumed in develop-
ing countries. In developed O' 1,1' 40' 60' !lJ' 100' 120' 140' 160' 180'
countries, though, food is
shipped long distances to loca-
tions with different climates.

Chapter 10: Food and Agriculture 353

yams. Sugar is the leading source of dietary energy in
Venezuela.

Pause and Reflect 10.2.1

Which of the three main cereal grains is most
prevalent in your diet?

SOURCE OF NUTRIENTS
Protein is a nutrient needed for growth and maintenance
of the human body. Many food sources provide protein of
varying quantity and quality. One of the most fundamen-
tal differences between developed and developing regions
is the primary source of protein (Figure 10-11).

In developed countries, the leading source of protein is
meat products, including beef, pork, and poultry (Figure 10-
12). Meat accounts for approximately one-third of all pro-
tein intake in developed countries, compared to approxi-
mately one-tenth in developing ones. 1n most developing
• FIGURE10-10 AFRICAN FOOD ThegirliscarryingcassavasinTanzania. countries, cereal grains provide the largest share of protein.

Athome,theserootswillbe poundedto breakupthe fibroustextureand cooked
intoa porridge.

◄ FIGURE10-11 PROTEIN BY SOURCE People
get mostoftheirproteinfrommeatindeveloped
countriesand fromcerealsin developingcountries.

40'

◄ FIGURE10-12 PROTEIN FROM MEAT The
percentageof proteinfrommeatis muchhigher
w forpeopleindevelopedcountriesthanfor thosein
developingcountries.

PACIFIC
OCEAN

liill' 140' 120'

Percenptrotein

frommeat

- 30andab0V8 !0''-,--~-1_,

-20-29

10-19
Below10

nodata 100'

354 THECULTURALLANDSCAPE

UNDERNOURISHMENT

Nutrition and Hunger Undernourishment is dietary energy consumption tha1

continuously below the minimum requirement for ma

Learning Outcome 10.2.2 taining a healthy life and carrying out light physical activ
Explain the global distribution of undernourishment. The UN estimates that 870 million people in the world
undernourished; 99 percent of the world's undemourist

The United Nations defines food security as physical, social, people are in developing countries. India has by far the la
and economic access at all times to safe and nutritious food
sufficient to meet dietary needs and food preferences for est the number of undernourished people, 225 million, l
an active and healthy life. By this definition, roughly one-
eighth of the world's inhabitants do not have food security. lowed by China, with 130 million (Figure 10-15). One-fou

of the population in sub-Saharan Africa, one-fifth in Sot
Asia, and one-sixth in all developing countries are classif

as undernourished (Figure 10-16).

Worldwide, the total number of undernourished p

DIETARY ENERGY NEEDS pie has not changed much in several decades (Figure 10-1

To maintain a moderate level of physical activity, an average With population growth, though, the percentage of 1
individual needs to consume at least 1,800 kcal per day, ac- dernourished people has decreased. Among develop.
cording to the UN Food and Agricultural Organization. The regions, East Asia, led by China, has had by far the 1,
figure must be adjusted for age, sex, and region of the world. est decrease in number undernourished, and South Asia,

Average consumption world-

wide is approximately 2,800 kcal

per day, or roughly 50 percent

more than the recommended min-

imum. Thus, most people are get-

ting enough food to eat. People in

developed countries are consum-

ing on average twice the recom-

mended minimum, approximately

3,600 kcal per day (Figure 10-13).

Austria and the United States have

the world's highest consumption,

approximately 3,800 kcal per day

per person. The consumption of so

much food is one reason that obe-

sity is more prevalent than hunger

in developed countries.

ln developing regions, aver- "'- FIGURE10-13 DIETARY ENERGY CONSUMPTION Percapitacaloricintakeisapproximatel3y,500kca
age daily consumption is approxi- dayindevelopedcountriesand2,500indevelopincgountries.
mately 2,600 kcal, still above the

recommended minimum. How-

ever, the average in sub-Saharan

Africa is only 2,400 kcal, an indi-

cation that a large percentage of

Africans are not getting enough

to eat. Diets are more likely to be •o·

deficient in countries where peo-

ple have to spend a high percent- 20'

age of their income to obtain food

(Figure 10-14). O'
160' 140' 120'

Pause and Reflect 10.2.2 PercentIncome 100' 80' O• "2,000
spenton tood
How many kilocalories ii' 20' 4-0" 60" 80' 100' 120' 140' 160' 180'
are in a Big Mac? You can • 40andabove
use Google to find the -20-39
answer. How does one Big
Mac compare to the daily Below20
caloric intake of the average nodata
African?
"'- FIGURE10-14 INCOME SPENTON FOOD

Peoplespendonaveragelessthan20percentofincomeforfoodindevelopedcountriecsomparedto moreth
percentindevelopincgountries.

Latin Other Chapter 10: Food and Agriculture 355
America
CHECK-IN: KEY ISSUE 2
Other
Why Do People Consume Different Foods?
wb-Saharan
Africa ✓ Most food is consumed in the form of cereal
grains, especially wheat, rice, and maize.
India
✓ People in developed countries consume more
Soulh0eAthas0siatr / Bangladesh Pakistan total calories and a higher percentage through
animal products.

✓ Most humans consume more than the
recommended minimum calories, but
undernourishment is widespread in Asia
and sub-Saharan Africa.

Indonesia

L FIGURE10·15 DISTRIBUTIONOF UNDERNOURISHMENTMorethan
1alfof theworld'sundernourishedpeoplearein SouthAsiaand EastAsia.

.uh-Saharan Africa have had the largest increases. Southeast
\sia, led by Myanmar and Vietnam, has also had a large
lecrease.

◄ FIGURE10-16 EXTENT OF
UNDERNOURISHMENT Lessthan
5 percentof the populationis
undernourishedin developedcountries
comparedto 15percentin developing
countries.

10' r'>

.. t
I
160' l<O' 110' 100'

Percenut ndernourished
•2oandab-O'le
-5-19

Below5
nodata

350 ◄ FIGURE10-17 CHANGEIN UNDERNOURISHMENT
SouthAsiahasseenthe largestincreasein numberof under-

300 nourishedpeople.

SouthAsia
250

ai' suo-Saha1aMnrica
EasAt sia.
Q,

0 200

11)

Q.

C:

~ 150

I

100 -·southeistAsia
LatinAmerica

50
SouthwesAtsia& NorthAfrica

0 t:::==:::::::r:::::=D=ev=eloe3dR:e:i:on:s:::~:t=::::::::::::::::
1991 1996 2001 2006 2011

Year

356 THE CULTURAL LANDSCAPE

KEY ISSUE 3 Derwent Whittlesey in 1936. Whittlesey identified 11 r
agricultural regions, plus an area where agriculture
Where Is Agriculture nonexistent. Whittlesey's 11 regions are divided betv
Distributed? S that are important in developing countries and 6
are important in developed countries (Figure 10-18).
■ Agriculture in Developing Regions S agricultural regions that predominate in develo
■ Agriculture in Developed Regions countries are:

Learning Outcome 10.3.1 • Pastoral nomadism-primarily the drylands of Sc
Identify the 11 major agricultural regions. west Asia & North Africa, Central Asia, and East As

People have been able to practice agriculture in a wide va- • Shifting cultivation-primarily the tropical re~
riety of places. The most widely used map of world ag- of Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, and Soutl
ricultural regions is based on work done by geographer Asia

• Intensive subsistence, wet rice dominant-primarily

large population concentrations of EastAsiaand 5

Asia

• Intensive subsistence, crops other than rice domim
primarily the large population concentrations of
Asia and South Asia, where growing rice is difficul

120' 1()0' 60' 40' 211' ()'

► FIGURE 10-18 AGRICULTURE

AND CLIMATE REGIONS

(right)Themajoragricultural
practicesofthe worldcanbe divided
intothosethat areprevalentin
developingcountriesand thosethat
are prevalentin developedcountries
(upperright}C. limateplaysa large
roleinthepracticeof agriculture.
figure1·40 is a moredetailedversion
ofthe climatemapshownhere.

<O'

-, ATLANTIC
'OCEAN
~~----
__

~ lIi-~\ ;.~~

Littleor noagnculture

()'--~,~Subsistencaegriculture .. ~A

Developincgountries
Shiftingcultivation

• Intensivesubsistence, ATLANTIC
wetricedominant

Intensivesubsistence, OCEAN
wetricenotdominant

Pastoranl omadlsm

Commerciagl riculture , -·.,,,
Developecdountries

Mixedcropand ~
livestock

Dairy

\----¼.,.-.~--~..-',...---Grain
Livestockranching

Mediterranean \\ 1.(1' I)'
• Commerciaglardening
Developincgountries tA.t C

• Plantation ~-\

100' &1' 60'

• o· 211• io• ;o• so- 100• Chapter 10: Food and Agriculture 357

I -~ 60'

60'

-- --

'1ll'

~1rI PACIFIC
OCEAN
---1
II
a--

I uo-
160"

•AClimateRegions 20• I - .-f ,----4-
Tropical
B Ory I - - - .L

C Warmmid-latitude ATLANTIC Tr!lpleo!Col)ll<Ol1\
OCEAN
- D Coldmid-latitude /
E Polar 20' I

-Highland ol--'_-1_ .1:~......._.ooo~...,._-"'""°'000,i,11e,

20' 2~ 4,009iflkHnuers

6-0' 80" too- 120• 140

120'

80'

,...£ \;. • Plante1tion-primarily the tropical and sub-
.t, ,. tropical regions of Latin America,sub-Saharan
Africa,South Asia,and Southeast Asia
.,~·
The six agricultural regions that predominate
PACIFIC in developed countries are:
OCEAN
• Mixed crop e1ndlivestock-primarily the U.S.
IND/AN Midwest and central Europe
OCEAN
• Dairying-primarily near population clus-
Tr,pi,;o/C""1com -20' ters in the northeastern United States,
- southeastern Canada, and northwestern
Europe
l,~D J,~Mires
• Grain-primarily the north-central United
1,500 3,00K0Iiometer> States, south-central Canada, and Eastern
Europe
,.
• Ranching-primarily the drylands of west-
100' 120' l◄O' 160' 180' ern North America, southeastern Latin
America, Central Asia, sub-Saharan Africa,
and the South Pacific

• Mediterranean-primarily lands surround-
ing the Mediterranean Sea, the western
United States, the southern tip of Africa,
and Chile

• Commercialgardening-primarily the south-
eastern United States and southeastern
Australia

Pauseand Reflect10.3.1

In whichagriculturalregiondo you live?

358 THE CULTURALLANDSCAPE

Agriculture in Developing of climate. Cultural preferences discussed in Key Iss1
Regions also explain agricultural differences in areas of similar
mate. Hog production is virtually nonexistent in pred
Learning Outcome 10.3.2 inantly Muslim regions because of that religion's ta
Explain how pastoral nomadism works in the against consuming pork products. Wine production is
drylands of developing regions. atlvely low in Africa and Asia, even where the clima1
favorable for growing grapes, because of alcohol avoid,
in predominantly non-Christian countries (Figure 4-Z

In developing countries, most people produce food for their PASTORAL NOMADISM

own consumption. Some surplus may be sold to the gov- Pastoral nornadism is a form of subsistence agricul
ernment or to private firms, but the surplus product is not
the farmer's primary purpose and may not even exist some based on the herding of domesticated animals. The ;,
pastoral refers to sheepherding. It is adapted to dry

years because of growing conditions. This section consid- mates, where planting crops is impossible. Pastoral
ers five agricultural types characteristic of developing coun- mads live primarily in the large belt of arid and semi
tries-pastoral nomadism, shifting cultivation, intensive land that includes Central and Southwest Asia and N,
subsistence with wet rice dominant, intensive subsistence Africa. The Bedouins of Saudi Arabia and North Africa
with crops other than rice, and plantation farming. the Masai of East Africa are examples of nomadic gro

Only about 15 million people are pastoral nomads,

AGRICULTURAL REGIONS AND CLIMATE they sparsely occupy about 20.percent of Earth's land ,
Unlike other subsistence farmers, pastoral nomadi
One factor that contributes to the different types of ag-
riculture in both developed and developing countries is pend primarily on animals rather than crops for surv
climate. Similarities between the agriculture and climate The animals provide milk, and their skins and hair
maps on the previous page are striking. For example, pas- used for clothing and tents. Like other subsistence f,
toral nomadism is the predominant type of agriculture in ers, though, pastoral nomads consume mostly grain ra
Southwest Asia & North Africa, which has a dry climate, than meat. To obtain grain, many present-day nomad
raise crops. Their animals are usually not slaughterec

whereas shifting cultivation is the predominant type of though dead ones may be consumed. To nomads, the
agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa, which has a tropical of their herd is both an important measure of power
climate. Note the division between southeastern China prestige and their main security during adverse envi
(warm mid-latitude climate, intensive subsistence agricul- mental conditions.
ture with wet rice dominant) and northeastern China (cold
mid-latitude climate, intensive subsistence agriculture Some pastoral nomads obtain grain from sedentary
with wet rice not dominant). In the United States, much of sistence farmers in exchange for animal products. }
the West is distinguished from the rest of the country ac- often, part of a nomadic group-perhaps the women
cording to climate (dry) and agriculture (livestock ranch- children-may plant crops at a fixed location while thE
ing). Thus, agriculture varies between the drylands and the of the group wanders with the herd. Nomads might
tropics within developing countries-as well as between workers to practice sedentary agriculture in return for !
the drylands of developing and developed countries. and protection. Other nomads might sow grain in reci
flooded areas and return later in the year to harves1
Because of the problems involved with the concept of crop. Yetanother strategy is to remain in one place and
environmental determinism, discussed in Chapter 1, geog- tivate the land when rainfall is abundant; then, durin,
raphers are wary of placing too much emphasis on the role riods that are too dry to grow crops, the group can inc:

the size of the herd and migra
T FIGURE10-19 PASTORAL NOMADISM: CHOICE OF ANIMALS Goatsare herdedin Zantaram,Niger. search of food and water.

CHOICE OF ANIMALS. Nor
select the type and numbe
animals for the herd accor
to local cultural and ph)
characteristics. The choice dep
on the relative prestige of ani

and the ability of species to ada
a particular climate and vegeta
The camel is the most h:
desired animal in North Africa
Southwest Asia, along with s
and goats. The horse is particL

important in Central Asia:

Chapter 10: Food and Agriculture 359

grazing. Sheep or other animals may pasture in
alpine meadows in the summer and be herded
back down into valleys for winter pasture.

THE FUTURE OF PASTORAL NOMADISM.

Agricultural expe1ts once regarded pastoral

nomadism as a stage in the evolution of

agriculture-between the hunters and gatherers

who migrated across Earth's surface in search of

food and sedentary farmers who cultivated grain

in one place. Because they had domesticated

animals but not plants, pastoral nomads were

considered more advanced than hunters and

gatherers but less advanced than settled farmers.

Pastoral ttornadism is now generally recog-

nized as an offshoot of sedentary agriculture,

a.FIGURE10-20 PASTORALNOMADISM: MOVEMENTNomadspitchtentsin Turkey. not as a primitive precursor of it. It is simply a
practical way of surviving on land that receives

too little rain for cultivation of crops. The do-

• Camels are well suited to arid climates because they can mestication of animals-the basis for pastoral nomadism-
go long periods without water, carry heavy baggage, probably was achieved originally by sedentary farmers,
and move rapidly, but they are particularly bothered not by nomadic hunters. Pastoral nomads therefore had
by flies and sleeping sickness and have a relatively long to be familiar with sedentary farming, and in many cases
gestation period-12 months from conception to birth. they practiced it.

• Goats need more water than do camels but are tough Today, pastoral nomadism is a declining form of agricul-
and agile and can survive on virtually any vegetation, ture, partly a victim of modern technology. Before recent
no matter how poor (Figure 10-19). transportation and communications inventions, pastoral
nomads played an important role as carriers of goods and
• Sheep are relatively slow moving and affected by cli- information across the sparsely inhabited drylands. They
matic changes; they require more water than camels used to be the most powerful inhabitants of the drylands,
and goats and are more selective about which plants but now, with modern weapons, national governments
they will eat. can control nomadic population more effectively.

The minimum number of animals necessary to support Government efforts to resettle nomads have been

~ach family adequately varies according to the particular particularly vigorous in China, Kazakhstan, and several
group and animal. The typical nomadic family needs 25 to countries of Southwest Asia, including lsrael, Saudi Ara-
60 goats or sheep or 10 to 25 camels. bia, and Syria. Nomads are reluctant to cooperate, so

MOVEMENTS OF PASTORAL NOMADS. Pastoral nomads these countries have experienced difficulty in tryjng to
jo not wander randomly across the landscape but have force their settlement in collectives and cooperatives.
~ strong sense of territoriality (Figure 10-20). Every group Governments force groups to give up pastoral nomadism
:ontrols a piece of territory and will invade another group's because they want the land for other uses. Land that can
territory only in an emergency or if war is declared. The be irrigated is converted from nomadic to sedentary ag-
~oal of each group is to control a territory large enough riculture. In some instances, the mining and petroleum
to contain the forage and water needed for survival. The industries now operate in drylands formerly occupied
Ktual amount of land a group controls depends on its by pastoral nomads. Some nomads are encouraged to
vVealthand power. try sedentary agriculture or to work for mining or petro-
leum companies. Others are still allowed to move about,
The precise migration patterns evolve from intimate but only within ranches of fixed boundaries. In the fu-
:<nowledge of the area's physical and cultural character- ture, pastoral nomadism will be increasingly confined to
,stics. Groups frequently divide into herding units of five areas that cannot be irrigated or that lack valuable raw
Jr six families and choose routes based on the most likely materials.
Nater sources during the various seasons of the year. The

;election of routes varies in unusually wet or dry years

md is influenced by the condition of the animals and the

ma's political stability. Pause and Reflect 10.3.2
Some pastoral nomads practice transhumance, which
A few trees are growing in the background in
.s seasonal migration of livestock between mountains and Figure 10-19 and none in Figure 10-20. What natural
owland pasture areas. Pasture is grass or other plants
~rown for feeding grazing animals, as well as land used for resource needs to be present so that trees can grow?

360 THE CULTURAL LANDSCAPE

SHIFTING CULTIVATION

Learning Outcome 10.3.3
Explain how shifting cultivation works in the tropics
of developing regions.

Shifting cultivation is practiced in much of the world's & FIGURE10-22 SHIFTINGCULTIVATIONP: REPARINGTHE LAND This
Tropical, or A, climate regions, which have relatively high fieldin Coted'Ivoireis beingpreparedfor planting.
temperatures and abundant rainfall. It is practiced by
roughly 250 million people across 36 million square kilo- Before planting, the cleared area, known by a variet
meters (14 million square miles), especially in the tropi- of names in different regions, including swidden, ladin;
cal rain forests of Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, and mi/pa, cluna, and kaingin, is prepared by hand, perhaJ
Southeast Asia. with the help of a simple implement such as a hoe; plm1
and animals are rarely used (Figure 10-22). The only ferti
Two distinctive features of shifting cultivation are: izer generally available is potash (potassium) from burni.n
the debris when the site is cleared. Little weeding is dor
• Farmers clear land for planting by slashing vegetation the first year that a cleared patch of land is farmed; weec
and burning the debris (shifting cultivation is some- may be cleared with a hoe in subsequent years.
times called slash-and-burn agriculture).
The cleared land can support crops only briefly, usuar
• Farmers grow crops on a cleared field for only a few three years or less. In many regions, the most producti\
years, until soil nutrients are depleted, and then leave harvest comes in the second year after burning. Therea
it fallow (with nothing planted) for many years so the ter, soil nutrients are rapidly depleted, and the land b
soil can recover. comes too infertile to nourish crops. Rapid weed growt
also contributes to the abandonment of a swidden after
People who practice shifting cultivation generally Jive few years. When the swidden is no longer fertile, village
in small villages and grow food on the surrounding land, identify a new site and begin clearing it. They leave the o
which the village controls. Well-recognized boundaries site uncropped for many years, allowing it to become ovE
usually separate neighboring villages. run again by natural vegetation. The field is not actual
abandoned; the villagers will return to the site someda
THE PROCESS OF SHIFTING CULTIVATION. Each year perhaps as few as 6 years or as many as 20 years later,
villagers designate for planting an area surrounding the begin the process of clearing the land again. In the mea
settlement. Before planting, they must remove the dense time, they may still care for fruit-bearing trees on the sit
vegetation that typically covers tropical land. Using axes,
they cut down most of the trees, sparing only those that are If a cleared area outside a village is too small to pr
economically useful. An efficient strategy is to cut down vide food for the population, then some of the people m:
selected large trees, which bring down smaller trees that establish a new village and practice shifting cultivatic
may have been weakened by notching. The undergrowth there. Some farmers may move temporarily to another S(
is cleared away with a machete or other long knife. On a tlement if the field they are clearing that year is distant.
windless day the debris isburned under carefully controlled
conditions. The rains wash the fresh ashes into the soil,
providing needed nutrients (Figure 10-21).

T FIGURE10-21 SHIFTINGCULTIVATIONS: LASHAND BURN Thisfield
in Mozambiqueisbeingpreparedthroughslashand burn.

CROPS OF SHIFTING CULTIVATION. The crops grov
by each village vary by local custom and taste. Tl
predominant crops include upland rice in Southeast As:
maize (corn) and manioc (cassava) in South America, a1
millet and sorghum in Africa. Yams, sugarcane, plantai
and vegetables are also grown in some regions. These cro
have originated in one region of shifting cultivation ai
have diffused to other areas in recent years.

The Kayapo people of Brazil's Amazon tropical rain f<
est do not arrange crops in the rectangular fields and ro

that are familiar to us. They plant in concentric rings.

first they plant sweet potatoes and yams in the inner area, "- FIGURE10-23 DEFORESTATIONTherainforestin ParanaB, razil,once
with com and rice, manioc, and more yams in successive usedfor shiftingcultivation,wasclearedplantsoybeans.
rings. In subsequent years the inner area of potatoes and
yams expands to replace corn and rice. The outermost ring
contains plants that require more nutrients, including
papaya, banana, pineapple, mango, cotton, and beans. It
is here that the leafy crowns of cut trees fall when the field
iS cleared, and their rotting releases rnore nutrients into
the soil.

Most families grow only for their own needs, so one
swidden may contain a large variety of intermingled crops,
which are harvested individually at the best time. In shift-
ing cultivation a "farm field" appears much more chaotic
than do fields in developed countries, where a single crop
such as corn or wheat may grow over an extensive area.
ln some cases, families may specialize in a few crops and

trade with villagers who have a surplus of others.

OWNERSHIP AND USE OF LAND IN SHIFTING People unable to find agricultural land elsewhere can mi-
grate to the tropical forests and initially practice shifting
CULTIVATION. Traditionally, land was owned by the cultivation. Critics say it then should be replaced by more
village as a whole rather than separately by each resident. sophisticated agricultural techniques that yield more crops
The chief or ruling council allocated a patch of land to per land area. Defenders of shifting cultivation consider it
each family and allowed it to retain the output. Individuals the most environmentally sound approach for the trop-
may also have had the right to own or protect specific trees ics. Practices used in other forms of agriculture, such as
surrounding the village. Today, private individuals now applying fertilizers and pesticides and permanently clear-
own the land in some communities, especially in Latin ing fields, may damage the soil, cause severe erosion, and
America. upset balanced ecosystems.

Shifting cultivation occupies approximately one-fourth Large-scale destruction of the rain forests f1somay con-
of the world's land area, a higher percentage than any tribute to global warming. When large numbers of trees
other type of agriculture. However, less than 5 percent of are cut, their burning and decay release large volumes of
the world's people engage in shifting cultivation. The gap carbon dioxide. This gas can build up in the atmosphere,
between the percentage of people and land area is not sur- acting like the window glass in a greenhouse to trap solar
prising because the practice of moving from one field to energy in the atmosphere, resulting in the "greenhouse
another every couple years requires more land per person effect," discussed in Chapter 11. Elimination of shifting
than do other types of agriculture. cultivation could also upset the traditional local diversity
of cultures in the tropics. The activities of shifting cultiva-
FUTURE OF SHIFTING CULTIVATION. Land devoted to tion are intertwined with other social, religious, political,
shifting cultivation is declining in the tropics at a rate and various folk customs. A drastic change in the agricul-
of about 75,000 square kilometers (30,000 square miles), tural economy could disrupt other activities of daily life.
or 0.2 percent, per year, according to the United Nations
(Figure 10-23). The amount of Earth's surface allocated As the importance of tropical rain forests to the
to tropical rain forests has already been reduced to less global environment has become recognized, developing
than half of its original area, for until recent years the countries have been pressured to restrict further destruc-
World Bank supported deforestation with loans to finance tion of them. In one innovative strategy, Bolivia agreed
development schemes that required the clearing of forests. to set aside 1.5 million hectares (3. 7 million acres) in a
Shifting cultivation is being replaced by logging, cattle forest reserve in exchange for cancellation of $650 mil-
ranching, and the cultivation of cash crops. Selling timber !lon of its debt to developed countries. Meanwhile, in
to builders and raising beef cattle for fast-food restaurants Brazil's Amazon rain forest, deforestation has increased
are more effective development strategies than maintaining from 2. 7 million hectares (7 million acres) per year dur-
shifting cultivation. Developing countries also see shifting ing the 1990s to 3.1 million hectares (8 million acres)
cultivation as an inefficient way to grow food in a hungry since 2000.
world. Indeed, compared to other forms of agriculture,
shifting cultivation can support only a small population Pauseand Reflect 10.3.3
in an area without causing environmental damage.
How does rapid population growth in sub-Saharan
To its critics, shifting cultivation is at best a preliminary Africa make it difficult to practice shifting cultivation
step in economic development. Pioneers use shifting cul- there?
tivation to clear forests in the tropics and to open land for
development where permanent agriculture never existed.

362 THE CULTURAL LANDSCAPE

INTENSIVE SUBSISTENCE WITH WET RICE
DOMINANT

Learning Outcome 10.3.4
Explain how intensive subsistencefarming works in
the high population concentrations of developing
regions.

Shifting cultivation and pastoral nomadism are forms of

subsistence agriculture found in regions of low density.

But three-fourths of the world's people live in develop-

ing countries, and the form of subsistence agriculture that

feeds most of them is intensive subsistence agriculture. • FIGURE10-25 GROWINGRICE:PREPARINGTHE FIELD Plowinga
The term intensive implies that farmers must work inten- field with a water buffaloin the Philippines.
sively to subsist on a parcel of land. In densely populated

East, South, and Southeast Asia, most farmers practice in- minimize the loss of arable land. Livestock are rarely per-

tensive subsistence agriculture. mitte? to gra_ze_onland that could be used to plant crops,

CHARACTERISTICS OF INTENSIVE SUBSISTENCE FARM- and little gram is grown to feed the animals.
ING. The typical farm in Asia's intensive subsistence The intensive agriculture region of Asia can be di.videc
agriculture regions is much smaller than farms elsewhere
in the world. Many Asian farmers own several fragmented between areas where wet rice dominates and areas when
plots, frequently a result of dividing individual holdings it does not (refer to Figure 10-18). The term wet rice refer:
among several children over several centuries. Because the to rice planted on dry land in a nursery and then move<
agricultural density-the ratio of farmers to arable land- as seedlings to a flooded field to promote growth. We
is so high in parts of East and South Asia, families must rice occupies a relatively small percentage of Asia's agri
produce enough food for their survival from a very small cultural land but is the region's most important source c
area of land. They do this through careful agricultural food. China and India account for nearly 50 percent of th
practices, refined over thousands of years in response to world's rice production, and more than 90 percent is pre
local environmental and cultural patterns. Most of the duced in East, South, and Southeast Asia (Figure 10-24
work is done by hand or with animals rather than with Intensive wet-rice farming is the dominant type of agricu
machines, in part due to abundant labor, but largely from ture in southeastern China, East India, and much of Soutt
east Asia. Successful production of large yields of rice is a
elaborate process that is time-consuming and done most]

lack of funds to buy equipment. by hand. The consumers of the rice also perform the war
To maximize food production, intensive subsistence and all family members, including children, contribute 1

farmers waste virtually no land. Corners of fields and ir- the effort.

regularly shaped pieces of land are planted rather than

left idle. Paths and roads are kept as narrow as possible to CULTIVATION OF WET RIC

• FIGURE10-24 RICE PRODUCTION ChinaandIndiaproduceone-halfof the world's rice. Growing riceinvolves four princi]'.

steps:

• Field preparation. A farm

prepares the field for pla1

ing, often using a plow dra,

by water buffalo or oxen (F

41)' ure 10-25). The use of a pl<

-4t1' - ---.;-~H..,,, _,._:[rq¢£q!_~er· and animal power is one ch
-W' acteristic that distinguist
140' 120" subsistence agriculture frc
Riceproduction PACIFIC 1 shifting cultivation.
(millionmetrictons) , OCEAN \
• 100andabove
-10-99 ·~----=·--'-0'., cqua1Dr

1-9.9 . --- Tr~Oicj~, \)> • Flooding. The plowed la
below1
nodata I...,./"'\ \~~·~:=-f~ is then flooded with wa
(Figure 10-26). The watet

«--t---"t--t-+-t-~0;-11--7:"12,ooo=-...J__-c-::b-!,.,::.._!_--.,J,;;;_,o- collected from rainfall, ri
overflow, or irrigation. ·
80' 60' 4U' 2<1 O -2.000 4,°f' """''!"' much or too little water ,

'40' 60' 80' 100' 120' 140' 160' 180'

Chapter 10: Food and Agriculture 363

A FIGURE 10-27 GROWING RICE: TRANSPLANTING PLANTS
Transplantingriceby handin Malaysia.

.& FIGURE 10-26 GROWING RICE: FLOODING THE FIELD Floodedfields most wet-rice cultivation takes place in river valleys and
in Japan. deltas. But the pressure of population growth in parts of
East Asia has forced expansion of areas under rice cultiva-
damage the crop-a particular problem for farmers in tion. One method of developing additional land suitable
South Asia who depend on monsoon rains, which do for growing rice is to terrace the hillsides of river valleys.
not always arrive at the same time each summer. Before
planting, dikes and canals are repaired to ensure the Land is used even more intensively in parts of Asia by
right quantity of water in the field. The flooded field obtaining two harvests per year from one field, a process
is called a sawah in the Austronesian language widely known as double cropping. Double cropping is common
spoken in Indonesia, including Java. Europeans and in places that have warm winters, such as southern China
North Americans frequently, but incorrectly, call it a and Taiwan, but is relatively rare in India, where most areas
paddy, the Malay word for wet rice. have dry winters. Normally, double cropping involves al-
ternating between wet rice, grown in the summer when
• Transplanting. The customary way to plant rice is to precipitation is higher, and wheat, barley, or another dry
grow seedlings on dry land in a nursery and then trans- crop, grown in the drier winter season. Crops other than
plant the seedlings into the flooded field (Figure 10-27). rice may be grown in the wet-rice region in the summer on
Typically, one-tenth of a sawah is devoted to the cul- nonirrigated land.
tivation of seedlings. After about a month they are
transferred to the rest of the field. Rice plants grow Pause and Reflect 10.3.4
submerged in water for approximately three-fourths of
the growing period. Another method of planting rice is Describe the sequence of tasks in wet rice cultivation.
to broadcast dry seeds by scattering them through the How can growing this very labor-intensive crop be
field, a method used to some extent in South Asia. cost effective for farmers?

• Harvesting. Rice plants are harvested by hand, usu- -. FIGURE 10-28 GROWING RICE: HARVESTING Harvestingriceby hand
ally with knives (Figure 10-28). To separate the husks, inThailand.
known as chaff, from the seeds, the heads are threshed
by beating them on the ground or treading on them
barefoot. The threshed rice is placed in a tray, and
the lighter chaff is winnowed-that is, allowed to be
blown away by the wind. If the rice is to be consumed
directly by the farmer, the hull, or outer covering, is re-
moved using a mortar and pestle. Rice that is sold com-
mercially is frequently whitened and polished, a pro-
cess that removes some nutrients but leaves rice more
pleasing in appearance and taste to many consumers.

Wet rice is most easily grown on flat land because the
plants are submerged in water much of the time. Thus

364 THECULTURALLANDSCAPE

INTENSIVE SUBSISTENCE WITH WET
RICE NOT DOMINANT

Learning Outcome 10.3.5
Describe reasons for growing crops other than wet
rice in intensive subsistence regions.

Climate prevents farmers from growing wet rice in por- A FIGURE10-30 CHINA COMMUNE A communein ChangshaC, hina.
tions of Asia, especially where summer precipitation lev-
els are too low and winters are too harsh (refer to Fig- several small fields into a single large unit, China's go,
ure 10-18). Agriculture in much of the interior of India ernment hoped to promote agricultural efficiency; scar<
and northeastern China is devoted to crops other than equipment and animals and larger improvement project
wet rice. Wheat is the most important crop, followed by such as flood control, water storage, and terracing, coul
barley (Figure 10-29). Various other grains and legumes are be shared (Figure 10-30). In reality, productivity did rn
grown for household consumption, including millet, oats, increase as much as the government had expected becau:
corn, sorghum, and soybeans. In addition, some crops are people worked less efficiently for the commune than whe
grown in order to be sold for cash, such as cotton, flax, working for themselves.
hemp, and tobacco.
China has therefore dismantled the agricultural con
Aside from what is grown, this region shares most of munes. The communes still hold legal title to agricultur
the characteristics of intensive subsistence agriculture with land, but villagers sign contracts that entitle them to far1
the wet-rice region. Land is used intensively and worked portions of the land as private individuals. Chinese farn
primarily by human power, with the assistance of some ers may sell to others the right to use the land and to pa
hand implements and animals. In milder parts of the re- on the right to their children. Reorganization has been di
gion where wet rice does not dominate, more than one ficult because irrigation systems, equipment, and oth
harvest can be obtained some years through skilled use of infrastructure were developed to serve large commun
crop rotation, which is the practice of rotating use of dif- farms rather than small individually managed ones, whic
ferent fields from crop to crop each year to avoid exhaust- cannot afford to operate and maintain the machinery. 81
ing the soil. In colder climates, wheat or another crop is production has increased greatly.
planted in the spring and harvested in the fa!!, but no
crops can be sown through the winter. PLANTATION FARMING

Since the Communist Revolution in 1949, private in- The types of agriculture in developing countries discuss(
dividuals have owned little agricultural land in China. In- so far are considered subsistence agriculture because ti
stead, the Communist government organized agricultural principal purpose is production of food for consum
producer communes, which typically consisted of several tion by the farmer's family. Plantation farming is a for
villages of several hundred people each. By combining of commercial agriculture found in developing countrit
A plantation is a large commercial farm in a developi1
'FIGURE 10-29 CHINA BARLEYFIELDS Hillsidesare terracedto create country that specializes in one or two crops.
flat fields.
Most plantations are located in the tropics ar
subtropics, especially in Latin America, Africa, and Ai
(Figure 10-31). Although generally situated in develo
ing countries, plantations are often owned or operated l
Europeans or North Americans, and they grow crops f
sale primarily to developed countries. Crops are normal
processed at the plantation before being shipped becau
processed goods are less bulky and are therefore cheaper
ship the long distances to the North American and Em
pean markets.

Among the most important crops grown on plan1
tions are cotton, sugarcane, coffee, rubber, and tobac
(Figure 10-32). Also produced in large quantities are cocc
jute, bananas, tea, coconuts, and palm oil. Latin Americ

A FIGURE 10-33 PLANTATION WORKERS

Temporarylaborersaretransportedto a coffeeplantationin MinasGeraisB, ra,il.

.4. FIGURE 10-31 COFFEE PLANTATION Thisplantationis in MinasGerais, Plantation managers try to spread the work as evenly as pos-
Brazil. sible throughout the year to make full use of the large labor
force. Where the climate permits, more than one crop is
plantations are most likely to grow coffee, sugarcane, and planted and harvested annually. Rubber tree plantations try
bananas, whereas Asian plantations may provide rubber to spread the task of tapping the trees throughout the year.
and palm oil. Crops such as tobacco, cotton, and sugar-
cane, which can be planted only once a year, are less likely Until the Civil War, plantations were important in the
to be grown on large plantations today than in the past. U.S. South, where the principal crop was cotton, followed
by tobacco and sugarcane. Demand for cotton increased
Because plantations are usually situated in sparsely set- dramatically after the establishment of textile factories in
tled locations, they must import workers and provide them England at the start of the Industrial Revolution in the late
with food, housing, and social services (Figure 10-33). eighteenth century. Cotton production was stimulated by
the improvement of the cotton gin by Eli Whitney in 1793
and the development of new varieties of cotton that were
hardier and easier to pick. Slaves brought from Africa per-
formed most of the labor until the abolition of slavery and
the defeat of the South in the Civil War. Thereafter, planta-
tions declined in the United States; they were subdivided
and either sold to individual farmers or worked by tenant
farmers.

Pause and Reflect 10.3.5

What foods do you consume that are grown on
plantations?

~ FIGURE 10-32 COFFEE BEAN PRODUCTION One-thirdof theworld'scoffeebeansaregrownin Brazil.

D' I
160' l◄D' \20' 100' I

Caffeeproduction 2D' (1' 20' 40'
(metrictons)

• 100,000andabove
- 10,000-99,999

Below10,000
nodata

I I''i, ~ 11 I~ I r ', ~ \'
1·I t'1.' 1.~ I' JI 1: ', 1' 1, I ) I ) . J ~U11·I 1,II i : I 1111II ! l I 1:1111 I 11'11I!, j'
I 11I I 1, ' II' : I ' I! : :I • I 'I'I
' 1 'I •' jl ' I I I I . I i' ' . : • I I ' I ' ' lI : 1,1 '
! i , ',. {
' '', I

366 THE CULTURAL LANDSCAPE

Agriculture in Developed
Regions

Learning Outcome 10.3.6
Describe how mixed crop and livestock farming
works.

Commercial agriculture in developed countries can be ~ FIGURE 10-34 MIXED CROP AND LIVESTOcl( Harvestingcornin Iowa.
divided into six main types: mixed crop and livestock
farming, dairy farming, commercial gardening and fruit supply manure to improve soil fertility to grow more crops.
farming, grain farming, Mediterranean agriculture, and A typical mixed crop and livestock farm devotes nearly all
livestock ranching. Each type is predominant in distinc- land area to growing crops but derives more than three-
tive regions within developed countries, depending largely fourths of its i~come from the sale of animal products,
on climate. Commercial agriculture is also becoming in- such as beef, milk, and eggs. In the United States pigs arE
creasingly important in many developing countries. often bred directly on the farms, whereas ~attle may bE
brought in to be fattened on corn.
In commercial farming, farmers grow crops and raise
animals primarily for sale off the farm rather than for their Mixing crops and livestock permits farmers to distribut1
own consumption. Agricultural products are not sold di- the workload more evenly through lhe year. Fields requin
rectly to consumers but to food-processing companies. less attention in the winter than in the spring when crop:
Large processors, such as General Mills and Kraft, typically are planted, and in the fall, when they are harv'ested. Mean
sign contracts with commercial farmers to buy their grain, \".'hile, livestock require year-long attention. A mix of crop
chickens, cattle, and other output. Farmers may have con- and livestock also reduces seasonal variations in income
tracts to sell sugar beets to sugar refineries, potatoes to dis- most income from crops comes duri11g the harvest season
tilleries, and oranges to manufacturers of concentrated but livestock products can be sold _throughout the year.
juices.
In the United ~tates, co_rn(maize) is the crop most frl
Commercial farming is closely tied to other businesses. quently planted m the mixed crop and livestock rcgio1
The system of commercial farming found in developed because it generates higher yields Per area than do othe
countries has been called agribusiness because the family crops (Figure 10-35). Some of the corn is consumed by pee
farm is not an isolated activity but is integrated into a large ple as oil, margarine, and other fooct products but most i
food-production industry. Commercial farmers make heavy fed to pigs and cattle. The most important mi~ed crop an
use of modern communications and information technol- livestock farming region in the United 5tates--extendin
ogy to stay in touch and keep track of prices, yields, and from Ohio to the Dakotas, with its center in Iowa-is fn
expenditures. quently called the Corn Belt because around half of ti"

Although farmers account for less than 2 percent of the cropland is planted in corn. Soybeans have become tt
U.S. labor force, around 20 percent of U.S. laborers work in
food production and services related to agribusiness-food second-most-important crop in lhe U.S. mixed comme
processing, packaging, storing, distributing, and retail- cial farming region. Like corn, soybeans are mostlv usE
ing. Agribusiness encompasses such diverse enterprises as to m~ke animal feed. Tofu. (made from soybean ~ilk)
tractor manufacturing, fertilizer production, and seed dis- a ma1or food sou_rc~,e~pecially for people in China ar
tribution. Although most farms are owned by individual Japan. Soybean 0111s widely used in U.S. foods, as a hi
families, many other aspects of agribusiness are controlled den ingredient.
by large corporations.
CROP ROTATION. Mixed crop and livestock farmi1
MIXED CROP AND LIVESTOCK FARMING typically involves crop rotation. the farm is divided in
a number of fields, and each field is planted 011 a plann,
Mixed crop and livestock farming is the most common form cycle, often of several years. _The crop planted chan~
of commercial agriculture in the United States west of the
Appalachians and east of 98° west longitude and in much of from one year to the next, typically going through a eye
Europe from France to Russia (refer to Figure 10-18).
of two or i:nore crops, and perhaps a year of fallow befc
INTEGRATION OF CROPSAND LIVESTOCK. The most the. ~ycle 1s ~epeated. Crop ~otan011 helps maintain t
distinctive characteristic of mixed crop and livestock fertility of a field because vanous crops deplete the soil
farming is the integration of crops and livestock (Figure
10-35). Most of the crops are fed to animals rather than
consumed directly by humans. In turn, the livestock

Chapter 10: Food and Agriculture 367

,w-,- - '.a-20-· c, 20-',~ ·si,-w-~;w40'1611' 160- ◄ FIGURE 10-35 MAIZE (CORN) PRODUCTION
~ ~,
ao.-.,... -- " -.;-8<:f TheUnitedStatesproducesnearly40 percentand China

.,,.--c,..-...c-..-.~.-~---- ---"';:_-~_'-. .. morethan 20 percentof the worldtotal.

br-:'__,,"'f---.--::rl-t.,/,/,:-:;d> ,r::....-6.0:-'

~-r--,-,--j 40'

PACIFIC

--r.:---O. CEA-N-- -

lll'-,-"--t---+--....ll::al''-'-P.':ir;:,.-:c+--'------t'I

II

160' 14W 120' 1W

Maize(corn)production
(miillonmetrictons)

• 100andabove
-10-99

1-9
Below1
nodata

:ertain nutrients but restore others. Crop rotation contrasts COMMERCIAL GARDENING AND FRUIT
Nith shifting cultivation, in which nutrients depleted FARMING
'rom a field are restored only by leaving the field fallow
uncropped) for many years. With shifting cultivation, Commercial gardening and fruit farming is the predom-
n any given year, crops cannot be planted in most of an inant type of agriculture in the southeastern United
nea's fields, so overall production is much lower than in States. The region has a long growing season and humid
:nixed commercial farming. climate, and it is accessible to the large markets of New
York, Philadelphia, Washington, and other eastern U.S.
A two-field crop-rotation system was developed in urban areas. The type of agriculture practiced in this re-
'\Jorthern Europe as early as the fifth century. A cereal gion is frequently called truck farming, from the Middle
5rain, such as oats, wheat, rye, or barley, was planted in English word truck, meaning "bartering" or "exchange of
r-ield A one year, while field B was left fallow. The follow- commodities." Truck farms grow many of the fruits and
ng year, Field B was planted, and Field A was left fallow, vegetables that consumers in developed countries de-
'Ind so forth. Beginning in the eighth century, a three-field mand, such as apples, asparagus, cherries, lettuce, mush-
;ystem was introduced. The first field was planted with a rooms, and tomatoes. Some of these fruits and vegetables
..vinter cereal, the second was planted with a spring cereal, are sold fresh to consumers, but most are sold to large pro-
md the third was left fallow. As a result, each field yielded cessors for canning or freezing.
~our harvests every six years, compared to three every six
years under the two-field system. Truck farms are highly efficient large-scale operations
that take full advantage of machines at every stage of the
A four-field system was introduced in Europe during the growing process. Truck farmers are willing to experiment
:ighteenth century. The first year, the farmer could plant with new varieties, seeds, fertilizers, and other inputs to
1 root crop (such as turnips) in Field A, a cereal in Field B, maximize efficiency. Labor costs are kept down by hiring
:1 "rest" crop (such as clover, which helps restore the field) migrant farm workers, some of whom are undocumented
1n Field C, and a cereal in Field D. The second year, the immigrants from Mexico who work for very low wages.
farmer might select a cereal for Field A, a rest crop for Field Farms tend to specialize in a few crops, and a handful of
B, a cereal for Field C, and a root for Field D. The rotation farms may dominate national output of some fruits and
would continue for two more years before the cycle would vegetables.
,tart again. Each field thus passed through a cycle of four
:rops-root, cereal, rest crop, and another cereal. A form of truck farming called specialty farming has
spread to New England, among other places. Farmers are
Cereals such as wheat and barley were sold for flour and profitably growing crops that have limited but increasing
::>eerproduction, and straw (the stalks remaining after the demand among affluent consumers, such as asparagus,
heads of wheat are threshed) was retained for animal bed- peppers, mushrooms, strawberries, and nursery plants.
jing. Root crops such as turnips were fed to the animals Specialty farming represents a profitable alternative for
juring the winter. Clover and other rest crops were used New England farmers at a time when dairy farming is de-
for cattle grazing and for restoring nitrogen to the soil. clining bequse of relatively high operating costs and low

Pauseand Reflect10.3.6 milk prices.

What are the principaldifferencesbetween harvesting
of maize in the United States(Figure10-34)and
harvestingof ricein Thailand (Figure 10-28)?

368 THECULTURALLANDSCAPE 400
350
DAIRY FARMING

Learning Outcome 10.3.7
Describe how dairy farming and commercial
gardening work.

Dairy farming is the most important commercial agriculture

practiced on farms near the large urban areas of the north-

eastern United States, southeastern Canada, and north- 1970-'----1------19-::90 2000 2010
western Europe (Figure 10-36). Dairying has also become
an important type of farming in South and East Asia. Tra- 1980
ditionally, fresh milk was rarely consumed except directly
on the farm or in nearby villages. With the rapid growth of .&.FIGURE 10-37 Cl-t Year N
cities in developed countries during the nineteenth century,
demand for the sale of milk to urban residents increased. Developincgountriesn~IIIGING MILK PRoolJCfl~eve\opedcountries.
Rising incomes permitted urban residents to buy milk prod-
ucts, which were once considered luxuries. Vvproducemoremilk thal\

REGIONAL DISTRIBUTION OF DAIRYING. For most of i11<sl1edrsarely ha
the twentieth century, the world's milk production was r1l)used for transpott•
clustered in a handful of developed countries. However, the a radius beyonq 5ttOngk•l1daoimryeteprrsodu(3ct0s,J1Ji.11e0s• Today, refrige
share of the world's dairy farming conducted in developing ated railcars an(! ship milk mo1
countries has risen dramatically, from 26 percent in 1980
to 53 percent in 2010 (Figure 10•37). In the twenty-first than 500 kilom1::tt"Llcks enable farmers suit nearly eve,
farm in the notth ers (300 m1·1es). As a re nd 'northwester
century, India has become the world's largest milk producer,
ahead of the United States, the traditional leader, and China Europe is withit\ t~aste~n United Stat:~: 011e urban area.
and Pakistan are now third and fourth largest (Figure 10-38).
Dairy farme:rs e in1lkshed of at lecial farmers, usual]
In developed countries, dairying is the most important
type of commercial agriculture in the first ring outside large seftdo not sell theii:' hke other comrner 05 umers. Jnstea<
cities because of transportation factors. Dairy farms must
be closer to their market than other types of farms because they generally 1 0 ducts directly to co who distribute
their products are highly perishable. The ring surround- in turn to retat11;: milk to wholesalers, ill<to consume
ing a city from which milk can be supplied without spoil-
ing is known as the milkshed. Improvements in transpor- in shops or at •J.i..orlsl..1eRretailers then sseellll _rrrin...ilkto butter an
tation have permitted dairying to be undertaken farther cheese manufac:tu • ·armers also
from the market. Until the 1840s, when railroads were first
1n general, tl)1;~: ers. . rotll Jarge urban co1

centrat1ons, th1::sni arthe_r the farm is f e of output devot€

to fresh milk. Fa aller IS the percentar oll1 consumers a

more likely to scel1.ite1·1tc1htnes1_lroocuattpeudt farther e~sorsthat make bt1
ter' cheese ' or
to prodc con ctensed milk. n
reason is that th , evaporated, an I ionger than mi

does and thereforese products kee~ fre~;rotll remote farm

Countries lik: c~n be safely sh 1P~\ze in certain pro,
ucts. New ZeaJa11; 1se tend to speci5at er capita produc
of dairy produc:t ' the world's large pentto liquid mLI

compared to fl)aNsre, dthevanote5sOapbeorcuetn 5t ipnetrl,ce.nUontisteeldl Kingdor
much Ii

T FIGURE10-36 DAIRY FARM Manycowsaremilkedsimultaneouslyat thisdairyfarm in _ewZealand farmers do trY is too far fro
Wiltshire,England.
~d milk because the cou~western Europ

th0 tth America and _no;y wealthy popul
. e two largest relative

tton concentrations.

Cl-! IRyfARMERS. U:
ALLENGESFORDA dairy farmers fa

Otbet c,ommercia. 1t·arrners,ause of decliniI

economic difficuJtieS beets Dairy farme

:hotevenues an d n.si•noer c. os m· ost often ci
have _qui~.farrJl~!icessive worklo,
ck of profltab1llty an t of the busine:
abs· t~asons for gettl•ng odtiairY farming ha

1stinctive features of iC difficulties:

e)(acerbated the econofTl
vs must be milk,

• labor intensive. cov . although the ,

twice a day, everyda~~oe by machirn

tuat milking can be netess requires co

dairy farming nonet nont the year.
Stant attention throug

Chapter 10:Foodand Agriculture 369

4U' • Winter feed. Dairy farmers
PACIFIC face the expense of feeding
,- 40' the cows in the winter, when
_ ~-g<:EAN -l they may be unable to graze
211' l-e-of-t-at-icrezr o,
on grass. In northwestern Eu-
I PACIFIC
OCEAN I rope and in the northeastern
,,.,. 140' 120' United States, farmers gener-
Equ.,10, O' ally purchase hay or grain for
Milkproduction winter feed. In the western part
(millionmetricIons) .... of the U.S. dairy region, crops
-rJ-_'-,:_/2.0-' - are more likely to be grown
- 100andabove in the summer and stored for
• ,0-99 winter feed on the same farm .

1-9 <fl' .,,- /.' 40' Pauseand Reflect10.3.7
180'
Below1 80' !O' 0 "'2,000 4,000 Kllo.ne,i.rs ' Look on the label of your
nodata milk carton. How far away
'20' 0' 10' <fl' 60' 80' 11)0' 120' MO' 160' from you is the dairy?

◄ FIGURE10-38 MILK PRODUCTION
IndiahasreplacedtheUnitedStatesasthe world'sleadingmilkproducer.

CONTEMPORARGYEOGRAPHITCOOLS

Protectin~Farmland

Loss of farmland to urban growth is a series of soil quality, environmen- MaTyland officials are making use
especially severe at the edge of the tal, and economic maps that were of the results of the GfS as part of an
string of large metropolitan areas combined inlo a single composite overall ~tratcgy to minimize sprawl.
along the East Coast of the United map (Figure I0-39). The map shows For example, ~tate highway money
States. Some of the most threatened that 4 percent of the state's farmland is allocated to improving roads in
agricultural land lies in Maryland, a had prime soils, significant environ- existing built-up areas rather than
S,lTlallstate where two major cities- mental features, and high projected extending new roads thrm1gh im-
Washlngton a.t1cl Sal ti more-have population growth, and 25 percent rortaut conservation areas.
coalesced into a continuous built-up had two of the th rec factors.
area (see Chapter 13). In Maryland,
a geographic information system 'ii$ SOKllometi!r, N
(G1S) was used to identify which
farms should be pTeserved. Primeandl)loductiveagriculturasl oils
Signif,canet nvironmentaclu,ltural,
Maps generated through GIS were and historicfeatures
essential in identifying agricultural • Moderatteo highhouseholIdncrease
land to protect because the most ap- peracreonagriculturalal nds
propriate farms to preserve were not • 2or3 of lheabovefealures
necessarily those with the highest-
quality soil. Why should the state and A FIGURE10-39 PROTECTINFGARMLANDIN MARYLANDPrimefarmlandis typicallyflatand
nonprofit organizations spend scarce welldrainedS. ignificanet nvironmentafel aturesincludedwaterqualityf,loodcontrol,specieshabitats,
funds to pre~erve "prime" farmland historicsites,andespeciallayttractivescenery.
that is nowhere near the pa Lhof urban
sprawl'? Conversely, why purchase
an expensive, isolated farm already
totally surrounded by residential de-

velopments, when the same amount

of money could buy several large con-

tiguous farms that effectively blocked

urban sprawl elsewhere?

To identify the "best" lands to

protect, GIS consultants produced

370 THE CULTURAL LANDSCAPE

GRAIN FARMING cuts grain standing in the field), invented in the 1830s,
first permitted large-scale wheat production. Today the
Learning Outcome 10.3.8 combine machine performs in one operation the three
tasks of reaping, threshing, and cleaning.
Describe how grain and Mediterranean farming
work. Unlike work on a mixed crop and livestock farm, the ef-
fort required to grow wheat is not uniform throughout the
Some form of grain is the major crop on most farms. Grain year. Some individuals or firms may therefore have two
is the seed from various grasses, such as wheat, corn, oats, sets of fields-one in the spring wheat belt and one in the
barley, rice, millet, and others. Commercial grain agricul- winter wheat belt. Because the planting and harvesting in
ture is distinguished from mixed crop and livestock farm- the two regions occur at different times of the year, the
ing because crops on a grain farm are grown primarily for workload can be distributed throughout the year. In addi-
consumption by humans rather than by livestock. Farms in tion, the same machinery can be used in the two regions,
developing countries also grow crops for human consump- thus spreading the cost of the expensive equipment. Com-
tion, but the output is directly consumed by the farmers. bine harvesting contractors start working in Oklahoma in
Commercial grain farms sell their output to manufactur- early summer and work their way northward.
ers of food products, such as breakfast cereals and breads.
Commercial grain farms are generally located in re-
The most important crop grown is wheat, used to make gions that are too dry for mixed crop and livestock agricul-
bread flour. Wheat generally can be sold for a higher price ture. Within North America, large-scale grain production
than other grains, such as rye, oats, and barley, and it has is concentrated in three areas:
more uses as human food. It can be stored relatively easily
without spoiling and can be transported a long distance. • The winter wheat belt through Kansas, Colorado, anc
Because wheat has a relatively high value per unit weight, Oklahoma. The winter wheat crop is planted in thE
it can be shipped profitably from remote farms to markets. autumn and develops a strong root system befon
growth stops for the winter. The wheat survives th1
Aswas the case with milk production, the share of world winter, especially if it is insulated beneath a snow blan
production of wheat in developing countries has increased ket, and is ripe by the beginning of summer.
rapidly. Much of this increased production results from
growth in large-scale commercial agriculture. Developing • The spring wheat belt through the Dakotas, Montane
countries accounted for more than one-half of world wheat and southern Saskatchewan in Canada. Winters ar
production in 2010, compared to only one-fourth in 1960. usually too severe for winter wheat in this region, s
The United States is by far the largest producer of wheat spring wheat is planted in the spring and harvested i
among developed countries, but it now ranks third among the late summer.
all countries, behind China and India (Figure 10-40). China
has been the world leader since 1983, and India has been • The Palouse region of Washington State. Wheat con
second since 1999. prises a smaller percentage of agricultural output tha
in the other two wheat-growing regions. The Palou·
Large-scale grain production, like other commercial is also an important source of legumes; for exampl
farming ventures in developed countries, is heavily mech- 80 percent of U.S. lentils are grown in the region.
anized, conducted on large farms, and oriented to con-
sumer preferences. The McCormick reaper (a machine that Wheat's significance extends beyond the amount
land or number of people involved in growing it. U
like other agricultural products, wheat is grown to

,-_"'t ~-------...~
_ .J'AAOCCTIECAN
' --- ----4 100- IO' -:6;-0- " •O' 20' (I' 20' '<r 60' 80' 100' 120' 140' ◄ FIGURE 10-40 WHEAT PRODUCTION

. • •,<'• . Chinaand Indiaare the leadingwheatproduce
followedbythe UnitedStates.
.;i ✓ ~ '/'
60'
,-~~---=. ··

40'~ "- - .~
20' AnANTTC
PACIFfC OCEAN - !,'i?"~(dlt"rr
OCEAN
- -- 20'
PACIFIC
~~~ ~
_,_w_14_0'_1_20'_100'0', ~, OCEAN

---~t'J!;-b~~ _§Quotoc<'
• l' , ' tl '~
Wheapt roduction INDtAN
(millionmetrictons)
OCEAN
100andabove
i0-99 20' ~&.
1-9 40'
Below1 4' m- 4,000~ ',
nodata 20' 40'
20' (I' 0 '1./lCO •a.>I0- 160' 180'

60' 80' 100' 120' 1'0'

Chapter 10: Food and Agriculture 371

.AFIGURE10-41 MEDITERRANEANAGRICULTURENearlyall olives Sea traditionaUy used transhumance to raise animals, al-
areproducedin countriesthat borderthe MediterraneanSeaor havesimilar though the practice is now less common. Under transhu-
climatesi,ncludingSifnosG, reece, mance, animals-primarily sheep and goats-are kept on
the coastal plains in the winter and transferred to the hills
considerable extent for international trade, and it is the in the summer.
world's leading export crop. The United States and Canada
account for about half of the world's wheat exports; conse- Most crops in Mediterranean lands are grown for human
quently, the North American prairies are accurately called consumption rather than for animal feed. Horticulture-
the world's "breadbasket." The ability to provide food for which is the growing of fruits, vegetables, and flowers-
many people elsewhere in the world is a major source of and tree crops form the commercial base of Mediterranean
economic and political strength for these two countries. farming. Acombination of local physical and cultural char-
acteristics determines which crops are grown in each area.
MEDITERRANEAN AGRICULTURE The hilly landscape encourages farmers to plant a variety of
crops within one farming area.
Mediterranean agriculture exists primarily on the lands
that border the Mediterranean Sea in Southern Europe, In the lands bordering the Mediterranean Sea, the two
North Africa, and western Asia (Figure 10-41). Farmers in most important cash crops are olives and grapes. Two-
California, central Chile, the southwestern part of South thirds of the world's wine is produced in countries that
Africa, and southwestern Australia practice Mediterranean border the Mediterranean, especially Italy, France, and
agriculture as well. Spain. Mediterranean agricultural regions elsewhere in the
world produce most of the remaining one-third (refer to
These Mediterranean areas share a similar physical en- Figure 4-22). The lands near the Mediterranean Sea are also
vironment (refer to Figures 10-18 and 10-40). Every Medi- responsible for a large percentage of the world's supply of
terranean area borders a sea, and most a·reon west coasts olives, an important source of cooking oil. Despite the im-
of continents (except for some lands surrounding the portance of olives and grapes to commercial farms border-
Mediterranean Sea). Prevailing sea winds provide mois- ing the Mediterranean Sea, approximately half of the land
ture and moderate the winter temperatures. Summers are is devoted to growing cereals, especially wheat for pasta
hot and dry, but sea breezes provide some relief. The land and bread. As in the U.S. winter wheat belt, the seeds are
is very hilly, and mountains frequently plunge directly to sown in the fall and harvested in early summer. After cul-
the sea, leaving very narrow strips of flat land along the tivation, cash crops are planted on some of the land, and
coast. the remainder of the land is left fallow for a year or two to
conserve moisture in the soil.
Farmers derive a smaller percentage of income from
animal products in the Mediterranean region than in the Cereals occupy a much lower percentage of the culti-
mixed crop and livestock region. Livestock production is vated land in California than in other Mediterranean cli-
hindered during the summer by the lack of water and good mates. Instead, a large portion of California farmland is
grazing land. Some farmers living along the Mediterranean devoted to fruit and vegetable horticulture, whkh supplies
a large portion of the citrus fruits, tree nuts, and deciduous
fruits consumed in the United States. Horticulture is prac-
ticed in other Mediterranean climates, but not to the ex-
tent found in California. The rapid growth of urban areas
in California, especially Los Angeles, has converted high-
quality agricultural land into housing developments. Thus
far, the loss of farmland has been offset by the expansion
of agriculture into arid lands. However, farming in dry-
lands requires massive irrigation to provide water. In the
future, California agriculture may face stiffer competition
for the Southwest's increasingly scarce water supply.

Pause and Reflect 10.3.8

At least 1 million metric tons of wine are produced
in eight countries (Argentina, Australia, China,
France, Italy, South Africa, Spain, and the United
States). Referring to Figures 4-22 and 10-18, which
one of the eight countries does not appear to have
Mediterranean agriculture?