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Review Notes on  the Population Explosion
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Population   
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      Demography   
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      Population Charts   
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      Population Figures   
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The Effects of Population Growth 
 
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      Malthus 
 
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      The Food Supply 
 
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            Agricultural Societies   
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            There are 3 Types of Subsistence Agriculture recognized today  
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            1.  Shifting Cultivation   
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            2.  Intensive Subsistence   
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            3.  Pastoral Subsistence   
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            Origins of Subsistence Agriculture in HG Society  
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            Early Subsistence Agriculture Age in Pre Empire Society   
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            There have been FOUR Agriculture Revolutions   
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            1.  The Beginnings & Spread of Agriculture   
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            2.  The Transition from Subsistence to Market Agriculture   
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            3.  Industrialization of Agriculture   
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            4.  Globalization of Agriculture   
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            Commercial Agriculture   
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            US Farm Crisis   
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            The Green Revolution   
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            Biotechnology in Ag   
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            The Environment & Agriculture   
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The Census 
 
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The American Generations 
 
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      Baby Boomers 
 
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      Gen X 
 
  Analysis of the Population Explosion   
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      SIA Variable 1:  The Population   
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      The Population Explosion & the Environment   
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      Solutions to the Population Explosion   

 
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  Overview of  Population
External
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-  Project:  Your Families' Population Growth 
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  POPULATION GROWTH WAS SLOW UNTIL 1000 AD, THEN INCREASED STEADILY UNTIL THE INDL AGE, WHEN IT 'EXPLODED'  
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Charts on World Population Growth 
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By any measure, the world population has grown rapidly 
 
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The Chart on Historical World Population Growth shows that pop growth was slow until 1000 AD, increased steadily until the indl age, when it 'exploded' 
 
  1993   32 countries had increased growth rates 
1993   5.685 bb 
1999   6.000 bb milestone 
2000   6.043 bb 
2007   6.639 bb 
11/19/10                6,882,530,989
 
  World Pop Clock   http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/popclockworld.html 
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  -  Supplement:  The Population Clock, 2000 
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  POPULATION DENSITY EXAMINES HOW MANY PEOPLE LIVE IN AN AREA   
 
World population density is very unequal in that while 63 % of land mass is north of equator, 90 % of population is north of equator 
 
  Most of the population lives on 10 % of land   
  Crude population density measures the population per sq mile or sq kilometer 
 
  Nutritional density measures the population per sq mile of cultivable land   
  Agricultural density measures the population of farmers / etc. per sq mile of cultivable land   
  Healthcare density is measured by the number of doctors per 1,000 population   
  Population pyramids are histograms turned vertically 
 
  A Cohort  is a group who share a common temporal demographic experience 
       Youth Cohort            less than   15 yrs
       Middle Cohort                          15 - 64 yrs
       Old Cohort               more than  64 yrs
 
  The youth cohort consists of those who are less than 15 yrs old   
  The middle cohort consists of those who are btwn 15 & 64 yrs old   
  The old cohort consists of those who are more than 64 yrs old   
  The dependency ratio:   is measured by adding the youth & old cohorts & dividing that sum by the middle cohort:  Y + O  /   M 
 
  -  Supplement:  Swedish Population Pyramid
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  -  Supplement:  US Population Pyramid:  1900
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  -  Supplement:  US Population Pyramid:  1990
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There are many social factors affecting population growth including the 
1.  econ & political outlook 
2.  availability of birth control 
3.  availability of men & women (war, current pop) 
4.  status of women 
5.  educational level 
6.  income level 
7.  authorizing the age of marriage 
8.  availability of healthcare 
 
  Common general factors affecting pop growth include
1.  crude birth rate 
2.  doubling time 
3.  crude death rate 
4.  total fertility rate 
5.  infant mortality rate 
6.  life expectancy 
7.  demographic transition 
8.  population movement 
9.  voluntary migration 
10.  forced migration 
11.  internal voluntary migration 
12.  internal forced migration
 
  1. The crude birth rate ( CBR ) is the number of live births per 1000 people
 
  2.  The doubling time is the number of years it takes a population to double :  today 1.8 % growth = doubling in 40 yrs
 
  Today, w/ a growth rate of 1.8%, the world pop will double in 40 yr, i.e. be 12 bb in 2040, 24 bb in 2080  
  3.  The crude death rate (CDR) is the number of deaths per 1,000 people 
 
  The factors affecting the CDR include healthcare, disease, food, war, etc.  
  The  increase/decrease in the population = CBR - CDR  
  4. The total fertility rate (TFR) is the number of births per woman of child bearing age:  15 - 49 yrs
 
  The TFR peaked in US at 3.7  
  The TFR is a better predictor of population than CBR  
  5. Infant mortality rate is the number of deaths of infants less than 1 yr. old per 1,000 live births   
  Infant mortality rate is often used as a measure of healthcare & as a non econ measure of development   
  6. Life expectancy is the average number of yrs a cohort is expected to live   
  AIDS is among the top 10 leading causes of death in US   
 
7.  THE DEMOGRAPHIC TRANSITION (DT) OCCURS WHEN HIGH BIRTH & DEATH RATES ARE REPLACED BY LOW BIRTH & DEATH RATES   
  At the beginning of the DT there is high birth rates & death rates, which results in the highest population growth rate   
  At the end of the DT, there is low birth & death rates which results in the lowest population growth rate   
  As nations develop, usually the high death rate drops before the high birth rate drops so that many people are being born, & fewer are dying, resulting in the most rapid pop growth rates   
  Death rates are often reduced by better food, healthcare, vaccines, etc.  
  Birth rate reduction often opposed by custom, religion...    esp. by peripheral countries  
  The DT is perhaps humanities greatest chance for voluntary zero pop growth (ZPG) & responsible econ dev  
  The DT can be seen in most western nations that have either ZPG or even negative population growth (NPG)   
  The DT & ZPG can be seen in the US (however our pop is growth, but solely due to immigration), the UK, Fr, & Ger  
  The DT & ZPG can be seen in Italy & Ireland which have falling populations   
  The poorer a nation, the less developed it is, the more likely it is to have a pop explosion   
  It is clear that at least some of the effect ot the DT is due to the acceptance of Western values related to the empowerment of women ,& men & women co deciding family size, career choices, etc.   
  Societies w/ pop explosions generally maintain tradl values where the larger the family, the higher status of both the mother & the father, where the children give the parents old age security, where large numbers of children are a asset as a wkforce, where patriarchy / men rule the family w/ nearly absolute authority   
  With econ dev, the DT, & western values, people eschew tradl values & large families convey no status, children are a liability / cost, where children do not serve as a wkforce, & where patriarchy does not rule, rather men & women co rule   
  This combination of econ dev, the DT, & western value is a method that is extremely difficult to implement, but it can be effective in a few generations   
 
8.  POPULATION MOVEMENT IS AFFECTED BY PUSH & PULL FACTORS 
 
 
Push factors, i.e. those factors pushing a population out of an area include war, econ dislocation, ecological deterioration, political persecution, religious persecution, etc. 
 
 
Pull factors, i.e. those factors pulling a population to an area include econ opportunity, political freedom, religious freedom, peace, family, a good env, etc. 
 
 
In 1987, 32 mm people migrated 
In 1993, 42 mm people migrated
In 2000, 177 mm people migrated
In 2005, 191 mm people migrated
In the last 50 yrs more people migrated than in all of history 
 
  The UN World Migrant Stock    http://esa.un.org/migration/index.asp?panel=1
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  9.  VOLUNTARY MIGRATION OCCURS WHEN PEOPLE MIGRATE AS RESULT OF THEIR OWN DECISION   
 
Voluntary migration occurs when people migrate as a result of their own decision & not because of severe push or pull factors 
 
  In practice, it is difficult to differentiate btwn voluntary & forced migration because we often maintain our belief in free will when social factors are severely impacting our decision   
  While it may appear to many that the mvmt of people from rural to urban areas in the US was voluntary migration, one must consider that ag econ conditions made it impossible for many to earn even a subsistence living   
 
In the big picture, most people do not migrate voluntarily 
 
 
An example of voluntary migration is when Europeans guest workers migrate to the US & vice versa 
 
  10.  FORCED MIGRATION OCCURS WHEN PEOPLE MIGRATE AGAINST THEIR WILL   
 
Forced migration occurs when people migrate against their will as a result of severe push or pull factors 
 
 
Of the nearly 200 mm people who migrate each yr, most are forced to move 
 
 
In the 17th & 18th centuries, over 10 mm people were forced into slavery as a result of the world slave trade 
 
 
After WW1, 700 K Armenians were deported out of the Ottoman Empire after WW1
 
 
There was a large migration of Jews before, during, after WW2 both to Palestine, to estb Israel & to escape the Nazi holocaust 
 
 
Many people migrate to seek political asylum, i.e. escape political persecution 
 
  The US has accepted people, notably, from Vietnam & SE Asia, & now, the Mid East   
 
In the 1990s in Sudan the civil war, war, genocide & ecocide forced millions of its own citizens into internal & external migration & also accepted .75 mm immigrants from other countries
 
 
The Palestinians have emigrated from their homeland, which is now Israel since 1948 Arab Israeli war, to a variety of Arab & African nations as well as the West Bank & Gaza Strip which are regions of Palestine 
 
  Ecomigration is the mvmt of populations caused by the degradation of land, water, etc.   
  11.  INTERNAL VOLUNTARY MIGRATION OCCURS WHEN PEOPLE MIGRATE W/IN A NATION AS A RESULT OF THEIR OWN DECISION   
 
Rural to urban migration is often cited as an example of internal voluntary migration, & indeed while many people choose the glamour & indl lifestyle of the city, many are forced into urbanization because of specific ag econ policies which drove people off the land 
 
 
A common example of internal voluntary migration is the migration of people from the Eastern seaboard to interior to real their goal of becoming self sufficient farmers
 
 
From the post Civil War era until the 1960s, Blacks migrates out of the rural South to cities in South, North, & West
 
 
After WW 2, middle & upper class people migrated out of the city to the suburban migration
 
 
At the beginning of the post indl era, circa 1980, displaced indl wkrs & others migrated from the rustbelt to the sunbelt   
  12.  INTERNAL FORCED MIGRATION OCCURS WHEN PEOPLE MIGRATE AGAINST THEIR WILL   
  Internal forced migration occurs when people migrate win a nation against their will as a result of severe push or pull factors   
  An example of internal forced migration in the US is the Trail of Tears which occurred when 16,000 Cherokees were forced to march from the Southeast to OK as a result of the Indian removal act of 1830  
  An example of internal forced migration is the forced mvmt of Native American to Reservations  
  An example of internal forced migration in China in the 1960s & 1970s was the relocation of 15 peasants & intelligentsia to rural communes for Maoist re education  

 
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Chart on Historical
The Chart on Historical World Population Growth shows that pop growth was slow until 1000 AD, increased steadily until the indl age, when it 'exploded'

 
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 Outline on  Demography
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DEMOGRAPHY IS THE STUDY OF THE CHARACTERISTICS OF POPULATIONS
 
 
The roots of demography are 'demo' which means "people" & 'graphy' which means "the study of" 
 
  Demography is the systematic study of the size, composition, & distribution of human populations   
 
Demographers are population experts who study such characteristics as age, number, distribution, & sex of people in an area
 
 
Information about a population comes from a census or national sample survey 
 
 
Most nations conduct censuses, usually once every 10 yrs
 
  POPULATION CHARACTERISTICS IMPACT SOCIAL PATTERNS   
  Population characteristics determine the general social patterns of a group of people living w/in a certain geographical area  
 
Demographers also study population change, which is the result of births, deaths, movement of people, & changes in population characteristics
 
  Demographers compile & analyze various statistics, including people's ages, birth & death rates, marriage rates, ethnic backgrounds, & migration patterns  
 
People in govt, business, & other fields use demographic methods to study aspects of a society or econ 
 
 
Businesses want to know such demographics or demographic data, as the age, sex, income level, life style, location, & consumer habits of people in potential mkts for their products
 
 
DEMOGRAPHICS ARE USED FOR POLICY / SOCIAL RESEARCH, BUSINESS RESEARCH, ETC. 
 
  Demography is used by the social sciences, mkting, govt analysis to develop policy, politics, urban planning & more   
  In addition, public health agencies study the number of cases of certain diseases to plan immunization & prevention campaigns  
  Many demographic studies explain the effects of social conditions on the size & composition of a population  
  the total number of deaths in the United States in a given year may be subtracted from the total number of live births to obtain the natural increase of population during that year   
  For example, several studies of the 1900s found a direct correspondence btwn the growth of science, medicine, & industry & a decline in the death rate  
 
Demographics refers to such information as the age, race, sex, education, income, location, & hobbies of a group 
 
 
Magazines may also be grouped by the demographics or psychographics of their readership 
 
 
Rolling Stone appeals to an audience that is mainly male & white, has an average age in the mid 20s, & enjoys rock music 
 
 
Psychographics refers to people's attitudes & personality traits 
 
  Rolling Stone attracts readers who identify w/ young people & who have liberal political or social views   
  Human ecology deals mainly w/ the structure of urban environments & their patterns of settlement & growth  
  Studies in human ecology explain why & how cities & other communities grow & change  
 
Demography is used by the social sciences, mkting, govt analysis to develop policy, politics, urban planning & more 
 
  The Table on Common Examples of Demographic Measures catalogues many social & physical dimensions of the demographic characteristics of populations  
  An analysis comparing demographic qualities can yield both individual & social profiles   
  Common profiles include the ave demog quals of people who commit crime, the ave demog quals of people who commit suicide, the ave demog quals of people who volunteer   
 
VITAL STATISTICS RECORD THE MOST BASIC HUMAN EVENTS SUCH AS BIRTH, MARRIAGE, DEATH, ETC.   
 
Vital statistics are a record of the most basic human events, including birth, marriage, divorce, sickness, & death 
 
  Vital statistics are tabulated at the state & fed levels   
  The national Vital Statistics Division of the National Center for Health Statistics tabulates, analyzes, & publishes national data, & it is an agency of the US Dept of Health & Human Services   
 
Vital statistics indicate some of the changes occurring in the population of a country, state or province, or local community 
 
  Vital stats are gathered from birth & death certificates, marriage licenses & divorce records, disease reports, & other official records   
  Govt officials collect reports of the individual events, tabulate & analyze them, & publish vital statistics reports yearly   
  A crude rate is the number of events happening during a period of time, measured in proportion to the size of the total population   
  The crude birth rate in the US in the early 1990s was about 16 births for every 1,000 people, & the rate was about 10 in Germany, 14 in Canada, & 45 in Nigeria   
  Another kind of rate, called a specific rate, is the number of events in a certain part of the population   
  A part of the population may be defined according to such factors as age, gender, & ethnicity   
  Statisticians often combine info from vital statistics & other sources to come up w/ specific rates, where for example, they may use death certificates, census data, & special sample surveys to determine the specific rate for lung cancer deaths among white female cigarette smokers btwn the ages of 45 & 64   
  In the US, state laws regulate registration of most vital events   
  Physicians or hospital attendants file birth certificates w/ local registrars (official recorders)   
  Physicians or coroners return death certificates to funeral directors, who file them w/ local registrars   
  The local registrars send birth & death certificates to a county or state registrar   
  After a marriage ceremony, the presiding official sends the record certifying the marriage to the license clerk & The licensing office then sends the record to the state registrar   
  Attorneys file divorce records w/ the clerk of the court that grants the divorce, & the court clerk reports the divorce to the state registrar   
  Doctors must report certain diseases to local or state health depts   

 
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The Table on Common Examples of Demographic Measures

Population Level
What are the income levels in the US? the world?
What are the marriage levels?  What age?  income?  rel?
Ave family size?
Who lives in what regions?
What is their education level?
How many in military?
How many own computers?

The Table on Common Examples of Demographic Measures catalogues many social & physical dimensions of the demographic characteristics of populations 


 
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 Outline on  Population Charts
External
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The Table on the Population Clock, 2000 shows the estimated number of people in the world at this moment 
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The Table on the World Population Clock Projection, 2001 shows the estimated number of people in the world at this moment
 
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The Table on the Monthly World Population Figures, 2001 shows that, at current rates of growth, we add about 217,000 people per day, which equals about 6.5 mm people per month, or 78 mm people per yr
 
  The figures for the numbers of people added per day will slowly increase because of 'geometric growth,' i.e. that 6.1 bb people can have more babies than 6.0 bb people   
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The Chart on the World Population from 1950 - 2050 shows that our 6 bb pop today is estimated to grow steadily to 9 bb by 2050
 
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The Chart on Projected Pop in Millions to the Year 2150 shows that most estimates expect world pop to level off at 10 or 12 bb by 2075  
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The Chart on the Annual World Population Change from 1950 - 2050 shows that the rate of pop change is steadily decreasing  
  In the year 2000, we are adding about 78 mm people per yr, but by the yr 2010, it is est that only 70 mm people will be added, & by 2050 only 40 mm   
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The Chart on World Population Growth Rate:  1950-2050 shows that the growth rate of the pop is decreasing  
  The world's pop growth rate has declined from a peak of 2.2 to 1.3 today, & is estimated to decline from there to 0.5 by 2050  
  The decline of the pop growth rate is the cause for the decline in the absolute numbers of people add from a peak of 87 mm people added per mo in 1990 to 78 mm people added per mo in 2000  
  The decline in the growth rate & the decline in absolute growth will ultimately result in, if the trends continue, the stabilization of the the world pop at around 10 -12 bb
 
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The Table on the Number of Years to Add 1 Billion People demonstrates that while it took all of human history to reach 1 bb people, w/ current growth rates it only takes 12 yrs to add 1 bb people
 
  The Table on the Number of Yrs to Add 1 bb People shows the power of geometric growth in that it took all of human history to add the 1st bb people, but it now only takes 11 yrs to add a billion people   
 
-  Supplement:  Top 5 Nations comprise about half of the world's population
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In 2000, 5 nations comprise about half of the world's pop, including China, India, the US, Indonesia, & Brazil
 
 
In 2000, the 5 nations that made up half the world's pop include China w/ 1.25 bb, India w/ 1 bb, the US w/ 273 mm, Indonesia w/ 212 mm, & Brazil w/ 168 mm
 

 
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Table on the Population Clock, 2000 
The population clock shows the estimated number of people in the world at this moment
World POPClock
  www.census.gov/cgi-bin/ipc/popclockw  Link
Note the number on the clock, then hit the "Reload" or "Refresh" button of your browser to see how many people have been added since you started to read this.
The Table on the Population Clock, 2000 shows the estimated number of people in the world at this moment

 
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Census Bureau

Table on World Population Clock Projection, 2001

According to the International Programs Center,    Link
U.S. Bureau of the Census, 
the total population of the World, 
projected to 2/5/01 at 21:04:57 GMT 
(2/5/01 at 4:04:57 PM EST) is

6,126,682,946

The Table on the Population Clock, 2000 shows the estimated number of people in the world at this moment

 
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Table on Monthly World Population Figures
07/01/00 
08/01/00 
09/01/00 
10/01/00 
11/01/00 
12/01/00 
01/01/01 
02/01/01 
03/01/01 
04/01/01 
05/01/01 
06/01/01 
07/01/01 
  6,080,141,683 
  6,086,703,395 
  6,093,265,108
  6,099,615,153 
  6,106,176,866 
  6,112,526,910 
  6,119,088,623 
  6,125,650,336 
   6,131,577,044
  6,138,138,757 
  6,144,488,802 
  6,151,050,515 
  6,157,400,560
Table on the Monthly World Population Figures, 2001 shows that, at current rates of growth, we add about 217,000 people per day, which equals about 6.5 mm people per month, or 78 mm people per yr

 
 
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Chart on
The Chart on World Pop shows that our 6 bb pop today is estimated to grow steadily to 9 bb by 2050

 
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Chart on the Projected Population in Millions to the Year 2150
The Chart on Projected Pop shows that most estimates expect world pop to level off at 10 or 12 bb by 2075

 
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Chart on
The Chart on the Annual World Population Change from 1950 - 2050 shows that the rate of pop change is steadily decreasing

 
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Chart on 
The Chart on World Pop Growth Rate shows that because the rate of growth of pop is declining, the pop level growth will slow

 
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Table on the Number of Years to Add 1 Billion People
The Table on the Number of Yrs to Add 1 bb People demonstrates that while it took all of human history to reach 1 bb people, w/ current growth rates it only takes 12 yrs to add 1 bb people

 
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 Outline on  Population Figures
External Links
 
2000
2010
The percentages of various populations in the year are listed below
 
 
57
60
Asians
 
 
21
11
Europeans
 
 
14
14
North & South America
 
 
8
15
Africans
 
   
1
Oceana  
 
100
100
TOTAL
 
       
 
 
52
52
Female
 
 
48
48
Male
 
       
 
 
70
70
Non Christian
 
 
30
30
Christian
 
       
 
 
89
  Heterosexual
 
 
11
  Homosexual
 
         
 
6
  Possess 59% of the entire world's wealth, all from the US  
 
80
  live in substandard housing  
 
70
  unable to read  
 
50
  suffer from malnutrition  
 
1
  near death  
 
1
  near birth  
 
1
  have a college education  
 
1
  own a computer  
Link
 
  The Table on Area Population Yearly Growth shows that only Europe has stable population & that the lessor developed nations have the highest growth rates 
 

 
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Table on Area Population Yearly Growth, estimated for the yr 2000
World 6,141,537,000 1.4%
Africa    824,767,000 2.5%
Asia 3,747,277,000 1.5%
Australia     19,222,000  0.7%
Europe    707,818,000  -0.1%
North America     480,633,000  0.6%
Pacific Islands (including New Zealand)       14,860,000  1.1%
South America     346,960,000  1.8%

The Table on Area Population Yearly Growth shows that only Europe has stable population & that the lessor developed nations have the highest growth rates 


 
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 Outline on  The Effects of Population Growth 
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POPULATION GROWTH TODAY GENERALLY HAS A GREAT PHYSICAL & SOCIAL IMPACT
 
  While population growth in & of itself may have little effect, in practice because of high population levels, the soc & physical effects are great today   
  Thus it is population growth in a stressed society, or a society w/ a historically high population that has the greatest effect   
  Because the world today has experienced nearly a millennia of rapid pop growth, pop growth today is having major effects   
  THE EFFECTS OF POP GROWTH OCCUR IN A 'CAUSAL CHAIN OF EVENTS'   
 
Ultimately, many human social character are effected by population growth 
 
 
Nearly all social problems are impacted by, & to some extent impact, population growth 
 
  The Chart on the Effects of Pop Growth shows that pop growth & numerous other variables interact, i.e. are mutually reinforcing, to cause conflict & other negative social effects 
 
  Population growth creates increased needs which leads to increased consumption 
 
  The consumption which is created by pop growth depletes resources which causes envl destruction 
 
  Both the depletion of resources & envl destruction lead to scarcity & poverty 
 
  Scarcity & poverty lead to discrimination, including the violation of human rights, etc., migration, & conflict, including war 
 
  A MAJOR EFFECT OF POP GROWTH IS PRESSURE ON FOOD PRODUCTION, & FOOD SHORTAGES / FAMINE 
 
  Many scientists believe disastrous shortages of food & other necessities can be avoided only by halting pop growth
 
  Many scientists, economists, & other experts fear that food production cannot keep pace w/ the pop for long
 
  Many scientists believe the world already is or will soon become overpopulated, that is, it will have more people than it can support at an acceptable standard of living
 
Link
One of the earliest theorists on population was the British economist Thomas Robert Malthus who wrote in the late 1700s   
  Malthus stated that pop tends to increase beyond the limit of the earth's ability to support it
 
  Malthus predicted that famine, war, & other disasters would become common unless people cut the growth rate  
  Many people disputed Malthus' views, & many still oppose his ideas today   
  Opponents of Malthusian theory point out that since Malthus made his gloomy forecast, world pop has grown by more than 4 billion  
  More people are living longer & healthier lives than ever before  
  Many experts believe it is technologically possible to increase world food production by more than 1.7 % yearly & thus to keep ahead of pop growth  
  During the 1960s improved farming methods & new high yield crop varieties helped many poor countries increase their food production by about 25 %  
  This effort to increase food production proved to be so successful that it has been called the Green Revolution  
  Some people believe that the problem is not too many people, as Malthus claimed there were, but too much inequality  
  They think that starvation & poverty could be overcome w/ a more equal distribution of existing resources  
  Many people have more than enough to eat, but many others go hungry 
 
  THE 'CAUSAL CHAIN OF EVENTS' LINKING POPULATION TO SCARCITY 
& SOCIAL PROBLEMS APPEARS INDIRECT, BUT IS DIRECT
 
  The causal chain of pop growth depicts that declining resources cause scarcity & poverty which then cause discrimination, migration & conflict   
  The effects of pop growth may be divided into two categories:  those effects of scarcity & those effects that are reactions to scarcity   
  Scarcity effects include lack of the human basic necessities such as food, clothing, & shelter, & today also includes such needs as education, healthcare, & more   
  The effects of scarcity include many social ills including domestic violence, crime, drug use, & more   

 
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Chart on the Effects of Population Growth Ultimately the effects of population growth include:

The Chart on the Effects of Pop Growth shows that pop growth & numerous other variables interact, i.e. are mutually reinforcing, to cause conflict & other negative social effects


 
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 Outline on  Thomas Robert Malthus 1766  -  1834
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Link
-  Biography & Major Works 
 
  INTRODUCTION   
  Malthus was an English economist   
  Malthus is best known for his Essay on the Principle of Population, 1798   
 
MALTHUS BELIEVED THAT POP GROWTH WOULD OUTPACE FOOD PRODUCTION GROWTH 
 
  Malthus' main idea in the Essay on the Principle of Population is that population tends to increase more rapidly than food supplies   
 
Malthus' theory is that population increases faster than food production, therefore populations, including humans, will regulate themselves or "crash" via starvation 
 
  Malthus argued that populations tend to increase faster than food supplies   
  To date we have increased food production more rapidly   
  Theoretically, there are limits to the planet & so the question arises: 'When will population outgrow the planet?'   
  When he wrote in the early 1800s, Malthus thought we had a half a century until famine would limit population   
  Malthus believed that wars & disease would have to kill off the extra population, unless people limited the number of their children   
  Malthus' theory proposes that at some point, population will regulate itself through the cruel process of famine, war, etc.   
  Malthus' theory believed is was not  moral to regulate fertility rates, but it was moral to let famine & poverty limit population   
 
MALTHUS BROUGHT BOTH ECON PROGRESS & DYSTOPIA UNDER EXAMINATION 
 
 
Malthus contradicted the belief prevailing in the early 19th C, esp  Godwin & Rousseau, that a societies' fertility would lead to economic progress 
 
 
Today this traditional debate continues, do you see storm clouds or rainbows in the future? 
 
 
POPULATION CONTROL & SOCIAL POLICY HAS ALWAYS BEEN LINKED 
 
 
Malthus' theory was often used as an argument against efforts to better condition of the poor 
 
  To reduce births, Malthus recommended that young men & women postpone marriage   
 
Malthus wanted "natural selection"  to reduce the population 
 
 
Under Malthus' vision of natural selection, the strong would survive, the weak would starve, & the population would be limited 
 
 
During Malthus' time, social science was just beginning 
 
 
During Malthus' time, charity outside of religion was developed 
 
 
For Malthus, poverty & distress are unavoidable because pop increases faster than means of subsistence 
 
 
As checks on population growth, Malthus accepted only war, famine, & disease, but later added moral restraint, as well 
 
 
WHILE THERE IS CERTAINLY POP STRESS IN MANY NATIONS, THE 'POP BOMB' HAS NOT GONE OFF, YET 
 
  Malthus' prediction failed to come true in the 1800s   
 
Some social scientists believe that the population explosion a dud 
 
 
Malthus & population explosion theory has not held much currency because population levels have not come up to the levels expected & while thousands of people starve to death each day, global or continental famine has not occurred   
  Improved methods of agriculture provided enough food for most people   
 
The population bomb has not exploded because of the demographic transition, cultural changes, new tech in food production & distribution, inexpensive & readily available birth control, abortion & other causes   
  But rapid population growth in the 1900's, especially in underdeveloped countries, led to renewed interest in Malthus' theories   
  Many conservationists warned that food production could not keep pace w/ population indefinitely   
  The neo Malthusians urged the use of birth control, though Malthus had rejected that solution   
  MALTHUS INFLUENCED DARWIN & MANY ECONOMISTS   
  Malthus' Essay suggested to Charles Darwin the relationship btwn progress & natural selection   
  Natural selection was a basic idea in Darwin's theory of evolution   
  Darwin used 3 principal sources in developing his theory, including: 
a.  his personal observations 
b.  the geological theory of the British scientist Sir Charles Lyell
c.  the population theory of the British economist Thomas Robert Malthus 
 
  Three British economists of the late 1700s & the 1800s wrote particularly influential works   
  Thomas Robert Malthus challenged some of Smith's ideas but developed others further   
  Malthus warned that if populations continued to grow, nations someday would not be able to produce enough to feed all the people   
  David Ricardo produced strong arguments for free trade among nations   
  John Stuart Mill proposed that profits be divided more equally among employers & workers   
  Many people dispute Malthus's views pointing out that since Malthus made his gloomy forecast, world population has grown by more than 4 billion   
  People in the first world are living longer &  healthier lives than ever before, but world wide, we really don't have the historical data to confirm this trend   
  Because we don't know if the non developed world is improving or sliding deeper into poverty, skeptics like post modernists & other w/ anti Western views can rationally deny that 'porgies' is being made  
  It appears in the first world as if Malthus is clearly wrong, but in the rest of the world Malthus appears to be correct   
  Many experts believe it is technologically possible to increase world food production by more than 1.7 % yearly &  thus to keep ahead of population growth   
  During the 1960s, for example, improved farming methods &  new high yield crop varieties helped many poor countries increase their food production by about 25 %  
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The effort to increase food production proved so successful that it has been called the Green Revolution   
  Some people believe that the problem is not too many people, as Malthus claimed there were, but too much inequality   
  Those focused on inequality & stratification as the leading world problem think that starvation &  poverty could be overcome w/ a more equal distribution of existing resources   
  We live in a world of contradiction where many people have more than enough to eat, but many others go hungry   

 
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Thomas Robert Malthus

1766  -  1834
Malthus was a British economist who encouraged the 1st systematic demographic studies. 

Malthus was born on Feb. 17, 1766, near Guildford in Surrey, England.  He decided to be a clergyman, & graduated from Cambridge University.  About 1796, he took a parish in Surrey.  He became a professor of hist & political econ in the college of the East India Company in 1805, & held this post until his death

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Major Works of Thomas Robert Malthus

Malthus' main contribution to economics was his theory, 
published in An Essay on the Principle of Population (1798)


 
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 Outline on the  Food Supply
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  THE WORLD FOOD SUPPLY TODAY IS ADEQUATE, YET MANY PEOPLE GO HUNGRY   
  Food supply is the total amount of food available to all the people in the world
 
  Because no one can live w/o food, &  so the supply of food has always been one of the human race's chief concerns 
 
  The world's food supply varies from year to year because the production of crops & livestock varies 
 
  Some years, terrible losses result from such natural disasters as droughts & floods, or from insect infestations or animal diseases 
 
  The world's population grows every year, & so the worldwide demand for food also constantly increases 
 
  Food shortages & famines occur when the food supply falls short of the amount needed 
 
  The food supply varies not only from year to year but also from country to country 
 
 
Most of the poor, less developed countries of Africa, Asia, & Latin America seldom have enough food for most of their people 
 
 
Millions of people in these countries go hungry 
 
 
During years of famine, millions may die of starvation
 
 
In almost all developed nations, on the other hand, the majority of people have an adequate diet 
 
 
In nearly every nation, some people have more than enough to eat while others live in constant hunger
 
 
DEVELOPED NATIONS HAVE AN ADEQUATE DIET BECAUSE OF THE TEMPERATE CLIMATE, STRONG AG SYSTEMS, MODERN FERTILIZER & FARM MACHINES 
 
 
Almost all the developed nations lie in the world's temperate regions, that is, between the tropics & the polar areas 
 
 
The soil & climate in temperate regions are generally well suited for farming 
 
 
the developed nations have money for agricultural research & so have been able to solve various problems associated w/ ag in temperate regions 
 
 
Most farmers in the developed countries can afford the fertilizers & machines needed to produce large amounts of food 
 
 
The developed countries have enough food because their population grows more slowly than their food supply
 
  UNDEVELOPED NATIONS LIE NEAR OR IN THE TROPICS WHICH ARE NOT WELL SUITED FOR AG, THEY DO NOT HAVE MODERN AG SYSTEMS, FERTILIZER, NOR FARM MACHINES, & SOME LEADERS DO NOT SUPPORT AN ADEQUATE FOOD SUPPLY   
  Unlike the developed countries, most less developed countries lie in or near the tropics  
  The soil & climate in these regions are generally not so well suited to large scale food production as they are in temperate regions  
  The poorer nations do not have much money for research  
  The poorer nations have made relatively little progress in solving the problems of tropical agriculture  
   Farmers in the less developed countries cannot afford to buy the fertilizers & other materials they need to produce more food  
  The less developed countries have too little food chiefly because their population grows nearly as fast as, or faster than, their food supply  
  The governments of some of these countries may not support the idea that food ought to be widely available at a reasonable cost to al  
  THE EXPANSION OF THE FOOD SUPPLY IS "IN A RACE" W/ THE EXPANSION OF THE POPULATION, W/ FOOD SUPPLY, SO FAR, STAYING AHEAD   
  The world's population is increasing about 1.7 percent a year.  Food production must grow at about the same rate to feed the increasing number of people  
  Many experts believe food production will fail to keep up w/ population growth unless the birth rate falls sharply  
  The theory that the growth of the food supply could not keep up w/ the growth of the population was first developed in detail by the British economist Thomas Robert Malthus in the late 1700s   
  World food production is increasing at a rate slightly higher than world population growth   
  Food production in Europe &  many parts of Asia has increased faster than population growth, but in other regions, including Africa, population growth continues to increase at a faster rate than food production   
  In the past, population growth was controlled mainly by a high death rate   
  But since the early 1900s, improved living standards &  medical advances have reduced the death rate in the majority of countries   
  Today, most people who agree w/ Malthus consider family planning to be the only practical method of reducing population growth   
  The world's food supply consists mainly of food produced during the current year  
  The food supply also includes reserves, also called stocks, left over from previous years  
  Food reserves are necessary to help prevent shortages after poor farming years   
  To build up reserves, the countries of the world overall must produce more food in a year than they consume  
  Few countries produce a surplus except for the US produces by far the largest surplus, & Argentina, Australia, Canada, & New Zealand also regularly produce a food surplus   
  Most countries produce either just enough food to meet their needs or not enough   
  If a country fails to produce enough food, it must import additional supplies or face a shortage   
  Most developed countries that do not produce sufficient food can afford to import the extra supplies they need & the UK & Japan are examples of such countries  
  less developed countries cannot afford to import all the food they need  
  Since the early 1950s, world food production has doubled, but so has the demand & as a result, many countries rely on food imports, chiefly from the US  
  MODERN AG TECHNIQUES ARE MORE HARMFUL TO THE ENV THAN TRADITIONAL TECHNIQUES   
  Increased use of agricultural resources can help farmers produce more food  
  Modern farming techniques can also cause environmental problems  
  Increased use of nitrogen fertilizers sometimes creates a build up of nitrogen compounds in the soil & rain water eventually washes these compounds into rivers & streams, where they contribute to water pollution   
   AG PRODUCTION DEPENDS ON LAND, WATER (RAIN & IRRIGATION), CLIMATE, ENERGY, TECHNIQUES, DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS, FERTILIZER, EQUIPMENT, & MORE   
  The amount of food a nation produces depends partly on its ag resources, such as land & water & no country has an unlimited supply of these resources   
  The worldwide food supply is thus affected by (1) limited agricultural resources & (2) the ever increasing demand for food.  The food supply within countries is also affected by problems of distribution   
  Farming requires various resources, especially land, water, energy, & fertilizer   
  Most of the world's good cropland is already in use, & most of the unused land lies in remote areas, far from markets & transportation   
  All crops require water to grow, but rainfall is distributed unevenly over the earth's surface & so some farmers can depend on rainfall for all the water they need.  Other farmers must use irrigation water, if it is available, because the rainfall is too light or uncertain   
  But the supply of irrigation water is limited, & farmers in some countries use nearly all the available supply   
  Many farmers depend heavily on energy resources, particularly petroleum fuels, to operate tractors, irrigation pumps, & other equipment   
  They use fertilizers, especially nitrogen fertilizers, to enrich the soil, which at present, is mostly made from natural gas, but supplies of petroleum & natural gas are limited   
  farms will someday need other sources for energy & nitrogen fertilizers   
  Meanwhile, the energy needs of farmers have greatly increased   
  Since 1950, the amount of energy used to produce a ton of grain has more than doubled   
  In some countries, the energy used to produce fertilizer exceeds that used to operate tractors   
  In every country, the generally rising prices for energy & fertilizer add to the cost of food   
  THE GREEN REVOLUTION IMPROVED IRRIGATION, ENERGY, FERTILIZER, & GRAIN & LIVESTOCK VARIETIES   
  As part of what has come to be known as the green revolution, farmers have used two main methods of making their land more productive, including:  (1) increasing their use of irrigation, energy, & fertilizer, & (2) improving varieties of grains & livestock, which produce higher crop & & larger amounts of livestock products   
  Farmers in developed countries have used both the methods of the Green Rev for many years   
  In the 1960s, farmers in some developing countries also adopted both methods to increase their production of wheat & rice   
  The development of high yield varieties of rice & wheat made the Green Rev possible, but the revolution also required greater use of irrigation water, energy, & fertilizer   
  Many farmers got the water from wells & installed electric or diesel powered pumps to bring the water to the surface   
  To get the highest yields, farmers had to enrich their soil w/ fertilizers   
  During the 1960's, these methods helped such countries as India & Mexico double their wheat production   
  The Green Revolution can continue to make farmland more productive by for example, if farmers in the tropics have enough water, fertilizer, & other essential resources, they can grow two or three crops a year on the same land, instead of one crop   
  The Green Revs ability to increase the food supply is limited & many farmers in less developed countries cannot afford the additional resources that the Green Revolution requires  
  The greater use of these resources makes land more productive only up to a point  
  Most farmers in the US, for example, use 7 to 10 times as much fertilizer on each unit of land as do most farmers in less developed countries, but US grain yields are only about twice as large as those in less developed countries  
 
AG CORPS HAVE BOTH HELPED & HINDERED THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE FOOD SUPPLY, ESP IN DEVELOPING NATIONS 
 
  Generally ag corps such as Archer Daniels Midland, Cargil, & others are known to develop tech & techniques that favor large, mechanized, energy, fertilizer, & herbicide centered farming practices   
  Large ag corps do not generally pursue tech & techniques useful to small farmers or less developed ag systems   
  Large ag corps & large farmers generally absorb / buy out small farmers that use tradl or less mechanized ag methods   

 
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 Outline on  Agricultural Societies
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  Agriculture is the science, art & business directed at the cultivation of crops & raising livestock for sustenance & profit
 
  Agriculture established a 2 way relationship btwn people & the environment, which did not exist as strongly in pre agricultural society
 
  For ag to be successful, while people take from the env, they must also give back to it & nurture it  
  How does ag change the env?
No peeking!
 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Ag affect the env by the:
-  removal of natural cover
-  drying up wetlands
-  fencing in areas
-  planting a mono-culture, limiting ecological diversity
-  domination of domestic specie
-  use of pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, & genetic engineering
-  etc.

 
  See Also:  Ag & the Env  
  Env  
  There has been a dramatic decrease in the number of people in ag & food prod
 
  In the 1700s approximately 5 % of the pop lived in urban areas, & approximated 95 % of the pop lived in ag / rural area, & most were farmers  
  In the 2000s approximately 95 % of the pop lives in urban areas, & approximated 5 % of the pop lives in ag / rural area, & not even all of these are farmers  
  Ag has developed into global a economic system & has become more directly linked to other economic sectors, especially manufacturing & finance
 
  When ag first developed, farmers were chastised & derided, attacked & exploited by hunter gatherers & warlords & their clans
 
  The attacks on farmers continues up to modern times & is reflected in US lore about the Old West
 
  Today the ag lifestyle is romanticized & is seen as a vital component of Am values such as the belief that farmers
 
  - adapt harmoniously to the natural world
 
  - naturally sustain community & kin
 
  - embody all other important values:  religion, fairness, common sense, etc.
 
  Agrarian systems shape the:
- culture of the agricultural community
- kind of cultivation practices are utilized
- type of tenure (land holding system) that determines who has access to land
 
  The evolution of all economic systems began w/ the transition from hunter gatherer society to agricultural society
 
  Both of horticulture & pastoralism have developed into non nomadic, non subsistence, i.e. surplus producing forms of ag  
  See Also:  Subsistence Agriculture  
  See Also:  The FOUR Agricultural Revolutions  
  Shifting cultivation or horticulture is a system of agricultural rotation, allowing some areas to replenish each season
 
  Horticulture often uses slash & burn techniques, hand tools, & locations must be changed as the soil is depleted  
  Pastoralism is subsistence agriculture which focuses on breeding & herding animals for food, shelter, clothing
 
  AG REVOLUTIONS OCCUR WHEN NEW TECHNIQUES INCREASE PRODUCTIVITY, ALLOWING SOCIETY TO FLOURISH   
  Pastoral societies run small herds, moving from place to place w/ the seasons, & to find fresh forage
 
  True ag, called intensive ag, developed from horticulture & pastoralism, is practiced in permanent locations, uses more sophisticated tools, & if permanent or successful establishes a mutually beneficial relationship w/ the env
 
  Intensive, permanent ag began about 8,000 BC
 
  The plow, as pulled by draft animals was developed circa 4,000 BC  
 
The plow & other technology allowed for the first production of a surplus of food & goods  
  The ag production of surplus allowed people to perform other tasks such as building village, towns, cities, city states, & small empires  
  The emergence of ag thus allowed for the transition from primary economic relationships to secondary & even some tertiary economic relationships  
  See Also:  The Sectors of the Economy
 
  In ag society, the secondary sector of the economy included the construction of palaces, public buildings, temples, & religious monuments such as the pyramids  
  The production of a surplus also created the first inequality, economic stratification, poverty & wealth as individual characteristics  
  Before ag, poverty & wealth had been social, i.e. tribal qualities in that in H-G society everyone benefited or suffered together  
  In ag society, the means of production is land, & those who own the land obtain most of the wealth  
  Another major transition in ag society is the ability to transfer labor; i.e., labor may be bought & sold, captured & enslaved, & concentrated by thousands of laborers under one man  
  Historically speaking, the concentration of land & labor occurred relatively rapidly, falling under the control of monarchs, patriarchs & other forms of domination  
  The concentration of land & labor in ag systems peaked under the feudal or estate systems in the Middle Ages, but continues to the present in many second & third world countries  
  Estate ag systems still exist in Asia, Africa, Latin America  
  The US southern plantation system was a form of the estate ag system   
  The development of war paralleled the development of ag   
  The development of ag & war systems created empires such as the Roman & Chinese empires   
  See Next:  A Socio Historic Overview:  The Early Empire Era, the Roman Era, etc.   
 
There are THREE types of subsistence agriculture including: 
 
 
Origins of subsistence ag in H G Society 
 
  Early subsistence ag in Pre Empire Society   
 
a.  Shifting cultivation or horticulture is a system of agricultural rotation, allowing some areas to replenish each season   
 
b.  Intensive agriculture is the agricultural system where small parcels of land are intensively used through intensive use of labor & fertilizer   
 
c.  Pastoralism is subsistence agriculture which focuses on breeding & herding animals for food, shelter, clothing   
  The FOUR agricultural revolutions include:   
  a.  Beginnings & spread:           pre 10K bc to 20th C   
  b.  Subsistence to market   
  c.  Industrialization   
  d.  Globalization   

 
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 Outline on Three Types of Subsistence Agriculture
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  THE THREE TYPES OF SUBSISTENCE AG RECOGNIZED TODAY INCLUDE SHIFTING CULTIVATION, INTENSIVE SUBSISTENCE, & PASTORALISM  
  Subsistence agriculture is an ag system in which people consume all they produce   
  In subsistence ag, people farm for direct consumption by the producers, not for sale   
  The origins of subsistence agriculture are in hunter gatherer society 
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  Early subsistence ag still existed in pre empire society & later 
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  Subsistence agriculture still exists in very limited quantities in the Post Industrial Age   
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The Figure:  Global Distribution of Agriculture, 2005, shows that there are dramatic differences in ag practices among the core, semi periphery, & periphery w/ respect to commercial vs. subsistence ag   
  The periphery, though it does contain commercial ag, is largely dominated by forms of subsistence, while the core nations contain virtually no subsistence ag   
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The Figure:  Global Distribution of Subsistence Agriculture, 1980, shows that subsistence ag is still practiced on all continents though Asia contains the greatest proportion 
 
  Subsistence ag is is mostly absent from the US, Japan, & Canada but continues to occur in parts of southern & eastern Europe   

 
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The Figure:  Global Distribution of Agriculture, 2005, shows that there are dramatic differences in ag practices among the core, semi periphery, & periphery w/ respect to commercial vs. subsistence ag 

 
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The Figure:  Global Distribution of Subsistence Agriculture, 1980, shows that subsistence ag is still practiced on all continents though Asia contains the greatest proportion 

 
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 Outline on  Shifting Cultivation:  Subsistence Agriculture, aka Horticulture
External 
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  SHIFTING CULTIVATION, OR HORTICULTURE, IS A SYSTEM OF CROP ROTATION, ALLOWING SOME AREAS TO REPLENISH EACH SEASON 
 
  Shifting cultivation is an ag system in which plots of land are cultivated temporarily, then abandoned   
  This system often involves clearing of a piece of land followed by several years of wood harvesting or farming, until the soil loses fertility   
  Once the land becomes inadequate for crop production, it is left to be reclaimed by natural vegetation, or sometimes converted to a different long term cyclical farming practice called crop rotation   
  The ecological consequences are often deleterious, but can be partially mitigated if new forests are not invaded   
  Many shifting cultivation farmers use a practice of slash & burn as one element of their farming cycle   
  Other shifting cultivation farmers employ land clearing w/o any burning, & some cultivators are purely migratory & do not use any cyclical method on a given plot   
  Sometimes no slashing at all is needed where regrowth is purely of grasses, an outcome not uncommon when soils are near exhaustion & need to lie fallow   
  Shifting cultivation / slash & burning eventually served as the precursor to crop rotation   
  Shifting cultivation, today, is almost always practiced in tropical forests, sometimes used in temperate & semi arid regions 
 
  In the past, it was practiced intensely in all areas, but today is supplanted by industrial ag  
  This method requires less energy than modern farming & can only support a low population   
  THE TWO TYPES OF SHIFTING CULTIVATION ARE FIELD ROTATION & CROP ROTATION  
  Field rotation is the method of shifting cultivation where some fields are allowed to remain fallow each season in order to allow them to replenish   
  Crop rotation is the method of shifting cultivation where crops are changed each season or so in order to allow them to replenish   
  All fields remain in production, but different crops have  positive & negative effects & so do not over accumulate in a field   
  Large grains such as corn & soybeans are generally harder on the soil   
  Small grains such as wheat, oats, barley generally replenish soil   
  Soybeans will add nitrogen to ground   
  Alfalfa loosens up soil, adds nutrients & mulch   
  SHIFTING CULTIVATION LAND TENURE USUALLY OPERATES SO THAT PEOPLE HOLD LAND IN COMMON   
  Decisions about land use under the land tenure system are made through a ruling council   
  Under shifting cultivation land tenure, sites are distributed among village families   
  As sites become congested, families split off to establish a new village   

 
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 Outline on  Intensive Agriculture: Subsistence Agriculture
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  INTENSIVE AGRICULTURE IS THE AG SYSTEM WHERE SMALL PARCELS OF LAND ARE  INTENSIVELY USED THROUGH INTENSIVE USE OF LABOR & FERTILIZER   
  Intensive agriculture is able to support large rural populations   
  Intensive agriculture occurs in areas w/ largest populations:  Asia:  India, China, SE Asia   
  Methods of intensive agriculture include double cropping, & where possible, fields planted year after year w/ use of fertilizer   
  In practice many relatively small scale farmers employ some combination of intensive &  extensive agriculture, &  many of these operate relatively close to markets   
  Intensive agriculture is labor intensive utilizing humans & beasts of burden   
  Intensive agriculture may use terracing   
  Intensive agriculture may use non mechanized irrigation   
  LAND TENURE IS PRIVATE, ALONG PATRIARCHAL LINES, IE FATHER TO SON  
  Land tenure in intensive agriculture limits the size of plots, which has more to do w/ population than geography   
  Land is passed down from generation to generation, usually fathers to sons   
  As families grows, each generation receives a smaller share   
  Crop types in intensive ag include rice, which is a major crop in Asia:  China, SE Asia, Bangladesh, India  
  In drier, colder climates wheat, barley, millet, sorghum, corn, oats are the crops of choice for intensive ag  
  PADDY FIELD PRODUCTION IS AN EARLY FORM OF SUBSISTENCE INTENSIVE FARMING THAT IS STILL WIDELY USED TODAY   
  A paddy field is a flooded parcel of arable land used for growing rice & other semi aquatic crops   
  Paddy fields are a typical feature of rice growing countries of east & SE Asia including Malaysia, China, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Taiwan, Indonesia, India, & the Philippines   
  Paddies are also found in other rice growing regions such as Italy, France & Haiti  
  Paddies can occur naturally along rivers or marshes, or can be constructed, even on hillsides, often w/ much labor & materials   
  Paddies require large quantities of water for irrigation, which can be quite complex for a highly developed system of paddy fields   
  Flooding provides water essential to the growth of the crop & also gives an environment favorable to the strain of rice being grown, & is hostile to many species of weeds   
  As the only draft animal species which is adapted for life in wetlands, the water buffalo is in widespread use in Asian rice paddies   
  Paddy based rice farming has been practiced Korea since ancient times   
  A pit house at the Daecheon site yielded carbonized rice grains & radiocarbon dates indicating that rice cultivation may have begun as early as the Middle Jeulmun Pottery Period (c. 3500-2000 BC) in the Korean Peninsula (Crawford & Lee 2003)   
  The earliest rice cultivation in the Korean Peninsula may have used dry fields instead of paddies   
  TERRACE SUBSISTENCE INTENSIVE FARMING IS STILL WIDELY USED TODAY BECAUSE IT BRINGS MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN INTO PRODUCTION, BUT IS NOT EASILY CONVERTED TO MODERN TECHNIQUES  
  A terrace is a leveled section of a hilly cultivated area, designed as a method of soil conservation to slow or prevent the rapid surface runoff of irrigation water   
  Often such land is formed into multiple terraces, giving a stepped appearance   
  The human landscapes of rice cultivation in terraces that follow the natural contours of the escarpments like contour ploughing is a classic feature of the island of Bali & the Banaue Rice Terraces in Benguet, Philippines   
  In Peru, the Inca made use of otherwise unusable slopes by drystone walling to create terraces   

 
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 Outline on Pastoralism:  Subsistence Agriculture
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  PASTORALISM IS SUBSISTENCE AG WHICH FOCUSES ON BREEDING & HERDING ANIMALS FOR FOOD, SHELTER, CLOTHING, MEDICINE, ETC.
 
  Pastoralism can be sedentary ( permanent location ) or nomadic 
 
  Pastoralism may be subsistence or commercial 
 
  Nomadism is pastoralism where there is continuous movements of groups of herders, families, & herds 
 
  Transhumance is pastoralism where there is movement of people w/ the seasons to warmer, lowlands in winter & to cooler, highland in summer 
 
  Pastoralism can combine w/ other forms of economic systems 
 
  Pastoral farmers may barter w/ farmers for grain & other commodities   
  PASTORALISM SOMETIMES LIMITS THE SOCIAL FREEDOMS OF GROUPS W/IN THE CULTURE; & HAS A STRICTLY CODIFIED DIV OF LABOR  
  Women & children may split off from the group & plant crops at fixed locations in spring, & then rejoin group after planting, & then return to harvest   
  Pastoralism is part of the ag system where families are governed by a leader or chief 
 
  Often, groups of families are divided into groups that follow different routes w/ the herds   
  THE FORCES OF GLOBALIZATION ARE DISPLACING / ELIMINATING PASTORALISM & ALL FORMS OF TRADL LIFESTYLES   
  Pastoralism is on the decline as more of these people are integrated into global economy   
  Pastoralists are being forced off the land by competition from other users   
  Pastoralists are the most predominant form of subsistence ag today, meaning that under the forces of globalization, they survive better than shifting cultivation or intensive subsistence  

 
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Outline on  Hunter Gatherer Societies
circa 1.5 mm BP - 10 K BC
External
Links
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-  Video:  Hunter Gatherer Society 
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-  Project:  What knowledge is needed to develop from a H-G society to an Ag society? 
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-  Video:  The Rise of Man & Hunting       6:29 
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-  Project:  Video:  The Rise of Man & Hunting 
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  -  Project:  What Was HG Society Like & How Does It Relate to Life Today? 
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  Review: A socio historical overview demonstrates that humanity has experienced distinct stages & milestones in its development
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The Chart on the Characteristics of the Hunter Gatherer Stratification System shows that compared to other systems, the hunter gatherer (H-G) society has the highest level of equality  
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The Table Summarizing a Socio Historical Overview shows that H-G society began 1.5 mya & ended 10 K BC  
 
Early humans evolved into our modern form and Neanderthal & other human lines died out  
 
The Hunter - Gatherer era is made up of the Old Stone Age & the Middle Stone Age  
 
Old Stone Age                   c. 2 - 4 mya - 50 K BC  
 
Middle Stone Age              c. 30 K - 10 K BC  
 
New or Early Stone Age    c. 9 K   -  7 K BC   aka Proto Neolithic  ( is in the pre Empire Era )  
  Modern humans developed from a variety of human lines:  
  - 1.5 mm BP  H Erectus emerges from Africa  
  - Around 500,000 yrs. ago Homo Erectus evolves into Java man & Peking man, then Neanderthals & Cromagnons   
  Homo Erectus, Java man, Peking man, Neanderthals, Cromagnons, et al all lived in what we would recognize as H-G society  
  - Around 200,000 yrs. ago Homo Sapiens evolved  
  The early non modern human lines cook, wear clothes, use tools, live in huts, make fire & have the earliest tribal society   
  There were many types of hunter gatherer societies, & this analysis is done in broad generalities  
  For most of the H-G era, humans existed in thousands of thousands of mostly isolated tribes w/ a tremendous, astounding variety  
  At end of H-G period, circa 10K BC, there were less than 100 mm people on Earth  
  As the name implies, people in H-G Society lived by hunting, done mostly by males, & gathering, done mostly by females  
       See Also:  Gender in the H-G Era  
  During the H-G Era, people lived on what they could obtain directly from the environment w/ hand made tools such as spears, scrapers, etc.  
  Early in the H-G Era, people lived in isolated tribal societies of about 50 or fewer people, and toward the end of the era, up to 300 people of networked tribes  
  Toward the end of the H-G era, tribes might be made of several hundred people  
  Tribes were small because w/ the early tool technology, a given area could only support a small tribe  
  Because a given area would only support a tribe for a short period of time, hunter gatherers are often nomadic  
  In the H-G era, people lived at or near the subsistence level w/ no surplus created for hard times  
  Thus, every person carried their own weight & the weak had to be let go  
  During the H-G era, life was hard, as Hobbes said, life was 'nasty, brutish, & short' & yet people did not spend all their time working  
  During the H-G era, it is estimated that people, in general, worked less than 30 hrs. a week, & spent the remainder of the time doing housework, in leisure, in ritual celebrations, socializing, etc.   
  During the H-G era, it is estimated that people, in general, spent 21 hrs. a week doing housework while in industrial society, people spend 60 hrs. a week doing housework  
  During the H-G era, because there was no surplus, there was no patriarchy & no racism  
  It is important to note that 99 % of human existence has been in H-G society, thus in many respects it is all form of modern human existence that is "abnormal"
 
  Thus, recognizable, modern humans lived in H-G society for approximately 1.5 mm yrs  
  By 13,000 yrs ago (11,000 BC), the earliest villages developed  
  City states follow about 7,000 yrs after the development of the earliest villages (3,000 BC)  
  Humans have lived in ancient society (city & nation states) for approximately 5,000 yrs    (only .5% of HG society)  
  Humans have lived in modern industrial society for approximately 700 yrs    (only .07% of HG society)  
  Thus sociologists see ancient & modern societies as big experiments which have not yet proven their resilience  
  Agriculture has its roots in H-G society, but it was only toward the end that limited agricultural practices were discovered & utilized
 
  Early in the H-G Era, Homo Erectus lived only by hunting & gathering  
  Later in the H-G Era, Homo Sapiens, who emerged approximately 1/2 mm yrs ago, began to understand basic concepts such as:
- the Male role in procreation
- seasonal cycles
- fertility cycles in humans & animals
- the role of seeds
- the methods for domestication of animals
 
  And toward the end of the H-G era, the understanding of procreation, the seasons & so on, allowed for the limited sewing of crops & the domestication of animals  
  It was toward the end of the H-G era, that limited agricultural techniques were perfected & put into practice  
  The first domesticated plant was wheat, & the first domesticated animal was either the dog or the goat  
 
Agricultural practices did not become widespread until the next era: the pre empire era 10 K BC to 3 K BC   
 
Many analysts believe it is agriculture itself that allowed for the development of civilization
      See    The FOUR Ag revolutions 
      See    The 1st ag revolution:  The Beginnings & Spread of Agriculture 
 
A classic debate btwn Hobbes & Rousseau concerns whether in H-G society life is 'nasty, brutish, & short' or 'the idealic village'
 
  See Also:  Hobbes  
  See Also:  Rousseau  
 
The Hobbes - Rousseau debate is essentially about 'What was the nature of prehistoric woman & man?' 'What was the nature of prehistoric society?'
 
  Observers continue to ask today, "Who is more accurate in depicting the H-G Era, Hobbes or Rousseau?" because the H-G life has many noble & wonderful qualities that keep people in touch w/ the Earth & other people, but it is a difficult life  
 
There was a high level of cooperation w/in tribes 
 
  "Work" in H-G society was hunting & gathering & you shared all your production  
  There were no markets & there was minimal trading among tribes  
  In viewing H-G society as more cooperative, Rousseau was more accurate than Hobbes
 
  Hunting & gathering had to be cooperative in order to function
 
  Because of limited specialization & isolation from other societies, H-G societies had high levels of consensus  
  Ownership was communal because subsistence level production meant that everything had to be shared  
  In H-G society, people have more free time than do modern, industrial people  
  People spend their free time relaxing, & partying in communal festival & rituals   
  Conflict btwn tribes was limited due to isolation & due to the fact that there was little to gain because all production was at the subsistence level, yielding no surplus to be gained through conquest
 
  Conflict was limited to struggles over turf & women
 
  Primitive weapons disallowed dominance by one or a few
 
  All types of relationships, economic, familial, etc. were essentially egalitarian in the H-G Era
 
  Egalitarian relationships were upset / abandoned w/ the development of agriculture, causing for the first time, class conflict
 
  Gender differentiation existed in H-G society, but there was total equality  
  In H-G society, racial differentiation was recognized only in the context of tribal ("nationalistic") differentiation & therefore was not a basis for inequality/discrimination   
  HEARTH AREAS ARE THE 'CRADLES OF CIVILIZATION  
  The transition from H-G to Pre Empire Era (aka "civilization") occurred in different "hearth areas" at different times
 
  During the Proto Neolithic or Early Stone Age:, circa 9000 to 7000 BC, the transition to an agricultural econ begins in the mid east & other hearth areas
 
  Hearth areas are settings where new practices developed, & then spread to other areas
 
  ( Hearth areas may be thought of as "proto cores" visa vie World Systems Theory )
 
  There are SIX major hearth areas which were found in Africa, the mid east, the Indian subcontinent, south Asia, China, & the America
 
  1. Africa:  In Africa, hearth areas of civilization developed along the Nile River & south, & along Mediterranean on the African north coast  
  2. Middle East:  In the mid east, in what is now called the Fertile Crescent:  hearth areas of civilization developed in Iran & Iraq, Jordan & Israel, Turkey  
  3. Indian Subcontinent:  In the Indian subcontinent, a hearth areas of civilization developed along the Indus & Ganges Rivers  
  4. South Asia:  In So Asia, hearth areas of civilization developed in Assam, Bangladesh, Burma, & India  
  5. China:  In China, hearth areas of civilization developed along the coast & major rivers, esp the Huang & Yangtze Rivers River  
  6. Americas:  In the Americas, hearth areas of civilization developed in Central Am & in So America in the Andes Mtns  
  From a historical perspective, the hearth areas developed relatively simultaneously  
  Agricultural practices were first developed in the major hearth areas
 
  Hunter gatherer, nomadic societies still exist on every continent today, but the numbers of such societies are dwindling rapidly
 
  Modern H-G societies exist today  in thinly populated, remote tropical areas, some arctic regions, some desert areas, & some plains areas  
  The next historic stage is Pre Empire Era    10 K BC  to 3 K BC
- New Stone Age continues
- "Civilization" & history begin
- 1st widespread ag develops
- 1st permanent villages develop
 

 
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Table Summarizing a Socio Historical Overview
PW
Historic Period
Approximate Time Period
1.  Geologic Era   5 bb  BP -  5  mm BP
2.  Pre Human Evolution   5 mm BP - 1.5 mm BP
3.  Hunter Gatherer Society   1.5 mm BP - 10 K BC
4.  Pre Empire Civilization   10 K BC - 3 K BC
5.  Early Empires Era   3 K BC - 200 BC
6.  Roman Era   200 BC - 500 AD
7.  Middle Ages   500 - 1300
8.  Early Industrial Age  1300 - 1700
9.  Industrial Age 1700 - present
10. Global Capitalism 1910 - present
11. Post-Industrial Society 1970 - present

 
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Chart on the Characteristics of the Hunter -Gatherer Stratification System
PW
Type of
System
Ranks
(Mobility)
Method of 
Placement
Legitimization
(ideology)
Basis of 
Ranking
Level of
Equality
Primitive 
( Hunter Gatherer)
open achievement tradition status highest equality

 
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Chart on the Characteristics of the Types of the Stratification Systems
PW
Type of
System
Ranks
(Mobility)
Method of 
Placement
Legitimization
(ideology)
Basis of 
Ranking
Level of
Equality
Primitive 
( Hunter Gatherer)
open achievement tradition status highest equality
Slavery generally closed ascription legal/racism economic (class) hi inequality
Caste closed ascription religion status hi inequality
Feudal generally closed generally ascription legal/religious economic highest inequality
Class open mostly achievement legal economic/
bureaucratic (power)
low to medium
Post-industrial open mostly achievement legal economic/
bureaucratic (power)
low to high

 
Internal
Links

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Outline on the  Pre Empire Era   10K BC  -  3K BC
External
Links
  -  Video:  The Rise of Man:  Sapiens & the Beginning of Agriculture      3:52
Link
  The Pre Empire Era runs from approximately 10 K BC to 3 K BC  
  During the Pre Empire Era FOUR milestones were crossed for humanity which included
   a. the 1st development of agriculture
   b. agriculture becomes widespread
   c. the beginning of "civilization" 
   d. the 1st permanent villages
 
  The Pre Empire Era includes what is commonly known as the New or Early Stone Age    c. 9 K   -  7 K BC     aka the Proto Neolithic Era   
Link
The Chart on the Characteristics of the Pre Empire Stratification System shows that the pre empire era had a high level of inequality  
  During the Pre Empire Era, inequality/stratification begins as humanity develops the capacity to produce a surplus  
Link
The transition from H-G society to pre empire "civilization" is characterized by the scattered development of ag of the late H-G Era to where Pre Empire Society had widespread agriculture  
  Pre Empire Society was based on agriculture  
  With the transition to agriculture, we see "mini systems" develop in the hearth areas  
  Mini systems develop w/ FIVE common traits
a.  a single cultural base
b.  a single social economy
c.  are essentially self sufficient
d.  much trade w/in their system
e.  even some trade outside their system, i.e. w/ neighboring mini systems
 
  Hearth areas are settings where new practices develop, & then spread to other areas  
  In terms of the World Systems Theory, hearth areas may be thought of as "proto cores" areas  
Link
There are SIX major hearth areas
1. Africa:  Nile River & south, & along Mediterranean on the African north coast
2. Middle East:  Fertile Crescent:  Iran & Iraq, Jordan & Israel, Turkey
3. Indian Subcontinent:  Indus & Ganges Rivers
4. South Asia:  Assam, Bangladesh, Burma, India
5. China:  along the coast & major rivers:  Huang & Yangtze Rivers River
6. Americas:  Central & So America (Andes Mtns)
 
  From a historical perspective, the major hearth areas developed relatively simultaneously  
  The rudiments of civilization developed in all the hearth areas w/in a few thousand years, & following that, fundamental advancements in civilization (i.e. the dev of irrigation, techniques of ag, construction, engineering, smelting, etc.) occurred relatively simultaneously in a historical sense, but over relatively long periods from a human perspective  
Link
Agriculture in the Pre Empire Era was based on widespread domestication of plants & animals  
  Agriculture has gone through FOUR "revolutions" or major stages  
  The first agricultural revolution occurs as societies domesticated plants & animals  
  Marx holds that during the pre empire era, the "exploitation of man by man" first developed  
  During the pre empire era, the "exploitation of the Earth by man" first developed   
  While environmental degradation & species extinctions at the hands of hunters had begun in H-G Era, the hearth areas sometimes experienced environmental collapse as a result of ag practices  
  The replacement of a hunting & gathering form of economy w/ an agricultural economy resulted in people being able to produce surpluses  
  In H-G Society, no surplus was produced, therefore no one could exploit another by taking their surplus  
  The fact that a person could produce more than they could consume allowed others to "exploit" them, i.e. take their surplus or "enslave" them, i.e. make them create a surplus for another  
  During the Pre Empire Era, people gain wealth by creating it themselves or taking it from others  
  Thus as humanities' ability to create a surplus appeared, so too did  the ability to exploit, enslave, etc. another, heralding the end of relative equality in human relations  
Link
The first non production wkrs emerge in the form of priests, soldiers, artisans, etc.   
  But the social relationships surrounding any form of exploitation are different in each era
blank
  During the Pre Empire Era, patriarchal gender relations first developed  
  See also:  Morgan:  The Origin of Patriarchy  
  See also:  Marx & Engels: Origin of the Family, Private Property & the State,  "The Historic Defeat of Women"  
  During the pre empire era, slavery first developed but was not based on race as it is in the modern era  
  The next era is the Early Empire Era which runs 3 K BC to 200 BC  

 
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Chart on the Characteristics of the Pre Empire Stratification System
PW
Type of 
System
Ranks
(Mobility)
Method of 
Placement
Legitimization
(ideology)
Basis of 
Ranking
Level of
Equality
Slavery generally closed ascription legal/racism economic (class) hi inequality

 
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"Civilization" emerges:  (13,000 BP) 
Increase in population & last ice age forced change
15,000 BP ag develops
Development of animal husbandry & ag allowed villages to emerge
World population /\ from 10 to 300 mm
Uruk:  first known city:  S. Mesopotamia:  5,500 BP:  20,000 people; slavery, armies, administration
By 5,000 BP ag, irrigation established, digging stick -> plow
5,500 BP writing develops
From Marx & Engels on the Origin of the Family, Private Property, & the State

 
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Agriculture in the Pre Empire Era was based on widespread domestication of plants & animals

In later H-G society, home sapiens (1/2 mm yrs ago), began to understand basic agriculture concepts 
In P-E society, such agriculture knowledge was well known,
   & more deeply understood
  - Male role in procreation
  - Seasonal cycles (develop early calendars)
  - Fertility cycles in humans & animals
  - Role of seeds
  - Methods for domestication of animals

Widespread agriculture of domesticated plants:  wheat, rice, etc.
Widespread husbandry of domesticated animals:  cattle, etc.
Agriculture has gone through many "revolutions" or major stages 
Link
The First Agricultural Revolution occurs as societies domesticate plants & animals
Link


 
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Non production workers emerged: 
Artisans, crafts workers, traders
Religious & political leaders gained power
Burial practices & housing structures became common; began to show inequality
Status, wealth, power, inequality, exploitation begin because one person could produce more than he/she could consume
(Big argument over who developed husbandry & ag: M or W.  But what would it prove?)
During civilization:  the strongest/smartest have always dominated
M ruled other M & W
From Marx & Engels on the Origin of the Family, Private Property, & the State

 
Internal
Links

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 Outline on the Four Agricultural Revolutions
External
Links
  Like any social system, agriculture has evolved
 
  To an extent, viewing agriculture as going through revolutions is misleading because agriculture has changed but there are still vestiges of all phases  
  Overall, agriculture has evolved from predominantly subsistence practices to predominantly capital intensive, market oriented practices
 
  There have been FOUR Agricultural Revolutions or phases
 
  History in general & the development of ag in particular have proceeded  w/ alternating cycles of long periods of gradual change & short explosive periods of radical change  
  a.  The Beginnings & Spread of Ag:           pre 10K bc to 1900s  
  Agriculture began w/ simple tools such as a planting stick  
  The wood plow was introduced shortly before the birth of Christ  
 
b.  Subsistence Ag to Market Ag      1650 to present  
  Highly labor intensive until mechanization began in mid 1800s  
 
c.   The Industrialization of Ag  
  The metal plow lead the industrialization of ag  
 
d.  The Globalization of Ag  
Link
Chart on the Qualities of the FOUR Agricultural Revolutions
 

 
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Chart on the Qualities of FOUR Agricultural Revolutions
Knox
Top
1st Ag Rev: 
Beginnings & Spread
2nd Ag Rev: 
Subsistence to Market
3rd Ag Rev: 
Industrialization
4th Ag Rev: 
Globalization
Time span
circa pre 10K BC
to 20th C
circa 1650 
to present
 circa 1928 
to present
circa late 1970s 
to present
Types of ag
Subsistence
Commercial development in the frame of family farms
Commercial development in the frame of corporations
Commercial development in the frame of global corporations
Climax
Neolithic to
Mid Ages in Europe
18th C England
19th - 20th C 
European colonies
Present day
Industrialized nations
Present day 
in industrialized nations 
& developing nations
Location
Europe
SE Asia
W Europe
No Am
USSR
E Europe
No Am 
Europe
Almost entire planet
Innovation
Subsistence
& domestic
food production
Selection & taming of  species
Surplus production technology &
financial
returns
Lowest cost
production 
methods
Establish world
markets &
patterns of
consumption
Conditions 
of change
Replaces H-G
Establishes mercantilist outlook
Industrial Revolution ag demands met
Establish corporate & collective ag
& the Ag Ind Complex
(AIC)
AIC goes global
Effect on 
society
Ag society proliferates
Ag develops as a separate area of economy
Family farm becomes the norm
Focus on profit replaces ag way of life
Globalization establishes profit at the expense of the local economy & environment

 
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 Outline on the First Agricultural Revolution: Beginnings & Early Spread
External
Links
  THE FIRST AG REV WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR ESTABLISHING CIVILIZATION   
  The 1st Ag Rev:  Beginnings & Early Spread, ran approximately pre 15 K BC to the 20th C 
 
  HG soc began experiments that developed the technology of ag   
  FOR CIVILIZATION TO FORM, HUMANKIND NEEDED TO ACCUMMULATE KNOWLEDGE OF HUSBANDRY, AG, FIRE, CONSTRUCTION, ETC.   
  As sufficient knowledge accumulated, subsistence, sedentary & nomadic agriculture became possible   
  The accummulation of knowledge related to animal husbandry, ag, & more, allowed people to live in villages   
  The 1st Ag Rev was founded on the development of domestication of animals & seeds   
  The use of plows & draft animals was developed soon after Ag was 1st established   
  It is widely believed that people 1st domestication wheat & goats, followed by rice, sheep, etc.   
  These domestications developed during the HG Era   
  Seed based agriculture occurred during roughly the same period in several regions around the world   
  THE FIRST AG REV ESTABLISHED HEARTH SOCIETIES IN MANY AREAS   
  The first ag rev created broad belt of cultivated land from SW Asia to Greece in the west into Turkey & Iran in the east as well as parts of Central & South America, Northern China, NE India & East Africa   
  The 1st agricultural revolution established village life   
  The domestication of plants & animals allowed for FOUR societal innovations, including: 
      a.  settled ways of life 
      b.  village construction 
      c.  exploitation & war 
      d.  the creation of new types of social, cultural, econ & political relationships, as compared to HG soc 
 
  The domestication of plants & animals diffused outward from the hearth areas 
 
  The 1st Ag Rev was important in the establishing of the hearths of civilization:  e.g. in the fertile flood plains of the Tigris & Euphrates Rivers, the Nile River, Indus & Ganges rivers, the Huang river, etc.   
  There are SEVEN Qualities of the 1st Agricultural Revolution:  Beginnings & Spread 
 
        a. Time span    circa Pre 15 k BC to 20th C 
 
        b. Climax     Neolithic Age to the Mid Ages in Europe   
        c.  Location     No Africa, Mid East, China, SE Asia, Europe   
        d.  Innovation     Initial selection & domestication of key species of plants & animals   
        e.  Conditions of change      Replaces H-G methods of production   
        f.  Effect on society     Agricultural society proliferates   
        g.  Types of agriculture      Subsistence   

 
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 Outline on the Second Agricultural Revolution: Subsistence to Market
External
Links
  THE SECOND AG REV DID NOT OCCUR UNTIL THE MID AGES & WAS THE RESULT OF NEW AG TECH & PRACTICES ESP FERTILIZER & CROP ROTATION  
  The 2nd Ag Rev:  Subsistence to Market runs from approximately 1650 to the present 
 
  There is much debate over the timing & location of the 2nd Ag Rev 
 
  The 2nd Ag Rev did not occur everywhere at the same time, & thus there is disagreement over what happened when & where   
  And there is disagreement over the essential causative factors   
  Subsistence, peasant agriculture was prevalent at beginning of the 2nd ag revolution 
 
  The partial development of the mkt econ in ag was established   
  THE TENURE (LAND OWNERSHIP) SYSTEM WAS TRANSITIONING FROM FEUDALISM TO CAPITALISM 
 
  Under the previous land tenure sys, the lords owned all the land, but during this era, it transitioned to the small family farm   
  Some "freemen" came to own land   
  The exploitation of the new world allowed private middle class ownership   
  Communal farms were replaced by enclosed, individual farms worked by tenants, renters, or yo men farmers   
  THERE ARE FOUR OUTCOMES OF THE 2ND AG REV INCLUDING:  INCREASED OUTPUT, AG INNOVATIONS, FERT & FIELD DRAINAGE, & RAPID POP GROWTH
 
        a.  An important result was a great increase in the outputs of crops & livestock   
        b.  An important result was the development of innovation, esp the yoke & the domesticated horse   
        c.  An important result was the development of fertilizers & field drainage   
        d.  An important result was rapid population growth   
  The Apex of 2nd Ag Rev & Industrial Rev coincide both geologically ( location ) & time wise:  in western Europe 
 
  The Ag Rev needed the rise of industrialized manufacturing sector both to create the technology of agriculture & to provide a market for ag goods   
  FOUR IMPROVEMENTS IN TECH OCCURRED DURING THE 2ND AG REV INCLUDING: AG MACHINES, TRANSPORT, FERTILIZER, & ROTATION
 
        a.  The manufacturing of agricultural machines was an important tech improvement of the 2nd ag rev   
        b.  Transportation tech was an important tech improvement of the 2nd ag rev   
        c.  Fertilizer, both natural & processed, was an important tech improvement of the 2nd ag rev  
        d.  Agricultural practices, esp crop & field rotation were an important tech improvement of the 2nd ag rev  
  THE SECOND AG REV CHANGED SOCIETY BY DIFFUSING TECH, ESTB CAPITALISM, ESTB THE SMALL FARM, GROWING DEPENDENCE ON MFR, ESTB INTL SYS, & POP GROWTH 
 
        a.  The second ag rev changed society by diffusing the new ag tech via European colonization around the world   
        b.  The second ag rev changed society by allowing / enhancing the dominance of capitalism   
        c.  The second ag rev changed society by establishing the small farm an important form for innovation & ownership   
        d.  The second ag rev changed society by creating an ag sys that was dependent on the manufacturing sector for farm inputs such as equip, fertilizer, & more   
        e.  The second ag rev changed society by establishing a nascent international system of trade for ag products   
        f.  The second ag rev changed society because the new, more efficient ag allowed for rapid pop growth in the country & the city   
  SEVEN QUALITIES OF THE 2ND AG REV:  SUBSISTENCE TO MKTS   
        a.  Time span    circa 1650 to present  
        b.  Climax      The climax / height of the 2nd ag rev occurred during the 18th C in Europe & the 19th & 20th Cs in the European colonies  
        c.  Location       W Europe & No. America  
        d.  Innovation   Surplus production technology created a surplus of food & ag markets that created financial returns for food  
        e.  Conditions of change      A mercantilist outlook was established, & the ag demands of Industrial Rev were met   
        f.  Effect on society       Ag developed as a separate area of the economy & the family farm becomes the norm   
        g.  Types of agriculture       Commercial development in the frame of the family farm became an engine of entrepreneurialism & innovation   

 
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 Outline on Outline on the Third Agricultural Revolution: Industrialization
External
Links
  THE THIRD AG REV BEGAN MODERN FARMING & HI LEVELS OF MECHANIZATION & HI ENERGY USE IN PRODUCTION & PROCESSING  
  The 3rd ag rev ran from approximately from 1928 to the present & has created the ag industrial complex (AIC), ie a large, integrated ag sys from field, to industry, to the retailers   
  The 3rd ag rev emanates mostly from the New World & occurred in 20th C   
  The 3rd ag rev has allowed Earth's population to continue to sky rocket, esp as these ag techniques, which dramatically increase food production, have spread to the semi periphery & periphery   
  The 3rd ag rev requires tremendous inputs, & thus resource consumption in ag itself, ag mfr, ag processing, ag transport, & more requires large amts of energy that some experts believe is impractical as a global model, & unsustainable   
  Each of its 3 important developmental phases originated in No America   
  These processes completely industrialized the agricultural process   
  The industrialization of ag has not occurred uniformly nor universally throughout the globe 
 
  There are SIX Major Sectors of industrial ag, including: 
     1.  production
     2.  storage
     3.  processing
4.  distribution 
5.  marketing 
6.  retailing 
 
  Ag has thus become linked to service sector   
  THE PHASES OF THE 3RD AG REV ARE MECHANIZATION, CHEM FARMING, & FOOD MANUFACTURING  
  Mechanization & chem farming affect ag inputs 
 
  The food manufacturing phase affects ag outputs   
  A.  MECHANIZATION REPLACED HUMAN & ANIMAL LABOR IN AG, & CREATED A LARGE INDL MFR SECTOR   
  Mechanization in ag replace human & animal labor w/ tractors, plows, discs, sprayers, planters, cultivators, combines, trucks, grain dryers, etc. 
 
  Farm machinery became widely used around the 1920s 
 
  By the late 1940s, machinery had replaced human & animal labor   
  In Europe, mechanization didn't spread until after WW2   
  B.  CHEM FARMING, ESP FERT, HERBICIDES & INSECTICIDES, INCREASED AG OUTPUTS & CREATED A LARGE CHEM MFR SECTOR   
  Chemical farming includes the application of: 
      a.  inorganic fertilizers 
      b.  herbicides 
      c.  fungicides 
      d.  pesticides & more 
 
  Chem farming became widespread in the 50s in US as major chem & ag corps developed new productions from liquid nitrogen fert to the herbicide Atrazine
 
  Chem farming diffused to Europe in the 60s   
  Chem farming diffused to periphery in the 70s   
  Chem farming established the tech groundwork for the development of hybrid seeds & biotech methods   
  C.  FOOD MANUFACTURING INCREASES THE VALUE & TRANSPORTABILITY OF FOOD & IN MANY WAYS CHANGES WHAT WE EAT & HOW WE EAT IT   
  Food manufacturing has used the manufacturing processes to increase the value of food by simplifying preparation & making it more convenient   
  The food manufacturing sector grew rapidly in the 1960s   
  The growth of food conglomerates:  RJR Nabisco, etc., have been significant & set the stage for the next Ag Rev:  Globalization   
  In many ways food mfr changes what we eat & how we eat it both at home & eating out in that prepared meals are common, & the variety of meals available has increased   
  Food mfr, including transport, refrigeration & freezing has made  food from the entire globe available to anyone   
  THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF THE 3RD AG REV ARE SIGNIFICANT   
  Industrialization has affected all 3 phases of the 3rd ag rev 
 
  Ag industrialization has moved the farm from being centerpiece of ag production to become 1 part of an integrated, multilevel (vertically organized) industrial process   
  The amt of energy required in today's ag sys is very large   
  Large scale ag farming can deplete the soil & harm indigenous species   
  Large scale ag farming consumes vast amt of water & many predict that aquifers will be drained in this century   
  Chem use in ag has been linked to increased cancer rates   
  The food produced by the ag industrial complex (AIC) is not healthy & has been linked to obesity, heart disease, cancer, birth defects, & more   
  Many experts believe the AIC & the present form of farming cannot be sustained   
  Alternatives to the AIC are being developed as some farmers develop new ag techniques that use less energy & chems   
  "Locavores," ie those who eat only locally grown food, demonstrate that this practice dramatically reduces the energy needed in the ag sysbecause transport is one of the largest inputs in the AIC  
  Without the increases in food output produced by the 3rd ag rev, the world's continued population explosion would have reached the tipping point of mass famine   
  The food output of the 3rd ag rev has allowed the world's pop to continue to growth rapidly   
  SEVEN QUALITIES OF THE 3RD AG REV: INDUSTRIALIZATION
 
        a. Time span            circa 1928 to present   
        b. Climax                  Present day   
        c. Location               No America,  Europe,  USSR, E Europe  
        d. Innovation                         Lowest cost production methods crowd out healthy, humane ag sys  
        e. Conditions of change        Ind ag established corporate & collective ag & the ag industrial complex  (AIC)   
        f. Effect on society               The focus on profit replaces the ag way of life   
        g. Types of agriculture         Ag is commercially developed in the framework of corporation expansion & profit mandates  

 
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 Outline on the  Fourth Agricultural Revolution:  Globalization 
External
Links
  THE 4TH AG REV:  GLOBALIZATION, HAS TIED OVER 2/3s OF THE WORLD'S PEOPLE TO THE MULTI TIERED INTERDEPENDENT SYS & THEREFORE SUCCESSES & FAILURES IN ANY PART OF THE SYS REVERBERATE THROUGHOUT 
 
  The 4th Ag Rev: Globalization, runs approximately from the late 1970s to the present 
 
  The ag system is presently incorporated into the world capitalist economic system 
 
  Modern ag uses global economic & regulatory practices 
 
  The 3rd & 4th Ag Rev's eliminated old forms of ag & integrated new forms into global econ systems  
  Examples include the decline of traditional ag practices:  shifting cultivation & the decline of the family farm   
  GLOBALIZATION HAS WIELDED IT'S IMPACT ON THE AG SYS THROUGH MKTS, CORPS, GOVTS, & WORLD GOVERNANCE ORGS
 
  The scope & org of ag is now global because of the dev of trans national ag conglomerates
 
  The forces of globalization of ag include
1.  technology
2.  econ systems
3.  political sys
4.  culture
5.  pop growth
& have all become global in scope
 
  THERE ARE THREE WORLD  INSTITS WHICH IMPACT THE GLOBALIZATION OF AG, INCLUDING THOSE THAT REGULATE TRADE, FINANCE, & CORPS
 
 
1.  Intl trade is regulated by the World Trade Org (WTO), the General Agreement on Trade & Tariffs (GATT), the Intl Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank (WB), the European Union (EU), the Assoc of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), & others 
 
  The World Bank (WB), the Food & Ag Organization ( FAO ) & many other global orgs have been involved in ag development in the periphery for 5 decades   
  The WB & the FAO try to improve the capacity of the ag sector in peripheral nations   
  Often despite intentions to improve development, intl development dislocates the local population   
 
2.  Intl finance is loosely "regulated" by the world stock markets, & futures / commodity mkts such as the Chicago Mercantile Exchange
 
 
3.  Many transnational global corps, such as Dole, ADM, Monsanto, John Deere, etc., have more econ power than many semi peripheral & peripheral nations 
 
  Kenya & Brasilia, Brazil are TWO Examples of international development:   
  In Kenya, the World Bank financed livestock production which displaced traditional pastoralism which meant the loss of livelihood for thousands of people  
  The World Bank financed the development of Brasilia & a major highway from the coast to Brasilia   
  The dev of Brasilia & the accompanying hwy sys opened rain forest to destructive development & displaced indigenous peoples to urban slums  
  THE GLOBAL AG SYS IS INTERNALLY INTERDEPENDENT W/ THE INSTITS IN AG, & 
EXTERNALLY INTERDEPENDENT W/ MFR, CHEMS, MKTING, ETC. 
 
  The global ag sys is so greatly internally & externally dependent in that all parts of the ag system are linked w/ each other as well as w/ global orgs not in the ag sys (such as banking, transport, etc.) that many analysts now refer to it as an ag industrial complex (AIC) 
 
  The AIC is externally dependent in that the ag sector is linked w/ other sectors, such as industrial, chem, govt, etc. sectors 
 
 
Changes in the wider economy affect all sectors of economy including agriculture 
 
  An example of the interdepence of the AIC can be seen in that:   
 
1.  production surpluses or shortages in any area, affect many other areas 
 
  2.  soil erosion affects many areas of the global & this run off impacts many other areas   
  3.  food price stability or instability is now a worldwide phenomenon, not a local one   
 
4.  ag practices in one area impact the water quality & water availability in many areas 
 
  NATIONS ATTEMPT TO REG THE AIC & MAINTAIN PRODUCTION VIA SUBSIDIES, PROD REGS, ECON DEV & FINANCING  
  Nations attempt to regulate the AIC & maintain production, consumption, corporate profits through:   
  1.  production subsidies which increase production   
  2.  consumer subsidies which increase consumption   
  3.  production & processing regulations which standardize many features of the ag sys such as quality, grading, etc.   
  4.  through ag econ dev, ie trying to foster the transition to mod, mechanized, chem farming in semi peripheral & peripheral nations   
  5.   through ag finance intervention, loaning money to those who need it to further ag dev or just to buy food  
  NATIONS SUBSIDIZE AG THROUGH THE PROGRAMS OF DIRECT LIMITING PMTS, TARGETED EXPANSION PMTS, BUYING AG SURPLUS, PRICE CEILINGS & FLOORS, & CROP INSURANCE  
  1.  Direct limiting pmts are used to encourage farmers not to grow certain crops such as dairy   
  2.  Targeted expansion pmts pay farmers to grow certain crops such as corn   
  3.  Buying ag surplus crops is a mkt based program where the govt enters the mkt & buys what it believes to be excess livestock, produce (milk, etc.)   
  4.  Price ceilings & floors are targets set by the govt to keep below an upper level, the ceiling, & above a lower limit, the floor   
  5.  Crop insurance is a self financing sys where if farmers want, they can buy insurance in case of catastrophic crop or herd failure, though farmers receiving any govt pmts must have crop insurance   
  One major problem w/ ag subsidies is that the system is continually plagued by over production   
  One major problem w/ ag subsidies is that fixing prices is a disincentive for producers to lower production levels  
  IT IS IRONIC THAT OVER PRODUCTION HAMPERS AG DEV IN MANY AREAS, & YET NEARLY 1 BB PEOPLE GLOBALLY ARE MALNOURISHED  
  The "great irony of the agricultural industrial complex" is that 30 mm Americans are hungry each day (about 8 %) & globally, thousands die each day from malnutrition yet the core countries ag systems are plagued by over-production  
  The great irony is one of the arguments of the post modernists & the anti globalization forces that rationality & the present system cannot stand   
  Because of over production in the US, the govt must dispose it  
  It "dumps" or sells below cost in peripheral nations & in US   
  This harms local production because it drives prices down   
  There are TWO reasons for state intervention   
  1.  Correct wider economic problems   
  Governments intervene routinely in one economic sector or another to correct wider problems of inflation or depression   
  In the 1920s & 30s the govt attempted to address the problem of economic depression by reducing overproduction   
  2.  Protect consumer interest   
  Govt support of ag leads to hi prices for consumers   
  Govt therefore subsidizes the price of food in the "free market" for consumers to keep the work force well fed & to avoid bread riots   
  Govt created FDA at turn of century after Upton Sinclair wrote "The Jungle"   
  Core govts frequently intervene in peripheral nations   
  Food & ag development aid are distributed as both rewards & punishments   
  1980s:  Reagan threatens an ag embargo against the SU; the US wouldn't sell them grain   
  SUCCESSFUL AG DEV IN THE PERIPHERY DEPENDS ON LOCAL AG SYS, SMALL PROJECTS, CULTURAL SENSITIVITY, ECON & POL SENSITIVITY, & PROFITABLE PROJECTS  
  1.  Successful ag dev in the periphery depends on having ag systems that are operated on the local scale & levels   
  2.  Successful ag dev in the periphery depends on developing small projects that are sensitive to local social factors & successful / profitable   
  3.  Successful ag dev in the periphery depends on sensitivity to local cultural & social conditions, esp gender  
  4.  Successful ag dev in the periphery depends on sensitivity to local econ & political conditions, esp inequality, exploitation, & authoritarianism   
  5.  Successful ag dev in the periphery depends on income generating projects, eg setting up small ag coops for production of poultry, veggies, handicrafts, etc.  
  Helping another country or another person is perhaps the most difficult task in life  
  Local production becomes insufficient when dominated by production for the global mkt
 
  Food aid harms local production
 
  Food aid keeps countries dependent & sometimes even destroys the local mkts by flooding them w/ free food   
  Oxfam is a charity that gives aid in growing crops & raising stock rather than just giving food 
 
  Food & food aid can become a potent weapon of war as seen historically as well as in recent conflicts in the Sudan in 90s & 2000s, & in Ethiopia in the 2000s, & w/ our conflict w/ No Korea from the 90s up to & including today 
 
  The Chart on Major Donors & Recipients of Food Aid demonstrates that the core nations & some semi peripheral nations are able to produce enough of a food surplus to donate some to semi peripheral & peripheral nations 
 
  SEVEN QUALITIES OF THE 4TH AG REV:  GLOBALIZATION 
 
        a.  Time span         circa the late 1970s to the Present
 
        b.  Climax               Present day  
        c.  Location              Almost entire planet  
        d.  Innovation              Establish global markets & patterns of consumption  
        e.  Conditions of change      AIC goes global  
        f.  Effect on society          Globalization establishes profit at the expense of the local environment  
        g.  Types of agriculture       Commercial development in the frame of global corporation  

 
The Chart on Major Donors & Recipients of Food Aid
1988-1989
Major Donors
Major Recipients
US Bangladesh
W Germany China
Australia Dominican Republic
Japan Egypt
Italy El Salvador
Argentina Ethiopia
Saudi Arabia Guatemala
Austria Jamaica
France Kenya
Denmark Malawi
Switzerland Mexico
The Netherlands Morocco
European Community Mozambique
Ireland Pakistan
Belgium & Luxembourg Peru
Canada Philippines
Spain Sri Lanka
Sweden Sudan
Greece Tunisia
Norway Vietnam
Finland  
UK  
The Chart on Major Donors & Recipients of Food Aid demonstrates that the core nations & some semi peripheral nations are able to produce enough of a food surplus to donate some to semi peripheral & peripheral nations 

 
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 Outline on  Commercial Agriculture:  The Agri Food System
External
Links
  COMMERCIAL AG, THE SELLING OF AG PRODUCE FOR PROFIT, IS A MODERN INSTIT, OCCURRING EN MASS SINCE THE 1700s 
 
  Farmers engaged in commercial ag in the 20th C, produced crops & animals primarily for sale rather than for direct consumption 
 
  Commercial ag created mechanical, industrial ag as we know it today, ie the agricultural industrial complex (AIC) 
 
  There are THREE prominent & nested forces in commercial agriculture, including: 
     A.  agribusiness
     B.  govt policies / subsidies 
     C.  food chains
     D.  the integration of ag w/ the manufacturing, service, finance & trade sectors of the econ 
 
  A.  AGRIBUSINESS PRIMARILY CONSISTS OF THE AG INDL COMPLEX (AIC), INCLUDING THE CORP FARMS, GOVT POLICIES/SUBSIDIES, MFR, SERVICE, FINANCE, TRADE SECTORS THAT SUPPORT IT 
 
  Agribusiness, aka the corporate farm, or the factory farm is a system of econ & political relationships that organizes food production from the development of seeds to retailing & consumption 
 
  Transnational corps ( TNC ) are the major players in the system of agribusiness 
 
  TNCs can negotiate the complexities of production & distribution in many locales 
 
  B.  THE GOVT POLICIES / SUBSIDIES THAT SUPPORT THE AIC VARY AMONG NATIONS, & THE GLOBAL REG AGENCIES, BUT ATTEMPT TO SECURE A FOOD SUPPLY AS WELL AS A VALUABLE EXPORT  COMMODITY   
  National ag policies general have some role in regulating / legitimizing commercial ag; many such policies which serve to preserve the status quo & hurt local ag dev projects   
 
Every global regulatory agency from the IMF to the WTO generally reflect the overarching support for commercial ag at the expense of local ag dev
 
  C.  FOOD CHAINS HIGHLIGHT THE MANY LINKAGES / INTERDEPENDENCIES AMONG THE ACTORS IN THE AIC WHICH MAKE IT AT ONCE GLOBAL & EFFICIENT, BUT ALSO VULNERABLE TO DISRUPTION, ENERGY INTENSIVE, ETC.   
  Food chains are made up of 4 central & connected sectors  w/ 4 contextual elements acting as external mediating forces
 
  The FOUR central sectors in the food chain include: 
      1. inputs                  3. outputs
      2. production          4. distribution
 
  The FOUR mediating forces in the food chain include:
      1. States                       3. physical environment
      2. Intl trade                  4. credit & finance system
 
 Link
The Chart on the Food Supply System indicates that the food chain today consists of ag inputs, farms, processing, distribution, & consumption practices, each of which has its own structural & envl factors affecting it 
 
 
D.  COMMERCIAL AG INTEGRATION IS VITAL TO IT'S SUCCESS   
 
By their very nature, agribusiness & the food chain components are highly integrated into a world system  
 
The nature of the integration of Commercial Ag is shaped by THREE Factors:
  a. govt policies
  b. corporate influence
  c. social systems  (traditions, expectations, etc.)
 
 
Social & technical change in global ag has resulted in restructuring  
 
Ag has experienced the same political & economic forces that affect globalization in all economic sectors  
 
By their very nature, agribusiness & the food chain components are highly integrated into a world system   
 
Globalization has affected ag as it has become more industrialized & commercialized  
  This system of the globalization of ag creates conflict & competition w/in nations & between nations  
 
Commercial agriculture's human impact is seen in EIGHT groupings  
 
The struggle to maintain control over production & a way of life affects many different types of people around the world:
        1. women                                       5. tribes
        2. men                                            6. family farms
        3. landowners                                 7. corps
        4. peasant                                      8.  govts
 
  THERE ARE SEVERAL FOOD CHAINS FOR BEEF PRODUCTION INCLUDING NAT GRASS, CLEARED GRASS, FODDER, GRAIN SYSTEMS   
  There are FOUR forms of food chains for beef production, including the: 
      A.  natural grass based system 
      B.  cleared grass based where grazing occurs on cleared land
      C.  fodder based system where fodder is grown by farmers to feed the livestock
      D.  grain based system where both fodder & grain are grown by farmers to feed the livestock
 
  A.  AIC BEEF PRODUCTION:  A NATURAL GRASS BASED SYS IS WHERE GRAZING OCCURS ON NATURAL GRASSLANDS   
  Cattle production in Amazon & Mexico using the nat grass based sys  
  Processing of grass fed beef from the Amazon & Mexico occurs along the US & Mexican border   
  Grass fed beef from the Amazon & Mexico produces frozen hamburgers for grocery stores in the core nations, McDonalds, & other fast food outlets worldwide  
 
AIC Beef Production  has displaced local agriculture in many regions, including: 
  Amazon   periphery
  Mexico    semi periphery
  US           core
 
Link
The Chart on New Zealand Grassland Based Beef Production indicates that a long & integrated food chain is little different from a grain based food chain other than the lower cost of grass as feed   
Link
The Chart on US, European Commercial Grain Based Beef Production indicates that a long & integrated food chain is little different from a grass based food chain other than the higher cost of grain as feed   
  Grazing is more economical, environmental, & ethical   
  World puts over 100 mm tons of grain into meat production / year   
  20 lbs grain --> 1 lbs meat   
  Takes 110x H20 for lb of meat / lb of grain   
  Over half of H20 used in US is used in meat industry, most of it for irrigation of fodder   
  1 acre = 165 lbs beef or 20,000 lbs potatoes  
  Grazing:  Major reason for cutting rain forest  
  Ethical treatment of animals   
  COMMERCIAL AG DEV ALONG THE GAMBIA RIVER HAD PROBLEMS OF INTEGRATING AGRIBUSINESS, MKTS, & CULTURAL FACTORS   
  The Gambia River is located in Senegal, Africa which is near the western horn of Africa   
  The govt, w/ help of international development agencies, began a program to grow rice along banks of the river  
  Senegal wanted to reduce their dependency on imported rice  
  The govt & international development agencies distributed rice seed, fertilizer, pesticide, etc. to 2000 peasants in 70 villages   
  The society had to restructure labor, land, & crop rights   
  Women were not free to work when they were the most needed in the field  
  Women wanted to control their own time & labor to produce rice for both family & the mkt   
  M & W disagreed over who controlled the land & crops & so the project failed  
  COMMERCIAL AG'S HUMAN IMPACT IS SEEN IN EIGHT GROUPINGS   
  The struggle to maintain control over production & a way of life affects many different types of people around the world:
        1. women                                       5. tribes
        2. men                                            6. family farms
        3. landowners                                7. corps
        4. peasant                                      8.  govts
 

 
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Chart on the Food Supply System
blank
The Food Chain
blank
blank
Agricultural Inputs
Fertilizer
Biotech
Factories & machinery
Agri chemicals
Advisory Services
Energy
State Farm Policies
Influence on inputs
Influence on prices
Influence on farm structure
Fiscal policy
Land inheritance
Environment
Environment
Space
Biological time
Soil
Topography
Climate
Farm Production
Farm size
Enterprise type
Farmland
Farm labor
Land tenure
blank
blank
Product Processing
Washing & grading
Freezing & packing
Transforming
Slaughtering & jointing
Intl Food Trade
Exports & Imports
Competitive products
Noncomp prods
Export subsidies
Food aid
Credit / Finance
Ag markets
Mortgages
Clearing banks
Pension funds
Credit corps
Food Distribution
Wholesalers
Retailers
Catering
blank
blank
Food Consumption
Population & growth
Dietary preferences
Purchasing power
Household structure
Employment
blank
The Chart on the Food Supply System indicates that the food chain today consists of ag inputs, farms, processing, distribution, & consumption practices, each of which has its own structural & envl factors affecting it

 
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Chart on New Zealand Grassland Based Beef Production
New Zealand govt                             Overseas govts 
Finance
Industrial
inputs:
seeds, sprays
fertilizer
Grass-
land
livestock
farming
Truck
Freeze
works
Shipping
Truck
Food
manufacturing
Super 
markets

Fast food

service
industry
ag
service
industry
service
service
industry
service
The Chart on New Zealand Grassland Based Beef Production indicates that a long & integrated food chain is little different from a grain based food chain other than the lower cost of grass as feed 

 
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Chart on US, European Commercial Grain Based Beef Production
US govt                               US, EC or peripheral govt
Finance
Indust
inputs:
seeds
sprays
fertilizer
Grain
Farming:
wheat, corn
soybeans
Beef raising
Truck
Feedlots
Truck
Meat
packers
Truck
Food
mfr
Super
mkts

Fast
Food

service
industry
ag
service
ag
service
industry
service
industry
service
The Chart on US, European Commercial Grain Based Beef Production indicates that a long & integrated food chain is little different from a grass based food chain other than the higher cost of grain as feed 

 
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 Outline on the  US Farm Crisis
External
Links
  -  Supplement:  USA Today:  Will family farms die like Mom & Pop stores? 
Link
  THE ORIGINS OF THE FARM CRISIS GO BACK TO THE NEW DEAL, FARM SUPPORT PROGRAMS, BANKING PRACTICES, & THE OPEC OIL CRISIS  
  The role of govt in ag is such that the farm economy is one of most controlled in US   
  Since FDR, the US govt 
-  limits prod by paying farmers not to grow crops 
-  sets price ceilings & floors 
-  buys & sells crops to attain these price controls 
-  sells crop insurance 
 
  The farm crisis resulted in the call for return to free mkt   
  THE GOVT PASSED THE FARM BILL IN THE 90s TO FADE OUT GOVT REGS OF FARMING, BUT THE REGS / SUPPORTS ARE STILL IN PLACE  
  The govt passed the farm bill in 90s to fade out govt regulation  
  But minor crises have periodically returned, so Congress has passed several one time supplements   
  See Also:  Govt Programs in Ag   
  THE 70s ARE A PERIOD OF AG ECON BOOM, ENDING IN THE FARM CRISIS  
  In the early 70's, for first time since 30s, govt controlled prices of commodities went up 
 
  The increase of prices for ag commodities was result of govt grain sales to SU, China, etc. to bolster US position in arms & other deals   
  During the 70s ag boom, corn went from  $1.25  to 1.90 per bu 
 
  The farm crisis is also the result of industrialization of ag because mechanization means there is less need for people in farming   
  The use of technology & mechanization in ag results in farmers needing more capital investment to be able to upgrade to the latest tech   
  The trend of increasing capital investment has been going on since mechanization & began at the turn of century   
  The farm crisis has its roots in globalization in the 70s in that:   
  -  OPEC increased oil prices 4 times over, creating an oil crisis   
  -  OPEC became cash rich & put $$ in Am banks   
  -  because of the OPEC cash surplus, banks became flush w/ cash, so offered cheap loans to farmers   
  -  cheap loans resulting from the OPEC cash surplus drove up price of land   
  Most loans were made w/ unique terms for land, w/ variable rates, recallable, joint liability, balloon payments, etc. 
 
  In 1979 the Federal Reserve Bank significantly increased interest rates 
 
  The cost of oil drives up farm costs:  diesel, fertilizer, herbicide, pesticide, etc.   
  While prices of ag production supplies such as diesel rose, the govt does not allow the prices of ag products such as corn rise 
 
  Grain prices decline as result of the: 
 
  -  econ development in So Am & other regions: World Bank, IMF, etc.   
  -  the US boycott of grain sales to SU by Carter as a Cold War tactic   
  See Also:  The Green Revolution   
  BANKRUPTCY FOR FARMERS IS UNIQUE BECAUSE THEY CAN LOSE EVERYTHING   
  As land values fell, Farmers could not liquidate & pay off debt 
 
  Many farmers had to sell several acreages to pay off one acreage, & eventually lost it all   
  But farm bankruptcy is unique in that it allows for the sale of all personal possessions
 
  Normal bankruptcy allows retention of necessities which often includes 1 home, 1 car, some cash, & normal personal possessions   
  THE EFFECTS OF THE CRISIS DECIMATED THE FAMILY FARM & THE RURAL LIFESTYLE   
  The Farm Crisis hit: 
-  mid sized farmers 
-  farmers w/ income of $40,000 to $200,00 in sales 
-  young farmers needing to go into debt 
-  farmers in IL, IA, KS, MI, MO, NE, ND, SD 
 
  The crisis sank many small towns based on farm econ, thus affecting schools, churches, etc.   
Link
Example:  Lexington, NE 
 
Link
Example:  Yankton, SD 
 
  European farmers were also in crisis   
  On March 4, 1985 farmers staged one of the first protests of the Farm Crisis 
 
  Farmers marched on Washington DC 7 drove a tractor convoy down Penn Ave 
 
  In their protest, the farmers placed 250 white crosses on Washington Mall representing the number of farmers bankrupting each day 
 
  On May 7, 1985 many stars supported farmers including Jessica Lange, Jane Fonda, Sissy Spacek who spoke before US House of Rep & all had movies about farm crisis   
  Farm Aid Concerts began on September 22, 1985 when Willie Nelson began a series of Farm Aid Concerts to raise awareness about loss of family farm & raise $$ for farmers   
  AS FAMILY FARMS FADED, CORP FARMS GREW 
 
  While the corp farm will inevitably be more efficient, it is based on poor environmental practices & is more subject to control, control of food   
  Countries that have experienced food shortages believe that family farm provide a more secure food supply for THREE reasons, in that family farms:   
  a.  are not limited by profitability, they will raise food regardless of the profitability 
 
  b.  cannot manipulate supply or price 
 
  c.  are decentralized & therefore less susceptible to system collapse, diseases, etc.   
  Europe, Japan, & China support family farms   
  SU/ Russia, US support the corporate farm   

 
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Lexington, NE Farm Crisis
 

Farms failing
Community tension & conflict
Meat packing identified as alternative
State tax abatements & other incentives to IBP, a giant food conglomerate
IBP opened in '92 w/ 2000 wkrs
Most wkrs are immigrants, actively recruited by the corp: Mexican & Central Am 
This created social & econ problems
Ethnic tension & resentment
Housing crunch
Had to build homeless shelter
Developed highest crime rate in NE


 
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Yankton, SD Farm Crisis
 

60s:  Young man decides to start farming
Buys land, expands slowly over 10 yrs adding 80 acres every few yrs
Land costs, ag costs, crop prices relatively stable
70s:  bankers come around w/ cheap loans
Farm advisors claim:  increase your acreage or die
Mid age man quadruples the size of his farm to 3000 ac
Prices fall, banks call some loans
Prices of land falls so cannot sell land to pay debt
Goes bankrupt
Ends up w/ same acreage as before expansion but in debt greater than the value of the land


 
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 Outline on the  Green Revolution in Agriculture
External
Links
  THE GREEN REV ATTEMPTED TO DECREASE THE INPUTS NEEDED FOR AG, & INCREASE THE OUTPUTS OF AG  
  Farmers have two main methods of making their land more productive, including: 
a.   increasing their use of irrigation, energy, &  fertilizer 
b.  improving varieties of grains & livestock, which produce higher crop yields &  larger amounts of livestock products 
 
  Farmers in developed countries have used both methods of increasing inputs & varieties of outputs for many years   
  In the 1960's, farmers in some developing countries also adopted both methods of input & variety modification to increase their production of wheat & rice   
  The effort to develop ag inputs & outputs proved so successful that it has become known as the Green Revolution   
  THE GREEN REV HYBRIDIZED FLORA & FAUNA IN AN ATTEMPT TO REDUCE COSTS & INCREASE YIELDS   
 
The Green Rev in ag focused on plant & livestock breeding 
 
  In the early 1900s, plant breeders in the US developed a hybrid corn that produced unusually high yields 
 
  Various corn hybrids became commercially available in the 1920s 
 
  By the early 1960's, more than 95 % of all US corn acreage was planted w/ hybrid seed 
 
  Average corn yields in the US increased dramatically as a result of hybridization via the Green Rev 
 
  Average corn yield nearly doubled btwn  the early 1920s & the early 1960s, & they have continued to increase significantly since that time 
 
   During the 1960s, scientists introduced varieties of wheat &  rice that gave much higher yields than earlier varieties 
 
  The new varieties of wheat & rice were intended mainly to help various poor nations, such as India &  Mexico, increase their food supply 
 
  The effort to increase the yields of basic cereal crops proved so successful that it has been called the Green Revolution 
 
Link
BORLAUG SUCCESSFULLY HYBRIDIZED WHEAT & RICE, INCREASING YIELDS AROUND THE WORLD 
 
  Norman Ernest Borlaug, (pronounced BAWR lawg) (1914 - ) was an American ag scientist who received the 1970 Nobel Peace Prize for developing new varieties of wheat 
 
  Borlaug was born in Cresco, Iowa   
  In 1944, the Rockefeller Foundation sent Borlaug to Mexico to develop wheat that would produce large amounts of grain in tropical regions 
 
  By the 1950s, his varieties had greatly increased Mexican harvests 
 
  In the 1960s, high yield varieties of wheat developed by Borlaug were introduced into India, Pakistan, &  other countries   
  These wheats changed some nations from grain importers into grain exporters &  reduced the danger of famine   
 
The improvement in the world's food supply that resulted from such Borlaug & others' varieties of crops is sometimes called the Green Revolution   
 
MANY OF THE HYBRIDS REQUIRED MORE INPUTS TO PRODUCE MORE YIELDS   
 
The development of high yield varieties of rice &  wheat made the Green Revolution possible 
 
  But the Green Rev also required greater use of irrigation water, energy, &  fertilizer   
  Many farmers got the water from wells & installed electric or diesel powered pumps to bring the water to the surface   
  To get the highest yields, farmers had to enrich their soil w/ fertilizers   
  During the 1960's, these methods helped such countries as India & Mexico double their wheat production   
  WHILE THE GREEN REV BENEFITED ALL, IT WAS NOT AS SUCCESSFUL IN DEVELOPING NATIONS BECAUSE OF THE INCREASED INPUTS REQUIRED   
  The Green Revolution can continue to make farmland more productive   
  For example, if farmers in the tropics have enough water, fertilizer, & other essential resources, they can grow two or three crops a year on the same land, instead of one crop   
  But the Green Revolution's ability to increase the food supply is limited   
  Many farmers in less developed countries cannot afford the additional resources that the Green Revolution requires   
  But in any case, greater use of these resources makes land more productive only up to a point   
  Most farmers in the US, for example, use 7 to 10 times as much fertilizer on each unit of land as do most farmers in less developed countries   
  Despite using a proportionally higher level of fertilizer, but U.S. grain yields are only about twice as large as those in less developed countries   
  THROUGH HYBRIDIZATION, SCIENTISTS CONTINUE ATTEMPTS TO INCREASE THE NUTRITIONAL VALUES OF AG OUTPUTS   
  The best hope for making farmland more productive lies w/ ag research   
  For example, research scientists are working to develop varieties of grain that not only produce higher yields but also have other improved characteristics   
  A hybridized grain might supply a more complete combination of amino acids, make more efficient use of water &  fertilizer, &  provide better resistance to insects & disease   
  But it is extremely difficult to develop a plant variety that has so many different characteristics   
  The necessary research therefore takes much time & money   
  THE TENSION OF THE EFFICIENCY OF SMALL & LARGE SCALE FARMING CONTINUES   
  In some instances, developing countries have benefited from the intro of large scale ag  
  The practice of large scale farming has often been promoted as a way to generate income through export of the crops   
  Large scale farming uses more energy than small scale farming, however, to produce the same amount of food   
  Small scale farming is now encouraged over large scale farming to increase food supplies for local people in less developed countries   
  COMPARING THE GREEN & BIO REVS SHOWS THAT  EACH HAS MAJOR IMPACTS & THE BIO REV IS A 'NATURAL SCIENTIFIC' CONTINUATION OF THE GREEN REV   
Link
The Table:  The Bio Revolution Compared w/ the Green Revolution demonstrates that the Green Rev is in many ways a precursor to the Bio Rev & thus while they have many similarities such as modifying varieties of flora & fauna, they also have many different processes & outcomes   

 
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Dr. Norman E. Borlaug receives the Congressional Gold Medal in 2007. 
Burlaug, a 1970 Nobel Laureate, was honored for his work in the 'Green Revolution,' saving millions of lives from famine in India, Mexico, & the Middle East.
 
 
 
 


 
Table:  The Bio Revolution Compared w/ the Green Revolution
Characteristics Green Revolution
Bio Revolution
Crops affected Wheat, rice, maize Possibly all crops veggies, fruits, exports, specialty
Other sectors affected None Pesticides, animals, drugs, food, energy, mining, warfare
Territories affected Some developed nations Global
Development of technology & dissemination Mostly public or quasi public:
Intl Ag Research Ctrs  (IARCs)
R&D in $$ mm
Private sector, especially transnational corporations                 R&D in $$ bb
Proprietary considerations Plant breeders' rights & patents not relevant Genes, cells, plants, animals, held to be patentable
No total ownership yet
Capital costs of research Low Hi for many techniques
Discovering more low cost technologies
Access to info Relatively easy due to policy of IARCs Restricted due to privatization
Research skills required Conventional breeding & ag science Molecular & cell biology plus conventional methods
Crop vulnerability Hi yield varieties are uniform & have hi vulnerability Exact genetic copies even more vulnerable to monoculture diseases
Side effects Monoculture problems
Chemicals         Displacement
Environmental degradation
Crop substitution replacing 3rd World exports
Herbicide tolerance          More chemicals
Engineered organisms might affect environment
Displacement increases
The Table:  The Bio Revolution Compared w/ the Green Revolution demonstrates that the Green Rev is in many ways a precursor to the Bio Rev & thus while they have many similarities such as modifying varieties of flora & fauna, they also have many different processes & outcomes 

 
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 Outline on Biotechnology in Agriculture 
External
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  BIOTECHNOLOGY IS THE MANAGING OF BIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS FOR  HUMAN BENEFIT 
 
  The best known form of biotechnology is genetic engineering, which involves altering the genes of a living organism   
  Examples of biotechnology include cell cultures, which are growths of animal or plant cells in the laboratory, & monoclonal antibodies, which are specialized protein molecules   
  Biotechnology has important applications in medicine, ag, industry, & other fields   
  Genetically altered microbes can manufacture a wide range of products, including human protein drugs, animal growth hormones, & raw materials for industrial chemicals   
  Biotechnology consists of the techniques that use living organisms or parts of organisms to: 
  - make or modify products ( plants & animals )
  - improve plants & animals
  - develop microorganisms for specific uses 
 
  There are FOUR fundamental biotechnological methods, including: 
         a.  natural selection
         b.  hybridization involves selective out breeding
         c.  creating pure breeds involves selective in breeding
         d.  genetic engineering
 
  Genetic engineers involves gene splicing which creates  transgenic organisms   
  Genetic engineers involves cloning which creates exact copies of organisms   
  Biotechnology is an emerging technology 
 
  Biotechnology involves both the use of technology to solve medical problems and the use of biological science to aid in industrial processes
 
  Recent advances in genetic research have changed the ways in which people fight disease & hunger   
  The manipulation of the chemical info contained in cells has resulted in the creation of cells that make insulin & plastics, & plants that are more resistant to disease & yield larger amounts of food   
  Biotechnology assumes a belief in the superiority of science & technology
 
  There is the assumption that biotechnological side effects can be controlled
 
  Researchers such as Jeremy Rifkin challenge this
 
  Biotechnology reduces ag costs
 
  Biotechnology is used as resource management technique:  replaces natural resources w/ manufactured ones
 
  There have been many fruits of biotech, including: 
       -  corn & soybeans which are more disease resistance
       -  rice w/ increased levels of vitamin A
       -  develop bacteria which limit frost damage to strawberries
       -  trees such as the douglas fir which grow fast & big
       -  trout which grow fast, but which are not approved for production, yet 
       -  oil eating bacteria
       -  laundry detergent enzymes
       -  medicine such as insulin, growth hormones, & more 
 
  It is now technologically possible to clone complex life forms, though cloning processes are not currently widely used in ag production 
 
  Scientists have successfully cloned sheep, pigs for organ harvesting, cats, dogs, & more   
  Japanese scientists cloned humans in the late 90s, but none of the fetuses were brought to term, & no living human is known to be a clone at this time   
  THERE ARE DANGERS INHERENT IN THE USE OF BIOTECH IN AG INCLUDING: DISEASE, ESCAPE, COSTS/STRAT, PATENTS / OWNERSHIP, & LABOR DISPLACEMENT
 
  Biotechnology has generated public concern, particularly about the ethics and safety of certain uses of genetic engineering   
  In the US, a number of fed agencies regulate biotechnological research & its products.   
  1.  MANY HYBRIDS, CLONES, ETC. ARE MORE SUSCEPTIBLE TO DISEASE, ETC. 
 
  The danger of mono cultures, i.e. the growing of large tracts of uniform crops or animals, is that they all have similar strengths & weaknesses & thus the entire population is susceptible to a given disease   
  In a mono cultural population, one disease, climate burble can decimate large tracts  
  Natural multi cultures are more resistant because they have a wide  variety of strengths & weaknesses & thus a given disease will only impact a part of the population   
  2.  MODIFIED LIFE FORMS MAY ESCAPE HUMAN CONTROL & RAVAGE NATURAL POPULATIONS OR THE ENV   
  Clones, hybrids, genetically modified life forms are a danger to the natural pop because like an invasive species, they may displace nat pops, which may be detrimental in & of itself, or they may convert the nat multi cultural pop to a mono cultural pop   
 
Monsanto has engineered seeds that 'expire' in that they create plants that produce only sterile seeds 
 
 
If Monsanto's expiring seeds escaped into the natural pop, they could  sterilize that pop 
 
  Engineered, rapidly growing fish could escape & destroy natural pops   
 
Hybridized 'farm fish' have already escaped during floods, & are negatively impacting natural pops of fish 
 
  3.   MODIFIED LIFE FORMS, BECAUSE THE COST OF OWNERSHIP, PRODUCTION, & USE, MAY  BE AVAILABLE TO SOME GRPS & NOT OTHERS, INCREASING THE LEVEL OF STRAT OF THE BASIC HUMAN NEED OF FOOD   
  Engineered ag has hi cost & powerful interests organize to sell these products, & in any mkt, some people may be priced out   
  Because only commercial farmers can afford them, this increases the gap btwn wealthy & poor ag regions  
  4.  THE PATENTING/OWNERSHIP  OF LIFE FORMS LIMITS ACCESS TO RESOURCES THAT WERE ONCE FREELY AVAILABLE TO ALL  
  Private ownership of biotech process is creating ownership of life & food to an extent never seen before   
  Ownership of life forms makes it possible for the world food supply to be controlled by corporations  
  5.  EFFICIENCIES IN BIOTECH MAY SO REDUCE LABOR COSTS THAT TRADL AG PRACTICES MAY BE ELIMINATED, MAKING SOME NATIONS LESS SELF SUFFICIENT 
 
  The reduction of labor costs is an opportunity & a threat in any industry as the old ways are destroyed, sometimes there is a gap before new ways take hold   
 
New, more efficient modes of production often make a society more dependent on global systems which sometimes becomes a liability when compared to locally self sufficient systems   
 
The reduction of labor costs is an opportunity & a threat in any commercialization of ag 
 
 
The reduction of labor costs allows the production of crops & animals in new areas, while reducing demand in traditional areas 
 
  The reduction of labor costs may displace traditional farmers & threaten local production   

 
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 Outline on  Agriculture & the Environment
External
Links
  Project:  Chemicals, Energy & the Ethical Treatment of Animals 
Link
 
AG & ENVIRONMENTALISM ARE RELATED THROUGH HUMAN PRACTICES WHICH IMPACT THE SOIL, CLIMATE, FLORA, FAUNA, WATER, & AIR 
 
  The relationship btwn the physical environment & agriculture relates primarily to the soil types, the climate:  precipitation, temperature, etc., the terrain, & human's manipulation of these factors   
  There is a strong, 2 way relationship btwn agriculture & the physical environment 
How does agriculture change the environment? 
 
  Ag involves the interaction of the biophysical & human systems 
 
  Ag is perhaps the most dependent on the environment 
 
  Extractive industries also depend on the environment 
 
  The management of the environment by farmers is always increasing 
 
  Ag tries to get around the limits of the physical environment by, for example, by irrigation, double cropping, wind breaks, terracing, etc. 
 
  Mechanized ag is an inefficient use of resources in SEVEN respects 
 
  1.  Soil degradation  is occurring on every continent w/ over one sixth of Earth's surface already impacted 
 
  2.  Biotechnology can threaten the environment through FOUR avenues if not properly controlled 
 
  3.  Unethical treatment of animals abounds in the commercial ag system 
 
  4.   Agricultural chemicals are affecting the soil, the water, plants & animal, & thus people 
 
  5.  The degradation & depletion of the fresh water supply is occurring because of irrigation, tillage practices, ag chemicals, etc. 
 
  6.  Tillage of the wild spaces 
 
  7.  Commercial ag utilizes a higher level of resources than traditional ag  
  1.  SOIL DEGRADATION IS OCCURRING ON EVERY CONTINENT   
  Soil degradation is occurring on every continent with over one sixth of Earth's surface already impacted   
  Today erosion occurs at over 1000x the historic normal rate   
  In the 1930s the Dust Bowl occurred in the midwest of the US & nothing was done by the govt until the dust from the midwest blew into Washington, DC   
  In the 2000s the dust from the Gobi Bowl of China reach the west coast of the US  
  Soil is a fixed resource that cannot be readily replaced   
  It takes 100 to 500 yrs to produce one half inch of soil   
  55 thousand million tons of soil is lost each year 
 
  The causes of soil loss include tillage, overgrazing, changing/degrading water run off, irrigation & salinization, over cropping, lack of wind breaks, etc.   
  The Chart on global soil resource problems shows that there is a high level of soil degradation problems on every continent   
  The Chart on global soil resource problems shows that over one sixth of the Earth's soil has been destroyed w/ Europe having the highest destroyed % & No America the lowest destroyed %   
  DESERTIFICATION IS THE PROCESS OF RENDERING A REGION BARREN BY ENVL EXTREMES, ESP BY LOW RAINFALL & TILLAGE WHICH DESTROYS THE SOIL   
  Topsoil & vegetative loss is so extreme that it is permanent & nothing will grow there   
  Desertification as manifested by the lack of top soil & the lack of vegetation creates an eco zone that becomes hotter & dryer that the eco zone it replaced   
  The desertified eco zone exhibits the same processes that urban heat sinks create   
  Desertification affects water quality & quantity   
  Desertification is especially prevalent in the slashed & burned areas of the Amazon   
  In Africa the southern the edge of Sahara Desert is steadily increasing   
  In China, the Gobi desert in Asia has also been growing dramatically   
  TILLAGE DESTROYS HABITAT & WATERSHEDS   
  As pop increased & as soil degrades, more marginal areas are tilled   
  Tillage destroys natural areas, i.e. the remaining animal & plant habitats & water sheds   
  Furthermore, the marginal areas are more fragile & thus often become degraded themselves   
  The Dust Bowl of 1930s was a result of over cultivation of early industrialized farming methods   
  Erosion of soil continues in US & around the globe   
  We are losing tillable acres each day   
  Tropical soil is fragile   
  In tropical zones, soil depletion is common because of heavy rain & over production of crops   
  The development of tropical land occurs through FIVE steps including:   
  a.  logging / deforesting the land   
 
b.  slashing & burning prepares the land for cultivation 
 
  Swidden is an area cleared for temporary cultivation by cutting & burning the vegetation  
 
c.  farming the land, usually to extent that it depletes the soil 
 
  d.  abandoning the land for farming; developing grazing   
  e.  abandoning the land for grazing & seeking new land:   
  In a decade,  the fragile tropical soil becomes degraded   
  2.  BIOTECHNOLOGY CAN THREATEN THE ENV THROUGH ESCAPE , COMPETITION & DISPLACEMENT, MONO CULTURES, UNKNOWN OUTCOMES  
  Biotechnology can threaten the environment if not properly controlled   
  a.  Biotech escape occurs when flora or fauna is designed to be produced in a controlled env, but escapes into the wider env   
  b.  Biotech competition & displacement occurs when a designed species out competes & thus displaces or destroys a native species   
  c.  Biotech monocultures, i.e. large populations of one type of species is more susceptible to disease & disruption than a multi culture / varied population   
  d.  Biotech unknown outcomes may create species w/ unknown & destructive properties leading to env disaster   
  3.  THE UNETHICAL TREATMENT OF ANIMALS OCCURS IN THE COMMERCIAL AG SYS  
  Americans consume 3 bb birds / yr (12 / person)   
  Americans consume 145 mm cattle, pigs, sheep, etc.   
  80 % of animals are raised on 17 % of farms which are all large corporate farms   
  98% of chickens & 70% of all animals are raised in a restricted environment   
  Only 2 % of birds & 30 % of bovines are happy barnyard animals   
  The living conditions for chickens & pigs are extreme   
  Some pigs & chickens are driven insane by their confinement & treatment   
  The ag industry diagnoses this as porcine stress syndrome   
  Slaughter methods insure animals are stressed   
 
See also:  Video:  Temple Brandon   
  Hunters know that animals that die under stress taste bad   
  Many hunters will not eat stressed meat   
  The cruelest animal treatment is in product testing & the medical industry   
  There are regulations, but they allow for extreme cruelty, often allowing for any type of treatment as long as the animal is killed in the end   
  4.  AG CHEMS ARE IMPACTING THE SOIL, WATER, PLANTS, ANIMALS, & THUS PEOPLE 
Ag chems are affecting the soil, the water, plants, animals, & thus people 
 
  You are what you eat:  chems, etc, growth hormones, antibiotics, feed supplements:  vitamins, minerals, etc., tranquilizers, other medicines   
  Animals eat fodder that cannot be fed to humans because of the herbicides on it, but the irony is that the animals concentrate the trace elements in their meat   
  Until the mad cow disease scare of the 2000s, animal fodder was supplemented w/ animal by products, & thus cattle, pigs, sheep, birds, etc. were 'cannibals'   
  Pesticides have environmental costs   
  Rachel Carson's Silent Spring demonstrated that DDT destroyed eggs & bones   
  Carson predicted a silent spring, no bird songs, if DDT continued to be used   
  Silent Spring was a cornerstone book for starting up the environmental movement   
  DDT affected calcium uptake in all species including humans   
  Wild bird egg shells were first to see severe impact   
  US corps continue to manufacture & sell DDT to peripheral nations   
  The circle of poison occurred w/ spraying insects, birds eat insects, people & other predators eat the birds   
  DDT was once a common pesticide, but it was banned in US in 1972 because it causes calcium depletion, esp in birds   
  People & other animals alive at  that time still carry DDT & it metabolites in their bodies today   
  US corps still sell it & many other banned chemical in semi & peripheral nations   
  Pests grow resistance to pesticides & so it always take more or new pesticides   
  Today non banned herbicides & pesticides are polluting ground water   
  Many pesticides & herbicides are linked to cancer   
  5.  THE DEGRADATION & DEPLETION OF THE FRESH WATER SUPPLY OCCURS BECAUSE OF IRRIGATION, TILLAGE, AG CHEMS, FEEDLOT RUN OFF, & MORE 
The degradation & depletion of the fresh water supply occurs because of irrigation, tillage, ag chemicals, feedlot run off, & more 
 
  Irrigation is steadily lowering water major aquifers in West: including the 
    Ogallaha water shed which is in the midwest from ND to TX 
    & the Idaho watershed which encompasses the Snake River Valley
 
  Over half of the water in the US is used to raise farm animals   
  It takes 100 time water to raise beef as wheat in lbs  
  The majority of US ground water sources are now polluted w/ nitrates & other chem residue from ag  
  6.  THE TILLAGE OF WILD SPACES DESTROYS THE NATURAL HABITAT
the tillage of the wild spaces destroys the natural habitat 
 
  Agriculture affects FIVE important facets of the wild spaces by:
a.  removing natural cover
b.  drying up wetlands
c.  fencing in areas
d.  creating a mono culture of plants & wildlife ( flora & fauna )
e.  creating the domination / exploitation of domestic species
 
  7.  COMMERCIAL AG UTILIZES HIGHER LEVELS OF RESOURCES THAN TRADL AG
commercial ag utilizes a higher levels of resources than tradl ag
Link
  There are FOUR Methods to improve agriculture   
  FOUR TACTICS HAVE BEEN USED TO IMPROVE AG'S IMPACT ON THE ENV INCLUDING DEBT SWAPS, INTER TILLAGE, RURAL RESETTLEMENT, & A GENDERED DIV OF LABOR  
  A.  A DEBT FOR NATURE SWAP IS WHERE DEBT IS ERASED IN EXCHANGED FOR ENVL PROTECTION OF SOME TYPE   
  In one debt for nature swap conservation groups, such as World Wildlife fund paid off part of a country's debt  & they estbed protected zones, a National Park   
  Some nations & loan agencies have been friendly towards debt for nature swaps, others have seen it as the West imposing its values on the peripheral nations   
  B.  INTER TILLAGE IS GROWING SEVERAL CROPS / CROP ROTATION IN THE SAME SWIDDEN AREA   
  Inter tillage is often staggered so that harvest can continue throughout the year   
  Use of inter tillage w/ crop or land rotation is the most environmental ag practice   
  Inter tillage requires no fertilizers, pesticides, or heavy equipment, but is labor intensive   
 
Inter tillage allows for food production throughout the year 
 
  C.  CENTRAL & SO AMERICAN GOVTS USE RURAL RESETTLEMENT TO RELIEVE URBAN POP PRESSURE 
Central & So American govts use rural resettlement relieve urban pop pressure 
 
  Rural resettlement often uses improper cultivation techniques & thus depletes the soil   
 
In the Amazon, shifting cultivation w/ grazing has accelerated environmental degradation 
 
  D.  A GENDERED DIV OF LABOR IN SHIFTING CULTIVATION EMBRACES CUL TRADITIONS & ENVL PRACTICES   
  Many modern ag practices fail because they upset tradl practices   
  Gendering the div of labor give men & women a stack in the mod ag practices & the output   
  In one practice, men slash & burn, & the women sow & harvest using inter tillage practices   
  Women supplement traditional ag w/ craft production for tourists   
  FOUR REASONS AREAS ARE FARMED W/ UNENVIRONMENTAL COMMERCIAL AG PRACTICES ARE CENTRALIZED CONTROL, EXTERNALIZATION OF COSTS, CORP PRACTICES, & SUBSIDIES  
  a.  Industrialization of ag results in the centralization of control which allows for the concentration of profits   
  b.  The externalization of costs is the term that economists use for costs that do not accrue to those making the costs   
 
In the case of commercial ag, costs are externalized, borne by the general public rather than by the producers 
 
  An example of ag externalization of costs is when corp feedlots to not have to pay for manure run off control to prevent the pollution of water, & the public must therefore pay for extensive water treatment facilities   
 
c.  Governments provide subsidies & economic development funds only for the furtherance of commercial ag, not environmental ag  
  d.  Corps practices support commercial ag because they support all of the factors leading to com ag, because it is the most profitable, & because they have the power to centralize in their own hands, they have the power to avoid costs through externalization, & they have the power to effectively lobby for subsidies for corp farms   

 
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Chart on global soil resource problems
( in millions of hectares )
Region
Overgrazing
Deforestation
Ag
Mismanagement
Other
Total
Degraded
Area as % of Total Vegetated Land
Asia
197
298
204
47
746
20 %
Africa
243
67
121
63
494
22 %
So America
68
100
64
12
244
14 %
Europe
50
84
64
22
220
23 %
No America
38
18
91
71
158
  8 %
Oceania
83
12
8
0
103
13%
World
679
579
552
155
1965
17 %
The Chart on global soil resource problems shows that there is a high level of soil degradation problems on every continent 

 
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 Outline on the  Census
External
Links
 
-  Project:  Your Own Private, Fantasy Census 
Link
  A CENSUS IS A SURVEY OF A POPULATION ON ANY NUMBER OF CHARACTERISTICS   
  A census is a survey conducted by a national govt to gather info about the society that it governs   
  Censuses examine such aspects of a nation as population, housing, ag, & mfr   
  A population census determines the size of a population & such information as the age, employment, income, race, & sex of people   
  Other censuses gather such data as the quality of housing or transportation, the level of ag or indl production, or the form of org of local govts   
  About 90 % of the world's nations conduct a population census   
  Governmental administration of a census helps ensure that the census serves the entire society   
  CENSUS INFO IS USED BY THE GOVT & THE PRIVATE SECTOR FOR MANY PURPOSES   
  National, state or provincial, & local govts analyze census data to determine the extent of econ & soc problems  
  Census data also helps identify the resources available to solve econ & soc problems  
  Most nat govts publish census info to make it available to the public  
  Business executives use census statistics to help them plan company policies  
  Economists & sociologists apply census data to the analysis of economic & social conditions  
  Welfare agencies also use census info   
  THE US CENSUS IS THE MOST THOROUGH   
  The US collects more varied & complete census info than any other nation  
  The Bureau of the Census, an agency of the Dept of Commerce, conducts all US fed censuses  
  For the 2000 census, the bureau employed about 860,0000 temporary wkrs   
  Recruiting, training, & managing such a large staff is expensive  
  The total cost of the 2000 census ranged from $6 billion to $10 billion  
  THE MAKE - UP OF THE US CENSUS IS EVOLVING   
 
The census is required by Fed Law to be taken every 10 yrs on the decade 
 
 
Historically, the census has been a direct count,  not a statistical estimate
 
 
For the 2000 census, there was much debate over this whether to count or estimate 
 
 
The TWO primary uses of the Fed Census are:
a. to apportion seats in US House, 
b. to distribute fed funds to states, counties, & cities
 
 
The US census decided not to list "mixed race" as a category in 2000, but they have included that category since then 
 
 
WHILE THE US CENSUS IS THE MOST THOROUGH, IT STILL HAS LIMITATIONS 
 
 
A limitation of the census is that the 10 yr period btwn censuses is too long in that too many changes occur 
 
 
A limitation of the census is that the 10 yr period btwn censuses is too short in that it is expensive & takes 4 yrs before & 4 yrs after to complete
 
 
The US census records info on race & ethnicity, but this may mask more important identities which are ignored 
 
 
The US census must do an actual count & not statistical sampling, each of which have strengths & weaknesses 
 
 
Any census is fairly accurate at determining pop growth w/in a 10 yr period, but much beyond it is less accurate
 
 
Because those who study pop are most interested in 50, 100 yr & longer, they often create low, middle, & high estimates 
 

 
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  Outline on   American Generations
External
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  -  Project:  The Boomers & Gen X 
Link
  A GENERATION IS A GROUP OF PEOPLE CATEGORIZED AROUND TIME & / OR A HISTL EVENT   
  A generation is the whole body of individuals who are born around the same general period of time   
  Generations include those past, the last, declining, the present, rising, & the next generations   
  A generation is commonly accepted to last 30 yrs  
  30 yrs is the average difference of age btwn 1 generation of a family & the next  
  Adults in a gen usually dominate / lead other gens for the 30 yrs they are in their peak career period, i.e. from about 30 to 60 yrs. of age   
 
There are many ways to categorize the American Generations
 
  AMERICAN GENERATIONS   
 
The Revolutionary War Generation
 
  The Early Westward Expansion Generation
 
  The Civil War Generation/ the Late Westward Expansion Generation  
  The Gay 90's Generation  
  The Depression Era Generation  
  The Greatest Generation  
 Link
The Baby Boomers  
 Link
Gen X  
  EACH GENERATION HAS A UNIQUE LIFESTYLE & WORLDVIEW  
  Generations always overlap, usually 3 or 4 gens at a time as seen in the simultaneous existence of Gen X, Boomers, the Greatest Gen, & the Depression Era Gen  
  Despite the fact that gens co-exist they frequently have different lifestyles & worldviews  
  While gens share some experiences, frequently what divides one gen from another is a central histl experience as seen in those who experienced WW 2 & those who experienced the Vietnam War  
  Central histl experiences as well as general, everyday experiences come to define a gen & create its worldview  

 
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 Outline on the  Baby Boomers
External
Links
  International Association of Baby Boomers     http://www.boomersassoc.com/
Link
 
76 MM BABY BOOMERS WERE BORN IN ABOUT 2 DECADES AFTER WW2 
 
  The post war baby boom was born btwn 1946 & 1964 & on average will die circa 2026 to 2044, w/ an estimated average life of 80 yrs   
 
The baby boom generation, aka the boomers, is the large group of people born in the US
 
 
During the period from 1946 to 1964 about 76 mm boomers were born 
 
 
By contrast, births totaled about 50 mm during the same length of time before the baby boom & about 66 mm in the same period after it
 
 
The baby boom generation has had major effects on the economy, ed system, & other parts of American life
 
  THE BOOMERS ARE UNIQUE BECAUSE THEY ARE LARGE, EDUCATED, & HAVE 'MIDDLE CLASS AFFLUENCE'   
  The boomers are presently the largest cohort & will remain so for the foreseeable future   
  The boomers are the most educated in history at this time  
  The boomers marry later, & more likely to divorce than WW2 generation, their parents   
  The boomers matured when the econ transitioned from a manufacturing economy to a service economy  
  The boomers are not as well off as their parents who had good times in the 50s  
  Female boomers have dramatically higher labor force participation  
 
THE BOOMERS ARE THE CHILDREN OF THE WW2 / GREAT DEPRESSION GENS 
 
  The baby boom followed the hard times of the Great Depression, which lasted throughout the 1930s; & America's participation in WW2, from Dec 1941 to Aug 1945  
 
The parents of the boomers were the WW2 generation which Tom Brokaw called 'The Greatest Generation' 
 
 
The WW2 gen is often the grandparents of Gen X
 
  Prior to, during, & after the war, many new couples were barely out of their teens   
  The number of marriages & births soared after the war  
 
After WW2 there was a high rate of marriage overall, but not highest marriage rate 
 
  During this time, many Americans delayed marrying & having children because of the poor economy & the wartime conditions  
 
The number of children per mother of boomers increased 
 
 
For the WW2 gen, women married earlier than previous generations
 
 
The dominant US political & econ encouraged marriage/families
 
 
Social & cultural factors relating to business & religion encourage the WW2 gen to have large families 
 
 
At the same time, numerous older married couples who had delayed having children began to have them when the war ended.
 
 
Thus, the postwar period featured increased births among both younger & older American couples
 
 
WARS CREATE BABY BOOMS 
 
 
Historically, birth rates have increased for a short period following difficult economic times & wars
 
 
However, the increase that began in the US after WW2 continued far beyond the usual time
 
 
The economy was a key reason in that in the 1950s & early 1960s ranked among the most prosperous eras in US history
 
  Many couples felt economically able to support children  
  The ownership of automobiles & of single family houses, chiefly in suburbs, soared   
  These developments encouraged a lifestyle that was favorable to raising children & enjoying family life together  
  THE EFFECTS OF THE BABY BOOMERS WILL BE THE GREATEST IN THE NEXT 30 YRS   
  The baby boom generation has had major effects on American society because of its size  
  Because there are so many boomers, businesses have created special advertising & mkting campaigns to gain them as customers  
  When the baby boomers were young, a "youth culture" in American life emphasized their music, styles & fads, & slang  
  The size of the baby boom generation has also led to problems  
  When the boomers reached school age, schools became overcrowded  
  Some schools expanded to two shifts a day, & some added temporary structures to accommodate all the pupils  
  When the boomers reached college age, American higher education had to expand  
  Larger enrollments, along w/ inflation & other factors, pushed college costs higher  
  At times, the baby boomers faced relatively high levels of unemployment because they had to compete w/ one another for jobs  
  Their economic prospects have not always been as good as those their parents experienced  
  Perhaps in response to poorer economic conditions, boomers have tended to delay marriage & to have small families  
  THE BOOMERS HAVE WITNESSED MAJOR CHANGES IN SOCIETY   
  The Defining Moments of the Baby Boomers include the: 
Civil Rights Movement
The 60s
The Sexual Revolution
Vietnam
Women's Movement
Environmental Movement
Growth of Rock & Roll
Terrorism
 
 
  THE BOOMERS WILL CONTINUE TO AFFECT AMERICAN LIFE   
  The educated workers of the boomers will stimulate the economy  
  The large size of the boomer gen has created a surplus of wkrs which has created a larger incidence of unemployment & underemployment   
  By 2030 there will be 65 mm Boomers over 65 yrs old   
  Aged boomers will overload the retirement & health care systems   
  When the generation reaches retirement age, its size will put a strain on programs designed to help senior citizens  
  Aged boomers will be a burden on Gen X unless Social Security & Health care systems are vastly improved now  
  The chief pension program, the Social Security system, provides money to retired people, using funds contributed by active workers  
  But w/o revisions in the system, Social Security's funds will run out when large numbers of boomers begin to retire  
 
 Aged boomers will sell homes & create surplus of home real estate
 
  Aged boomers will transfer wealth to Gen X  

 
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 Outline on  Gen X
External
Links
 
55 MM GEN Xers WERE BORN IN ABOUT 2 DECADES AFTER THE ONSET OF 'THE 60s' 
 
 
Gen X was born btwn 1964 & 1980 & on average will die circa 2054 to 2070, w/ an estimated average life of 90 yrs 
 
 
The Gen Xers grew up in smaller families than did their parents w/ the former growing up in, on average less than 2 child families, & the latter growing up in more than 3 child families 
 
 
GEN Xers CONTINUE SOME OF THE TRENDS OF THE BOOMERS, & ALSO DIVERGE SOME
 
 
The number of births of Gen Xers has decline below the average boomer number of 4 mm / yr
 
 
The fertility rate of the boomers his a low of 1.7 children per woman of childbearing age 
 
 
Because boomers, as compared to the WW2 gen, are more likely to stay single or divorced, they had smaller families
 
 
Boomers are more likely, as compared to the WW2 gen, to be a single parent w/ a single child 
 
 
In boomer families of procreation, the mother is slightly more likely to work than the father, which is a complete reversal from their family or origin dynamics where few mothers worked
 
 
Because the boomers, as compared to the WW2 gen, are less well off, moving down from higher mid class to lower mid class, Gen Xers are growing up in more mid class families
 
 
DEMOGRAPHIC INFO SHOWS THAT GEN Xers ARE A SMALLER COHORT THAN THEIR PARENTS 
 
 
-  Supplement:  The Gen X Webpage shows the unique socio histl existence, experiences, & issues of Gen X as they come to adulthood 
Link
 
-  Supplement:  The 1970 Population Pyramid & Age Distribution Chart shows that the Gen Xers, i.e. those under 14 yrs of age are a smaller cohort than earlier generations
Link
 
-  Supplement:  The 1980 Population Pyramid & Age Distribution Chart shows that the Gen Xers, i.e. those under 14 yrs of age are experiencing a continuation of the trend of being a smaller cohort than earlier generations
Link
 
-  Supplement:  The 1990 Population Pyramid & Age Distribution Chart shows that the Gen Xers, i.e. those under 24 yrs of age are experiencing a continuation of the trend of being a smaller cohort than earlier generations, but the declining trend is beginning to abate in that those under 5 yrs of age are a larger cohort than those that preceded them 
Link
 
-  Supplement:  The 1990 Bar Chart on 15-24 Year Olds, i.e. the Gen Xers, shows that the most common causes are injury, homicide, & suicide, all which are 'youthful causes of death' which will decline as 'senior causes of death' such as disease come into play 
Link
 
GEN Xers CONTINUE SOME OF THE TRENDS OF THEIR PARENTS, & END OTHERS 
 
  Few Gen Xers are blue collar workers, & many are tech wkrs & service wkrs   
  In the long term, the level of income Gen Xers can expect to earn is uncertain, but they are doing slightly better than their parents, i.e. the boomers, at this stage of their life   
  They have surpassed the boomers to become the most highly educated generation in American history   
  Continuing the trend, Gen Xers are less likely to marry than boomers, who were less likely to marry than the WW2 gen   
  Reversing the trend, Gen Xers are less likely to divorce than boomers, who were more likely to divorce than the WW2 gen   
  Continuing the trend, Gen Xers have smaller families than boomers, who had smaller families than the WW2 gen   
  Gen Xers are more religious than their parents the boomers, & have returned to traditional religions   
  The Gen Xers experienced relative peace & prosperity, until 9 - 11, at which time they experienced the beginning of what may be the cold war on terrorism   
  PRESENTLY, 9 - 11 IS THE DEFINING MOMENT OF THE GEN Xers   
  Some of the early defining moments of the Gen Xers such as the breakup of the SU, the War in Somalia in early 1990s or the War in former Yugoslavia, late 1990s are important historically but do not rise to the level of WW2 or the events of the 1960s   
  The millennium milestone was a joyous event for the Gen Xers & all  
  The impact of Sept 11, 2001 will perhaps be the defining moment of Gen X w/ the wars in a Afghanistan & Iraq as perhaps greater importance   
  THE GEN Xers HAVE ONLY JUST BEGUN TO IMPACT WORLD HISTORY  
 
In the future, there will be more jobs available when the boomers retire 
 
 
The Gen Xers will pay more for Social Security, unless it is fixed now
 
  The Gen Xers will be at center of generational equity debate since they will control the econ when the boomers retire   
  The Gen Xers are beginning to experience a new "Cold War" against Terrorism which may continue throughout their lives   

 
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 Outline on  SIA Variable 1:  Population
External
Links
  -  Project:    SIA Variable 1:  Population 
Link
  There are EIGHT Major SIA variables 
1.  Population characteristics 
2.  Community & institutional structure 
3.  Political & social resources 
4.  Individual & family factors 
5.  Community resources 
6.  Knowledge, Beliefs, Values, Norms, Attitudes, Opinions, Interests, Ideologies 
7.  Lifestyles 
8.  Economics 
 
  1.  Population characteristics 
 
  In SIA, when examining population characteristics, the assessment shall determine, catalogue, & analyze the:   
  - stratification of the affected population 
 
  - current struc & org of affected population 
 
  - stability or change in the population 
 
  - number density, & distribution of residents & visitors including seasonal variations   
  - ethnic, racial, religious econ, soc groups, et al, & the distinctions among them 
 
  - wealth, poverty, employment, & income dist
 
  - employment sectors in the affected area 
 
  - unemployment rate 
 
  - types of employed people ( particularly affected by the action under review ) 
 
  - seasonal changes, or other kinds of influx & outflow 
 
  - age & sex of residents & visitors   
  - amount of immigration & the % of immigrants   
  - available human resources such as ed level, talents, skills, training & ed resources, etc.   
  - nature of each quality of population according to the various alternatives of the SIA project 
 

 
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 Outline on the  Population Explosion & the Environment
External
Links
  POPULATION GROWTH DIRECTLY IMPACTS THE ENV WHICH LEADS TO IMPACTS IN OTHER AREAS OF THE PHYS & SOC ENV 
 
  An analysis of the general effects of pop growth shows that it has both direct & indirect effects & that there is, in fact, a long causal chain of events from pop growth to many other effects 
 
Link
The Chart on the Effects of Pop Growth shows that env destruction is one of the most central effects of pop growth & that it leads directly to social ills such as scarcity & poverty   
  Thus pop growth is a indirect cause of many physical & soc problems in the world today 
 
  Pop growth creates scarcity which creates poverty & want which leads to many soc ills such as crime & violence 
 
  One of the more direct, or immediate effects of pop growth is the impact on the env 
 
 
POPULATION GROWTH INCREASES CONSUMPTION WHICH INCREASES IMPACT ON THE ENV 
 
  Many experts worry that people in rich & poor countries alike consume too much, destroy forests & soil, pollute the env, & damage prospects for human survival on Earth  
  The most immediate impact of pop on the env comes via the increased levels of consumption  
  Consumption increases in all areas including food, & the use of 'natural resources' from timber, to minerals, to fossil fuels   
  The direct negative effects of population on the env include air pollution, water pollution, etc., the production of haz mat, as well as simply changing the nature of ecozones so that they become unsustainable, e.g. CO2, urban sprawl, deforestation & replacement w/ monocultural flora such as food crops   
  POPULATION GROWTH IMPACTS FOOD PRODUCTION WHICH IMPACTS THE ENV   
 
The earliest impact of pop growth on the env related to food production 
 
  Anthropological ecologists have found that hunter gatherers & ancient civilizations had significant impacts on their env 
 
  Hunter gatherers & ancient peoples' search for food caused or contributed to overgrazing which caused extreme changes in regional ecozones such as the Mideast or the UK
 
  Hunter gatherers & ancient peoples' search for food caused or contributed to over hunting which caused the extinction of flora & fauna 
 
  Today the impact of ag is greater than it has ever been in that it contributes to deforestation around the world but esp in So Am & the So Pacific islands
 
  The ecological effects of western patterns of meat production are well documented 
 
  Regions of forest around the world, but esp in So Am & the So Pacific islands are cut & transformed to crop land
 
  The crop lands of So Am & the So Pacific islands cannot sustain this practice so they ransform it to grazing land 
 
  Both crop land & grazing land of deforested land is used for meat production   
  But much of the land cannot even maintain grazing & soon becomes depleted, some of it turning to desert  
 
The meat finds its way to Western mkts, esp fast food   
 
POPULATION PRESSURE IMPACTS THOSE AREAS WE TRY TO PRESERVE: NAT PARKS, WILDERENSSS, ETC. 
 
 
One of the areas where pop effects on the env are notable, & even ironic, can be seen in the areas we have chosen to protect such as nat parks, wilderness areas, & other recreational areas 
 
  The world's nat parks have experienced dramatic growth in tourism during the 1900s   
  The increase in tourism is a result of both pop growth & the growth of leisure & disposable inc among that growing pop   
  Some popular parks are actually endangered by their admiring visitors, esp in the US, Japan, & other wealthy nations w/ large pops  
  Too many visitors can harm the natural envs that nat parks are set aside to protect   
  In some popular nat parks, for example, visitors' automobiles create traffic jams, kill wildlife, & pollute the air   
  In addition, overcrowded campgrounds increase the level of litter & destroy the unspoiled beauty of scenic areas   
  Overcrowding creates a difficult choice for park mgrs   
  Tourist spending demonstrates that park preservation has econ as well as spiritual value   
  In fact, income from tourists visiting the nat parks in Africa is vital to the economies of many nations there   
  Nevertheless, mgrs have had to limit the number of cars & campers, & to estb other restrictions to protect park resources for future generations   
  POPULATION GROWTH THREATENS NATIVE PEOPLES   
  If one considers people to be part to the env, then the preservation of native peoples is a concern   
  The peoples who live in & near nat parks are especially concerned about who benefits from tourism in the parks   
  In some countries, the benefits have gone to political officials who control the parks & to large foreign based corps   
  The original inhabitants may then see the parks as a foreign idea & one damaging to their lives   
  As a result, they may oppose the establishment & preservation of nat parks   
  Some park mgrs concerned for the rights of local peoples look to New Zealand & Australia for solutions   
  The Maori & the Aborigines support the creation of nat parks as a way to preserve their sacred places & tradl ways of life   
 
The coop of the Aboriginal groups & the Australian Nat Park & Wildlife Service at Kakadu Nat Park, for example, may serve as a model for other nations
 

 
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 Outline on   Solutions to the Population Explosion
External
Links
  -  Project:  Causes, Effects & Solutions of the Population Explosion 
Link
 
POPULATION CAN BE REGULATED BY PERSONAL CHOICES 
 
 
Pop can be voluntarily regulated on the personal level in by controlling fertility, consumption & raising awareness 
 
  There are, however, too many cases of forced pop control   
  In general, if the birth rate were reduced to the replacement level, an average of about 2.1 children per woman, then only enough people are born to replace those who die   
  To control ones own fertility a couple would either have 1 or 2 children, or be child free   
  The resulting condition of replacement level fertility is called zero population growth or ZPG  
  In the US & much of Euro, fertility is below replacement level & therefore their pops only increase through immigration, or they decline   
  But in many of the world's poorer countries, women have an average of as many as 7 or 8 children   
  In many other countries, birth rates have declined more slowly & are still far above replacement level   
 
To lower the impact of pop growth, one must lower their own consumption, which would also reduce envl impact & other neg pop impacts 
 
 
THE MOST EFFECTIVE POP CONTROL IS WHEN IT IS REGULATED BY SOCIETAL CHOICES, CONSISTENT W/ WESTERN VALUES, WHERE WOMEN HAVE A VOICE IN FAMILY PLANNING, & BOTH MEN & WOMEN PREFER SMALLER FAMILIES 
 
  The decisions that women & men make about having children are influenced by many other factors besides govt policies   
  These factors include their soc & econ circumstances, their ed, their need to have someone care for them in their old age, their feelings about the future, & their access to info & medical care   
 
Population can be voluntarily regulated on the societal level in ways that are largely consistent w/ Western values, including: 
1.  tax incentives for fewer children 
2.  raise awareness: ed on pop growth 
3.  universal access to reproductive healthcare 
4.  invest in community healthcare 
5.  educate & empower women 
6.  raising women's status 
7.  authorizing the age of marriage 
8.  universal access to education 
9.  protection & enhancement of human rights 
10.  antipoverty efforts 
11.  envl protection & restoration efforts 
12.  economic development 
13.  increase factors leading to demographic trans 
14.  streamline adoption procedures 
 
 
  Help raise awareness by telling people your beliefs   
  As a result, future soc & econ changes will have important effects on birth rates & pop growth   
 
POPULATION CAN BE REGULATED BY SOCIETAL CHOICES, INCONSISTENT W/ WESTERN VALUES 
 
 
Population can be  regulated on the societal level in ways that are largely inconsistent w/ Western values including: 
1.  mandatory limits on family size 
2.  mandatory birth control 
3.  tax penalties for children 
4.  forced abortions 
5.  infanticide 
6.  forced sterilization 
 
  THE MOST EFFECTIVE PROCESS / METHOD OF POP CONTROL IS FOR PEOPLE TO VOLUNTARILY CHOOSE SMALLER FAMILIES, WHICH IS USUALLY DUE TO THE DEMOGRAPHIC TRANSITION, ECON DEV, & WESTERN VALUES  
  The demographic transition (DT) occurs when the birth rate falls below, or near, the death rate so that there is (nearly) zero pop growth (ZPG)   
  The DT occurs because people in societies where they see econ dev, & where women have a voice in family size, people see no advantage is a large family, & see advantages in small families   
  Econ dev provides jobs & lifestyles, as opposed to tradl ag jobs & lifestyles, that do not require large families   
  Under tradl ag practices large families were an advantage as a wkforce, but in mod societies, because the children do not work, children are a financial liability   
  Under tradl ag practice large families were an advantage because when the parents became old, the grown children would care for them   
  In mod societies, the parents are expected to care for themselves & not be burden for the grown children, though this often does not happen   
  Under tradl ag practices, the male parent has nearly absolute authority in the family, & so only he makes the family planning decisons & large families give both him & his wife a higher status   
  In mod societies, men & women decide together on the family size, & there is no status atributed to large families   
  The tradl values of large families as a wkforce, as a hedge against old age, as a patriarchal status symbol are replaced by Western values of small families where the children do not work, where parents provide for themselves in old age, & where men & women co decide on family size, & small, successful families are a  status symbol   
  Western nations such as the US, Canada, the UK & more have either ZPG, or pop growth due only to immigration   
  Developing nations such as Somalia, Mexico, Thailand, & more still have pop explosions   
  Pop planners see the primary hope for planetary ZPG, a sustainable world pop, as the development of the DT, econ dev, & Western values related to family size throughout the world   
  While the DT & econ dev has occurred as a natural or unguided process in many nations, as of yet govts, non govt orgs (NGOs), interest grps, dev agencies, etc. have not been all that successful in implementing the DT, econ dev, & Western values   
  Thus the race to control pop depends on both the natural, unguided dev of the DT, econ dev, & Western values, as well as the dev / implementation of these factors in peripheral & semi peripheral nations by govt, aid agencies, NGOs, interest grps & others   
  THE MOST DIRECT METHOD TO LIMIT POPULATION GROWTH IS BIRTH CONTROL  
  Many people object to birth control on moral grounds, claiming that abstinence is the only moral birth control practice   
  Critics of the abstinence only approach claim that it is not at all effective   
  The govts of many countries have promoted birth control programs in efforts to reduce the birth rate   
  China, for example, has persuaded millions of couples to have only one child   
  In China & some other nations, there are cases of forced birth control, sterilization, abortion, the taking of children of families who have had too many, & other authoritarian birth control practices   
  The US has refused to fund voluntary birth control practices either in the US or anywhere around the world   

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