Deck 9: Geographies of Food and Agriculture

Question 1

Farmers can create artificial physical environments by using which of the following methods?

A) Building greenhouses
B) Practising irrigation
C) Planting genetically modified seeds
D) Building ecosystems
E) Both A and B

Answer 1

E

Question 2

Which of the following is the main physical variable affecting agriculture?

A) Soil
B) Drainage
C) Topography
D) Geology
E) Climate

Answer 2

E

Question 3

Agricultural systems are affected by which of the following policy measures?

A) Quotas
B) International trade legislation
C) Marketing boards
D) Credit policies
E) All of the above

Answer 3

E

Question 4

Farming is subject to the basic laws of supply and demand as agricultural products are produced in response to which factor?

A) Physical landscape
B) Market demand
C) Competition
D) Growing conditions
E) Location

Question 5

The spread and growth of viticulture was encouraged by which of the following?

A) Ease of production
B) State decisions
C) The Church's demand for wine
D) Landscape conditions
E) All of the above

Question 6

The Canada-United States border region is an excellent example of how agricultural landscapes evolve in response to which of the following?

A) Population demand
B) Weather patterns
C) Physical landscape
D) Government policies
E) Economic expectations

Question 7

Commercial agriculture is primarily characterized by which of the following?

A) Demand
B) Family needs
C) Profit
D) Genetic modification
E) Land availability

Question 8

What agricultural system has the production goal of meeting family needs rather than making profit?

A) Commercial agriculture
B) Subsistence agriculture
C) Local agriculture
D) Land rent
E) Agricultural rent

Question 9

According to the economist David Ricardo, which of the following is the key variable in the formulation of the economic rent concept?

A) Land use
B) Land rents
C) Location of regional markets
D) Distance from market
E) Agricultural intensity

Question 10

The maximum rent that a potential land user can be charged for use of a given piece of land is referred to as which of the following?

A) Economic rent
B) Rent ceiling
C) Commercial rent
D) Land use rent
E) Rent cap

Question 11

Which economist published The Isolated State in 1826?

A) Von Thünen
B) Weber
C) Vidal
D) Smith
E) Christaller

Question 12

What is the relationship between rent and distance?

A) Geometric
B) Parabolic
C) Non-linear
D) Linear
E) Erratic

Question 13

The economic operator model assumes that human behaviour is which of the following?

A) Unpredictable
B) Irrational
C) Rational
D) Unknown
E) Irrelevant

Question 14

The concept of an economic operator is which of the following?

A) Empirical
B) Normative
C) Descriptive
D) Positive
E) Humanist

Question 15

Which of the following statements applies to normative theory?

A) It focuses on what actually is.
B) It seeks what is rational or optimal according to some criteria.
C) It focuses on what ought to be.
D) Both A and B
E) Both B and C

Question 16

Most human behaviour lies between the two extremes of optimization and minimum adaptation and can be described as which of the following?

A) Satisficing
B) Competitive
C) Maximizing
D) Compromising
E) Co-operative

Question 17

Which of the following was NOT an assumption made by von Thünen?

A) All farmers are profit maximizers.
B) There is only one mode of transportation.
C) There is uniform productive capacity of land.
D) There is variable productivity of land.
E) There is only one centrally located market.

Question 18

Which of the following theories states that product location is affected by perishability and weight?

A) Livestock Theory
B) Crop theory
C) Intensity theory
D) Interaction theory
E) Contemporary theory

Question 19

Von Thünen's second conclusion claims that for any given product, the intensity of production decreases with which of the following?

A) Decreasing distance from the market
B) Increasing economic rent
C) Increasing distance from the market
D) Decreasing economic rent
E) None of the above

Question 20

According to von Thünen's crop theory, the zone closest to the town market is used for which of the following activities?

A) Forestry
B) Transportation
C) Horticulture and dairying
D) Grazing
E) Basic commercial crops

Question 21

It has been observed that wheat cultivation was associated with which of the following?

A) The rise of an urban network
B) Major population growth
C) Transport expansion
D) Both A and C
E) All the above

Question 22

In the agricultural land use in von Thünen's isolated state model, what type of land is the outer-most ring?

A) Horticulture and dairying
B) Forestry
C) Crop rotation with fallow
D) Grazing
E) Wilderness

Question 23

A study of western New York state focused on the idea that a prolonged period of falling transport costs is associated with increasing which of the following?

A) Regional fragmentation of the market
B) Agricultural production
C) Specialization of transport
D) Regional specialization of agriculture
E) Nearness to the market

Question 24

Which of the following countries possesses many of the essential characteristics of the isolated state and its application to von Thünen's agricultural land use theory?

A) Brazil
B) Canada
C) Uruguay
D) Mexico
E) The United States

Question 25

Approximately when were horses first domesticated?

A) 5000-0 BCE
B) 1-500 CE
C) 501-1000 CE
D) 1001-1500 CE
E) 1501-2000 CE

Question 26

Prior to learning that agriculture emerged and evolved independently in several places at approximately the same time, it was traditionally thought that agriculture first emerged in which part of the world?

A) Northern Africa
B) Central America
C) North America
D) Southwest Asia
E) Southern Europe

Question 27

Which of the following variables is considered to be a possible cause of domestication of plants and animals?

A) Cultural
B) Environmental
C) Demographic
D) Both A and B
E) All of the above

Question 28

Which of the following was NOT an agricultural core area circa 500 BCE?

A) America
B) Africa
C) Southern India
D) Northern China
E) Southwest Asia

Question 29

What major innovation took place in China in about 300 BCE, causing agricultural productivity to increase?

A) The seed drill
B) The plough
C) Irrigation
D) The tractor
E) The horse collar

Question 30

Approximately when did the second agricultural revolution begin in England?

A) Sixteenth century
B) Seventeenth century
C) Eighteenth century
D) Nineteenth century
E) Twentieth century

Question 31

The second agricultural revolution was associated with the end of the feudal system and the emergence of which of the following?

A) Post-feudalism
B) Socialism
C) Communism
D) Agribusiness
E) Capitalism

Question 32

Which of the following events allowed the population of England to exceed the barrier of 5.5 million people for the first time?

A) A second agricultural revolution
B) The information age
C) The Industrial Revolution
D) The green revolution
E) The agrarian trap

Question 33

A fossil nitrate called caliche, used as a source of nitrogen, was first exported from which of the following countries?

A) Chile
B) China
C) Brazil
D) India
E) Argentina

Question 34

What is the name of the process that converts atmospheric nitrogen to ammonia to produce synthetic nitrogen fertilizers?

A) Haber-Bosch process
B) Bosch process
C) Smil process
D) Haber process
E) Nitrogenization process

Question 35

Nitrogen fertilizers have been associated with which of the following?

A) Water contamination
B) The release of nitrous oxide into the atmosphere
C) Soil contamination
D) Increased soil acidity
E) All of the above

Question 36

What type of farming is becoming increasingly popular?

A) Intensive farming
B) Extensive farming
C) Commercial farming
D) Biotech farming
E) Organic farming

Question 37

In the 1960s, the Rockefeller and Ford foundations created an agricultural research system that produced which of the following?

A) Higher protein content strains
B) Pest-resistant seeds
C) High-yielding seeds
D) Pesticides
E) Fertilizers

Question 38

The green revolution has received criticism for which of the following reasons?

A) Producing lower yields
B) Causing higher prices for crops
C) Having undesirable environmental consequences
D) Using limited technology
E) Both A and B

Question 39

As a result of the green revolution, nearly how much did world grain production increase between 1960 and 2018?

A) 100 per cent
B) 150 per cent
C) 200 per cent
D) 250 per cent
E) 300 per cent

Question 40

Soybeans, corn, cotton, canola and potatoes are the principal crops of which of the following?

A) Commercial farming
B) Subsistence farming
C) Mediterranean farming
D) Mixed farming
E) Genetic modification

Question 41

Which of the following have been accomplished through the genetic modification of foods?

A) Inserting genes from animals to plants
B) Making crops less vulnerable to pests
C) Making plants less vulnerable to drought
D) Both B and C
E) All of the above

Question 42

Approximately how many acres of land were being used to grow genetically modified crops worldwide by 2014?

A) 0-99 million
B) 100-199 million
C) 200-299 million
D) 300-399 million
E) 400-499 million

Question 43

Most of the no-till agriculture in Canada is found in which of the following areas?

A) The Annapolis Valley in Nova Scotia
B) The south-eastern region of Newfoundland
C) Southern Ontario and Quebec
D) British Columbia's Okanagan Valley
E) The prairie region

Question 44

Huggins and Reganold argue that no-till agriculture has which of the following benefits?

A) Reduces soil erosion
B) Conserves water
C) Improves health of soil
D) Both A and B
E) All of the above

Question 45

What are the disadvantages of no-till farming?

A) Germination may be slower
B) Heavier reliance on herbicides
C) Contributes to soil erosion
D) Both A and B
E) All of the above

Question 46

Which of the following is another term for primitive subsistence agriculture?

A) Shifting agriculture
B) Organic farming
C) Dairy farming
D) Grain farming
E) Mixed farming

Question 47

Today, shifting agriculture is practised almost exclusively in what areas?

A) Moderate areas
B) Frigid zones
C) Hot deserts
D) Tropical areas
E) Temperate areas

Question 48

Wet rice farming is typically restricted to what type of environment?

A) Flat land adjacent to rivers
B) Low-lying land adjacent to seas
C) Low mountainsides
D) Cleared forest tracts
E) In rainforests

Question 49

Vine and tree crops are elements of which of the following?

A) Mediterranean agriculture
B) Extensive farming
C) Coastal farming
D) Plantation agriculture
E) Mixed farming

Question 50

Corn, wheat, rye, and barley are all crops associated with which method of farming?

A) Commercial farming
B) Subsistence farming
C) Coastal farming
D) Mediterranean farming
E) Mixed farming

Question 51

Pastoral nomadism remains an important type of agriculture in which of the following countries?

A) Afghanistan
B) Somalia
C) Iran
D) Mongolia
E) All of the above

Question 52

Coffee, tea, cacao, sugar cane, tobacco, and rubber are all examples of which of the following?

A) Intensive crops
B) Extensive crops
C) Mediterranean farming
D) Commercial crops
E) Plantation crops

Question 53

Areas that specialize in less perishable dairy products reflect which of the following factors?

A) Capital-intensive initiative
B) Greater distance from the market
C) Mixed farming
D) Close distance to the market
E) Preferential location

Question 54

Modern plantation agriculture is characterized by which of the following?

A) Multinational companies
B) Incorporating vertical integration
C) Producing for distant markets
D) Both A and C
E) All of the above

Question 55

Which of the following agricultural types is most likely to resemble a factory system, as opposed to the traditional image of an agricultural way of life?

A) Mixed farming
B) Large-scale grain production
C) Livestock
D) Dairying
E) Ranching

Question 56

Which of the following is another term for ranching?

A) Mixed grazing
B) Commercial farming
C) Commercial grazing
D) Extensive farming
E) Mixed farming

Question 57

Today, plantations are associated with which form of colonialism?

A) Economic colonialism
B) Ethnic colonialism
C) European colonialism
D) Political colonialism
E) Social colonialism

Question 58

When a plantation company produces the crop and also refines, processes, packages, and sells the by-products, this is known as which of the following?

A) Multinational
B) Modernism
C) Vertical integration
D) Economic integration
E) Economic colonialism

Question 59

Large and highly mechanized farms are associated with which of the following?

A) Large-scale grain production
B) Mixed farming
C) Dairying
D) Mixed ranch farming
E) Ranching

Question 60

In Canada, the transition from a predominantly wheat economy to a more diversified economy was evident in which of the following period?

A) Late nineteenth century
B) Early twentieth century
C) Mid twentieth century
D) Late twentieth century
E) Early twenty-first century

Question 61

Until 1995, the Canadian Pacific Railway had guaranteed western Canadian farmers a special low rate "in perpetuity." What was this called?

A) Crow rate
B) CP rate
C) Grain rate
D) Western farmers rate
E) Grow rate

Question 62

Between 2006 and 2011 the total number of farm operators in Canada declined by approximately how much?

A) Less than 20 per cent
B) 20-39 per cent
C) 40-59 per cent
D) 60-79 per cent
E) 80-100 per cent

Question 63

What economic activities have replaced agriculture as the most important sectors of national economies?

A) Industrial activities
B) Service activities
C) Mining activities
D) Both A and B
E) All of the above

Question 64

In the eighteenth century, the decrease in the agricultural economy first began in which of the following countries?

A) China
B) United States
C) Britain
D) Canada
E) India

Question 65

The World Bank data for high-income countries suggest that today about 1.4 per cent of their GDP is derived from agriculture. What per cent of their population is employed in the agriculture sector?

A) Less than 10 per cent
B) 10-19 per cent
C) 20-29 per cent
D) 30-39 per cent
E) 40-49 per cent

Question 66

The food supply system integrates activities at five levels. Which of the following is NOT one of the five levels?

A) Farm production
B) Growing conditions
C) Product processing
D) Food distribution
E) Food consumption

Question 67

In the less developed world, most state agricultural policies are aimed at which of the following?

A) Increasing productivity
B) Achieving higher farm incomes
C) Achieving higher dietary standards
D) Both A and B
E) All of the above

Question 68

Which term refers to the activities of a specific form of transnational corporation engaged in the food production industry?

A) Economic operator
B) Agribusiness
C) Domestication
D) Industrial farming
E) Commercial farming

Question 69

Today, agriculture is one of the biggest industries in the world, employing approximately how many people?

A) Less than 1 billion
B) 1-2 billion
C) 2-3 billion
D) 3-4 billion
E) 4-5 billion

Question 70

Which country is the leading exporter of food in the world today?

A) Canada
B) The United States
C) Australia
D) Chile
E) Argentina

Question 71

Two important causes of current agricultural change are the ever-increasing demand for food and which of the following?

A) The movement of food across countries
B) The concentration of people in large urban centres
C) The growth of population in the less developed world
D) The rapid development of new technology
E) The lack of sufficient agricultural lands

Question 72

In Britain in 2001, the foreign secretary reported that the national dish was which of the following?

A) Roast beef
B) Chicken tikka masala
C) Bangers and mash
D) Kidney pie
E) Fish and chips

Question 73

The new 2019 Canadian Food Guide includes helping Canadians to eat less of which of the following?

A) Sugar
B) Saturated fats
C) Salt
D) Both A and C
E) All of the above

Question 74

Which of the following is the fastest-growing sector of the global agricultural economy?

A) Grains
B) Fruits
C) Livestock
D) Rice
E) Vegetables

Question 75

The best likelihood of producing enough food to feed 9 billion is through which of the following?

A) Increasing research
B) Changing diets
C) Reducing food loss
D) Reducing food waste
E) All of the above

Question 76

Most crops require neutral or slightly acidic soils.

Question 77

The angle, direction, and related exposure to the sun determine both the probability of soil erosion and the use of machinery.

Question 78

High temperatures result in slow plant growth.

Question 79

Normative theories propose what reality would be like in some hypothetical ideal situation.

Question 80

Von Thünen's hypotheses are locally applicable and not relevant at the continental and the world scales.