Deck 10: Making Agriculture Sustainable

Question 1

All of the following factors are thought to contribute to colony collapse disorder EXCEPT ________________.

A)parasites and pathogens
B)loss of habitat such as prairie
C)abnormally harsh winters
D)the use of insecticides
E)the use of Roundup to kill weeds

Answer 1

abnormally harsh winters

Question 2

Researchers in Switzerland and Pennsylvania have demonstrated that organic farming ________________.

A)decreased organic soil losses while giving yields almost as high as conventional farming
B)suppresses the biodiversity of pollinating insects,especially bees
C)is only sustainable with pesticides and synthetic fertilizers
D)presently has no market in Europe
E)increases the incidence of invasive species

Answer 2

decreased organic soil losses while giving yields almost as high as conventional farming

Question 3

European nations ________________

A)do not support the growth or sale of GM crops
B)along with Canada,Brazil,and Argentina have developed and planted many GM crops
C)have refused to allow synthetic pesticides to be used on nonexported crops
D)produce so little food that they have to import most meats and vegetables
E)have converted all farms to organic agriculture

Answer 3

do not support the growth or sale of GM crops

Question 4

The average consumer can reduce his or her ecological footprint the most by ________________.

A)eating more locally grown foods
B)eating more meat and less grains
C)drinking bottled water that is high in mineral content
D)eating less meat and dairy products
E)eating mainly foods that are shipped in large,bulk shipments

Question 5

Neonicotinoids are used ________________.

A)on seeds to protect the plants from insects after the seeds germinate
B)as fertilizer for tobacco crops
C)in the manufacture of cigarettes
D)in the treatment of brain and bone cancer
E)as a toxin by milkweed plants

Question 6

Aquaculture ________________

A)requires the flooding of fields to produce water -intensive crops such as cotton and rice
B)can bring economic benefits and food security to many developing regions
C)produces less fish per unit area compared to ocean water harvesting
D)has no real environmental disadvantages
E)frequently results in unintended catch of nontarget species

Question 7

A child named Emma in Uganda has a large abdomen and reddish hair that used to be black, suggesting that Emma probably _______________.

A)is overnourished
B)has anemia
C)suffers from marasmus
D)suffers from kwashiorkor
E)has too much iodine and beryllium in her diet

Question 8

Green Revolution techniques ________________

A)focus on organic farming
B)have contributed to an increased diversity of foods in the human diet
C)have increased crop yields but may not be sustainable
D)focus on sustainability
E)focus on preserving biodiversity

Question 9

In Queensland,Australia,cactus moths _______________

A)effectively cleared non -native prickly pear cactus from rangeland
B)are a keystone species
C)are an invasive species
D)are examples of species that have developed resistance to pesticides
E)are raised as a food source by native Aborigines

Question 10

Organic farming ________________

A)has become more challenging because of contamination by GM crop varieties
B)has no national standards in the United States
C)began in the 1960s
D)and organically grown produce have not been supported by the European Union
E)is presently limited to crops of fruits and vegetables

Question 11

Place the following list of steps into the correct sequence for creating a genetically modified organis
a)The gene is transferred to the target organism.
b)The bacteria containing the recombinant DNA are allowed to reproduce.
c)The gene of interest is inserted into a plasmid.
d)A plasmid is isolated from a strain of bacteria.
e)The plasmid containing the recombinant DNA is inserted into bacteria.
f)The gene of interest is isolated from the cell of an organism.

A) a b c d t e
B) d e c f a b
C) d c d a b
D) f d a b e e
E) d f c e b a

Question 12

Which of the following is TRUE?

A)More than one in three adults in the United States is obese.
B)People are undernourished mainly because they are not educated about proper nutrition.
C)Aquaculture has decreased significantly since 1985.
D)World hunger has increased significantly since 1970.
E)World grain production has remained stable since 1985.

Question 13

Use the accompanying figure to answer the following question.
Cows require a high quantity of feed because they __________________.

A)are the best source of high -quality protein
B)can feed more people than pigs
C)are raised on feedlots
D)take time to grow and have a low energy conversion efficiency
E)are genetically modified organisms

Question 14

________________ comprises just over half of all of the world's GM crops.

A)Tomatoes
B)Canola
C)Soybeans
D)Cotton
E)Corn

Question 15

Your friend plants Roundup Ready seeds in her garden and several months later notices that her garden is overrun with weeds.She calls the seed company to complain.How should the customer service agent respond?

A)The customer service agent should apologize,because the seeds were already treated with Roundup,which should have controlled the weeds.
B)The customer service agent should point out that the kind of weeds in her garden must already be resistant to the effects of the Roundup that was in the seeds.
C)The customer service agent should put your friend on hold indefinitely.
D)The customer service agent should point out that the Roundup Ready plants would survive being sprayed with Roundup.Your friend never used Roundup on her garden,so the weeds overran her garden.
E)The customer service agent should point out that Roundup Ready crops are no longer legal and should advise your friend that any crops she is growing need to be destroyed and not eaten because they are contaminated.

Question 16

Approximately ________________% of the food we consume comes from ________________ crop species.

A)50; 50
B)10; 100
C)90; 100
D)50; 20
E)90; 15

Question 17

Raising which of the following requires the least land and water per kg of protein produced?

A)milk and eggs
B)pork
C)eggs and chicken
D)beef and chicken
E)beef and milk

Question 18

Asian farmers who are employing the "aigamo method" of rice production use the aigamo ducks for all of the following EXCEPT ________________

A)controlling weeds
B)fertilizing crops
C)harvesting rice
D)controlling snails
E)egg production

Question 19

Which of the following is permissible for use on certified organic crops?

A)synthetic fertilizers
B)Roundup
C)sewage sludge
D)radiation
E)manure

Question 20

Managing crop competitors and pests has been challenging to agronomists for centuries.One approach,integrated pest management, ________________

A)uses only natural pesticides
B)combines a variety of pesticides to combat the pest
C)combines synthetic chemical pesticides with biocontrol techniques
D)uses only synthetic chemical pesticides
E)uses no pesticides of any kind

Question 21

Describe the use of biological control for battling pests.

Question 22

What is the basic concept of sustainable agriculture?

Question 23

What are the dangers associated with pesticide use? How can biocontrol and use of crops with high genetic diversity help to decrease the amount of pesticides used?

Question 24

Seed banks are important for ________________

A)agricultural investments in developing countries
B)protecting monoculture productivity
C)protecting genetic diversity
D)providing farmers with the current year's GM crops
E)loans to developing countries to promote organic agriculture

Question 25

What was the Green Revolution,and what impact did it have on developing countries? Discuss the impact of the Green Revolution on the environment.

Question 26

During the past half century,global food production has ________________ world population growth.

A)grown at a faster rate than
B)fallen to critical levels compared to
C)fallen behind
D)stayed about even with
E)surpassed by several orders of magnitude

Question 27

Why is variety in crop plants important for "food security"? How is this threatened by GM food crops? What is the U.S.position on GM products? How does this differ from the position of other countries?

Question 28

Why is resistance to pesticides likely to occur over time when they are used in agriculture?

Question 29

What are the arguments for and against genetically modified crops? Discuss the scientific,economic,and political issues.

Question 30

Per capita meat consumption has ________________ since 1950.

A)doubled
B)tripled
C)increased by 50%
D)dropped by 50%
E)increased fivefold

Question 31

In order for livestock to be considered organic,________________ .

A)animals must be fed 100% organic agricultural feed
B)animals cannot be transferred from regular treatment to organic standards
C)no vitamins and mineral supplements can be used
D)hormones and antibiotics are permitted,but not vaccines
E)animals must be reared under natural conditions in intact ecosystems

Question 32

It is more energetically efficient for us to eat more ________________

A)plant -based foods
B)carnivorous animals like fish and alligator
C)GM foods
D)foods grown using IPM methods
E)herbivorous animals like cattle and chicken

Question 33

Briefly discuss some disadvantages of aquaculture.

Question 34

Why did the Indonesian government support IPM for agriculture in 1986?

A)Many people were dying of starvation.
B)The country was in a recession.
C)It wanted to encourage research into genetically modified crops.
D)Pesticides were costing money,causing pollution,and decreasing yields.
E)They were worried about tsunamis.

Question 35

Explain the statement "the lower down in the food chain we eat,the greater percentage of solar energy we put to use,and the more people Earth can support" in terms of trophic levels and pyramids of energy.