Question
- Use the ebooks and the selected readings available to you in this class to answer the following question: Consider the effects of colonization on the global economy today. Describe its impact on trading practices and patterns. How does it affect local cultures worldwide? Provide specific examples of its effect. End your post with an open-ended question to encourage responses from the audience (has to have at least 150 words, excluding your greeting, signature, quoted/cited text, and the references.)
References
Dahlman, C.T., & Renwick, W.H. (2014). Welcome to Geography: People, Places & Environment (6th ed.). : Pearson Education Company
- Use the ebooks and the selected readings available to you in this class to answer the following question: How do you differentiate between Cultural Evolutionism and Cultural Diffusionism? Under what circumstances would you consider each of these to have happened?
End your post with an open-ended question to encourage responses from the audience (has to have at least 150 words, excluding your greeting, signature, quoted/cited text, and the references.)
References
Dahlman, C.T., & Renwick, W.H. (2014). Welcome to Geography: People, Places & Environment (6th ed.). : Pearson Education Company
- Use the ebooks and the selected readings available to you in this class to answer the following question: How do large animal farms compete with the need for crop food to feed humans? How could large animal farms be affected by urban sprawl? Are large animal farms sustainable practices today? Explain
End your post with an open-ended question to encourage responses from the audience (has to have at least 150 words, excluding your greeting, signature, quoted/cited text, and the references.)
References
Dahlman, C.T., & Renwick, W.H. (2014). Welcome to Geography: People, Places & Environment (6th ed.). : Pearson Education Company
- Use the ebooks and the selected readings available to you in this class to answer the following question: If you were allowed to farm only one kind of crop, which type of crop would you choose that would be most beneficial for humans? If you could raise only one type of animal on a farm, which type of animal would you choose to be most beneficial to humans? Would this practice be considered sustainable today? Would it be a food security risk for a nation? Would it be economically feasible? Explain
End your post with an open-ended question to encourage responses from the audience (has to have at least 150 words, excluding your greeting, signature, quoted/cited text, and the references.)
References
Dahlman, C.T., & Renwick, W.H. (2014). Welcome to Geography: People, Places & Environment (6th ed.). : Pearson Education Company
- Use the ebooks and the selected readings available to you in this class to answer the following question: Is the world currently at the point where it can no longer feed the population? Explain your answer. What kind of agriculture would be needed to change your answer? What other information from the many geographic subfields would need to be considered? Discuss
End your post with an open-ended question to encourage responses from the audience (has to have at least 150 words, excluding your greeting, signature, quoted/cited text, and the references.)
References:
Dahlman, C.T., & Renwick, W.H. (2014). Welcome to Geography: People, Places & Environment (6th ed.). : Pearson Education Company
- Discus: Films Media Group (2012). Global Food Equity (19:59) From Title: Global Food Equity.
http://fod.infobase.com/p_ViewVideo.aspx?xtid=48971
Answer
GEO 215
Question 1
Consider the effects of colonization on the global economy today. Describe its impact on trading practices and patterns. How does it affect local cultures worldwide
Colonization had pervasive and profound impacts on global trading practices and patterns. Colonization resulted to massive trade expansion in most parts of the world. However, this trade was largely fueled by slavery and the use of indentured servants. The European colonization of the African continent led to the growth of slave trade, with slaves being exported to the American continent (Abbattista, 2011). The Europeans exploited the continent for its natural resources and human power. In return, the Europeans improved infrastructure by building roads and railway, and improving the communication network. The improvements of roads and railways was meant to facilitate the movement of raw materials from the interior parts to the ports for exportation. In America, colonization led to exchanges of new commodities which significantly improved trade. The Europeans greatly improved overseas trade leading to creation of new wealth in African and America. Colonization led to the changes in cultures of the local populations. For example, most local populations abandoned their traditional religious beliefs in favor of Christianity which was introduced by the Europeans. In India, the Europeans introduced alcoholic drinks (Abbattista, 2011). The critical question is: was the aggregate impact of colonization positive or negative to the world?
Question 2
How do you differentiate between Cultural Evolutionism and Cultural Diffusionism?
Cultural evolutionism is hinged on Darwinian Theory of Evolution. Cultural evolutionism theory argue that cultural change in humans is akin to the Darwinian evolutionary process, disregarding the genetic evolution aspect (Wasamba, 2015). In other words, cultural evolutionism occurred among all societies following a common track whereby communities underwent transformation from simple hunter-gatherer economic activities to more advanced civilizations. On the other hand, cultural diffusionism holds the view that cultural changes occur as a result of contacts and borrowings between communities which leads too exchanges of information and ideas. According to the school of thought, cultural traits thus spreads across different communities influencing development in such communities. Cultural evolutionism occurred during the early ages where there was little contact among communities. Various communities progressed at a different pace transforming themselves from hunter-gather communities to farming communities. Cultural diffusionism occurred during the colonization period whereby the European colonialists interacted with different communities thereby influencing their cultures (Wasamba, 2015). The question here is: what theory between the two has the strongest impact on cultural change and why?
Related : Geo 215
Question 3
How do large animal farms compete with the need for crop food to feed humans? How could large animal farms be affected by urban sprawl? Are large animal farms sustainable practices today? Explain
There has been a high increase in the human population over the last century. This increase in population has increased pressure on land available for cultivation and for animal production (Dahlman & Renwick, 2014). Large animal farms take up space that could be used for crop production, leading to reduced crop yields for human consumption. Large animal farms also use resources such as water resources that could be channeled to support crop production. Urban sprawl is largely uncoordinated development. Large animal farms can be affected by encroachment, decreasing the amount of areas covered by the animal farms. Urban sprawl often results in fragmentation of large animal farms into small areas that are not productive. This is because of subdivisions caused by factors such as laying of pipelines, road and railway network, and other infrastructure developments. Total loss of animal farms may also occur due to urban sprawl. Large animal farms are still sustainable farming practices even today. This is because they are suitable for practicing agricultural activities such as rotational grazing. This avoids overgrazing which destroys habitats. This leads to the question: what are the impacts of urban sprawl on the ecosystems and habitats surrounding the city environments?
Question 4
If you were allowed to farm only one kind of crop, which type of crop would you choose that would be most beneficial for humans? If you could raise only one type of animal on a farm, which type of animal would you choose to be most beneficial to humans? Would this practice be considered sustainable today? Would it be a food security risk for a nation? Would it be economically feasible? Explain
The type of crop that would be most beneficial to humans would be wheat. Wheat is used for both human and animal consumption. Wheat has served as an important source of nutrients to people for centuries. Wheat is crushed into flour and can be used in preparing different foods such as breakfast foods, bread, spaghetti, macaroni, and other foods. Wheat can also be used in the manufacture of alcoholic beverages. The vegetative part of wheat plant can be used as livestock feeds. The most beneficial animal to humans would be cows. Cows provide humans with both milk and meat. There are a number of milk and meat products that can be derived from cows. These include cheese, cream, yogurt, ice cream and other dairy products. Beef from cows is also an important source of animal protein. This practice is not sustainable. Farming one type of crop can contribute to soil degradation. Rotational farming would be the best. Multiple livestock species would be the most beneficial. Keeping different animal species can enable them to utilize all plant species available on a piece of land. It would be a food security risk for a country since there are less available sources of food. It would also not be economically viable since there could be issues with land degradation. This leads to the question, what farming techniques are the most beneficial to farmland?
Related: Water budget and the Importance of Calculating a Water Budget
Question 5
Is the world currently at the point where it can no longer feed the population? Explain your answer. What kind of agriculture would be needed to change your answer? What other information from the many geographic subfields would need to be considered? Discuss
The world can no longer feed its entire population. Over 800 million people are currently facing starvation. Climate change has contributed to extreme weather conditions such as prolonged droughts and floods, leading to food shortages in areas which were previously productive (Panesar & Marwaha, 2013). Emergence of new diseases has also contributed to current food shortages. Adoption of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) can help reverse the trend. Genetically modified crops are resistant to pests, diseases and some are drought resistant. This can help improve agricultural yields. Other forms of biotechnology solutions includes reducing the growing cycle of plants such as maize. The use of biotechnology has led to creation of new crop species and varieties that perform better, leading to increased crop production. Adoption of irrigation and water management practices can also help improve crop yields. Due to changes in precipitation across different regions, there is need to control water resources and adopt efficient irrigation methods such as drip irrigation. Other information to consider includes the quality of soils and the impact of temperature on various crop varieties. The critical question is can biotechnology fully reverse low crop yields caused by climate change factors such as prolonged droughts? What kind of ethical issues revolve around GMOs?
Question 6
Discus: Films Media Group (2012). Global Food Equity (19:59) From Title: Global Food Equity.
The video “Global Food Equity” analyzes the reasons why there are food shortages in some places. Surprisingly, the video reveals that the world produces enough food for each and every individual. The concern thus is, why does 1 in 7 people go to bed hungry every day? The answer is quite simple; there is inequitable distribution of food worldwide. There are also other factors which contribute to food shortages such as inadequate water for cultivation, low financial power, drought, poor transport network problems and distribution issues. Vulnerable groups include the indigenous tribes, the elderly, homeless, children, and among others. The factors that affect food productivity in a particular region may be dived into natural and human factors. Natural factors include the geography of a region and natural disasters such as drought. Human factors include conflicts, education, government policies, technological developments, social economic status, and culture. Food shortages in developing countries is also attributed to the emergence of biofuel industries in Europe and America (“Media Group,” 2012). The critical question is, can food shortages become eliminated if food distribution systems were improved?
Related:Urbanization Analysis, Green Options & Global Warming Strategies
References
Abbattista, G. (2011). European Encounters in the Age of Expansion. European History Online. Retrieved from: http://ieg-ego.eu/en/threads/backgrounds/european-encounters/guido- abbattista-european-encounters-in-the-age-of-expansion
Dahlman, C.T., & Renwick, W.H. (2014). Welcome to Geography: People, Places & Environment (6th ed.). : Pearson Education Company.
Media Group. (2012). Global Food Equity. Retrieved from: http://fod.infobase.com/p_ViewVideo.aspx?xtid=48971
Panesar, P., & Marwaha, S. (2013). Biotechnology in Agriculture and Food Processing: Opportunities and Challenges. CRC Press.
Wasamba, P. (2015). Contemporary oral literature fieldwork: A reseacher’s guide. Nairobi: University of Nairobi Press.
