Food Sources and Farming Systems Overview

Chapter 1: Where Does Our Food Come From?

• Most food is imported, with the Mainland being a major supplier.
• A farming system involves inputs (physical and human), processes (farm activities), and outputs (crops, livestock, residues, pollutants).
• Cash crops are sold, while subsistence crops are for farmer consumption.
• Feedback within a system includes returning resources (e.g., money used to maintain inputs).
• Intensive farming uses high inputs on smaller land areas, while extensive farming uses low inputs on large areas.
• Arable farming focuses on crops, pastoral farming on livestock, and mixed farming combines both.
• Subsistence farming provides food for the farmer, while commercial farming produces surplus for trade.
• High-tech farming utilizes machinery and fuel, while low-tech farming relies more on human and animal power.
• Key vocabulary includes arable, pastoral, intensive, extensive.

Chapter 2: Where are the Farming Activities in China?

• Xibei region: Large-scale extensive pastoral farming, producing meat, milk, and wool.
• Huabei and Dongbei regions: Large-scale extensive arable and pastoral farming, with wheat, corn, potatoes, millet, soybeans, and wool as key products.
• Huanan region: Small-scale intensive arable farming, primarily producing rice, vegetables, and tropical fruits.
• Factors affecting farm type include climate (temperature and rainfall) and relief (landform).
• Ideal temperature and rainfall conditions determine suitable crops (e.g., paddy rice).
• Mountainous western regions are naturally suited for pastoral farming, while eastern plains support arable farming.
• Best farmland is often found in eastern valleys and coastal areas due to fertile soil and sufficient water.
• Key vocabulary includes annual rainfall, climate, relief, fertile, infertile, plain, growing season, temperature.

Chapter 3: Can We Produce Enough Food for Our Growing Population?

• Food supply influences economic stability; shortages can lead to economic issues and social unrest.
• Factors affecting food demand include population size and income level. Higher incomes lead to more meat consumption.
• China's grain self-sufficiency rate is high (around 95%), suggesting sufficient domestic production.

Chapter 4.1: Why Insufficient Arable Land in China?

• Physical limitations:
  • Harsh climate in northern China (long winters, low rainfall) restrict growing seasons and crop yields.
  • Uneven land relief (hilly, mountainous) limits available flat arable land.
  • Soil erosion from steep slopes reduces soil fertility.
• Human activities:
  • Urban development encroaches on farmland, especially in rapidly growing areas like the Zhujiang Delta.
  • Environmental pollution (air, soil, water) damages land quality (e.g., acid rain, heavy metals, chemicals).
  • Over-cultivation depletes soil nutrients and moisture. Deforestation contributes to soil erosion.
  • Only about 15% of land remains suitable for farming.
• Key vocabulary includes soil erosion, productivity, over-cultivation, basin, topsoil.

Explore the origins of our food and the different farming systems in this quiz. Learn about the distinctions between cash and subsistence crops, as well as the methodologies of intensive and extensive farming. The quiz covers essential vocabulary and farming practices to deepen your understanding of the agricultural landscape.