Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
HIGH QUALITY FARMLAND IN THE PATH OF DEVELOPMENT
High quality farmland and
high development
High quality farmland and
low development
Federal and Indian land
400
0
0
200 km
100 mi
0
800 Kilometers
Urban areas
0
200
400 Miles
Other
Figure 11.23
Farming on the Edge: High-Quality Farmland in the Path of Development, 2002.
This
map from American Farmland Trust, whose charge is to preserve farmland, highlights farmland
that is endangered of being suburbanized as cities expand into neighboring farmlands.
Courtesy of:
American Farm Trust, http://www.farmland.org/farmingontheedge/maps.htm, last accessed November 2005.
Africa and Southwest Asia in spring 2011. A convergence
of changing land use, increasing use of grains for fuel, cor-
rupt governments, and environmental impacts works
against the provision of adequate food at reasonable prices
for the world's poor.
Despite the severity of the situation, in today's world
it is possible for many people to put farming largely out of
their minds. As a result of industrialization of agriculture
and improvements in transportation, consumers come in
contact with farmers much less frequently than did previ-
ous generations. On a freezing cold winter day in
Cincinnati, Ohio, consumers can purchase fresh straw-
berries grown in Chile. Consumers can also purchase
highly processed foods with long shelf lives and forget
where the item was purchased, much less think of the farm
work that went into the ingredients, when they get around
to consuming it.
As a result of the growing distance between farmers
and consumers, geographers have sought to draw attention
to
food deserts
, which are areas with limited access to
fresh, nutritious foods (Fig. 11.24). Urban food deserts are
typically found in low-income neighborhoods where con-
sumers have little access to medium-size and large grocery
stores and instead have access to small grocery stores fi lled
mainly with processed, energy-dense but nutrient poor
food. British geographer Hilary Shaw found (2006) that
consumers in urban food deserts were more likely to
purchase processed, energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods
because of the lower expense of these foods relative to fresh
fruits and vegetables and also to avoid wasting food.