Level 75
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Economic Geography and Natural Resources

Agriculture and Food Systems of the World

A survey of how farming methods, staple crops, livestock, fisheries, and food distribution systems vary unevenly across the globe's agricultural regions, and of the corporate and climatic forces now reshaping them.

60-Second Review

Express review

A condensed, point-by-point summary of the module, for reviewing right before a test or exam.

  1. Major World Crop Belts and Staple Foods. Wheat, rice, and maize anchor humanity's caloric intake across distinct climatic crop belts.
  2. Subsistence versus Commercial Agriculture. Hundreds of millions of smallholders farm mainly for their own household, not for a market.
  3. The Green Revolution and Its Legacy. Semi-dwarf wheat and rice varieties tripled yields from the 1960s, at lasting environmental cost.
  4. Livestock Geography and Pastoralism. From Brazilian ranches to Sahelian herding, livestock geography reflects both markets and culture.
  5. Fisheries and Aquaculture Around the World. Farmed fish now feed more people than the wild catch, with China dominating both.
  6. Agribusiness and Global Food Corporations. A handful of grain traders and seed giants shape prices and inputs across world agriculture.
  7. Food Deserts and Access to Nutrition. Hundreds of millions lack reliable access to affordable, nutritious food, even amid global surplus.
  8. Climate Impacts on Global Food Production. Rising heat, shifting rainfall, and extreme drought are already cutting yields of major crops.

This module continues after "Global Energy Systems and Power Grids" in the syllabus. If you haven't reviewed it yet, it may help set the context.

Key points

Visual module map

1Major World Crop Belts and Staple Foods
2The Green Revolution and Its Legacy
3Fisheries and Aquaculture Around the World
4Agribusiness and Global Food Corporations
5Climate Impacts on Global Food Production

Alternative visual view: a simplified sequence of some of the module's key points, in their order within the syllabus.

Your module mastery

0% (overall measurement)
Approximate breakdown by skill
Understanding of historiographical debate0%

A rough estimate based on the key points reviewed, not an exact measurement of actual mastery.

Final test

You need to review all key points to unlock the final test.

Optional mini-games

Extra practice, with no penalty, to reinforce the module's content.

Review Flashcards

Review each key point with cards that flip to reveal the summary.

Memory

Match each concept with its definition in as few attempts as possible.

Time Attack

Answer true or false statements before time runs out.

Chronological Order

Put the module's key points back in their original order.

Further reading

Bibliography and cited sources used to create this module.

  • Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. (2022). The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2022. Rome: FAO.
  • Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. (2022). The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2022. Rome: FAO.
  • Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. (2022). Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability (Working Group II Contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Von Thünen, J.H. (1826). Der isolierte Staat in Beziehung auf Landwirtschaft und Nationalökonomie. Hamburg: Perthes.
  • Shiva, V. (1991). The Violence of the Green Revolution: Third World Agriculture, Ecology, and Politics. London: Zed Books.
  • Sen, A. (1981). Poverty and Famines: An Essay on Entitlement and Deprivation. Oxford: Clarendon Press.