Industrial vs Ecological Agriculture

Organize these options into the right categories.

Groups:

(a) Industrial Agriculture

,

(b) Ecological Agriculture

• Animals kept in semi-natural settings

• Monocultures

• Heavy use of pesticides and fertilizers

• Heavy use of machinery

• Species diversity on farms

• Minimized use of chemicals

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-1

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

NGSS.MS-LS2-5

How long ago did each event occur?

• 1900s AD

• Agriculture on every major continent

• 5000 BC

• Start of industrial agriculture

• 100,000-300,000 BC

• Most species of farm animals domesticated

• 11,000 BC

• First evidence of agriculture

• 6000 BC

• First human beings

Match each characteristic of industrial agriculture with its description.

• Pesticides, fertilizers, antibiotics

• Consolidation

• Focus on 1-2 crop or animal species only

• Chemical and pharmaceutical use

• Shift toward fewer, larger farms

• Mechanization

• Use of machines

• Specialization

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-5

True or False: An advantage of industrial agriculture is that it allows the production of large amounts of food at cheap prices.

• True

• False

The focus on growing only one crop, common in industrial crop production.

• Uniculture

• Monoculture

• Solo-cropping

• Consolidation

What does industrial crop production NOT require large amounts of?

• Freshwater

• Fertilizers and pesticides

• Fossil fuels

• Diverse species on each farm

The use of fossil fuels is linked to what large-scale ecological problem?

• Aquatic dead zones

• Pesticide-resistant weeds

• Antibiotic-resistant bacteria

• Global climate change

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS3-4

NGSS.MS-ESS3-5

Excessive use of fertilizers, which can pollute the air and water due to soil erosion, contribute to what problem?

• Aquatic dead zones

• Pesticide-resistant weeds

• Antibiotic-resistant bacteria

• Global climate change

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS3-4

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

NGSS.MS-LS2-5

Organize these options into the right categories.

Groups:

(a) Industrial animal production

,

(b) Ecological animal production

• Animals in crowded conditions, resulting in aggressive behavior

• Relatively expensive products

• Heavy use of antibiotics

• Animals can express natural behavior

• Use of antibiotics minimized

• Relatively cheap products

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS3-4