Introduction
In this unit, we look at accessibility to quality food, which is particularly challenging for vulnerable groups of people, including racial or ethnic minorities, people with low incomes and people who live in rural or remote areas. Accessing food can also be a challenge for people who depend on outside sources for food supplies.
Outcomes
On completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- discuss the nuances (similarities and differences) of subsistence and sustainable agriculture.
- discuss community farming and similar concepts that build community resilience.
Terminology
Climate change mitigation: Eliminating greenhouse gases from the atmosphere by reducing emissions or increasing the capture of these gases.
Deforestation: Clearing forests to use the trees to meet humans’ needs and convert the land for other uses.
Food crisis: When the number of people in a region who are experiencing acute hunger and malnutrition rises sharply. It usually happens in populations that are already suffering from prolonged hunger and malnutrition.
Sustainable livelihoods: Ways of earning a living that meet people’s present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. They are usually associated with small-scale production.
Subsistence agriculture: A method of farming where the people who produce the harvests or raise the livestock eat or use what they produce rather than taking it all to market. Subsistence agriculture is usually small-scale. The farmers are at risk of starvation or food crisis if their harvests fail or their livestock fall ill or die.
Best practices: Guidelines based on examples of successful actions that have been taken in the past and are likely to produce similar good outcomes if followed again.
Community farming: A form of agricultural production that uses sustainable practices and connects landowners, farmers and local buyers.
Green manure: Quick-growing crops that are cultivated specifically for building and maintaining soil fertility and structure. They are normally ploughed under or incorporated back into the soil, either directly or after the plant materials have been removed and allowed to rot to form compost.
