Organic products are generally much more expensive to produce and to transport because they are less efficient, less reliable, and spoil more easily. Although they are grown throughout the world, the market for them is primarily concentrated in the wealthy areas of Western Europe and North America.

“Organic agriculture” is primarily defined by the reluctance to use biotechnology in farming. It usually involves eschewing pesticides and chemical fertilizers, as well as GMOs. It is becoming more and more common, particularly in wealthy areas of the western world, as many people fight back against the perceived environmental damage being wrought by big agriculture. While organic agriculture avoids many of the trappings of large-scale farming it does not always, or even most often, exist outside of corporate interest.

The name given to a farming organization that is jointly run and owned by several individual members who share in the profits, benefits, and responsibilities is called a “cooperative.” They are increasing in popularity as a way for the local community to “fight back” against the influence of multinational agribusiness.

Free trade zones, such as the nations involved in NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement), allow for goods from foreign countries to be imported without a tariff, that is, without being taxed for the sake of being foreign goods. In doing so, international trade was improved drastically, helping the manufacturers of foreign foods. 

The statement is true. Global food production has been high enough to feed everyone on the planet for some time now. Although the percent of hungry people has fallen, hunger has not been eliminated. This is in large part due to poverty and unjust distribution of food, not excessive waste or poor quality.

“Food security” is a term used by agricultural geographers to refer to the ability of a population or a social community to reliably access enough nutrition to survive and flourish. People who do not know where their next meals are coming from are called “food insecure.”

Esther Boserup is a famous agricultural geographer. Her theory is based on the premise that population growth is a positive force in agricultural innovation, that it drives technology forward. According to Boserup as a society develops and progresses it uses its agricultural land more and more efficiently.

In all countries in Sub-Saharan Africa for which data is available more than two-thirds of the population is engaged in agricultural work. This is the highest for any region in the world, although Southeast Asia and regions of Oceania are also extremely high. As a general rule the poorer the country the more people who will be employed in agricultural labor.

The term “food security” is used to differentiate between people who have access to enough food to remain healthy and active, and those who lack access to sufficient amounts of food. The former group is called “food secure,” the latter group is called “food insecure.”

In Esther Boserup’s model of agricultural geography as a society progresses and population grows it uses its agricultural land more and more efficiently. According to Boserup the primary means by which this is achieved is by reducing the amount of time that agricultural land is left fallow. In the fifth and final stage of Boserup’s model land is hardly ever left fallow, or crops are constantly rotated in order to retain nutrients in the soil.