1: How many farmers remain in America? How people must each farmer feed? (1 farmer per _129 people)
There are fewer than 2 million farmers that remain in America, 1 American farmer feeds 129 people
2: Why is George Naylor’s farm considered to be a food desert? (pg. 34)
George's crops are inedible and there is no water for the plants to drink on his farm.
3: Pg. 35- Which two crops are rotated on George Naylor’s farm? Explain why.
The two crops that rotate on George Naylor's farm are corn and soybeans. Both crops feed livestock and soybeans have also found themselves a place in 2/3% of all processed foods. This will also prevent disease to strive on corn for two years in a row.
4: Pg. 36- Why are farmers who are using Monsanto’s products not reaping the benefits of their greater yield?
The Monsanto's products cost extra, this means that most of the greater yield profit will go back to covering the extra cost anyways.
5: Pg. 37- What does it mean that hybrid corn is “high yield”? What are the benefits of using this hybrid variety?
The hybrid corn is "high yield" because they can be planted closer together, having 30 thousand an acre instead of only having eight thousand an acre.
6: Pg. 38-39- What did planting more and more corn do the biodiversity in Iowa? Why was this biodiversity so helpful?
Planting more corn caused the biodiversity to become monoculture. This biodiversity wasn't helpful because planting only one species of plant caused the prices of corn to go down. With the price of corn going down, more and more corn was grown.
7: Pg. 40- “Growing corn is just riding tractors and spraying”. Explain this quote.
This quote is saying that to growing corn is simply riding on a tractor and planting the seeds. Then you spray water for the corn to grow, than the tractor than just picks up the corn.
8: Pg. 41- Ammonium Nitrate is an artificial fertilizer- The U.S. Government starting using this as a fertilizer because? What was it used for before this?
The U.S Government starting using this as a fertilizer because they wanted to convert their explosives department/war machines into peacetime purposes.
9: Pg. 42- How did the introduction of artificial nitrogen fertilizer affect the nitrogen cycle on farms and nearby lands?
The introduction of artificial nitrogen fertilizers changed the nitrogen cycles on farms and nearly lands by creating a surplus of nitrogen into the area
10: Pg. 43-44: Why is the Haber-Bosch process considered to be the most important invention of the 20th century?
Without the Haber-Bosch process, two out of every five humans on Earth would never have been born. Without the synthetic fertilizer, millions of people would never have been born.
11: Pg. 45- “Instead of eating exclusively from the sun, humanity now began to sip petroleum”. Explain this quote.
Along side of just using the sun's energy, we now also petroleum to grow our crops it is more synthetic, and less natural
12: Pg. 45- How much “oil” does it take to create a bushel of industrialized corn?
It takes between 1/4 and 1/3 barrels of oil to create one bushel of industrialized corn
13: Pg. 46- What happens to the hundred pounds of synthetic nitrogen that Naylor’s corn does not take up?
Some of the nitrogen evaporates into the air and acidifies rain and contributes to global warming.
14: Pg. 47- What does it mean when they have “blue baby alerts”? What happens when babies are exposed to too many nitrites?
Blue baby alerts means that it is unsafe for babies to drink water from the tap, it damages the brain due to a lack of oxygen
15: Pg. 48- If there’s so much corn being grown in America today that the market won’t pay the cost of producing it, then why would any farmer in his right mind plant another acre of it?
It has everything to do with farm policies. The government farm programs once designed to limit production and support prices. This caused the farmers to increase production.
16: Pg. 49- What was one strategy of the New Deal Farm Program?
One strategy was setting an average price for corn, if the price of corn were to fall below that point, farmers would have a choice to sell the corn or take a loan from the government, the corn being collateral. If prices went up, he would take his corn out and resell it. If it stays lows the farmer can keep the money and give their corn to the government
17: What is “a plague of cheap corn”? What happens if we have too much corn produced? Summarize the politics of being a corn farmer.
A plague of cheap corn is what happened when were able to overproduce corn cheaply. The price for it will go down if we have too much corn produced. When this happens farmers barely get paid. Farmer need to sell as much corn as they can to make money and take care of themselves and their family. If the price rises, then farmers can sell their corn, or if they want they can keep the government loan.
There are fewer than 2 million farmers that remain in America, 1 American farmer feeds 129 people
2: Why is George Naylor’s farm considered to be a food desert? (pg. 34)
George's crops are inedible and there is no water for the plants to drink on his farm.
3: Pg. 35- Which two crops are rotated on George Naylor’s farm? Explain why.
The two crops that rotate on George Naylor's farm are corn and soybeans. Both crops feed livestock and soybeans have also found themselves a place in 2/3% of all processed foods. This will also prevent disease to strive on corn for two years in a row.
4: Pg. 36- Why are farmers who are using Monsanto’s products not reaping the benefits of their greater yield?
The Monsanto's products cost extra, this means that most of the greater yield profit will go back to covering the extra cost anyways.
5: Pg. 37- What does it mean that hybrid corn is “high yield”? What are the benefits of using this hybrid variety?
The hybrid corn is "high yield" because they can be planted closer together, having 30 thousand an acre instead of only having eight thousand an acre.
6: Pg. 38-39- What did planting more and more corn do the biodiversity in Iowa? Why was this biodiversity so helpful?
Planting more corn caused the biodiversity to become monoculture. This biodiversity wasn't helpful because planting only one species of plant caused the prices of corn to go down. With the price of corn going down, more and more corn was grown.
7: Pg. 40- “Growing corn is just riding tractors and spraying”. Explain this quote.
This quote is saying that to growing corn is simply riding on a tractor and planting the seeds. Then you spray water for the corn to grow, than the tractor than just picks up the corn.
8: Pg. 41- Ammonium Nitrate is an artificial fertilizer- The U.S. Government starting using this as a fertilizer because? What was it used for before this?
The U.S Government starting using this as a fertilizer because they wanted to convert their explosives department/war machines into peacetime purposes.
9: Pg. 42- How did the introduction of artificial nitrogen fertilizer affect the nitrogen cycle on farms and nearby lands?
The introduction of artificial nitrogen fertilizers changed the nitrogen cycles on farms and nearly lands by creating a surplus of nitrogen into the area
10: Pg. 43-44: Why is the Haber-Bosch process considered to be the most important invention of the 20th century?
Without the Haber-Bosch process, two out of every five humans on Earth would never have been born. Without the synthetic fertilizer, millions of people would never have been born.
11: Pg. 45- “Instead of eating exclusively from the sun, humanity now began to sip petroleum”. Explain this quote.
Along side of just using the sun's energy, we now also petroleum to grow our crops it is more synthetic, and less natural
12: Pg. 45- How much “oil” does it take to create a bushel of industrialized corn?
It takes between 1/4 and 1/3 barrels of oil to create one bushel of industrialized corn
13: Pg. 46- What happens to the hundred pounds of synthetic nitrogen that Naylor’s corn does not take up?
Some of the nitrogen evaporates into the air and acidifies rain and contributes to global warming.
14: Pg. 47- What does it mean when they have “blue baby alerts”? What happens when babies are exposed to too many nitrites?
Blue baby alerts means that it is unsafe for babies to drink water from the tap, it damages the brain due to a lack of oxygen
15: Pg. 48- If there’s so much corn being grown in America today that the market won’t pay the cost of producing it, then why would any farmer in his right mind plant another acre of it?
It has everything to do with farm policies. The government farm programs once designed to limit production and support prices. This caused the farmers to increase production.
16: Pg. 49- What was one strategy of the New Deal Farm Program?
One strategy was setting an average price for corn, if the price of corn were to fall below that point, farmers would have a choice to sell the corn or take a loan from the government, the corn being collateral. If prices went up, he would take his corn out and resell it. If it stays lows the farmer can keep the money and give their corn to the government
17: What is “a plague of cheap corn”? What happens if we have too much corn produced? Summarize the politics of being a corn farmer.
A plague of cheap corn is what happened when were able to overproduce corn cheaply. The price for it will go down if we have too much corn produced. When this happens farmers barely get paid. Farmer need to sell as much corn as they can to make money and take care of themselves and their family. If the price rises, then farmers can sell their corn, or if they want they can keep the government loan.