Deck 14: Global Food: How Can We Solve World Hunger

Question 1

An individual standing in a pool of water up to their chin is able to breathe normally unless the pool becomes deeper, or there is a ripple. This analogy of "keeping one's head above water" is often used to express which issue?

A) coastal communities and global warming
B) food insecurity
C) accessibility to health care
D) prices of essential goods

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Which of the following assertions best underlines the notion that food is central to our perception of a global community?

A) Food is both local and international.
B) Food price increases in 2007 affected both rich and poor countries.
C) As the global population grows, it is up to the global community to feed it.
D) Food not only reflects but also constitutes the global era.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Thomas Malthus ultimately argues that ______.

A) despite increasing populations, the availability of food will not increase, leading to mass hunger
B) population growth will not move in tandem with the availability of food
C) mass hunger will not occur because there cannot be more humans than there is food to support them
D) family planning is essential to population maintenance vis-à-vis the availability of food

Answer 3

C

Question 4

"Neo-Malthusians" frequently argue that ______.

A) despite increasing populations, the availability of food will not increase, leading to mass hunger
B) population growth will not move in tandem with the availability of food
C) mass hunger will not occur because there cannot be more humans than there is food to support them
D) family planning is essential to population maintenance vis-à-vis the availability of food

Question 5

Contrary to Malthus' assumptions, which of the following countries produces food at a rate higher than its population growth?

A) United Kingdom
B) Russia
C) Portugal
D) United States

Question 6

The U.S. Food for Peace program is an example of an early initiative of what type?

A) UN Global Goals
B) Developmental State Policy
C) Structural Adjustment Program
D) Official Development Assistance

Question 7

The Food First theory is most closely associated with ______.

A) Frances Lappe
B) Charles Mann
C) Paul Ehrlich
D) Amartya Sen

Question 8

The Food First theory most specifically counters Malthus' arguments by ______.

A) arguing that the availability of food will increase despite family sizes also increasing
B) showing that humans have been more reproductive than Malthus thought, relative to output from farms and fisheries
C) pointing to demographic transitions in which birth rates decrease as populations industrialize and urbanize
D) showing that population growth will not move in tandem with the availability of food

Question 9

The Green Revolution refers to the application of scientific agricultural research and promotion of ______.

A) nongenetically modified seeds and fair trade practices to farming in developed countries
B) nongenetically modified seeds and fair trade practices to farming in developing countries
C) genetically modified seeds and fair trade practices to farming in developed countries
D) genetically modified seeds and fair trade practices to farming in developing countries

Question 10

The argument that soaring food demands from rapidly growing populations in countries like China and India contributed to the 2007 Global Food Crisis is an example of which type of global interaction?

A) inside-out
B) outside-in
C) top-down
D) bottom-up

Question 11

The Irish Famine of the 1840s shows that the famine ______.

A) had little to do with a lack of food and more to do with government policies and inaction
B) was wrought from booming populations and the inability to produce enough safe food to match
C) was exacerbated by emigration and loss of life, leading to a labor shortage and inability to harvest crops
D) was inevitable due to specialized dependence on specific crops for food

Question 12

The scholar whose seminal work explains the nature of famine in relation to food production is ______.

A) Frances Lappe
B) Charles Mann
C) Paul Ehrlich
D) Amartya Sen

Question 13

Food security refers to the approach to global food and hunger that emphasizes ______.

A) boosting the productivity of farms through the use of GMOs and consolidation of small farms
B) local communities' control over local food sources
C) the safety of food production and adequate distribution to those in need
D) national control over food production, availability, and distribution

Question 14

Food sovereignty refers to the approach to global food and hunger that emphasizes ______.

A) boosting the productivity of farms through the use of GMOs and consolidation of small farms
B) local communities' control over local food sources
C) the safety of food production and adequate distribution to those in need
D) national control over food production, availability, and distribution

Question 15

One of the central contentions between food security and sovereignty approaches involves the legitimacy and safety of ______.

A) intensive farming techniques
B) altering local geographies via dams and other infrastructure
C) the use of genetically modified organisms
D) the involvement of IGOs and non-state actors with competing interests

Question 16

Policies guided by the food security approach fundamentally (before anything else) require which of the following?

A) respected systems of certification and transfer
B) access to credit to buy or rent land
C) accurate division of land and adequate administration
D) functioning private property systems in order to buy, sell, or rent land

Question 17

The food sovereignty approach draws upon the idea of negative duties and human rights, postulated by which philosopher?

A) Thomas Malthus
B) Thomas Pogge
C) Amartya Sen
D) Frances Lappe

Question 18

Along with the importance of addressing food productivity and accessibility, the food sovereignty approach places explicit importance on ______.

A) the use of genetically modified seeds
B) the relationship between food and governments
C) the social and cultural importance of food
D) the impact of global markets on food

Question 19

When poor farmers are forced off their land in favor of larger-scale operations, this is often referred to in terms of ______.

A) food insecurity
B) de-peasantization
C) collectivization
D) land redistribution

Question 20

Smallholders in developing countries are at particular risk to ______, as a result of which they may not be able to meet basic nutritional needs.

A) food insecurity
B) de-peasantization
C) collectivization
D) land redistribution

Question 21

The reorientation of agricultural demands from food to biofuels can have an effect on the sustainability of food production in developing countries. This is an example of what type of global interaction?

A) inside-out
B) outside-in
C) top-down
D) bottom-up

Question 22

Another name that has been used to describe the food sovereignty approach is the ______.

A) organic food movement
B) Food First movement
C) Green Revolution
D) slow food movement

Question 23

Which of the following theoretical approaches to understanding global food control states that powerful states dominate global food, with other actors holding secondary importance?

A) realism
B) liberalism
C) constructivism
D) structuralism

Question 24

Which of the following theoretical approaches to understanding global food control states that national and international state and non-state actors, such as farmers' associations, multinational corporations, or international organizations, dominate global food?

A) realism
B) liberalism
C) constructivism
D) structuralism

Question 25

Which of the following theoretical approaches to understanding the global food discussion states that food is just one of the many means by which the Global North has historically dominated the Global South?

A) realism
B) liberalism
C) constructivism
D) structuralism

Question 26

The argument that speculation on commodity futures for soybeans, wheat, and corn in the early 2000s led to price increases that made food unaffordable to many reflects what kind of global interaction?

A) inside-out
B) outside-in
C) top-down
D) bottom-up

Question 27

As a study of labor, raw material, energy, and transit linking a raw material to its eventual life as a consumable item, commodity chains in global food can be considered ______.

A) farm-to-table studies
B) a series of feedback loops
C) summaries of processing stages
D) a description of goods transit and processing

Question 28

The examination of governments' (in)ability to engage in long-term planning regarding domestic food commodities focuses on which stage of the food commodity chain?

A) production
B) processing
C) transportation
D) trade and consumption

Question 29

The development and investment in local economies and industry to prepare local crops for export involves which element of the food commodity chain?

A) production
B) processing
C) transportation
D) trade and consumption

Question 30

Analysis of the consequences of mercantile practices during colonial times, in which colonial powers were the exclusive buyers and sellers of crops grown in the colonies, focuses on which stage of the food commodity chain?

A) production
B) processing
C) transportation
D) trade and consumption

Question 31

The sensitivity of global markets and food accessibility to the speculation of commodity futures in the early 2000s is an illustration of which stage of the food commodity chain?

A) production
B) processing
C) transportation
D) trade and consumption

Question 32

The outcomes of the World Food Summit as well as efforts of the UN and World Bank to improve food security around the world are evidence of which global force at work?

A) global governance
B) global markets
C) information and communications technology
D) shifting centers of power

Question 33

The speed at which food moves between producers and consumers is testament to which global force?

A) global governance
B) global markets
C) information and communications technology
D) shifting centers of power

Question 34

The ability of consumers to easily learn more about food and its origins is thanks to which global force?

A) global governance
B) global markets
C) information and communications technology
D) shifting centers of power

Question 35

That rapidly growing countries like India and China have a huge impact on food prices and availability, as well as how the global community addresses such issues, is evidence of which global force?

A) global governance
B) global markets
C) information and communications technology
D) shifting centers of power

Question 36

Labeling scholars who deal with the relationship between food availability and population growth Malthusian is really an intellectual insult.

Question 37

The Green Revolution was primarily geographically focused in North America and Europe.

Question 38

Famine formally describes severe and prolonged hunger or starvation exclusively.

Question 39

Most of the world's food is produced by individual or small family farms.

Question 40

The dominant approach to addressing famine and accessibility to food is the concept of food sovereignty.

Question 41

One of the differences between the food security and sovereignty approaches to global food and hunger is access versus control.

Question 42

The food security approach often adopts a human rights-based approach to hunger.

Question 43

There is a general consensus that, although they have some benefits, biofuels like corn-based ethanol are linked to changes in food prices and security.

Question 44

Structuralists argue that state and non-state actors frequently engage in land grabs to bolster food production.

Question 45

The key to understanding theoretical interpretations and approaches to global food and hunger is to understand and identify particular actors rather than the type of actor in general.

Question 46

Describe the two major contemporary approaches to addressing global food and hunger issues. Discuss their merits and their weaknesses. Then, make an argument as to which you believe is the more sensible pathway given modern food challenges in both the Global North and South.

Question 47

Articulate the differences between the major theoretical approaches to understanding the nature of the global food discussion, especially regarding hunger, control, and accessibility. Then, make an argument regarding which theoretical approach best explains the present-day situation and outlooks going forward, using real-world examples.

Question 48

The food-versus-fuel debate is controversial not least because of argued consequences for global food accessibility and hunger. Using real-world examples, discuss this debate in the framework of one of the major theoretical approaches to understanding "who runs global food." Which side of the debate would scholars who subscribe to your chosen theory support, and why?

Question 49

Describe each stage of the commodity chain for a particular food product or commodity of your choice. What are, or have been, some of the major challenges and consequences of this chain? How do these challenges and consequences relate to the major global forces discussed in the field of international studies?

Question 50

What are the relationships between the major global forces that define international studies and critical issues with global food and hunger? Using real-world examples, examine how each of the forces plays a role in shaping the causes, consequences, and responses to the challenges of global food.