Sustainability
These three pillars form the foundation of sustainability and keep systems balanced for long-term success.
What are environmental, economic, and social?
The area of a garden that measures 10 feet by 10 feet equals this many square feet.
What is 100 square feet?
In early human societies, survival was uncertain because food depended on seasons, migration patterns, weather, and hunting success.
What is a lack of steady food supply?
Humans began farming to create this kind of food system and reduce uncertainty in survival.
What is a reliable and efficient food supply?
This broad industry includes producing plants and animals for food and fiber, along with processing, marketing, and distribution.
What is agriculture?
This global trend increases demand for food, water, land, and energy, often straining ecosystems.
What is population growth?
This type of agriculture is especially useful in cities because it maximizes production in limited space.
What is vertical agriculture (or vertical farming)?
Early humans relied on these natural resources for food, shelter, clothing, and tools.
What are wild animals, plants, water sources, wood, and stone?
Agriculture led to increased food production, which allowed this major societal shift to occur.
What is population growth and the formation of settlements?
Achieving results without wasting time, materials, or energy describes this quality.
What is efficient?
In agriculture, this term describes how one change in a system can trigger multiple effects throughout the entire system.
What is a ripple effect?
This agricultural strategy reduces risk, improves soil health, supports biodiversity, and strengthens economic stability.
What is diversified agriculture?
This term describes a resource or environmental condition that restricts population growth.
What is a limiting Factor?
This process involves selecting and breeding plants or animals for desired traits.
What is domestication?
When a seed begins to grow into a plant, it does this.
What is germinate?
Producers rely on this practice to track yields, costs, weather patterns, and improve future decisions.
What are accurate records (or record keeping)?
This limitation restricts the number of crops grown and requires efficient systems like crop planning or vertical farming.
What is limited space?
When resources were abundant, this happened to population size; when scarce, populations stayed small.
What is population growth increasing with more resources and decreasing with limited resources?
Unlike wild plants, modern crops have been selectively bred for these advantages.
What are higher yield, disease resistance, size, taste, and uniformity?
Relating to people’s well-being, food, education, and health describes this pillar.
What is social?
This responsible approach to farming includes crop rotation, water conservation, soil management, and diversification.
What is sustainable resource management?
Producers must balance these two priorities to remain viable while protecting resources long-term.
What are environment and profit?
Early humans crafted these materials from animals and plants to survive harsh environments.
What are bones for tools, skins for clothing or shelter, wood for weapons and shelters, and plant fibers for rope or weaving?
Early farmers stayed in one place because crops required this commitment.
What is time to plant, care for, and harvest crops?
In scientific naming, this term refers to the second part of a Latin name like Zea mays.
What is species?