Overview
This lecture explores the four major modes of subsistence (foraging, pastoralism, horticulture, agriculture), their social, economic, and environmental impacts, and how food systems relate to cultural practices, property, gender roles, and global inequality.
Introduction to Subsistence Systems
- Subsistence system: practices used by a society to acquire and distribute food.
- Foodways: cultural norms and attitudes about food, preparation, and eating.
- Carrying capacity: the number of calories supportable by a given land area determines population sustainability.
- Immediate return systems provide food instantly (foraging); delayed return systems require waiting (farming).
Modes of Subsistence
- Foraging: relies on wild resources; characterized by mobility, broad-spectrum diets, and social equality.
- Pastoralism: herding domesticated animals; involves mobility, property in animals, and gendered division of labor.
- Horticulture: small-scale shifting gardens for local consumption; low-tech, biodiverse, supplements needed.
- Agriculture: intensive, continuous cultivation of staple crops using technology; enables high population density and wealth stratification.
Social and Economic Impacts
- Foragers have low population density, limited private property, and value sharing.
- Pastoralists possess more private property (animals) but commonly share land; gender inequality is pronounced.
- Horticulturalists tie social status to crop yields and sharing, fostering community ties.
- Agriculture encourages labor specialization, population growth, and creates social classes and wealth inequality.
Environmental and Cultural Effects
- Human interventions blur the line between natural and built environments; even foragers can domesticate landscapes.
- The domestication of plants and animals often predates staple crop farming and impacts ecosystems.
- Mono-cropping in agriculture reduces dietary diversity and increases risk of famine.
- Global commodity chains separate producers from consumers and amplify wealth differences.
Gender and Subsistence
- Gender roles are shaped by subsistence strategy; pastoralist and agricultural societies often privilege men in owning resources.
- Women may perform most of the labor but lack property rights and social status.
Global Agriculture and Inequality
- Modern agriculture can feed the world but distribution and global economy create hunger.
- Farmers earn least in the commodity chain, while retailers and exporters take greater profits.
- The world food system is characterized by disconnection, waste, and resource diversion.
Key Terms & Definitions
- Subsistence system — skills and technologies to acquire/distribute food.
- Foraging — reliance on wild food resources.
- Pastoralism — herding domesticated animals for subsistence.
- Horticulture — small-scale, local crop cultivation.
- Agriculture — intensive, large-scale cultivation using technology.
- Carrying capacity — max population supportable per land area.
- Foodways — cultural attitudes and norms about food.
- Commodity chain — steps from production to consumption of food.
- Mono-cropping — dependence on a single crop species.
- Neolithic Revolution — shift to agriculture ~10,000 years ago.
- Broad spectrum diet — diet using many food sources.
- Built environment — spaces altered by human activity.
Action Items / Next Steps
- Review and compare the four modes of subsistence.
- Analyze how subsistence systems influence property, class, and gender roles.
- Reflect on your own foodways and their position in the global commodity chain.
- Prepare answers for discussion questions on food production, labeling, and global inequality.