corporations, especially the use of large amounts of fertilizers, pesticides, and her-
bicides. Organically produced vegetables and fruits have become a multi-billion
dollar industry, and legislation governing what may be labeled “organically
grown” has been passed in many states. The condition of livestock in CAFOs
has elicited responses from animal rights’ activists, who argue that such confine-
ment and the techniques employed in the production of animal commodities is
inhumane and unnecessary. The use of gestation crates in pork production, for
example, is viewed as cruel by activists, and indeed this technique has been out-
lawed in some countries and U.S. states. Because of the controversy, some compa-
nies have pledged to eliminate the practice in the near future. Likewise, mass
production of eggs and chickens by using large-scale chicken houses has been
answered by thefree rangemovement, which advocates allowing animals to roam
freely outside rather than being confined. Free-range poultry accounts for up to a
quarter of the total produced in some countries, but there are disadvantages to this
method as well. Free-range poultry units must be much larger in area to allow the
animals to roam and forage and are economically less efficient than methods based
on confinement. Other opponents of large-scale agribusiness promote the return to
“multi-species” farming, where animals are not confined and are allowed to roam
and mingle on pastureland; but while such alternatives may be viewed as more
humane, they typically are far less productive and result in higher prices. With
globalpopulationand demand for food steadily rising, some commentators ques-
tion whether the alternative approaches in production to large agribusiness meth-
ods can adequately and cost-effectively satisfy the world’s need for food.
Agricultural Regions.See Cultivation Regions.
Agricultural Revolution
“Agricultural revolution” is a term that has broad meaning to geographers and his-
torians, and may refer to a number of events and processes. Some scholars use the
phrase in reference to the Green Revolution (see sidebar) of the latter 20th century,
while some historians use “agricultural revolution” to identify the Neolithic period
when plants were first domesticated and societies developed systems of irrigation
and settled cultivation. Various cultures and regions may be said to have under-
gone such a “revolution” at some point in their history. The most common
Agricultural Revolution 5