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Narration
Commodity maps in an atlas such as Goode's World Atlas illustrate the concentration of a crop. Wheat, for instance, is produced in the central and northern plains of North America and in the area around the Rio Plata Pampas of Argentina. In Europe, it grows from the British Isles to Syria. Other concentrations are found in the Ukraine and to the Far East along the Trans-Siberian Railroad. Wheat is also grown in the Indus and Ganges Valleys and in northern China. Further concentrations exist in southeastern and southwestern Australia. Wheat, the staff of life, is traded in a worldwide pattern from these areas of successful production to areas of population concentration where it is then converted to flour. The map of wheat movements in Goode's is critical to an understanding how it connects various parts of the world. North America, South America, and Australia are major exporters of wheat. Most of the exported wheat goes to Europe, the Middle East, and China.
Maize, or corn -- another major exported crop -- is heavily concentrated in North America, its largest production region. Secondary regions are found in the Danubian basin, China, and Java. Corn is also grown in southern Brazil, Argentina, and in parts of Africa. African corn, however, does not enter world trade. Most corn flows out from the American Midwest, down the Mississippi River to the port of New Orleans, finally through the Panama Canal to major consumption regions in China. Another flow of corn from North America moves to the Middle East and Western Europe. Unlike wheat, which is consumed directly by humans in the form of bread, corn is usually fed to animals and consumed indirectly by humans.
Rice is the third major grain that moves in world trade. Enormous concentrations of rice production occur in south China and Indochina. Surpluses from these areas flow to Africa, Europe, and to the Middle East. Rice is also produced, to a lesser extent, in the Mississippi Valley. From there it enters world trade, flowing largely to Africa and Europe.
Other commodity flows of interest are the movement of coffee and tea from the tropics to the mid latitudes. Likewise, there is a flow of sugar from the coastal regions of South America, the islands of the Caribbean and southeast Asia, and the northeast coast of Australia.
Currently, the movement of food around the world is a source of controversy.
Many governments now place stronger emphasis on local production. Food is a strategic, life-sustaining material, and if warfare were to interrupt the flow of international trade, the results could be disastrous.
In addition, farmers use their political clout to raise barriers to prevent the import of food from areas in which food is produced more efficiently, and thus more cheaply. One of the significant developments in international trade of food in the 1990s has been the growing resistance in Europe to importing American crops that have been produced using technologies associated with genetic engineering. While selective breeding of crops and livestock has been going on consistently for thousands of years, breakthroughs in genetics in the last 25 years have enabled sophisticated manipulations of crops through gene splicing and the introduction of genetic material from other plants into seed corn.
Though this technology has provided hopes in many third-world countries for an increased reliance on local food production (and an ensuing reduction of famine), it has also alarmed many people around the world, both in production areas and in consumption areas. If opposition to genetically modified crops increases, tremendous problems might arise out of the growing reliance of American farmers on the superior productivity of the new crops.
Web Sites
To view the following Web sites, please go to "See also" below.
The Teachers' Corner contains links to suggested Web sites. The College Board neither endorses, controls the content of, nor reviews the external Web sites included here. Please note that following links to external Web sites will open a new browser window. If you discover a link that does not work, please let us know by sending an e-mail to apctechsupport@collegeboard.org.
Agricultural Census of the United States
From the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), this page has an interactive map of the United States. Each state has its own version of the table "Farm Count by Congressional District," which includes some indication of the size of farms, the market value of agricultural and livestock products sold, as well as other information.
Agricultural Maps of the United States
Also from NASS, this site consists of a list of maps in .GIF (Mac and PC) and .BMP (PC) formats. There are several hundred maps categorized under a variety of agricultural topics.
Agricultural Statistics for the U.S.A.
This is the "Best Statistics" page of the Great American Web site. A good list of sources, and an excellent place for data.
World Geography of the Potato
Offbeat but serious geography from the University of Georgia.
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