13.3 – What are the threats to global food security? Flashcards

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1
Q

FAO statistics 2015:

A

795 million people were hungry and 98% lived in LIDCs

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2
Q

What groups are most vulnerable?

A
  • Rural dwellers – 75% of hungry people, dependent on agriculture and no alternative income
  • Farmers – 50% of hungry people from small-scale farming communities
  • Children – 146 million children are underweight due to acute/chronic hunger
  • Women – primary food producers in many LIDCs but evidence shows more affected by hunger than men which impacts mortality rates during childbirth and birthweight of children
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3
Q

Figure for global undernourishment:

A

18.6% in 1990 to 10.9% in 2014 = rapidly growing population but undernourishment has decreased 

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4
Q

Slowest areas to improve on food security:

A

Southern Asia and sub-Saharan Africa

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5
Q

Describe food security in Syria:

A

9.8 million people in need of food and agriculture assistance with 6.8 million ‘critical’ need
Food prices: flour 197% increase, rice 403% increase
Strategies = fewer meals a day, using credit, less nutritious food

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6
Q

Describe food security in Yemen:

A

6 million people described as facing food insecurity at emergency level – WFP
Water supplies seriously disrupted so long-term impact on 29% of crops that are irrigated by wells

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7
Q

Describe food security in Nepal:

A

2015 earthquake – 1.4 million in need of food assistance
Remote mountain areas = 70% battling borderline food consumption
Worst areas= 80% of households lost entire food stock
Seed losses are a worry as trading them was major income

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8
Q

Describe food security in Iraq:

A

4.4 million are food insecure
Conflict and displacement eroding food security
Food prices are high and volatile
Government-run distribution schemes stopped by conflict

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9
Q

What is the food supply chain?

A

The process where food moves from producer to consumer (and includes production, harvesting, processing, distribution, consumption, and disposal)

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10
Q

What are pinch points?

A

A place in the food supply chain where disruption occurs (occurs at every point)

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11
Q

What systems can disrupt the supply chain?

A

Just-in-time systems where retailers cut costs and wastage but can cause widespread disruption

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12
Q

Example of food supply disruption:

A

2010 Icelandic sorption caused planes to be grounded disruption food supply chain

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13
Q

What is desertification?

A

Persistent land degradation in dryland environments, caused by over-exploitation of resources, and natural processes, decreasing agricultural productivity

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14
Q

Desertification facts and figures?

A

168 countries affected
Every year an area THREE times the size of Switzerland becomes desertified
74% of poorest people directly affected by desertification

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15
Q

Name 4 types of extreme weather affecting food production + examples

A

Heatwaves – 2003 heatwave Portugal lost 3500 ha of forest and farmland to fires; food-exporting countries had to import for first time in years + heatwaves now occurring every 200 days (used to be every 3 years)
Droughts – reduce crop yield and reduce water quantity and quality - 2003 southern Ethiopia experienced longest drought on record with 20 million in need of food aid
Floods – destroy crops, disrupt food distribution, erode soil, and damage infrastructure
In UK DEFRA estimates 35,000 ha of high-quality arable land will be flooded at least once every 3 years by 2020s
Tropical storms – Destruction of farmland and infrastructure exacerbated by CC

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16
Q

How are climate change and global food production linked?

A
  • Food production is a driver of CC - one third of GGE
  • CC will influence growing seasons – increase in some places and decreasing in others + more extreme weather events like drought, wildfires
  • Farming can be a carbon sink and in ACs set-aside land can sequester large amounts
  • Extreme weather events can destroy key infrastructure, impacting distribution
17
Q

How much water available for human use?

A

Less than 1% and of this 68% is agriculture which draws water from rivers, lakes and aquifers

18
Q

How much water is lost due to poor irrigation systems?

A

60%

19
Q

Where suffered a depletion in aquifer supplies?

A

Southeast Asia in the 1990s after a boom in groundwater irrigation

20
Q

How is Australia combatting water scarcity?

A
  • Major food-exporting country of wheat, meat and dairy
  • Extreme weather driven by El Nino brings periodic drought affecting the Murray-Darling Basin
  • Measures include a cap on amount of water extracted from major rivers, withdrawal of subsidies for irrigation and trade in water between farmers
21
Q

What appropriate technology has Kenya been using to address water scarcity?

A
  • Mulching - laying plant leaves between rows of crops to recue soil erosion and retain water
  • Drip irrigation – reduces loss by evaporation by directing slow-moving water to base of crops
  • Training farmers in water-harvesting
22
Q

What is virtual water?

A

The volume of freshwater needed to make a product, measured at the site of manufacturing

23
Q

Why do water-scarce countries import water-intensive foods?

A

It relieves pressure on domestic water sources

24
Q

Who are the major virtual water exporters/importers?

A

Exporters - Australia, USA, Brazil

Importers – Japan and S. Korea

25
Q

How does ash fall affect food?

A
  • Destroys pastureland and livestock (especially if containing fluorine which leads to fluorosis)
    eg In 1996 over 2000 animals died near Mount Ruapehu in NZ following eruption
  • Affects crops – increased sulphur levels and low pH can affect soil and destroy crops eg 2002 Mount Etna eruption ash fell on citrus fruits destroying entire crop and 80% of vegetables killed and 75% of seasonal harvesting jobs = cost €140 million
26
Q

How can tectonic hazards impact food distribution?

A

Secondary impact and affects remote communities with poor transport links most