5.2 Terrestrial food production systems and food choices

Question 1

sustainability of terrestrial food production systems influenced by

Answer 1

• scale
• fertilisers
• pest control
• water use
• use of fossil fuel for transport, fertilisers and for machinery

Question 2

green revolution

Answer 2

the application of science and technology to agriculture, leading to high - yielding varieties, breeding programmes, widespread use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, irrigation, etc -> growth in food production outpaced the growth of population

Question 3

rise in world food prices

Answer 3

• between 2001-2008
• although there was an increase in food production
• even greater increase in demand for food
• a rise in oil prices led to higher costs in transport and fertiliser production

Question 4

inequalities in food production and distribution

Answer 4

• world is growing by over 80m people each year -> more food is needed
• larger population of people in the world will become middle and high income earners, and there will be a corresponding change in diet from grain based to meat and dairy based

Question 5

food miles

Answer 5

the distance that a food travels to its destination

Question 6

food waste

Answer 6

• prevalent in both MEDC and LEDC but for different reasons
• LEDC: either at farm level due to lack of storage/refrigeration, or in transport to the market
• MEDC: household or retail level

Question 7

cultural factors influencing food prod. systems

Answer 7

religious impacts (eg most Hindus dont eat beef and Islam and Judaism forbid the consumption of pork)

Question 8

ecological factors influencing food prod. systems

Answer 8

The selection of plant varieties and animal breeds can significantly impact sustainability. Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) may increase yields or pest resistance but raise concerns about biodiversity and long-term ecological effects.

Question 9

political factors influencing food prod. systems

Answer 9

government subsidies to promote production of certain food types, or agricultural policies, which protect factors by preventing imports of different food types

Question 10

economic factors influencing food prod. systems

Answer 10

may influence the level of mechanisation that farmers can afford, but it also influences the demand for certain food types - diets change as people become more prosperous

Question 11

land availability

Answer 11

• decreasing in many places
• partly due to pop. growth and urbanisation, using up productive land for human settlement
  -> industrial development, mining and the building of dams and roads
• soil erosion and degradation reduces the quality of soil
• makes amount of land available per person much lower now than in the past -> potential imapct on food production
• use of land for production of biofuels rather than food crops
• approx. 100m tonnes of grain are used for biofuels
  ->more grain is used for biofuel, less grain (and land) is used for the production of food or human use

Question 12

food yield from different trophic layers

Answer 12

• yields of food from lower trophic levels: greater in quanitity, lower in cost, may require fewer resources (eg it is cheaper and eaiser to raise wheat and corn than livestock)
• terrestrial systems: most food is harvested from relatively low trophic levels (producers and herbivores)
• aquatic systems: most food is harvested from higher trophic levels where the total storages are much smallers
  -> although energy conversions along the food chain can be more efficient in aquatic systems, the initial fixing of available solar energy by primary producers tends to be less efficient due to absorption and reflection of light by water

Question 13

cultural choices

Answer 13

• people tend to eat from higher up on the food chain eg. meat products and dairy products, which requires a greater amount of land and inputs
  -> increasing levels of wealth and rising standards of living
  -> increased intake of meat and dairy products represents a higher standard of living than one based on staples like rice

Question 14

when does agribusiness occur

Answer 14

when food production is not to satisfy the community’s needs but is to ensure profitable return for capital investment

purpose: to maximise productivity and profit in order to compete in a global market

Question 15

main characteristics of agribusiness

Answer 15

• large scale monoculture
• intensive use of fertilizers and pesticides
• mechanised ploughing and harvesting
• food production geared to mass markets inclu. export

Question 16

how have modern farming techniques lead to decrease in biodiversity or increased run off pollution

Answer 16

• genetically modified crops used to increase yield -> effect on wild populations if modified species cross pollinate with wild ones
• synthetic fertiliser -> eutrophication

Question 17

about how much water is wasted globally in growing crops that never reach the consumer?

Answer 17

about 550 billion cubic meters

Question 18

energy use: about how many calories of energy are required to produce on calorie of food?

Answer 18

7-10 (varies dramatically depending on the food)

Question 19

energy use: about how many calories are need for plant crops?

Answer 19

3

Question 20

energy use: about how many calories are needed for the production of beef?

Answer 20

35

Question 21

globally, how much of the natural gas supply is needed to manufacture fertilizer

Answer 21

3-5%

Question 22

use of antibiotics in intensive animal farming

Answer 22

because animals are kept tightly in a pen, disease can quickly spread through the farms

Antibiotics are use to keep animals healthy

this method has been criticised because it can lead to the emergence of antibiotic - resistant bacteria and therefore many scientists believe this practice should be limited to treating human infection

Question 23

what are LEDCs suffering from in terms of food inequality

Answer 23

• undernourishment (their food intake does not contain enough energy)
• malnutrition (their food intake lacks essential nutrients such as protein and minerals)
• a child dies from hunger every 6 seconds
  -10% increase in food prices can lead to 40m people in food poverty

Question 24

what makes food import more expensive

Answer 24

import tariffs imposed by MEDCs make the import of food more expensive which can have a knock on effect for exporting countries

Question 25

how is food production use in LEDCs

Answer 25

• to generate foreign currency, especially from cash crops like sugar cane (emphasis on export -> more affected by global financial fluctuations like recessions)
  -> this leads to crops being used for export reasons only and not to feed the local population (eg Kenya, where vegetable crops end up in MEDCs at the expense of using this land to grow food for indeginious population)

Question 26

what makes farm products from LEDCs uncompetitive

Answer 26

export subsidies provided by MEDCs to their farmers

MEDCs often subsidize their agricultural sectors, allowing their farmers to sell products at artificially lower prices. This makes it challenging for farmers in LEDCs, who lack similar subsidies, to compete on the global market. Consequently, LEDC farm products can become uncompetitive, as they are priced higher than those from MEDCs despite often having lower production costs.

Question 27

specific reasons for food waste

Answer 27

• poor agricultural practices
• inadequate infrastructure for transporting food
• poor storage facilities
• strict sell-by dates on supermarket food
• buy-one-get-one-free promotions on food in supermarkets
• western consumer demand for food that appears perfect

Question 28

what percentage of total amount of food produced never makes in onto a plate?

Answer 28

30-50% (1.2-2 billion tonnes of food wasted)

Question 29

food waste in LEDCs

Answer 29

• occurs at farmer-producer level of supply chain
• inefficient harvesting, inadequate local transportation, poor infrastructure -> product is handled inappropriately and stored in unsuitable conditions -> mould and pests destroy or at least degrade quantities of food material
• food spills onto roads or are bruises as vehicles travel over poorly maintained roads
• as development increases, the food loss problem goes up the food chain, and deficiencies in regional and national areas have the largest impact

Question 30

food waste in MEDCs

Answer 30

• consumerism, excess wealth and mass marketing lead to wastage
• wasted through customer and retail behaviour
• major supermarkets often reject entire crops of edible fruit and vegetables because they do not meet exact marketing standards (physical characteristics like size and appearance)
  -> globally retailers make 1.6m tonnes of food waste annually this way
• supermarkets encouraging consumers to buy larger quantities than needed inevitably leads to more food waste

Question 31

socio economic factors in terrestrial food production

Answer 31

• Economic model: Profit-driven vs. subsistence
• Market orientation: Export vs. local consumption
• Labor conditions: Fair wages, worker safety

Question 32

case study: China and

Answer 32

• 1,200-year-old rice-fish farming system where rice and fish are cultivated together in paddy fields.
• Fish provide nutrients to the rice, eat insects, and reduce the need for pesticides.
• Farmers’ incomes increased as fish prices rose from 20 Yuan to 120 Yuan per kg.
• Recognition as a GIAHS site attracted over 100,000 tourists, boosting local businesses.
• Villagers opened five restaurants, increasing local economic activity.
• Reduced emigration as improved livelihoods allowed locals to stay and invest in their community.

Question 33

two types of terrestrial farming

Answer 33

1. commercial farming (for profit - often a single crop)
2. subsistence farming (produces only enough to feed the farmer and his or her family, with none to sell for profit)

Question 34

intensive farm meaning

Answer 34

take up a small area of land but aim to have very high output (through large inputs of capital and labour) per unit area of land

Question 35

extensive farm meaning

Answer 35

large in comparison to the money and labour put into them

Question 36

how to value efficiency of farm system

Answer 36

comparing outputs (eg marketable product) to inputs (fuel, labour, transport, fertilizer, dealing with waste products) per unit area of land

Question 37

the environmental impacts of food production systems include

Answer 37

• soil degradation from erosion
• desertification
• eutrophication from agricultural run off
• pollution from insecticides, pesticides, fertilizers
• loss of valuable habitats (eg wetlands drained from agriculture)
• disease epidemics from high density livestock farming and monoculture

Question 38

increased sustainability of food production can be achieved through

Answer 38

• altering human activity to reduce meat consumption
• planting buffer zones
• increasing consumption of organically grown, seasonal and locally produced food products
• improving accuracy of food labels to assist consumers in making informed foo choices

Question 39

evaluate the strategy for increasing sustainability in terrestrial food production systems: human attitude to eating meat

Answer 39

• improving accuracy of food labels in supermarkets would help consumers make increasingly better food choices
• buying locally produced food would minimize food miles used in transportation, limiting its ecological footprint
• buying food that minimizes pesticide use also offers a more sustainable choice
• should people in MEDCs who have historically enjoyed eating high levels of meat consumption be allowed to influence patterns of food consumption in developing countries, where societies have only recently switched to higher levels of meat consumption?

Question 40

evaluate the strategy for increasing sustainability in terrestrial food production systems: organic farming

Answer 40

• provides ecocentric approach to farming by achieving an ecological balance
• conserves soil fertility
• prevents pest outbreaks
• takes preventative rather than reactive measures to environmental issues
• sustainable at local level (it alone cant feed the worlds growing pop.)
• prevents use of GM crops which can offer tolerance to drought, diseases, and pasts (reducing farmers need for pesticides) and enhance nutritional value (to fight malnutrition in LEDCs)

Question 41

evaluate the strategy for increasing sustainability in terrestrial food production systems: buffer zones

Answer 41

• areas of land containing native vegetation that are adjacent to or surround agricultural land
• support biodiversity that is absent from arable land (often monoculture)
• support insect predators that limit crop pests
• reduce pesticide use
• preserve species lost from the farmed area, thereby supporting local food chains
• limit fertilizer and pesticide run off
• control air and soil quality
• many countries provide financial incentives for farmers to leave buffer zones on their land
• without incentives they are unsustainable as locals and farmers themselves may argue that this money is better spent elsewhere

Question 42

inputs to food production systems include

Answer 42

• fertilizers
• water
• pest control
• labour
• seed
• breeding stock
• livestock growth promoters

Question 43

outputs to food production systems include

Answer 43

• food quality
• food quantity
• pollutants
• consumer health
• soil quality

Question 44

system characteristic of food production system

Answer 44

diversity (monoculture vs polyculture)

Question 45

efficiency equation

Answer 45

Question 46

Efficiency of Lower Trophic Levels

Answer 46

• Producing food from plants (primary producers) is generally more efficient in terms of energy and resource use compared to animal products.
• Typically, only about 10% of energy is transferred between trophic levels.