Chapter 11 - Social, Economic And Political Factors That Affect Agriculture

Question 1

What are the social factors that affect agriculture?

Answer 1

1) cultural factors - horse meat isn’t popular in the UK but is widely eaten in many other European countries
2) religious factors - some religions may avoid certain foods. For example, Jews and Muslims do not eat pork while Hindus don’t eat beef
3) ethical issues - a desire to reduce the environmental or social impacts of food production can influence food choices
— only buying local food to reduce food miles
— only buying seasonal food
— only buying free range products

Question 2

What are the economic influences on agriculture

Answer 2

1) guaranteed market
- if output exceeds demand then the market price would drop and the farmers could make a loss, despite the high yield. To solve this greater financial security was given to farmers providing a ‘guaranteed market’
- if there was a surplus harvest the government would buy some of the harvest from farmers to create an artificial market shortage and raise the price to an agreed level that had been set earlier in the year
2) quotas
- farmers are given limits on what they are allowed to produce, for example, dairy farmers are given a limit on the amount of milk they can sell

Question 3

What are the political factors on agriculture

Answer 3

1) guaranteed market
- if output exceeds demand then the market price would drop and the farmers could make a loss, despite the high yield. To solve this greater financial security was given to farmers providing a ‘guaranteed market’
- if there was a surplus harvest the government would buy some of the harvest from farmers to create an artificial market shortage and raise the price to an agreed level that had been set earlier in the year
2) quotas
- farmers are given limits on what they are allowed to produce, for example, dairy farmers are given a limit on the amount of milk they can sell
3) trade controls