ecology - food security

Question 1

what is food security?

Answer 1

having enough food to feed a population. it is incredibly important as more people live in cities and fewer people grow their own food

Question 2

what are the biological threats to food security?

Answer 2

• birth rate increasing. as population grows, amount of food available will have to increase
• tastes are changing. people expect to eat whole range of different foods. these can’t all be brown in UK. so import large amount of food from other countries + threaten their food security
• pests and pathogens. pests eat food crops (caterpillars). pathogens cause infectious diseases. affect food crops available to eat
• environmental change. global warming = unpredictable weather. if rainfall patterns change, countries may not be able to grow enough crops to feed their population + lead to famine
• farmers need resources (fertilisers + pesticides) to increase crop yield + producing livestock means buying food for their animals. resources becoming expensive due to population increasing. in countries can be more than they can afford threatening security of their food
• conflict can cause farming to be be disrupted + imports of food not possible. can threaten reliable supply of water

Question 3

what is essential as population of world increases?

Answer 3

to find sustainable methods to feed everyone on Earth so our long-term food security will be increased