ECOSYSTEMS L4- Food Production

Question 1

What was the Green Revolution?

Answer 1

Sparked agricultural improvements between 1940-60.

This involved the development of technologies such as fertilisers, pesticides and GM seeds.

Question 2

Where was the Green Revolution successful?

Answer 2

Highly successful in Asia, but not Africa

Question 3

Where does the problem of food production lie?

Answer 3

The World Bank and UN have shown that we produce enough calories for everybody.

BUT the problem is not in production- it is in the uneven distribution.

Question 4

How many people remain chronically under-nourished worldwide?

Answer 4

Nearly 1 billion (UN)

Question 5

What is the fuel vs food debate?

Answer 5

There is an increasing demand for biofuel to reduce dependancy on oil. This has been blames for the increase in food prices worldwide.

Example- the EU has a target of producing 10% of fuel from biofuels by 2020

Question 6

What are the issues with food production?

Answer 6

1) Growing population
2) Water scarcity
3) Limited land
4) Waste
5) Climate change
6) Rising costs of fertilisers
7) Decline in soil fertility

Question 7

How much food is wasted?

Answer 7

30-40% of perishable crops are lost after harvest in developing countries.

10-16% of the global harvest is lost to disease.

In the UK, 19% of food and drink is thrown away.

Question 8

FAO (2010)

Answer 8

World hunger has been increasing since 1996.

925 million people are chronically undernourished.

800 million of which live in developing countries.

Question 9

What is the contradiction in world hunger?

Answer 9

There are higher levels of obesity worldwide than undernourishment.

In 2008, 1.5 billion adults were classed as being overweight.

WHO have identified this as a global epidemic.

Question 10

What are the potential solutions to lack of food?

Answer 10

1) GMOs

2) Novel food production (insects or cultured meat)

Question 11

What types of GMO exist? (Houses of Parliament, 2011)

Answer 11

1) Transgenic (genes from different species)

2) Cisgenic (genes from the same species)

Question 12

What characteristics are produced in GM crops? (Houses of Parliament, 2011)

Answer 12

1) Insect resistance
2) Herbicide tolerance
3) Virus resistance
4) Drought resistance
5) Longer shelf life
6) Nutritional enhancement

Question 13

Where are GM crops produced? (Houses of Parliament, 2011)

Answer 13

90% of production is found in the US, Brazil, Argentina, India and Canada

Only 1 GM crop is licensed for production in the EU- Amflora starch potato.

Question 14

What are the arguments against GMO production? (Houses of Parliament, 2011)

Answer 14

1) Impacts on gene flows- mixing with non GM crops could potentially create unforeseen externalities
2) Environmental risks- monocultures are extremely vulnerable to disease etc.
3) The economic benefits are not always visible in comparison to non GM crops
4) Potential impacts on human health

Question 15

What are the options for novel food production? (Houses of Parliament, 2015)

Answer 15

1) Edible insects

2) Cultures meat

Question 16

How are edible insects an option for novel food production? (Houses of Parliament, 2015)

Answer 16

At least 1,900 species are safe for human consumption.
The protein and nutritional value of insects broadly resembles meat.
Insects are more efficient at turning feed into biomass.
Insect rearing produces less GHGs and ammonia per/kg

Question 17

What are the arguments against insect production for food? (Houses of Parliament, 2015)

Answer 17

1) Current production lines in Europe are labour intensive- the development of technology is required to make the process more efficient
2) There is potential for carry-over of heavy metals from contaminated feed during rearing
3) There is a cultural view that insects are disgusting- this is deeply rooted in Western society

Question 18

How is cultured meat an option for novel food production? (Houses of Parliament, 2015)

Answer 18

Analysis has suggested that lab grown meat could sustainable reduce energy, land and water use.
BUT, this requires more testing!

Question 19

What are the arguments against cultured meat an option for novel food production? (Houses of Parliament, 2015)

Answer 19

1) Upscaling of the industry could theoretically be achieved, but it would require substantial investment
2) It is unclear whether consumers would buy cultured meat

Question 20

What are the current concerns associated with agricultural production? (Hazell, 2008)

Answer 20

1) HEALTH
70% of diarrhoea cases are due to contaminated food
Agriculture is a hazardous occupation- 170,000 people die p/year
20,000 people die p/year as a result of pesticides

2) ENVIRONMENT
Deforestation and degradation are major concerns
Water depletion, soil degradation and climate change

3) HUNGER
Despite the green revolution, over 500 million people in Asia go hungry
Africa’s agricultural production has stagnated over the last 20 years

Question 21

What are the global drivers of agricultural change? (Hazell, 2008)

Answer 21

1) INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Agricultural trade has increased 10 fold since the 1960s
This has involved the liberalisation of markets which has created increased competition for agricultural commodities.
Now the markets are dominated by large trading companies- many developing countries cannot compete with the quality or prices of theses companies.

2) LOW PRICES
Due to the liberalisation of markets, prices have been driven down due to competition.
Simultaneously, OECD countries have subsidised their own production to make them more competitive on the global market- this has had a negative effect on local producers in LICs.

3) HIGH ENERGY PRICES
In mechanised farming systems, this may encourage more efficient practices.
BUT in developing countries, this could lead the further soil erosion, deforestation and solid fuel use.

Question 22

What are the regional drivers of agricultural change? (Hazell, 2008)

Answer 22

1) INCOME AND URBANISATION
As income increases, farms become bigger, more commercial and specialised.
Many smaller farms disappear, whilst others may adopt a smaller niche.

2) SHIFT IN PUBLIC POLICY
SAPS introduced by the IMF in the 1980s meant that the state in developing countries was removed from providing direct market functions to farmers.
This was meant to create opportunities in the private sector.
BUT, the private sector has failed to fill this void which has made it difficult for small farmers (this makes up 80% of farms in Asia and Africa).

Question 23

What are the local drivers of agricultural change? (Hazell, 2008)

Answer 23

1) POVERTY
Poorer people are less likely to contain or reverse environmental degradation- more likely to have larger families, lack investment capital and have insecure property rights.
This means that people are trapped in a poverty cycle- with ever worsening poverty and environmental degradation.
Unless food insecurity is reduced, environmental degradation will continue.

2) HEALTH
Health problems such as malaria/HIV are increasing among rural populations. Many small farms disappear as a result.

3) INFRASTRUCTURE AND MARKET ACCESS
Rural infrastructure is essential for agricultural growth.
Better road access to markets means that rural farms can access markets to trade their goods

4) NON FARMING OPPORTUNITIES
History has shown that development necessarily implies a shift away from agricultural production.