FOOD

Question 1

food surplus and food deficit

Answer 1

Countries experience food surplus (security) if they produce more than they consume and food deficit (insecurity) if they consume more than they produce.

Question 2

what countries produce large amounts of food

Answer 2

east asia and north america

Question 3

what countries produce small amounts of food

Answer 3

central America and africa

Question 4

food consumption

Answer 4

Food consumption
More developed areas (e.g. North America and Europe) consume more food. This is because the country can afford to import many foods and citizens can afford to buy lots of food.
Less developed areas (e.g. Africa and Central America) eat less food on average per person. This is because wages are lower and so citizens can’t afford as much food.
Newly industrialised countries (e.g. China) are eating more as they become wealthier.

Question 5

what are reasons for increasing food demand

Answer 5

Increases in global population size and economic development are the main reasons for the rising demand for food

Question 6

why is increases in economic development a reason for rising demand for food

Answer 6

Wealthier people can afford to spend more on food. They will often purchase a wide variety and more than they need.
Wealthy countries have the finances to import food throughout the year, so their citizens are no longer restricted by seasonal availability.
Industrialisation of agriculture is causing food prices to fall. This means that people can afford to increase their consumption.

Question 7

why is increase in global population a reason for rising demand for food

Answer 7

more people naturally means more mouths to feed

Question 8

what is food insecurity

Answer 8

Food insecurity is when people can’t eat enough nutritious food to stay healthy. This can happen either because food production is too low or because food supplies can’t be accessed

Question 9

what factors affect food supply

Answer 9

Water stress
Low water availability can limit food production because livestock and crops depend on water.

Poverty=restricts the ability of people to farm, government with food deficit may struggle to afford the costs of importing

Climate- if a countries climate is not suited for farming they may not be able to produce enough food for their citizens
supply is also affected by extreme weather events

Pests and diseases- pests consume crops and therefore reduces yield, more livestock and crops are affected by disease

Technology
The efficiency of agriculture has been increased by mechanising farm equipment. This means that more food can be produced.
New technologies, such as genetic engineering, can improve food production by making crops resistant to disease, allowing crops to be grown in more hostile climates, as well as general yield improvement

Question 10

what factors affect food supply- list

Answer 10

water stress
poverty
climate
pests and diseases
tech
conflict

Question 11

negative impacts of food insecurity

Answer 11

soil erosion- when food is scarce people are less worried to use bad agricultural practices
social unrest- if people think the government aren’t doing enough to help them through times of food insecurity rioting can happen
undernutrition- unbalanced diet
famine- a famine is when a large area experiences a real lack of food, if famines last long enough the residents of that affected region may starve
rising food prices- when food supply decreases but the demand stays the same, prices will rise, rising food prices affect the poorest people the most

Question 12

how does biotech increase food supply

Answer 12

use of biotechnology- biotechnology involves genetically engineering crops to increase productivity
gm crops can give higher yields using fewer resources and smaller areas but there are concers that bioyech will reduce biodiversity

Question 13

how does the new green revolution increase food supply

Answer 13

The new green revolution
The new green revolution aims to sustainably improve yields by using a mix of:
Genetic modification of crops.
Traditional and organic methods of farming (e.g. crop rotation and natural predators).

Question 14

how does irrigation increase food supply

Answer 14

Irrigation involves artificially watering land to help crops grow.
This can increase the productivity of dry areas, increase the number of harvests or increase crop yields.
three types of irrigation- gravity flow, digging ditches and channels to transport ground or surface water to fields
sprinklers- spraying water across fields
drip systems- dripping water from small holes in pipes directly onto the soil around the roots of crop plantsh

Question 15

how does aeroponics and hydroponic increase food supply

Answer 15

Aeroponics and hydroponics are ways of growing plants without soil.
In aeroponics, plants are hung and their roots are sprayed with a fine mist of water. The roots absorb nutrients in the water before it drips off and is reused.
In hydroponics, plants are placed in a nutrient solution and are supported by materials like gravel or clay balls.
Less water is needed and risk of disease and pests is lower.
But, these methods are very expensive.

Question 16

how does appropriate tech increase food supply

Answer 16

the high tech methods cannot be used in low income countries so appropriate technologies are a better option eg
individual wells with easy to maintain mechanical pumps

Question 17

what new technologies can increase food supply

Answer 17

irrigation
biotechnology
hydroponics and aeroponics
the new green revolution
appropriate tech

Question 18

example of a large scale method to increase food production

Answer 18

Thanet Earth
thanet earth is a large scale agricultural development in kent south east England
4 greenhouses are used to grow salad vegetables using hydrponics all year round
the development aims to be sustainable with each greenhouse has its own power station to provide heat and lighting and rainwater collected from the roofs is used to provide the water supply
hot air and carbon dioxide from the power stations is pumped back into greenhouses

Question 19

adv of the large scale method

Answer 19

more than 500 jobs have been created in an area of high unemployment
reduces air miles, as the fruit can be grown all year round it reduces the reliance on foreign imports this gives the uk better food security the hydroponic system is automated so each plant gets the right amount of nutrients needed reducing the amount of fertiliser needed

Question 20

disadv of the large scale method

Answer 20

a large area of farmland has been built on
natural habitats have been lost and ecosystems disrupted
the money generated mostly goes to the large companies that have invested in it rather than local communities
large amount of enrgy required to power the greenhouses

Question 21

alternatives to industrial agriculture (low impact farming)

Answer 21

Organic farming returns nutrients to soil using natural processes.
Restricted use of artificial herbicides and pesticides.
Animals aren’t vaccinated or given supplements.
In an attempt to reduce food miles, authorities encourage organic farmers to sell their goods as locally as possible.

Urban farming initiatives-Urban farming initiatives use spaces such as roofs and balconies in cities to grow crops and raise livestock.
Urban farming initiatives help to reduce food miles. This can decrease the cost of food, which improves food security for the poorest people.
The appeal of cities as places to live is boosted by urban farming initiatives.

Permaculture-Permaculture involves producing food by mimicking natural ecosystems.
There is encouragement for people to grow their food, limit their consumption of animal products and buy their food from more sustainable sources.
Food production in permaculture aims to be low maintenance and not too harmful for soils

Question 22

what makes food supplies more sustainable

Answer 22

low impact farming

Question 23

examples of low impact farming

Answer 23

organic farming
permaculture
urban farming initiatives

Question 24

how else can we increase food sustainability

Answer 24

changing the way we consume food

Question 25

how can the way we consume food affect food sustainability

Answer 25

Increased demand for fish has put many species at risk of over-fishing. Sustainable sources will catch their fish in a way that is less threatening to the long-term survival of the species.
Grass-fed meat is a more sustainable option than grain-fed meat.

eating seasonal food-
Residents of wealthy countries expect to eat whatever foods they want throughout the year. This means that a lot of foods have to get imported in large quantities.
Importing like this is unsustainable because the environment is polluted as a result.
By eating seasonal foods only (e.g. asparagus), the amount of food being imported can be reduced.

reduce wasted food- 1/3 of food that is produced is lost or wasted- reducing this will make more food available. so less needs to be grown to feed the worlds population
schemes such as think eat save and love food hare waste encourages individuals

Question 26

example a scheme a country used to increase food supply

Answer 26

in the koutiala region of mali farmers are now using agroforestry to boost the sustainability of their food supply
mali is a very dry country, intensive use of land for farming is causing desertification of the land making it less fertile

farmers planted stable crops like maize in amongst trees and nitrogen fixing plants
the plants add nitrogen to the soil so arficial ferilisers aren’t needed, the trees provide shade and prevent soil erosion
this system increases the yield of maize at the same time as protecting th soil
tjis system is sustainable because farmers can provide the food they need without damaging the local environment so they can continue to produce food using these methids in the future.