Food and health Flashcards
Define malnutrition
diet lacking necessary nutrients, caused by not eating enough food
Define famine
long-term food shartages in a given area
Define endemic
disease prone in a particular area
Define epidemic
fast spreading outbreak of a disease (in a particular place)
Define pandemic
global epidemic that spreads in a lot of places
define HALE:
Health adjusted life expectancy–> the lengh of time an individual has based on their health.
Define food security
Having access to sufficient, safe and nutritous food to meet diatary needs of a population
What does the food security index measures?
- AFFORDABILITY
- AVAILABILITY
- QUALITY + SAFETY
what is affordability and what does it measure?
definition: affording food products without undue strees
It is measured by:
- access to financing farmers
- gross domestic product
- proportion of people under poverty line
What is food availability
- factors affecting the supply of food and the ease it is to access it.
- Measured by:
- Political stability
- supply
- agricultural productivity and production
- geographical location.
What is quality and safety in the GFSI?
- the nutritional quality of diets and food safety in each country
- measured by: diversity of foods, sanitation, protein quantitiy
What are the four indicators used in the global hunger index (GHI)
1. Undernourishment--> have an insufficient caloric index
2. Child wasting–> number of children under 5 that have a low weight for their height
3. child stunting--> Children under five who have a low height for their age.
4. child mortaility–> due to innadequate food sources/nutrition
What are the stages nutrition transition model
stage 1–> collecting food- wild animals and plants
stage 2–> famine –> mostly cererals
Stage 3–> receding famine
Stage 4–> Chronic diseases –> high calotic food, less acitivity
Stage 5–> Behavioral change –> change of behaior due to obesity and chronic disease
Strenghs and weaknesses of HALE
ADV:
1. measures the quality of life
2. Weighted years by health issues
DSV:
1. women living longer than men is not associated with good health
2. does not measure disability years
What is infant mortality rate
Number of children that die before age 1 per 1000 live births.
What is maternal mrotlaity
death of women while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy.
How is the access to health services measured?
by ratio between doctors/people
ADV–> indicated health system and infarstructural developement
DSVD–> not indication of quality health systems
What is the duel burden of diseases
- shift of diseases in low-income areas from communicabel diseases to non-communicable diseases.
What are diseases of poverty
- Communicable diseases (diarrhea, maleria, AIDS)–> LICS
- Caused by:lack of medical care, poor water quality, sanitation and nutrition.
What are diseases of affluence
- medical conditions associated with wealth (non-communicable diseases)
- eg (obesity, diabeted, CHD)
Implications of global aging population for disease burden
Life expectancy in LICs is increasing due to improved economies as they tend to adopt HICS lifestyles.
Results in prevalence of diseases of affluence as opposed to diseases of poverty
Affects health systems because the government has to specify more on health care for elderly population than youngsters.
What are inputs
- materials needed to operate the farming system
what are outputs
products obtained when inputs are processed
what are processes
activities converting inputs–> outputs
explain extensive farming
small labor and capital, low output.
explain intensive farming
use a lot of capital and small input, large labor, great outputs.
envirormental costs of increasing food productions
- agro-chemicals are harmful
- cleaning chemicals is expensive
- air pollution (GHG from farms)
- Major TNC produce a lot of GHG.
What are energy subsides
energy sources not coming from sun (fossil fuels)
Explain the energy effiiciency ratio (EER)
measures amount of energy input vs output.
- Ratio bigger than 1–> efficient
Limitations of energy efficiency ratio:
Does not include wider environmental impacts on soil quality, water resources.
Advantages of energy efficiency ratio:
Useful to examine efficient of energy used in farm system→ relevant in climate change
What are the factors affecting energy efficieny ratio
- Climate
- Type of soil
- Topography
- Types of farming systems
What is water foot-print
measures amount of water used in human activities
What is food entitlement deficit (FED)
- food shortages caused by humans (politics or economy) which makes it difficult for people to access food
Improvements (physical processes) that have led to increase food production→ increasing food production:
Increased amount of farmland: by converting waterlogged land into farms
Increase in productivity→ due to increase land size
Reasons for increased agricultural productivity
high yielding variety→ eg genetically modified crops
Mechanization→ large amount of land to be cultivated
Chemical fertilizers→ increase crop yield
Irrigation
Rising incomes→ increases demand for food and meat in MICs
Better education→ better food choices (prefer high quality foods)
what is expansion diffusion
expanding disease from source outwards
what is relocation diffusion
spreading disease moves into new areas , leaving behind the origin of disease.
Contagious diffusion
spread of an infectious disease by contact with an individual infected.
Hierarchical diffusion→
an order sequence of spreading (small urban→ large urban areas)
Network diffusion →
disease spreads by transportation or social networks
physical barriers of disease diffusion
- Distance decay–> further away the less infected
- Mountanous regions–> restrict migration of people
- Extreme climate conditions (too hot or cold)
Human barriers of disease diffusion
- Socio-political structure–> political border +migration controlls prevent people from moving
- manegement: isolation (quarentine measures employed in countries)
- Strict laws and reglaments
The role of international organizations in combating food insecurity and diseases
1. Food and agriculture organization (FAO)–Z helps eliminate hunger, insecuriy and mlnutrition
2. The world food programme (WFP)–> aims to end global hunger
3. World health organization (WHO)-
The role of governments in combating food insecurity and diseases
European union common agricultural policy (CAP)
Aims to ensure that food is from high quality, safe and affordable in european countries.
- Viable food production
- Sustainable management of natural resources
- Balanced development of rural areas
Five formerd objectives
* Increase europe’s competitive agricultural base
* Match production with demand
* Support farm incomes
* Protetr the natural environment
The role of NGOS in combating food insecurity and diseases
**Example Oxfam international
**Charity organization that provides support in ensuring food security, gender justice and improve health in yemen
Worked with the local government to provide farmers with support to develop sustainable farming practices.
Helps refugees living in uganda with food
**Example MSF: (Medecins Sans frontieres- Doctors without borders)
**
Provides free medical treatment in conflict zones in low income areas.
Doctors are volunteered workers that provide medical services
The influence of TNC´s (agribusiness and media) in shaping food consumption and habits
- TNCS make food available in areas where there is not enough food
- Because they sell food at a chepar price
- No preparation needed (convenient)
- increased lifespan of food–> the consumer will not suffer from food shortages.
- TNCS displace tradiitional food. systems–> produce ultra procesed foods.
- In LICS processed food by TNCS is encouraged while in HICS they have began to sell helathier alternatives (satge 5 of food transition model)
What is agri-buisness
farming undertaken by large scale businesses or transnational corporations
Factors affecting severity of famine
The length and severity of drought→ more severe doughnuts cause worse famines
Governance: most developing countries don’t have strategic policies to ensure food security.
The power of the media : telecasting news or documentaries of famine in a given country raises awareness and can raise funds for disaster relief.
**Access to international aid: **
**Population growth: **due to displaced people or refugees can increase famine
**Access to land and food production
**
What are the solutions for food insecurity
1. Economic
* Investing in agriculture–> agricultural subsides for faarmers to increase production
* Loans–> micro-loads to rural farmers for them to invest i farming
* Seeds and fertilizers –> invest in fertlizers.
2. Political
* food aid during war/conflict
* fair tarde–> provide them with fair prices to have necessary technology.
* Fre trade–> food is cheaper because there are no tarrifs imposed.
3. Technological
* GM crops, vertical farming, in-vitro meat.
Arguemnts for and against GM CROPS
for:
* Imrpove nutrient cotent in food
* Insect/pest resistant
* high yield
* Withsatnd herbicides
Against:
* unsuual taste
* make disease-casuing bacteria
ADV +DVD of vertical farming
ADV:
* reduces the cost of food transport
* No specialsied equipment
* natural disasters or droughts are eliminated as potential tisks for food production.
DVD:
* requires a lot of enrgy to maintain
* high cist
* low food production
ADV + DVD of in-vitro meat
ADV:
* ecological footprint is reduced
* good for envioment
* large quantities of meat are produced without GHG emissions
DVD
* unethical in some religions
* taste is noit the same
* lot of money+ science knoelege
Difference between prevention and trreatment
- Prevention: before incidence
- cheaper
- prevents pain and discomfort
- encourages healthy habits
- Treatment: after infection
- expensive
- investign o med care
