food definitions

Question 1

define food security

Answer 1

exists when all people, at all times have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary need and food preferences for an active and healthy life

Question 2

define the global hunger index

Answer 2

a tool comprehensively measure and track hunger at a global, regional and national levels reflecting multiple dimensions of hunger over time
intended to raise awareness and understanding of geographical differences in hunger and how these change over time

Question 3

define globalisation

Answer 3

the growing integration and interdependence of people’s lives in a complex process with economic social political and environmental

Question 4

define the global food system

Answer 4

encompasses all the activities that are involved in the production, processing, distribution and consumption of food throughout the world.

Question 5

define MDG

Answer 5

Millenial Development Goals

Question 6

define extensive farming

Answer 6

large scale commercial
inputs of labour and capital are small

Question 7

define intensive farming

Answer 7

small scale with high labour and capital inputs

Question 8

define arable farming

Answer 8

growing food crops

Question 9

define pastoral farming

Answer 9

raising livestock

Question 10

define subsistence farming

Answer 10

food grown just for farmer or local communities, not for profit

Question 11

define commercial farming

Answer 11

large scale
high capital
large profit

Question 12

define shifting cultivation

Answer 12

isolated areas with low population
large areas with low demand
rotate fields

Question 13

define sedentary

Answer 13

farmers remain in one place
cultivate same land every year

Question 14

define leaching

Answer 14

soluble materials draining away in soil

Question 15

define salinisation

Answer 15

the accumulation of salts in soils

Question 16

define aspect

Answer 16

the direction a slope faces

Question 17

define microclimate

Answer 17

local climates whose main characteristics are determined by topography and land use

Question 18

define humus

Answer 18

organic material when plants and animals decompose

Question 19

define evapotranspiration

Answer 19

combined loss of water at the surface through evaporation and transpiration by plants

Question 20

define fluorosis

Answer 20

contamination of water by fluoride

Question 21

define nitrogen fixing

Answer 21

to supply plants with the vital nutrient that they cannot obtain from the air themselves

Question 22

define microclimate

Answer 22

local climates whose main characteristics are determined by topography and land use

Question 23

define humus

Answer 23

dark, organic material that forms in soil when plant and animal matter decays

Question 24

define irrigation

Answer 24

the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns

Question 25

define mulching

Answer 25

a layer of material applied to the surface of soil

Question 26

define xerophytes

Answer 26

a plant with adaptations that enable it to survive in an environement with little water

Question 27

define tundra

Answer 27

treeless region in the sub-artic and in high mountains which has a short growing season and severe winter temperatures

Question 28

define indigenous

Answer 28

something that originates naturally from a particular location

Question 29

define eutrophication

Answer 29

the process whereby nutrient enrichment in water leads to a fall in oxygen levels and the subsequent death of species which are nutrient reliant

Question 30

define aquifer

Answer 30

a water bearing band of porous or permeable rock

Question 31

define globesity

Answer 31

the widespread increase in excess average weight due to poor diet and lack of excersise

Question 32

define geopolitics

Answer 32

ways in which geographical factors were central were central in shaping international politics

Question 33

define desertification

Answer 33

the reduction of in agricultural capacity due to overexploitation of resources and natural processes such as drought
in extreme cases this results in desert like conditions

Question 34

define global hunger index

Answer 34

system to comprehensively measure and track hunger at the global, regional, and country levels

Question 35

define global food security index

Answer 35

annual assessment measuring food security through affordability, availability, quality and safety

Question 36

define agro-systems

Answer 36

an ecosystem that is managed to produce food

Question 37

define carrying capacity

Answer 37

the maximum number of a species that can be supported in a given area in a sustainable way

Question 38

define a global value chain

Answer 38

formed when the different stages of production are located across different countries
companies attempt to optimise their different locations

Question 39

define foreign direct investment

Answer 39

inward investment by a foreign company in a country

Question 40

define price shocks

Answer 40

an unexpected and unpredictable change in prices
can be positive or negative

Question 41

define genetic modified crops

Answer 41

genetic engineering applied to food crops to increase production, quality, and resistance to disease or drought

Question 42

define monoculture

Answer 42

the cultivation of a single crop

Question 43

define land grabbing

Answer 43

a process whereby rich countries acquire land in poorer countries

Question 44

define virtual water

Answer 44

the volume of freshwater needed to make a product measured at the place where the manufactured

Question 45

define groundwater

Answer 45

water stored underground in permeable and porous rocks called aquifers

Question 46

define agribusiness

Answer 46

a large scale farming practice run on business lines

Question 47

define a pinch point

Answer 47

a point where congestion is likely to occur

Question 48

define just in time

Answer 48

a system companies use to increase efficiency and decrease storage costs and waste
products are delivered immediately just as they are required

Question 49

define land degradation

Answer 49

the deterioration of land suitability for agriculture by soil erosion, desertification or salinisation

Question 50

define permafrost

Answer 50

permanently frozen soil

Question 51

define net primary productivity

Answer 51

the rate at which plants accumulate energy in the form of organic matter taking into account the energy used in respiration

Question 52

define biodiversity

Answer 52

the number of different plant animal fungi etc species in a given area

Question 53

define deforestation

Answer 53

net loss of trees

Question 54

define malnutrition

Answer 54

shortages of proteins and essential vitamins caused by an unbalanced diet

Question 55

define nutrition spectrum

Answer 55

a scale of diet and health that marks critical thresholds in human health eg starvation and obesity

Question 56

define trading bloc

Answer 56

A trading bloc is a type of intergovernmental agreement, often part of a regional intergovernmental organisation, where regional barriers to international trade, (tariffs and non-tariff barriers) are reduced or eliminated among the participating states, allowing them to trade with each other as easily as possible.