Food In The Uk Flashcards
Why does the Uk import so much food?
1)demand for a greater choice of food and more exotic foods has increased so we have to import from other countries
2)Some of the foods cannot be grown in our climate as they need warmer climates to grow therefore must import these foods from tropical areas e.g. bannanas
3) Customers now demand all products all year round, so these foods are imported from places where they are in season at that time
4)We import some food from abroad because it is cheaper than growing it in the UK.
What is a benefit of the Uk importing so much food?
Globalisation has increased the demand for exciting produce from other countries increasing the amount of agricultural jobs in LICs
What are the disadvantages of the Uk importing so much food?
•as demand for exotic produce increases, less land is available for locals in LICs to grow their own food e.g. the growing and selling of Kenya’s magnet out is their biggest source of income
•the transport used to import food into the Uk adds over 19milliones tonnes of Carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every year and as demand increases there is more need to import food from a distance increasing food miles
•transporting food by air and keeping it fresh is very expensive
•crops require high amounts of water and some LICs water supply is poor quality and unreliable
What is the Uk doing to respond to the challenges of dependency on foreign foods?
•agribusiness
•organic produce
What is agribusiness?
•Intensive farming aimed at maximising the amount of food produced.
•they are ran as commercial businesses and have high levels of investments
What is organic produce?
•growing produce without the use of chemicals
What is an example of agribusiness in Lunsford House farm, East Angilia?
-the farm has invested in a 54 litre reservoir to tackle frequent water shortages
-flat fertile land is contactless farmed and it has a high inputs of chemicals and pesticides used as well machinery to maximise productivity and profitability
What are the disadvantages of agribusiness?
•Agribusiness faces risks every growing season e.g. weather to insect infestations to unexpected livestock death from disease and simple climate changes, like having too much rain, can create risk. This makes it unreliable
•Agribusiness has harmed the environment through the increased use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides- pesticides can harm non target species like beneficial insects and fertilisers can degrade soil quality over time
What are the advantages of agribusiness?
•it can increase food security meaning the Uk is less dependent on foreign food imports
•can reduce food costs for consumers and overheads
What are the advantage of growing organic produce/buying localally sourced foods in season?
•decreased river pollution as there is no chemical run off protecting wild life
•can support the local economy and reduce carbon footprint
What are the disadvantages of growing organic produce?
•more labour intensive – it takes the farmer more time and effort to grow crops meaning organic produce is more expensive (may not be socially sustainable as not everyone could afford it)
•Productivity is lower on organic farms meaning it might not be as reliable in keeping up with consumer demands
