food production

Question 1

What is food security?

Answer 1

Having enough food to be able to feed a

population.

Question 2

State the biological factors threatening

food security.

Answer 2

● Rising birth rates
● Changing diets in developed countries → food is transported around the world
● New pests and pathogens
● Environmental changes affecting food production
● Increased cost of agriculture
● Armed conflicts

Question 3

How does intensive farming increase the

production of animals?

Answer 3

● Feed animals high protein foods to increase growth.
● Reduce their energy loss to the environment:
○ Limiting movement
○ Regulating their surrounding temperature
● Feed animals antibiotics to prevent diseases.

Question 4

What are the advantages of intensive

farming?

Answer 4

● Higher yield of food
● More efficient
● Allows easier quality control

Question 5

What are the disadvantages of intensive

farming?

Answer 5

● May lead to antibiotic resistance.
● Cost is high.
● Ethical objections eg. limiting movement of animals may cause them harm.
● Biodiversity may be reduced.

Question 6

How can fish stocks be conserved?

Answer 6

● Control the size of gaps in fishing nets to prevent juvenile fish from being killed.
before reaching reproductive maturity
● Introduce fishing quotas.

Question 7

What is a transgenic organism?

Answer 7

An organism that has been genetically
modified to contain genetic material from
another source.

Question 8

How might crops be genetically

modified?

Answer 8

● To improve nutritional value
● To be pest resistant
● To be pesticide resistan

Question 9

What is mycoprotein?

Answer 9

A protein-rich substance used to make
meat substitute food for vegetarians and
vegans.

Question 10

How is mycoprotein produced?

Answer 10

Fusarium, a fungus, is grown on glucose
syrup, in aerobic conditions and the
biomass is harvested and purified to get
the mycoprotein.