Food Security

Question 1

What is food security?

Answer 1

• when all ppl at all times have access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy + active life

Question 2

What are the 3 main strands of food security?

Answer 2

• food availability
• food access
• food use

Question 3

What are the 3 threats a lack of food security causes?

Answer 3

• pushing more ppl into poverty
• eroding dev. gains achieved in many countries
• threatens political stability

Question 4

What are the neg. eco. influences on global food production?

Answer 4

• demand for cereal grains > supply in recent yrs
• inc. energy prices, agri. production + transport costs have inc. costs all along farm-to-market chain
• serious underinvestment in agri. production + tech. in LICs: poor productivity + underdeveloped rural infrastructure
• production of food for local markets dec. in many LICs as more food produced for export

Question 5

What are the neg. envi. influences on global food production?

Answer 5

• sig. periods of poor weather + several severe weather events: major impact on harvests in key food-exporting countries
• inc. problems of soil degradation in LICs + HICs
• dec. biodiversity may have an impact on food production in future

Question 6

What are the neg. socio-political influences on global food production?

Answer 6

• global agri. production + trading system, built on import tariffs + subsidiaries, causes misuse, favouring production in HICs + disadvantaging producers in LICs
• poor international system of monitoring + using food relief
• disagreements over use of trans-boundary resources (river systems + aquifers)