Food Supply Issues Flashcards
What are the reasons for a large volume of food production in a country?
Climates are good for farming.
Lots of investment in farming.
What are the reasons for a small volume of food production in a country?
A lack of resources and funding for farming equipment.
Large areas of land are unsuitable for farming as they are mountainous or have poor quality soil.
unsuitable climates (low rainfall, very hot, very cold)
There are seven food production systems, what are they? Name and explain 4?
Commercial farming - Production of crops or livestock for profit.
Subsistence farming - Just enough food is grown to feed the family. No profit.
Intensive farming - Produces as much as possible from the land. There are two types,
- Capital-intensive - high input of money, low input of labor. Machinery is used.
- Labor-intensive - Low input of money, high input of labor.
Extensive farming - Low input of money, low input of labor. A small number of livestock are allowed a large area to graze. Low environmental impact and seen as better animal welfare. (free range)
Arable farming - Plants are grown for food, fuel, animal feed or materials.
Livestock farming - Animals are raised for food or materials.
Mixed farming - Plants and livestock and grown and raised.
Food supply is unevenly distributed. Which continents receive more? Which continents receive less? why?
More - Europe and North America due to people having a high disposable income.
Less - Africa and Asia because they cannot afford large volumes of food.
What does TNC stand for? What do they do?
Trans-national corporations - companies which operate in more than one country.
Give 3 examples of TNC’s?
McDonald’s
KFC
Tesco
What are the advantages of TNC’s? Give 3?
Lots of food can be produced cheaply.
The range of food available is increased.
TNC’s provide jobs and improve economic security in the countries they operate in.
They invest in research and development of new products and technologies that can increase farming yields.
What are the disadvantages of TNC’s? Give 3?
They control the price of products such as seeds, fertilisers and machinery, the costs of processing and distribution, and the price of the foods produced. If the prices are high, some countries cannot afford them.
Smaller companies cannot compete and go bankrupt. Food supplies become delocalised as countries have to buy from TNC’s instead of local producers. This leads to less self-sufficiency.
TNC’s use intensive farming methods to maximize profit. This damages the environment.
The food can take a long time to process and transport which reduces the nutritional values it holds.
What are the Geopolitics of food? Why?
The government interest in food supply.
All countries want food security. They don’t want their supply to be disrupted.
If their food supply is disrupted this could lead to food shortages, cause health issues and lead to social and political instability.
Food production can account for a huge proportion of a countries economy.
What is the globalisation of food?
The trade of food between countries. This has increased in the last 50 years.
What are food miles? What effect do they have?
The miles that food travels to get to the dinner table. Due to fuel consumption to transport the food, the environment is damaged.
What are the negative effects of the food industry becoming globalised?
deforestation - to provide a country with more land to grow food for exporting to other countries and increasing profit.
Intensive farming methods are often used meaning the larger the area of land farmed, the greater the levels of environmental pollution.
Food miles.
What are the two increased food demands?
What caused these? Give 2?
Seasonal products all year round.
High value food exports from poor countries.
Caused by - A rising culture of high consumption
Rising incomes in developed countries.
Increased popularity of exotic products
What are the negative effects of importing seasonal and high value food products? Give 3?
Food safety concerns as standards vary between countries.
Increased food miles which has a negative impact on the environment.
Concerns about workers’ pay and working conditions in poorer countries.
The best land if used to produce high quality food for export. This leaves low quality land to feed the locals, often leading to food shortages.
There is less food produced in developed countries because it is cheaper to import. This can lead to low food security because if their supply lines are cut, obtaining food will become increasingly harder.
Why has demand for organic food increased?
People are concerned that intensive farming damages the environment.
They are also concerned about the health risks of eating food which may contain pesticide residues.
