global food Flashcards
food security
the state of having reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food
food insecurity definition
the condition of not having access to food of an adequate quality or or sufficient food
what is sustainability
meeting the needs of today without neglecting the needs of the future
what are some sustainability issues around food
- extreme weather events
- food wastage
- lack of land
what affects the amount of food available
- climate
- technology
- pests and disease
- water stress
- conflict
- poverty
how much conflict affect food supply
- conflict and wars often lead to hunger because many farm owners leave their farms to join the fighting or are fleeing the country
- crops can be burnt in battle
what factors do we need to think about in terms of severity
- starving + undernutrition
- conflict
- poor
- harvest + water shortages
how might water stress affect food supply
- without water, people don’t have a way of watering crops, meaning they can’t provide food to the fast growing population
- other issues including floods can contaminate water supply and put agriculture under water stress
how might poverty affect food supply
- often don’t have enough money to buy to buy food
- makes them weaker and less productive in work
- can’t afford things to improve food supply, such as seeds, tools and fertilisers
- these can severely limit food
strategies to increase food supply
irrigation, aeroponics, hydroponics, the ‘new’ green revolution, biotechnology, appropriate tech, the impossible burger
what is irrigation
- artificially watering the land
- most methods involve extracting water from rivers and underground water stores
- or are more large scale and involve building dams
why does irrigation help
- can increase crop yields as well as income
- can reduce poverty
challenges of irrigation
- costs of setting up
- increased water logging of soil
what are aeroponics
- plants are usually grown in the air and are sprayed with fine water mist containing nutrients
- this speeds up plant growth and allows bigger yields
why does aeroponics help
- plants grow faster
- easier to ensure plants have all the nutrients they need
challenges of aeroponics
expensive
what are hydroponics
- plants grown in water
- roots are planted in nutrient-rich water
why do hydroponics help
- plants get more nutrients
- less space
- no disease
challenges of hydroponics
expensive
the ‘new’ green revolution
- involves modern technology to increase crops
- focuses on sustainability and community and involves techniques such as water harvesting, soil conservation
why is the ‘new’ green revolution helpful
- large quantities
- cheaper food
what are the challenges of the ‘new’ green revolution
global population growing too fast for food growth
biotechnology
uses living organism to make or modify products to produce higher yields
why does biotechnology help
- increased vitamins + proteins
- improved flavour of food
