The Geography of Food and Health

Question 1

What is chronic hunger?

Answer 1

Long-term hunger caused by a lack of food over a long timescale

Question 2

What is periodic hunger?

Answer 2

Temporary hunger caused by a short-term decline in food intake

Question 3

What is malnutrition?

Answer 3

Having a diet lacking proper nutrition from not having enough to eat or not having enough good-quality food

Question 4

What is epidemiology?

Answer 4

The study of diseases

Question 5

What is an endemic?

Answer 5

(Of a disease) prevalent in an area

Question 6

What is an epidemic?

Answer 6

A fast-spreading outbreak of a disease

Question 7

What is a pandemic?

Answer 7

A global epidemic

Question 8

What is HALE?

Answer 8

Health adjusted life expectancy (accounts for years lived in ill-health) that’s age / sex specific

Burden of ill health bigger for: women, early old age, lower socio-economic status
Biggest burden from pain and sensory problems

Calculated for countries by WHO using death registration data

Question 9

What is food security?

Answer 9

For a population: all people at all times have access to meet needs / preferences for a healthy life

For a household: all members at all times have access to live a healthy life

Includes:
Ready availability of nutritionally adequate and safe food
Assured ability to get foods in socially-acceptable ways

Question 10

What components of food security comprise the Global Food Security Index?

Answer 10

Affordability: agriculture import tariffs, farm financing, food consumption in household expenditure

Availability: political stability risk, sufficiency of supply, agricultural infrastructure

Quality and safety: diet diversification, protein quality

Question 11

What is the Global Hunger Index?

Answer 11

0 - no hunger
100 - worst hunger

Components
Undernourishment: percent of population that’s undernourished
Child wasting: percent of children < 5 who are wasting (low weight for height or age, acute under)
Child stunting: percent of children < 5 who are stunting (low height for age, chronic under)
Child mortality: mortality rate of children < 5

Question 12

What is calorie intake?

Answer 12

Amount of food a person consumes each day, varies by many factors

High-income country average > low-income country average

Question 13

What are indicators of malnutrition?

Answer 13

Deficiency diseases from lack of specific vitamins or minerals
Kwashiorkor is lack of protein
Marasmus is lack of calories
Obesity from too much food
Starvation is limited or no food
Temporary hunger from short-term availability decline in population
Famine is long-term decline in availability

Question 14

What is the relationship between food intake and income?

Answer 14

Low-income: more carbohydrates, consistently growing food consumption per capita, diversifying diets

High-income: carbohydrates and fats, more meat and dairy, less staple foods

Generally more food and protein with more income

Question 15

What is the child mortality rate?

Answer 15

Probability child will die before 5 per 1000 births

(# deaths < 5 / # children < 5) * 1000

Question 16

What is the infant mortality rate?

Answer 16

Number of deaths in children under 1 per 1000 live births

(# deaths < 1 / # live births < 1) * 1000

Question 17

What is the maternal mortality rate?

Answer 17

Annual number of female deaths per 100,000 live births from any cause related to or aggravated by pregnancy or its management

Question 18

Describe access to sanitation

Answer 18

68% of world has access to an improved sanitation facility

Higher in urban areas than rural ones

Question 19

Describe access to health services

Answer 19

Number of people per doctor or hospital (does not account for facility quality)

Question 20

What is the epidemiological transition?

Answer 20

Epidemics: infectious or communicable diseases
Degenerative: non-communicable diseases that gradually worsen health

As countries develop they shift from more epidemics to more degenerative

Question 21

How does aging effect the global disease burden?

Answer 21

23% of global disease burden is diseases in 60+ (higher for high-income countries)

High income: increased life expectancy, decreased fertility, population aging
Similar for middle-income

Heart disease more common after transition

Question 22

What is arable farming?

Answer 22

Cultivation of crops

Question 23

What is pastoral farming?

Answer 23

Rearing animals

Question 24

What is commercial farming?

Answer 24

Products sold to make a profit

Question 25

What is subsistence farming?

Answer 25

Products consumed by the cultivators

Question 26

What is intensive farming?

Answer 26

High inputs or yields per unit area

Question 27

What is extensive farming?

Answer 27

Low inputs or fields per unit area

Question 28

What is nomadic farming?

Answer 28

Farmers moving seasonally with their herds

Question 29

What is sedentary farming?

Answer 29

Farmers remaining in the same place all year

Question 30

What are some physical and human factors effecting farming?

Answer 30

Physical: Climate (precipitation, temp) Soil (fertility, depth) Pests Slope Human: Political (land ownership, organization) Economic (farm size, technology) Social (culture, education)

Question 31

How can agricultural systems be analyzed?

Answer 31

Consider them modified ecosystems Show inputs, processes, outputs Can compare with productivity, biomass, energy efficiency

Question 32

What is the energy efficiency ratio (EER)?

Answer 32

Measures amount of energy input compared to output Agro-forestry / hunter-gathering is higher than intensive pastoral farming Seen in nutrient-cycling diagrams and energy flows

Question 33

What is a water footprint?

Answer 33

Measure of how much water is used in human activities

Question 34

What is the food availability deficit (FAD) and food entitlement deficit (FED)?

Answer 34

FAD: food shortages from lack of food, less accepted FED: food shortages from lack of access Type of food consumed depends on price, health, taste; income / education influences choice

Question 35

Describe case study: food consumption in Cape Town, South Africa

Answer 35

End of apartheid → more black Africans in urban areas → western diet → obesity / diabetes Perception of food varies by gender and age; income effects food quality

Question 36

Describe case study: food consumption in the Middle East

Answer 36

Subsidies negatively effected consumption Change after increased oil revenue Religion / preferences / discrimination Mass media and migration

Question 37

How / where does obesity effect children?

Answer 37

Weight and calorie intake has increased Obesity levels higher in low-income families → financial health burden More food → more expensive → big industry Poor nutrition also causes stunting

Question 38

What is disease diffusion?

Answer 38

Spread of a disease from the original source Frictional effect of distance / distance decay: closer places more and sooner effected Infectious disease is an S curve (time vs cumulative percentage of adopters)

Question 39

What is expansion diffusion?

Answer 39

Expanding disease has a source and diffuses geographically outwards

Question 40

What is relocation diffusion?

Answer 40

Spreading disease moves, leaving origin / source

Question 41

What is contagious diffusion?

Answer 41

Spreading disease through direct contact with infected individual

Question 42

What is hierarchical diffusion?

Answer 42

Spread through sequence of classes / places (city → large urban area → small urban area)

Question 43

What is network diversion?

Answer 43

Disease spreads via transportation and social networks

Question 44

Describe the Zika virus

Answer 44

Misquito-borne + sexual contact → relocation diffusion from travel in South America mostly Causes birth defects and neurological problems

Question 45

Describe malaria

Answer 45

Life-threatening, parasite transmitted by mosquito; high global risk Mosquito prefers humid tropics → agricultural areas and refugee camps from natural disasters or war Very expensive (global and individual) → prevention is cheaper Some people more at risk Prevention via vector control: insecticide-treated nets, indoor residual spraying Insecticide and drug resistance is problematic

Question 46

Describe cholera

Answer 46

Waterborne disease via water, food, poop Usually not severe To occur must: breaches of water sanitation, present cholera High-risk for < 5, overcrowded camps of displaced people

Question 47

Why is global food security difficult?

Answer 47

Significant portion is malnourished Global population grows Climate change threaten production Food system itself contributes to climate change / env harm

Question 48

What is the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)?

Answer 48

Aims: eradicate hunger, food insecurity, malnutrition; eliminate poverty; sustainable use of natural resources; increase peoples’ resiliences to threats and crises

Question 49

What is the World Food Programme (WFP)?

Answer 49

End global hunger via good assistance to poor and most vulnerable Objectives: save lives / livelihoods in emergencies; support food security and (re)build livelihoods after emergencies; reduce risk and promote self-sufficiency; reduce undernutrition and break generational hunger

Question 50

What is the impact of government food subsidies on the food system?

Answer 50

Subsidized agriculture in high-income countries drives down global prices → maintain poverty in low-income countries Developing countries have created their own subsidies now Subsidies → overuse fertilizer / pesticide

Question 51

What is the EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)?

Answer 51

1962: 1 market in EU, preferences to EU-grown products, financed by members System of guaranteed prices → self sufficient in many sector Led to intensification (increased inputs and outputs), concentration (specific product production confined to particular areas), specialization (specialize in concentration) Reformed in 1992 because of surpluses

Question 52

What are non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in food?

Answer 52

Deliver food to those with insufficient access Mostly low- and middle-income countries

Question 53

What is the UN‘s World Health Organization (WHO)?

Answer 53

Objectives: Provide leadership on critical health matters and engage in partnership Shape research and cycle of knowledge Set standards and monitor implementation Ethical and evidence-based policy Building sustainable institution Assess and monitor health trends Many initiatives (tuberculosis, malaria, etc)

Question 54

How is health care in low- and high-income countries different?

Answer 54

High-income: technology, curative, private Low-income: low-tech, preventative primary care Those who can access don't need it and vis-versa

Question 55

What is MSF (Doctors Without Borders)?

Answer 55

Founded in 1971 to provide emergency medical aid Over 70 countries with mostly local medical experts and other professionals 90% funded by private donors, otherwise corporate Provides assistance in Sudan, Europe vaccination programs, malaria, etc

Question 56

What is glocalization?

Answer 56

Adapting a global product to a local market

Question 57

How do TNCs effect traditional food consumption?

Answer 57

TNC "big food" is ultra-processed, unhealthy, and displacing traditional food systems Main interest is to make money Market penetration plateaued in high-income countries → "health'' convenience food Increasing market shares in LICs

Question 58

What is a global value chain (GVC)?

Answer 58

Analyzes role of "lead firms" in global industries, interaction with local companies Countries are at different levels of connection to the world economy, linked in food production

Question 59

What are two examples of glocalization?

Answer 59

McDonald's: 2000 introed regional dishes, salads, 2006 added nutritional info PepsiCo: Sabritas in Mexico with chili flavor, duck flavor in China

Question 60

Describe case study: changing diet patterns in Brazil

Answer 60

Traditional: varied diet (rice, beans, spices), home-cooked meals Lifestyle change (urbanization) → more convenience food Generally now is worse because of TNCs, more snack food

Question 61

What is the role of women in food production in low-income countries?

Answer 61

Men grow field crops Women grow, prepare, cook food and rear livestock Women ~half of food-production workforce in SE Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, often unpaid

Question 62

How does sexism / discrimination effect food security?

Answer 62

Women are 60% of world's hungry Discrimination in education / employment and in households Less access to land, training, tech, finances, etc Tend to be responsible for food / children: equality → ending malnutrition Child's chance of survival increases 20% if mother controls budget

Question 63

What are seven positive effects of closing the agricultural gender gap?

Answer 63

If women had the same resource access, yields increase 20-30% Women's education access effects family levels of nutrition Training women in hygiene and sanitation immediately improves household health Lack of land access → only subsistence farming Diseases → greater caretaking role → less time and energy for food Lack of financial services → limited food security and innovation Often denied selling produce to engage in cash economy

Question 64

What is the "double burden"?

Answer 64

Women join workforce and act as caretakers at home General household, children, other dependents Impact of growth of elderly population is disproportionate to women "Sandwhich generation" cares for their children and parents US: women live longer, but less access to funds / pensions Reduce work hours, pass-up promotions, etc to care for others

Question 65

What eight factors effect the severity of a famine?

Answer 65

Length / severity of drought Governance Media: attention to hazards, fundraising International aid Population growth: especially from refugees Unemployment and entitlement to food Civil unrest Access to land and production

Question 66

Describe case study: famine in Ethiopia

Answer 66

Lots of famines, recently 2015-2016 when seasonal rains didn't tell > 18 million needed aid Early-warning system → govt made social-security net, diverted money for aid 90% reduction in yields; famine caused by industrial farming "land grabs" International donors distracted by Syria, still there are orgs helping

Question 67

What are four short-term measures for food insecurity?

Answer 67

Increase production, reduce set-aside: high market prices → more production Food aid Seeds and fertilizer: plant for next season given high prices Export bans from countries with shortages

Question 68

What are two medium-term measures for food insecurity?

Answer 68

Free trade: reduce US subsidies and EU protectionism helps poor in the future; directly would increase prices in developing world Biofuels: food crisis causes backlash against plant-based fuels, still made though

Question 69

What are three long-term measures for food insecurity?

Answer 69

Agricultural investment: African yields could increase fourfold with help GM crops Sustainability: rethink western lifestyles and expectations

Question 70

Describe case study: addressing food insecurity in Bangladesh

Answer 70

Food insecurity effected by international trade, land scarcity, need to increase nutritional food, natural hazards, climate change Improved food security by increasing rice production with irrigation and high-yield varieties Investments in rice storage, cold-storage, transport Nationally it's gotten better but many people are still insecure

Question 71

How does food get wasted?

Answer 71

HICs: 1/3 thrown away, mostly from consumers LICs: 80% wasted before market, mostly at farming-producing end Efficient practices and storage → food reaches customers Supermarkets reject edible food bc of marketing standards More waste of fruits and veggies than grains Annual loss of 180 million tons

Question 72

What is genetically modified food?

Answer 72

Adding traits to a plant to make it more nutritious or resistant to disease / pesticide > 90% of US corn, soy, cotton is GMO Herbicide tolerance doesn't increase yield or profit, weeds are easy Growth is slowing, one reason is saturation

Question 73

What is vertical farming?

Answer 73

Grow year-round in high-rise buildings Reduces transportation, any weather, no herb- or insecticide Japan is leading bc Fukushima Conserve water, soil-free, LEDs like sun Uses natural light, but lots of electricity

Question 74

What is in-vitro meat?

Answer 74

Cultured meat or synthetic meat Never been part of a living animal, grown in a lab, can add nutrients Extremely expensive Significantly fewer environmental impacts than normal beef Less land, fewer GHGs

Question 75

What is preventative versus curative treatment?

Answer 75

Preventative: cheaper, policy / lifestyle reducing risk of disease Curative: expensive, treat diseases

Question 76

How are pandemics managed?

Answer 76

Most have coordinated effort across global communities

Question 77

Describe case study: the diabetes pandemic

Answer 77

Chronic, lifelong condition effecting all ages, races; causes other major issues Hormone insulin doesn't control blood-sugar levels like it should Some low-expenditure solutions (blood sugar / pressure control) in LICs More sophisticated care in HICs with lifestyle management Type II risk factors: obesity, physical inactivity, diet, increased affluence Large economic burden from direct medical costs, indirect costs (morbidity, productivity), intangible costs (reduced quality of life)