TOPIC 3

Question 1

How can paper and cardboard packaging impact the environment?

Answer 1

Paper and cardboard packaging can drive deforestation, leading to habitat loss and reduced biodiversity.

Question 2

How can mining for packaging materials impact the environment?

Answer 2

Mining for materials like aluminium and metal can harm ecosystems due to deforestation and consume vast amounts of energy

Question 3

How can plastic impact the environment?

Answer 3

Plastic is cheap to make and versatile to use, fossil fuels and Green House gases from factories negatively affect the environment.

As plastic breaks down due to sunlight and heat it releases GHG; methane and ethylene and creates microplastics

Question 4

What are microplastics and where can they be found?

Answer 4

Microplastics are small plastics such as spheres found in exfoliators, sunscreen, toothpaste.
Macro plastics such as packaging break down into microplastics.

Microplastics can be found in water, soil and air

Question 5

How does wasted food contribute to greenhouse gas emissions?

Answer 5

Discarded food takes up space in landfill which releases further greenhouse gases like methane as food rots

Question 6

What’s the difference between compostable, Degradable and plastic?

Answer 6

Compostable
- leaves NO microplastics
can be put in compost or organics bin

Degradable
- is not completely dissolved in nature
- Contaminates environment with microplastics that can end in food chain

Plastic
-Cannot dissolve in nature
-Contaminates environment with microplastics that can end in food chain

Question 7

What are some sources of food waste in primary production?

Answer 7

• Produce loss due to pests, diseases or weather
• Damage during production, packaging or handling
• Change in consumer preferences
• Inability to meet specifications (quality, size, colour etc)

Question 8

What are some sources of food waste in processing and distribution?

Answer 8

• Product damaged or perishes dring handling or processing
• Contaminated (chemical, physical, biological)
• Spoil due to poor storage (e.g temp)
• Damaged food packaging = unable to sell

Question 9

What are some sources of food waste in retail/hospitality/food services

Answer 9

• Poor stock management (over -ordering, improper stock rotation, storage, and handling practices)
• Limited access to facilities to recycle or repurpose (e.g donate to food bank or many soup with leftovers)

Question 10

What are some sources of food waste in the household?

Answer 10

• Confusion over use by and best before date
  -Over-purchasing or over-cooking of food which is then wasted
  -Limited knowledge of how to safely store or repurpose leftovers

Question 11

How can producers reduce food waste?

Answer 11

• Improving technology to harvest/collect crops more efficiently
• Invest in proper storage with adequate ventilation/controlled temp to optimise product shelf life
• Improve collaboration/communication with retailers to help farmers understand stock demands
• Utilise crop waste to make fertilisers
• Sell ‘ugly’ or imperfect fruit and veg directly to consumers for low price

Question 12

How can retailers reduce waste?

Answer 12

• Invest in proficient technology and employee training to monitor stock levels, expiration dates and sales data to avoid overstocking produce nad food expiring on shelves
• Offer discount on foods approaching expiry with clear labels to promote sales
• Implement food waste tracking system so that data can provide targeted areas of frequect food loss to address

Question 13

How can consumers reduce food waste?

Answer 13

-Little and often –> do more smaller shops more often to avoid overpurchasing food
- Write a shopping list as it lessens the chance of impulse buys
- Plan meals and serve what you need
- Ask for a takeaway container at restaurants and eat the rest later to avoid wasting food
- Make use of freezer to preserve food for longer
- Get a compost bin

Question 14

What is the impact of livestock farming on land availability?

Answer 14

Land clearing for agriculture destroys natural vegetation, removing habitats for native animals. this results in fewer plant and animal species in the area.

Increased water use and decreased water quality reduce bioavailability due to insufficient useful water available to native plants and animals

Question 15

What is the impact of livestock farming on soil quality?

Answer 15

Livestock farming can cause erosion by eating all of the vegetation that would prevent the erosion from happening.

The hooves can also ‘compact’ the soil which causes more water run-off instead of soaking in increasing erosion which leads to topsoil loss

Question 16

Discuss the use of antibiotics in livestock farming and its impacts

Answer 16

Vets use antibiotics to treat or prevent disease in livestock improving yields, however, they can cause negative effects in humans.

E.g antibiotic residue can be found in milk and may cause allergic reactions.

Concerns about bacteria becoming immune to the antibiotics humans consume which would have a significant impact on the healthcare system

Question 17

What is monoculture?

Answer 17

Monoculture is the production of a single crop in one area at one time

Most environmental issues linked to primary production are due to monoculture

Question 18

What are some benefits and disadvantages of monoculture?

Answer 18

Benefits:
- Cost (bulk purchase of seed)
- Easier to plant and harvest same species
- Use of same type of fertiliser and pesticides

Disadvantages:
- Same nutrients are removed from soil each year this is why fertiliser is required
- Overuse of pesticides ( which can spread to other areas)
- Planted + harvested at same time = loss of top soil from erosion –> top soil contains high levels of nutrients

Question 19

What is the impact of monoculture on land availability?

Answer 19

Land that is able to effectively grow crops is called arable land.

With increasing population size farmers are being pushed further out form cities due to urbanisation.

This places increase demand on farmers who are trying to farm on arid land, which is unable to sustain crops

Question 20

What is the impact of monoculture on soil quality?

Answer 20

Primary production requires deforestation of native vegetation for crops and pastures. Deforestation and harvesting of crops leads to reductions in soil quality due to soil erosion and increased soil salinity

Question 21

What is dryland salinity?

Answer 21

Refers to the increasing salinity of soil.
Soil salinity increases when the groundwater rises.

As it rises it dissolves naturally occurring salts in the soil, making the water more salty when it reaches the surface.

Overtime the land and its surroundings become too salty to farm

Question 22

Discuss monoculture and its link to soil erosion

Answer 22

Soil erosion is when land is cleared or harvested the topsil is left bare and is able to be washed or blown away.

Removal of topsoil decreases soil quality as it holds the most nutritnets. This can also reduce the nutrient content in food which can affect health.

If large amounts of topsil are removed, land can become infertile making it harder to grow crops

Question 23

What is fertiliser in monoculture, and how does it impact the environment?

Answer 23

Fertilisers are added to overcome the issue of infertile soil to increase yields. Fertilisers are chemicals that add nutrients to the soil that are required for plant growth.

Fertilisers are added to soil or sprayed, both methods leave fertilisers that are unable to be absorbed into soil. This excess fertiliser can be washed away and run-off into nearby water sources

Question 24

What is eutrophication and what are its impacts on the environment?

Answer 24

Excess fertiliser can run-off or leach into rivers and lakes causing eutrophication.

Increased nutrients in water from fertilisers promote the growth of blue-green algae across the surface of the water.

The algae prevents sunlight from entering the water and takes up all the nutrients and oxygen available.

Overtime the water can become starved of oxygen and nutrients killing other organisms that live there.

Some blue-green algae produce toxins which are toxic to both humans and animals

Question 25

What are pesticides and how do they impact the environment?

Answer 25

Pests can damage plants reducing crop yield so farmers add pesticides to kill pests, herbicides to kill weeds and fungicides to kill fungi.
These chemicals are added by spraying crops.
Chemicals are often blown or washed away, impacting animal in neighbouring environments.
Farmers suffer health concerns if they are exposed to to many pesticides.

Question 26

How can fertiliser cause soil acidification?

Answer 26

High amounts of fertilisers can make the soil more acidic. Normally plants are able to rebalance the acidity however when crops are harvested the soil stays acidic.

Crops generally grow best at specific pH levels and don’t tend to grow well in acidic environments

Question 27

What happens if pesticides enter non-target areas?

Answer 27

-they affect neighbouring crops (reduce or kill yields)
- Kill organisms within the native environment
-Contaminate areas of land or water

Question 28

What is organic farming?

Answer 28

Organic farming aims to limit environmental impact and is undertaken without the use of chemicals/synthetic fertilisers, pesticides, herbicides, hormones, antibiotics or any GM products. Its method ensures biodiversity

Question 29

What is intercropping?

Answer 29

Planting 2 or more crops in the same paddock (can plant crops that encourage insects that eat pests to limit need for pesticides)

Question 30

What is crop rotation?

Answer 30

The same type of crop is not planted in the same paddock year after year. Different crops have different nutritional needs, decreases fertiliser requirements.
Manages pests as they do not become reliant on food availability.
Ensures the land is not bare, reducing top soil loss

Question 31

What is mixed farming?

Answer 31

Mixed farming could include the presence of both animals and crops in an area. The waste produced could lead to increased nutrients for produce

Question 32

What is fishing and what is aquaculture?

Answer 32

Fishing involves the capture of wild/naturally caught fish, shellfish and plant stock.

Aquaculture involves the faring of aquatic organisms including fish, shellfish and plants. Farms are typically setup within the organisms natrual habitat

Question 33

How does commercial fishing impact biodiversity?

Answer 33

Overfishing reduces the number of target fish but also impacts species reliant on then

-Bycatch, unwanted catch is one of the leading threats to marine biodiversity. Estimated that 9.1 million tonnes is discarded by commercial fisheries each year

-Fishing vessels or nets can also impact marine biodiversity

Question 34

What are the impacts of aquaculture?

Answer 34

Environmental impacts are dependent on the species farmed, the production intesntiy and location of farm.

Usually very intense, involves addition of solids and nutrients to the marine environment.

• Buildup of organic material (excess feed, antibiotics and wastes) causes major changes to the chemistry of the area and can impact biodiversity
• Exotic fish escaping can transmit diseases

-Build-up of organic material (wastes) below the nets)

Question 35

What is the imapct of food production on climate change?

Answer 35

• Our atmosphere is getting thicker due to increased greenhouse gases such as CO2 and methane. This traps more heat resulting in hotter environment.
• Nitrous oxide mainly released through soil disturbances, urine and dung
• Carbon dioxide is mainly released from burning of fossil fuels, plant decay, insect activity in soil
  -Methane is mainly released from cows and sheep following digestion of plant matter

Question 36

What is the impact of food production on food mileage?

Answer 36

After harvest foods must be moved to processing plants or consumers. This requires fossil fuel-based transport e,g trucks boats planes.

Food miles refers to how far the food needs to travel from primary production to consumer. The further it needs to travel, the more pollutants it releases into the environment.

The easiest way to reduce food waste is to consume locally sourced food

Question 37

What is the impact of primary production on water availability?

Answer 37

Australia is the driest inhabited continent in the world with few fresh water sources.

Approx 50-70% of Australias fresh water resources are utilised for primary production –> Murray acting as primary source

This leaves little water available for other requirements, including natrual resources.

Chemicals from agriculture can also permeate into the ground which if used is a health risk. Low water quality also means low water availability

Question 38

How is primary production causing nutrition issues?

Answer 38

With decreasing soil quality nutrition issues are more common due to reduced mineral content.

Due to decreased iodine in soil due to agricultural impact and reduced vegetable intake, deficiency is reemerging in Australia. Low iodine levels in women can cause goitre

Question 39

What is food sustainability?

Answer 39

Refers to food being produced in such a way that there is minimal environmental impact and can continue to be produced for present and future needs

Question 40

What is food security?

Answer 40

Food security is achieved when all people at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet dietary needs and food preferences for an active healthy life

Question 41

What is vertical farming and how does it reduce environmental impact and enhance food security?

Answer 41

Vertical farming involves growing crops in stacked layers without the use of soil.

Techniques include:
Hydroponics: plants grow in water without soil

Aeroponics: plants from in air/mist environments

Aquaponics: Like hydroponics but includes aquaculture.

Reduces environmental impact by:
- Utilises significantly less space
- reduces water use
-Improves yield by growing indoors (less environmental impact)
-Reduces food miles as grown in urban areas close to consumers

Question 42

How does digital farming utilise tech?

Answer 42

• to collect info about soil e.g moisture levels
• Plant seeds, apply fertiliser, harvest etc
  -Monitor crop and livestock growth
  -Allow for digital control of feed and gates
  -Weather monitoring
  -Drones, when to harvest, where to use pesticides etc

Question 43

What are GMOs and what are the benefits and concerns?

Answer 43

Genetically modified organisms are the creation of an organism which has had its DNA (genes) modified)

Benefits:
- Increases yield by:
- Making crops drought resistant
-Insect resistant
-Speed up growth rate of animals
- Produce functional foods, including modifying the nutrient content of foods

Concerns:
-Ethics, interfering with nature and animal rights
-Expensive
-Cross-contamination between organic and non-organic
- Biodiversity could be at risk as more of the same species survive and individual species die out
-Potential to introduce large numbers of organisms into ecosystems in a shorter period of time

Question 44

What is entomophagy and its benefits?

Answer 44

sources scientists entomophagy involves consumption of 1900-2000 known edible insects.

Not traditional in western cultures but happens globally and as bush-tucker in Australia

Unlike beef, pork and chicken, insects place a much lower demand on natrual resources including water and land use and emit fewer green house gases while producing less waste

Question 45

Discuss algae

Answer 45

Due to algae growing in liquid they are able to absorb any B12 produced by bacteria in the culture.

This could be vital for vegans as B12 is mostly found in meat and dairy.

It has high levels of omega-3 could also be beneficial in food for farmed fish

Needs less land than other food

Due to nigh nutritional content is often used to create supplements

Question 46

What is lab grown meat?

Answer 46

Cellular agriculture is the production of foods using cels that have been grown in a lab.

Muscle cells are taken from the original animal source and are then grown in the lab to create more of the muscle cells.

After cells have grown they are combined to create a piece of meat

Less land use, emits fewer GHG, less waste

Question 47

What is 3D food printing?

Answer 47

Food scientists have been exploring the possibility of 3D food paste layering using software programming to create foods.

Benefits –> the food can be customised to include specific amounts of different nutrients making foods for optimal nutrition