Topic 7 - Food Security And Farming Flashcards
What is food security?
Having enough food to feed a population
What are some things threatening food security?
- Increasing world population, birth rate of developing countries rising quickly
- Changing diets in developed countries means demand for certain foods from developing countries can increase (scarce foods)
- New pests and pathogens or environmental condition changes can affect farming (famine)
- High input cost of farming can make it too expensive for people in some countries to start or maintain it
- Conflicts in world can affect availability of food + water
Fish stocks are declining as people are fishing too much. What does this mean for the future?
- There are less fish for us to eat
- The ocean’s food chains are affected and some species of fish may disappear completely
What must we do to stop decreasing fish stocks
We must maintain fish stocks at a level where fish continue to breed
How can fishing quotas help conserve fish stocks?
There are limits on the number and size of fish that can be caught in certain areas, preventing certain species from being overfished
How can net size be used to conserve fish stocks?
There are different limits on the mesh size of the fish net depending on what is being fished. This reduces the number of ‘unwanted’ and discarded fish (accidentally caught) since a bigger net size lets them escape. It also lets younger fish escape so that they can reach breeding age
How does factory farming improve the efficiency of farming?
Limiting the movement of livestock and keeping them in a temperature controlled environment reduces the transfer of energy from livestock to environment. They use less energy for movement and temperature regulation and more for growth, so more food produced for the same resource input
Why is factory farming controversial?
The animals are kept so close together disease can easily spread between them. Some think keeping animals in unnatural and uncomfortable conditions is unethical
