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Summary OCR A Level Geography Future of Food 5.b
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Notes that are compiled from both classwork as well as the textbook. Got an A* at A Level Geography
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Globalisation of the food systemfour companies produce more than 58% of the world's seeds; four global firms account for 97% of
poultry genetics research and development; yet another four produce more than 60% of the
agrochemicals farmers use WHERE DOES THIS GO??
Cheaper to export cocoa than the product- trade
5.a Is there hope for the future of food?
The world ‘food problem’ is not caused by scarcity distribution and access
to markets, technology, commercial opportunities, land and water
Countries that increase trade openness by 10% experience a 4% increase in
income per person- increasing economic access
Trade not a viable option everywhere e.g. landlocked countries- transport costs
can be as high as 77% of the value of their exports due to lack of access to ports.
Therefore, Fair Trade may be a more viable option
Trade
The volume of food trade has increased 5 fold in the last decade
Previously dominated by USA, UK, Europe, China
Now growing trade links involving emerging economies e.g. Brazil, India,
Russia
Accounts for 1/3rd of export value in 50 developing countries
Trading Blocs
e.g. EU to promote free trade between nations, use of tariffs on imports from
external entities
the use of protectionist policies
problematic e.g. EU Common Agricultural Policy
exclusionary policies, protectionist
when food prices were set at a guaranteed price regardless of demand food
surpluses depressed world prices excluded external players, negative
impact on developing countries
supports inefficient farming practices
the level of tariff on different products differs
e.g. milk is readily produced in the EU high tariffs to promote the buying and
selling from within the trade bloc
conversely, bananas cannot be produced as readily so the tariffs are lower
also ‘favoured nation’ which lowers the tariffs for particular nations despite not
being in the bloc
further evidence of policies being damaging for LIDCs
EU places a 30% tariff on processed cocoa to encourage retailers to buy it
from companies within the EU
So only cheap, raw cocoa is purchased from Africa, less income
Money can’t be invested in new technology
Little incentive to set up a manufacturing industry
, e.g. The Gambia doesn’t make as much money from unprocessed cocoa
which stumps development
over 70% of global cocoa comes from Africa, but only 1% is manufactured into a
product within Africa
Developing countries want improved access to the markets of ACs
LIDCs, agriculture underpins:
Rural development
Food security
Exports
However, often marginalised due to protectionist measures (subsidies, tariffs,
quotas)
To help offset this, WTO with 161 member countries, 97% of global trade
Supports free trade
Persuades countries to abolish tariffs and other barriers
Forum for dispute between governments
Can trade reduce food insecurity?
1. Increase economic access
If countries specialise where they have comparative advantage
Food surplus country can export this surplus and use the income to
import food more cheaply than it would cost to produce it
A 10% increase in trade openness created a 4% increase in income per
person: a study of OECD countries economic growth, jobs and
income
2. Increases physical availability and diversity of food
e.g. Yemen has rich oil resources but scarce water supplies export oil
and use the income to buy grain. Better alternative to land grabbing
incentivises farmers to produce more food to access the global market scale
up production, economies of scale, lowers the cost of production
3. Increases stability over time
If the production of a crop is spread between countries, the impact of a
shock (e.g. due to drought) will be spread between consumers and
therefore diluted
The World Bank estimates that if there were 100% free trade in global rice
production, variation in price would reduce by 60% for India
Variation both between and within countries as to the ability to participate in
global trade
e.g. urban rural divide rural places lack adequate transport infrastructure
which increases transport costs
e.g. landlocked countries such as Zimbabwe transport costs can be as high as
77% of the value of their exports
5.b There is a spectrum of strategies that exist to ensure and improve
food security
, food security is threatened by a wide range of physical and human factors
Physical Factors include:
climate change
o The increased frequency and magnitude of extreme weather events e.g.
droughts and floods – this affects all stages of the food system e.g.
production (crops are ruined e.g. Zimbabwe with cyclones), transportation
(e.g. Bangladesh the transport of milk in Tajikstan by rickshaws in high
temperatures leads to milk loss due to high temperatures and humidity
and the lack of adequate cold storage facilities- this will only be
exacerbated by global warming) and processing. Due to infrastructure and
the environment being affected
o Crop pests and livestock diseases are likely to increase with warmer
temperatures
o Climate change may drive migration due to the lack of food or jobs
available as a result of a changing landscape- e.g. in the Sahel region
land degradation
o E.g. desertification in the Sahel region, the Arctic where global warming
has melted sea ice so is less predictable and can cause injury when
hunting
tectonic hazards
o Nepal earthquake April 2015- 35 million people were in need of
emergency food aid , many of whom live in remote mountain areas. In the
worst affected areas, 80% of households lost their entire food stock.
Stocks of wheat and maize were destroyed, livestock were killed,
machinery damaged, damage to roads, and bridges, farmers lost income,
damage to irrigation and drainage channels
Climactic events e.g. el Niño, wildifres, floods, drought
Human Factors include:
financial crises- reduces economic access to food e.g. 2008
unfair global food markets and unfair trade
A UN report found that there is enough food in the world to
feed every person on the planet 2,800 calories a day, yet 842
million people suffer from chronic hunger, and 650 million
people are obese
It is therefore clear that the reason for this food inequality
lies in the unequal access to food due to unequal distribution:
the primary forces behind food insecurity are poverty,
inequality and marginalisation
The existing inequalities represent a failure of our globalised
food supply system to respect one of the most fundamental
human rights: the human right to food
Although physical factors play a role in the spatial pattern to
food inequality, the inequality also lies in how institutions
affect this natural distribution. Currently, food security and
access to food are ultimately determined by and therefore
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