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Future of food detailed notes [including case studies] for OCR A-Level Geography paper 3
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FUTURE OF FOOD1. WHAT IS FOOD SECURITY AND WHY IS IT OF GLOBAL SIGNIFICANCE?
Key ideas Content
1.a. The ● Defining what it means to be food secure & understanding that the concept of food security is built on 3 pillars of food access, food
concept of availability & food use
food Food security = when all people at all times have physical & economical access to sufficient, safe & nutritious food that meets their dietary needs & food
security is preferences for an active + healthy life
complex &
patterns of 3 pillars on which food security is built:
food ● Availability = addresses the ‘supply side’ of food security & is determined by level of food production, stock levels & net trade
security ● Access = economic [affordability] & physical access to food. An adequate supply of food at national & international level doesn’t guarantee
varies household level security. Concerns about insufficient food access have resulted in greater policy focus on incomes, expenditures & prices in
spatially achieving food security
● Utilisation = How the body uses food/nutrients. Good care, diversity of the diet & intra-household distribution of food results in sufficient energy &
nutrient intake by individuals -> how food is used e.g human consumption, animal feed, clothes [cotton] - utilisation of land, biofuels. Intra-household
distribution of food = all members get enough food in the house. Patriarchal society e.g Afghanistan = men more food secure than women - gender
inequality
STABILITY of the 3 dimensions over time = even if food intake is adequate today, food insecurity remains if access to food is inadequate on a periodic
basis. Adverse weather, political instability or economic factors [unemployment or rising food prices] may impact food security status
● Current trends in global food security using undernourishment & hunger statistics & the Global Food Security Index
Global Hunger Index [GHI] measures hunger at global, regional & national scales. It’s calculated each year by the International Food Policy Research
Institute [IFPRI] & is designed to raise awareness of geographical differences in hunger & how these changes over time. It combines 4 indicators such as
undernourishment, child wasting [the proportion of children below the age of 5 with low weight for height, reflecting acute undernutrition], child stunting
[proportion of children below 5 with low height for their age, reflecting chronic undernutrition] & child mortality [children under 5]. GHI ranks countries on a
scale of 0 [best score = no hunger] - 100 [worst]
Global Food Security Index provides a worldwide overview of countries most & least vulnerable to food insecurity. It combines 28 indicators which cover 3
key areas: the affordability, availability & quality & safety of food
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, ● How the patterns of food security is dynamic & varies both between & within countries
1.b. Food is ● The physical conditions required for growing food including air, climate, soil & water
a precious Agro-ecosystems = an ecosystem that’s managed to produce food
resource & ★ INPUTS = put in. Physical inputs required for growing food include air, climate [heat, water, solar energy], soil & mineral nutrients. Also include
global food labour, seed, money [capital]
production ★ PROCESSES/THROUGHPUTS = movement. Includes -> irrigation, photosynthesis, harvesting, ploughing, pollination, planting, processing
can be ★ OUTPUT = final product -> food & ‘waste’
viewed as
an Physical conditions required to grow food
interconnec ● Temperature = crops can grow at below optimal temperatures. However, temperatures that are too high or too low result in reduced yields.
ted system ● Light = photosynthesis uses sunlight. Plants differ in light requirements - light intensity & duration are important for crop growth
● Water = water is vital for the germination of seeds & crop growth. Water is also used in photosynthesis and other biological processes in the plant
● Air = photosynthesis involves the absorption of CO2 from the atmosphere & release of oxygen. Plants also require oxygen for respiration to carry out
their functions of water & nutrient uptake. Nitrogen = make ATP, proteins, amino acids = important for growth
● Soil = soil are the mixture of mineral & organic matter in which plants grow. They supply water, nutrients & material in which root systems can
develop. Plants absorb essential minerals mostly through their roots
● How feeding the world is a complex system of growing, processing, transporting & disposing of consumer waste
Farming dominates the production side & starts the chain. Beyond this there are a number of downstream functions through which food passes before
reaching the consumer
Basic food production system: Pre-production [agricultural inputs, traditional knowledge, farming practice] -> farming -> direct market supply chain
[processing & storage, distribution & marketing], consumption [households, institutions, restaurants] —- waste management [waste is produced at all stages
of the process & can be recovered & captured for energy, composting redistribution, etc]
Globally, approximately ⅓ of all food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted.
Europe and North America & Oceania have the largest per capita food losses & waste a year for consumers [around 180 kg/year] which is perhaps due to
overconsumption and bulk buying associated with deals such as BOGOF and increasing wealth
Factors contributing to food waste include:
➔ Shopping environment (e.g. promotions like "buy one, get one free" that may lead to impulse buying & over-purchase) - also could be due to an
increase in disposable income
➔ Insufficient shopping & meal planning
➔ Misunderstandings about the meaning of "best before" [best before = can use 2 days after] & "use by" [use by = after = danger] date labels leading
to edible foods being thrown away
➔ Insufficient food management skills (e.g. meal preparation, use of food/food ingredients in-stock, use of leftovers)
➔ Packaging difficult to empty or too large
2
, ➔ Aesthetic considerations (bruised fruit & veg etc)
➔ Standardised portion sizes in restaurants & canteens
➔ Over-stocking
➔ Lack of knowledge &/or misinformation on environmental, social & financial impacts of food waste
➔ Busy lifestyle & conflicting priorities
● How food production methods vary from intensive to extensive & subsistence to commercial
The 7 criteria upon which agricultural systems are based
➢ Environment = could range from equatorial to cold temperature. Further range from coastal/lowland to interior/upland
➢ Location = could be shifting or sedentary [farmer lives in one place and farms on the same land]
➢ Tenure [who owns the farm] = can vary from owner occupied, tenancy or communal
➢ Input = can vary from extensive to intensive farming
➢ Output = arable crops or pastoral [live stock]
➢ Government = could be capitalist or socialist
➢ Market = subsistence or commercial farming. Could then vary from domestic or overseas markets
1.c. ● Influence of globalisation on the food industry e.g increased demand & global tastes
globalisatio ➔ Globalisation = interconnectivity between countries - consequence = interdependence
n is ➔ World population growth is one factor that has increased the demand for food & this growth has often been fastest in countries & regions where
changing it’s most difficult to grow food, e.g Sudan, western Sahara, etc
the food ➔ Our food is globalised due to trade between countries - trading blocs makes it easier & cheaper to trade goods e.g NAFTA
industry ➔ One country can produce food that another country doesn’t - comparative advantage
➔ Migration - our diets are increasingly globalised - “cultured food”, all-year round demand, TNCs e.g Coke - increased incomes
➔ Greater interconnectedness has increased transnational flows of people, goods & info
➔ New routes & improved access to global food sources have had distinct impacts on international trade in food, diets & societies
➔ Changing global tastes means that in many regions consumers don’t have to wait for seasonal foods because they can be sourced from across the
globe e.g year round fruit & an abundance choice for ‘exotic’ foods which have entered the diet in ACs
● Issues of globalisation on food industry = food miles, inequality between TNCs & small suppliers, obesity & price crisis
Food miles
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, ➢ Food miles = indicate how far food has travelled from producer to consumer.
➢ Due to globalisation, an increasing proportion of food products are being transported over long distances. It's estimated that supermarket food travels
an average 2400 km before it arrives on supermarket shelves. The broadening of food tastes & a desire by consumers for year-round supplies of
fresh fruit & veg have meant that food is transported vast distances & most often by air = carbon footprint = contribute to the enhanced greenhouse
effect
➢ However, there are instances where imports are less environmentally damaging than home-grown products. Lettuces grown in winter in
greenhouses in the UK create higher GHG emissions than those grown outdoors in Spain in winter & transported to UK
Inequality between TNcs & small suppliers
➢ TNCs control the terms by which farmers can participate in the food system. They often favour large, capital-intensive growers, leaving small
producers disadvantaged and marginalised.
➢ In Brazil, India, Mexico & South Africa, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) by large TNCs has reduced the power of national governments to regulate
their own food systems.
➢ In today's interconnected world, decisions are often made globally, with individual governments in EDCs & LIDCs limited in their ability to promote
the interests of their small farmers
➢ Land grabbing by TNCs
➢ TNCs are powerful and dominate the food industry & trade. This means that they can set prices on the produce which is unfair to small scale
suppliers & this is because they want to make a profit as prices on products are lowered in order to meet the competitive prices in the market so
sales increase which is especially important due to the cost of living in the UK which means that consumers prefer lower prices on goods so, TNCs
pay less to suppliers, exploiting them
Obesity
➢ Globalisation has had a major influence on dietary patterns. As countries develop and affluence increases, consumption shifts
from cereals towards foods that are more expensive, such as meat and dairy products = processed food = health impacts = ↓
productivity
➢ The number of fast-food outlets promoted by TNCs increases. E.g of dietary change is China. In the past 30 years the consumption of meat products
in China has increased six-fold. Along with many parts of the developing world, China is a major investment focus for fast-food retailers: it accounts
for ½ the total revenue of Yum brands & has the largest number of KFC outlets in any country
➢ In the Philippines, cultural influences from the developed world, transmitted through television, advertising, tourism and education, have led to
changes in lifestyle & food consumption patterns. Dietary changes include an increase of more than 50% in imported bread & bakery products, a
decrease in vegetable consumption, and an increase in fried street foods. While there is still malnutrition in the poorest areas, the number of
overweight children in the Philippines has doubled
➢ TONGA
Price crises
➢ Global food prices are extremely volatile & vulnerable to a range of price shocks.
➢ Each month the FAO publishes a report which gives an insight into the factors affecting food prices - Out of the 11 warnings in October 2015, 6 were
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