Geog food quiz flashcards

Subsistence farming

Farming where food is produced mainly for the farmer and their family to consume.

Commercial farming

Farming where crops or livestock are produced mainly to be sold for profit.

Arable farming

Farming that involves growing crops.

Pastoral farming

Farming that involves rearing livestock.

Mixed farming

Farming that combines crop growing and livestock rearing on the same farm.

Aeroponics

Growing plants with roots suspended in air and supplied with nutrient mist.

Aquaponics

A system that combines fish farming with hydroponic crop production.

Hydroponics

Growing plants in a nutrient-rich water solution without soil.

Inputs

Resources put into a farming system such as land labour machinery seeds water and fertilisers.

Processes

Activities that take place within a farming system to produce food such as ploughing spraying pesticides and milking cows.

Outputs

The products and waste generated by a farming system.

Calorie intake

The amount of energy consumed through food and drink usually measured in kilocalories (kcal) per person per day.

Food supply

The amount of food available to a population.

Globalisation

The increasing connection of countries through the movement of goods services and information.

Globalised food

A system in which food is produced processed transported and sold across international borders creating interconnected global networks of food production and consumption.

Impacts

The effects or consequences of an action or process.

Mechanisation

The use of machinery to carry out farming tasks increasing efficiency and productivity.

GMO (Genetically Modified Organism)

A plant or animal whose genetic material has been altered using biotechnology to produce desired characteristics.

HYV (High-Yielding Variety)

A crop variety bred to produce larger harvests than traditional varieties often requiring additional inputs such as fertiliser and irrigation.

Pesticide

A chemical used to kill or control pests that damage crops.

Food aid

The provision of food cash or other support by governments charities or international organisations to people who lack reliable access to food due to famine conflict poverty natural disasters or crop failure.

Food security

When all people have reliable access to sufficient safe and nutritious food at all times.

Desertification

The process by which fertile land becomes degraded and increasingly desert-like reducing its productivity.

Soil erosion

The removal and transport of topsoil by water wind or human activities.

Sustainable management

Managing resources in a way that meets current needs without reducing the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Afforestation

The planting of trees on land that previously had little or no forest cover to help protect soils and reduce desertification.

Contour ploughing

Ploughing along contour lines to reduce surface runoff and soil erosion.

Terracing

Creating stepped levels on hillsides to reduce soil loss and enable cultivation on steep slopes.

Irrigation

The artificial application of water to crops to support growth.

Examples of inputs

Seeds, capital, water, fertiliser, Labour

Examples of Processes

Planting/seeding, milling, investing, spending, canning, irrigation, fertilising, Working.

Examples of outputs

Flour, Wheat grain, eutrophication, Waste, Milk

Extensive farming

Small labour inputs, small capital inputs, less machinery, low output, priority to feed farmer and family.

Intensive faming

Large amount of inputs and capital, output far greater, priority is to make a profit.

Energy efficiency ratio

Energy outputs / Energy inputs

Hydroponics pros + cons

PROS

• High yields per hectare - 50-100 times a usual farm, doesn’t take up a lot of space

• Doesn’t rely on Time of day, year and weather conditions

CONS

• Very expensive → not an option for LICs

• Takes up a lot of energy

• Hard to find appropriate spaces for this in large cities.

Aquaponics pros and cons

PROS

• You can use the earth to help you use your system

  • You can use fish to give nutrients - Nitrates (Fertilizers) to the plants

• Much more sustainable than using artificial fertilizer

CON:

• Difficult to upscale
  
  

Aeroponics pros and cons

PROS:

• Takes LOTS of oxygen since the roots are dangling causing faster growth

• Disease prevention due to separation so harder for diseases to spread.

• Absorb more nutrients than in Hydroponics - 30 to 50% more.

• More harvests.

CONS:

• Not as much variety of plants

• Even more expensive and energy demanding.

Causes of globalised food

• Improved Transport & Technology: Refrigerated ships and planes allow perishable goods to travel long distances.

  • Example: Kenyan green beans exported to UK supermarkets.

• Consumer Demand: Rising incomes and changing tastes increase demand for exotic foods.

  • Example: Year-round availability of tropical fruits in Europe.

• Climate & Resource Distribution: Some regions cannot grow certain crops.

  • Example: Coffee grown in Brazil and Ethiopia for global markets.

Causes of increased food miles

• People wish to eat foods that require certain climates all year round, which forces imports from abroad instead of local production, increasing food miles.

• People are getting wealthier

Impacts of increased food miles

Positive Impacts

• Economic Growth: Export earnings for producing countries.

  • Example: Banana exports from Ecuador.

• Consumer Choice: Greater variety of foods year-round.

• Environmental Costs: Increased food miles → higher carbon emissions.

  • Example: Air-freighted asparagus from Peru to Europe.

• Loss of Local Food Security: Farmers prioritise export crops over local needs.

  • Example: Cash crops in Ghana reducing local staple production.

Strategies to increase food supply

• Irrigation: Artificial watering of crops to boost yields.

  • Example: Indus Basin Irrigation Scheme in Pakistan.

• Mechanisation: Use of tractors and machinery to increase efficiency.

  • Example: Large-scale mechanised farming in the USA.

• Food Aid: Emergency supply during famine or disaster.

  • Example: UN World Food Programme in Ethiopia.

Human causes of food insecurity

1. Conflict and War

   • Disrupts farming activities, destroys infrastructure, and displaces populations.

   • Example: Civil war in South Sudan has led to famine and severe food shortages.

2. Economic Inequality and Poverty

• People cannot afford food even when it is available.

• Example: In parts of India, malnutrition persists despite national food production being high.

3. Poor Transport Infrastructure

• Makes it difficult to move food from surplus to deficit areas.

• Example: Rural areas in Ethiopia often lack proper roads, limiting food distribution.

Physical causes of food insecurity

1. Drought

   • Reduces crop yields and water availability for irrigation.

   • Example: The Sahel region in Africa frequently suffers prolonged droughts.

2. Flooding

   • Destroys crops and contaminates water supplies.

   • Example: Pakistan floods in 2022 damaged millions of hectares of farmland.

3. Soil Degradation

   • Caused by erosion or warming temperatures reduces fertility.

   • Example: Desertification in northern Nigeria limits agricultural productivity.

Problem of soil/desertification

•  We are taking too much out of the soil (intensive) and not replacing nutrients so the soil is DEGRADING

  • Much more vulnerable to problems like desertification and degradation.

  • Leads to decrease in yields -> less food.

    • Population is still growing - need to be fed.

Water erosion

• On hillsides, water flows down quickly and takes soil with it, eroding large amounts of soil

• Destroys the crops and also can silt bodies of water at the bottom and kill fish

Wind erosion

On flat lands, high winds take away the surface soil.

Causes of desertification

• Low and unreliable rainfall reduces amount of water available in the soil, which makes it difficult for vegetation to grow.

• Overgrazing by livestock removes vegetation faster than it can regrow.

• Deforestation removes trees and plant cover that protect the soil.

• Overcultivation exhausts soil nutrients and reduces soil fertility which removes plant cover that protect the soil.

• With less vegetation, the soil is exposed to wind and rain erosion.

• The fertile topsoil is blown or washed away, leaving poor-quality soil behind.

• The remaining soil becomes dry, compacted and less able to retain water.

• Fewer plants can survive, leading to even less vegetation cover.

• The land gradually becomes less productive and more desert-like.

Solutions to soil erosion

• Afforestation and Reforestation involve planting trees to stabilize soil and reduce wind erosion. For example, the Great Green Wall Project in the Sahel region of Africa is restoring degraded land by planting millions of trees.

• Water Harvesting Techniques include building structures like bunds, check dams, and zai pits to capture rainwater and reduce runoff. Zai pits in Burkina Faso have revived barren land by concentrating water and nutrients around crops

4 components of food insecurity

• Availability: This is the existence of sufficient food within a community. It can become an issue when resources decline, for example water for irrigation and the degradation of soil.

• Access: Access to food can be affected by factors such as rising prices, household proximity to food retailers and poor infrastructure.

• Utilisation: Food needs to be of sufficient quality to provide the required levels of nutrition and households need the necessary knowledge and tools to properly select, prepare and store foods.

• Stability: Access, availability and utilisation of food needs to remain relatively stable over time.

3 threats of food insecurity

• pushing more people into poverty

• eroding development gains that have been achieved in many countries in recent decades

• presenting a strategic threat by endangering political stability in some countries.