Biology - 18 Biodiversity and Ecosystems - 18.9 Biomass Transfers & 18.10 Factors Affecting Food Security & 18.11 Making Food Production Efficient & 18.12 Sustainable Food Production

Food security

condition in which people have access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs

Biological factors affecting food security [6]:

- increasing birth rate and population

- changing diets in developed countries

- new pests and pathogens

- environmental changes

- cost of agricultural inputs

- conflict

How does increasing birth rate and population affect food security?

as population increases, amount of food needed increases too, and it gets harder to find reliable and sustainable food sources

How do changing diets in developed countries affect food security?

foreign foods are often shipped from less to more developed countries; this causes the resources to become unavailable to those who most need them

How do new pests and pathogens affect food security?

due to global travel and environmental changes, pests and pathogens may travel to other areas, affecting crops and livestock

How do environmental changes affect food security?

factors like rising temperatures, extreme weather and movement of pathogens can put crops and livestock at risk and affect food yields

How does cost of agricultural inputs affect food security?

due to expensive, adapted crop varieties being developed by scientists, the cost of seed increases, so people in developing countries may be unable to afford it

How does conflict affect food security?

conflict may cause damage to farmland or make it unsafe, or break down water infrastructure, affecting yield of crops, meat and animal products

What does a sustainable solution to food production involve? [3]

- maintaining soil quality so crops can grow well each year

- developing more efficient methods of food production

- maintaining fish stocks so they do not run out

Why is the meat and animal product industry inefficient? [3]

- it introduces extra steps into the food chain

- this causes biomass to be lost and wasted

- plants that could be eaten directly by humans are eaten by livestock

Lengthening the food chain of food production [3]

- crops fed to livestock

- animal products fed to livestock to increase growth rate

- biomass wasted in transfer between trophic levels

What factors are managed in artificially managed food production? [5]

- limiting movement

- controlling temperature

- giving prophylactic antibiotics

- controlling light levels

- controlling diet

Why is movement limited in artificially managed food production?

less biomass is used for muscle contraction so more is available to increase animal biomass

Why is temperature controlled in artificially managed food production?

less biomass is used for aerobic respiration to maintain temperature so more is available to increase animal biomass

Why are prophylactic antibiotics given in artificially managed food production?

to prevent infection and decrease chance that livestock are killed by disease

Why are light levels controlled in artificially managed food production?

behaviours such as mating and sleeping can be controlled to be optimum for growth

Why is diet controlled in artificially managed food production?

diets such as high protein, genetically modified or growth hormones can be given to increase growth rate

Intensive farming

agriculture that maximises food production by involving greater inputs relative to the space being used

What is the main objection to intensive farming?

restricted lifestyle of animals gives poor quality of life, which some see as unethical

Why is intensive farming a disadvantage for both animals and humans?

stressed animals do not gain weight as fast, so they produce less meat and products

Intensive fish farming methods [3]:

- fed high-protein diet of other fish and/or cereals

- bred or genetically modified to grow and mature fast

- kept in small cages/nets to reduce movement

Why must fish stocks be maintained? [4]

- all mature, breeding adults may be taken

- younger fish are then taken

- no adults are present to replace them

- fish may become extinct

Solutions to overfishing [3]:

- controlling holes in nets

- bans on fishing in the breeding season

- strict quotas imposed on fishing

How does controlling size of holes in nets help conserve fish populations?

only adults are caught; younger fish can live to breed and maintain populations

Problems with fishing quotas [2]:

- if fish are caught, they are dead; if fishermen are over quota, dead fish will be thrown back, but this is unhelpful

- fishing communities may lose their livelihood and cultural identity

The role of biotechnology in food production:

genetic modification allows food to be more nutritious, more efficient, or more sustainable

Golden rice

genetically modified rice enriched with vitamin A to be more nutritious

Mycoprotein

high-protein, more sustainable meat alternative produced from fungi feeding on glucose syrup made from waste starch