F.2 Food systems and the spread of disease

Question 1

why is farming seen as system.

Answer 1

Farming can be described as a system because it consists of the merits of a system approach -inputs, stores, transpheres and outputs.

Question 2

what are inputs?

Answer 2

Inputs are the materials (both human and physical) needed to operate the farming system. Human inputs include labor, capital, skills, technology etc. Physical inputs are ones provided by nature – land, water, soil, seeds, etc

Question 3

what are processes?

Answer 3

Processes are the main activities that take place on the farm to convert the inputs into outputs. Processes in an agricultural system include transpheres and stores such as ploughing, weeding, sowing, harvesting, milking, etc

Question 4

what are outputs?

Answer 4

Outputs are the products obtained after the inputs are processed in the farming system. They may include products (maize, cattle, meat) cash, manure, animal feeds, eggs, etc.(positive outputs).

Others include waste products such as polluted air, water, land etc, including soil erosion (negative outputs).

Question 5

what is an energy efficent ratio?

Answer 5

Energy efficient ratio is a measure of the energy use efficiency.
which is the ratio of the energy OUTPUT (food energy) to the energy input (energy expenditure on food production)

Question 6

what can the Energy efficient ratio be used as an indicator for?

Answer 6

how effeinlty energy is used to produce food.
or
how efficient food energy is converted into human health benefits.

Question 7

what are some factors affecting energy efficiency Ratio in different environments?

Answer 7

Climate: Farms located in warm climates will need less energy than those in cold climates because colder ones need artificial light for crop growth.
Type of soil: Loamy soil requires less fertilizer. Sandy soil requires more fertilizer.
Type of crop cultivated: beans do not use a lot of nutrients. They fix nitrogen into the soil. Crops that produce protein require a lot of energy.
Relief/topography: When the land is relatively flat, it needs less energy, because it retains water and minerals easier.
Irrigation.
The type of farming system: labor intensive or capital intensive.

Question 8

why energy effincey ratios vary within counties or regions?

Answer 8

the technology employed in agriculture (e.g. glasshouses are much less efficient than open-field farming);

methods of cultivation (generally, subsistence farming is more energy-efficient than commercial farming);

the precise crop(s) grown (e.g. growing peas has a higher energy ratio but its subsidies will be lower than growing wheat or maize);

the climate (energy ratios are often more efficient in warmer, wetter areas than in cooler, drier areas, because of differences in biological productivity);

Question 9

what is a water footprint?

Answer 9

a water footprint is a measure of the total amount of freshwater used in the production of food, including the direct and indirect useless of water in agreculutral production.

Question 10

what can a water foot print be used for?

Answer 10

a water foot print can be used to evaluate the sustainability of the food supply.
or
used to assess the impacts of food production on local water resources.

Question 11

why is it key for individual and comaplys to be aware of a water foot print and how does it effect food consumption?

Answer 11

when a water foot print of a particular food product is understood, companies and individuals can make a informed decision about the types of of food they purchase and consume.
when an audience chooses to buy something or not, it changes the food production.

Question 12

why in general is food consumption increases?

Answer 12

Food consumption per capita is increasing worldwide due to the growing number of people joining the new global middle class.

Question 13

a human and physical reason why food consumption is changing is the lack of availability of food, that can be effected by both humans and physical. what are the two terms used to describe this?

Answer 13

FAD- food avalabitlty defedcite
FED- food entitlement deficit

Question 14

what are the physical processes that have led to a decrease in food production and ultimately, food consumption?

Answer 14

a) climate change can cause a decrease in crop yields due to extreme weather events such as droughts or floods.

b) soil erosion- by degradation or climate change (desertification.) leads to a decrease in crop yield due to soil nutrient depletion, erosion and contamination.

Both these factors lead to a decaurse in food availability and in return, a because in food consumption.

Question 15

what are the physical processes that have led to a Increase in food production and untirmatly, food consumption?

Answer 15

a)Increased amount of farmland through converting brownfield sites and waterlogged areas to farmlands and cultivating forested areas. This has led to an increase in the amount of farmlands in Africa, Asia and other parts of the developing world.

b) use of modern agricultural technology, such as precision agriculture and hydroponics, has allowed farmers to increase crop yields by optimising irrigation, fertilisation and pest control techniques.

Question 16

what are some human factors that can lead to variation in food consumption?

Answer 16

cultural values- religion hindu and Muslim.

education leves- fast-food. food safety.

economic condition can effect avalablity and affordability.

government polices and regulations such as taxes and subsidies.

Question 17

what is diffusion?

Answer 17

Diffusion is the spread of something more widely. This spread can be related to disease diffusion or the diffusion of agricultural innovations. (our diffusion phenomen)

Question 18

what is expansion diffusion?

Answer 18

it occurs when the expanding phenomena has a source and diffuses outwards into new areas.

Question 19

what is relocation diffusion?

Answer 19

occur when the spreading disease (or innovation) moves into new areas , leaving behind its origins or sources of the disease. For example a person with AIDS moving to a new location.

Question 20

what is adoption/acquisition diffusion? and what can it be used for?

Answer 20

it is the process by which inovation, ideas and practises spread through a population. - can be used to analyse how dietary Trends, nutrition knowledge and health behaviours are adopted and spread among different populations.

Question 21

what is hierarchical diffusion?

Answer 21

occurs when a phenomenon spreads through an ordered sequence of classes or places, for example from cities to large urban areas to rural ares.

Question 22

what is the distance-decay effect some times known as the frictional effect of distance?

Answer 22

; places closer to the source of the disease are more likely to experience a higher rate of diffusion (either of disease or innovation) and vice-versa.

Question 23

what are some natural or physical barriers of disease diffusion?

Answer 23

Distance decay. The further a place is away from the source of incidence the lower the incidence of disease.

Mountainous regions. Mountains and oceans also act as major natural barriers to the spread of disease as they contain people and restrict migration

Regions of extreme climate experience relatively small amounts of in and out-migration. As a result, the spread of disease into these regions is less likely.

Question 24

what are some human measures that are barriers of disease diffusions?

Answer 24

socio-political structures such as political borders and migration control, which restrict or prevent the movement of people.

isolation is a barrier of disease transmition. (covid). Isolation is an important management measure for many diseases and is essential for highly infectious diseases such as cholera.

Heightened awareness of hygiene. Advising people to refrain from typical greeting customs such as kisses and handshakes and to wash their hands carefully. In public places like airports and railway stations, people can wear face masks. In Catholic ceremonies, people now from drinking directly from the chalice during the celebration. Finally, authorities considered cancelling larger public events such as sports events and pop concerts.

Question 25

what is a vector born disease and what is a water born disease?

Answer 25

vector born- animal carried
water born- water carried

Question 26

what is an example of a vector born disease?

Answer 26

malaria

Malaria is a life-threatening disease caused by parasites that are transmitted to people through the bites of infected female mosquitoes. It is preventable and curable.

Question 27

what are some physical factors increasing diffusion of malaria?

Answer 27

Tropical conditions. These include areas such as Sub-Saharan Africa, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Malaysia, Singapore, Papua New Guinea, and all the countries that lie 23.5⁰ north and 23.5⁰ south of the equator.

Question 28

what are some human factors effecting diffusion of malaria?

Answer 28

Logging in the tropical rainforest. Logging is the cutting down of trees. This can help in the spread of mosquitoes. It modifies the physical conditions by increasing the temperature of a given area, providing good conditions for mosquitoes to thrive. It leads to the creation of stagnant waters because it will expose the forest to heavy rainfall, which can cause flooding or an increase in water collected in lakes and rivers.

Mining. Mining leads to the clearance of the forest and the digging of pits, where water can be collected and stagnant for several days, thereby leading to the breeding of mosquitoes

Agricultural projects such as irrigation. Water can be collected in canals for days, and in paddy rice fields, which provide a breeding ground for mosquitoes.

Question 29

what are some social factors causing spreading of malaria?

Answer 29

War and conflict. When there is conflict or war, sanitation in urban areas becomes poor because people would have migrated out of conflict zones, thereby leaving gutters choked with debris which can collect stagnant water.

Question 30

what are some demographic factors effecting the diffusion of malaria ?

Answer 30

Mass migration of people

Question 31

what is mixed diffusion?

Answer 31

a combination of contagious diffusion and hierarchical diffusion

Question 32

what is a fact for the incidence of malaria? (the rate or extent of occurrence)

Answer 32

In 2017, there were an estimated 219 million cases of malaria in 90 countries.

Question 33

what are two impact of malaria, large and small scale.

Answer 33

2.5 billion for malaria control in global financing.
house holds have to pay for medication and doctors fees. they are unable to work which reduces average family income.

Question 34

can you give an incidence stat for cholera?

Answer 34

there are 28000-142000 deaths from cholera every year.

Question 35

talk yourself through the diffusion of cholera?

Answer 35

Vibro choteare in stream —-> water abstracted for domestic use —-> contaminated water used for washing hands —-> infection of the small intestine—> cholera symptoms —> choler is faeces —-> transfusion from faeces into air or into sewage, cycle repeats.

Question 36

what are the symptoms of cholera?

Answer 36

severe dehydration and acute diarrhoea, children under five are put at extreme risk

Question 37

what are some ways you can treat cholera?

Answer 37

rehydration therapy
anti biotics, at chance of resistance, oral cholera vaccine.

Question 38

what are some factors hagerstrom thinks of when making his curves? (Why do some people adopt pheromones before others?)

Answer 38

the access to information people have on innovations- good education.

finantional security- can afford a doctor is they are harmed or have the right or money to sue.

psychycological make up of the adopter- trust in government and general education.

proximity to other adopters- isolation breeds fear

Question 39

in hagerstroms diffusion curve we see a rich poor gap in farmers which closes towards a later time, what causes the divide to close?

Answer 39

adoption of innovation by poor farmers can be due to-

government paying and funding new agricultural projects.

new innovation brings better seeds fit for more environments.

continued population pressure creating higher food demand.

Question 40

what was the green revolution?

Answer 40

The green revolution was a great increase in production of food grains (especially wheat and rice) that resulted in large part from the introduction into developing countries of new, high-yielding varieties, beginning in the mid-20th century.

Its early dramatic successes were in Mexico and the Indian subcontinent.

The new varieties require large amounts of chemical fertilizers and pesticides to produce their high yields, raising concerns about cost and potentially harmful environmental effects. Poor farmers, unable to afford the fertilizers and pesticides, have often reaped even lower yields with these grains than with the older strains, which were better adapted to local conditions and had some resistance to pests and diseases.

Question 41

what is a physical factors that increase the diffusion of cholera?

Answer 41

reduced water level salinity- better conditions for cholera.

heavy rainfall- flooding and cholera is a water born disease.