3.1) Food

Question 1

• What is the definition of ‘energy security’? ⚡

Answer 1

• The ability of a nation to secure sufficient, affordable and consistent energy supplies for its domestic, industrial, transport and military requirements.

Question 2

• What is the definition of ‘food security’? 🌾

Answer 2

• All people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets thier dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.

Question 3

• What is the defintion of ‘water security’? 💧

Answer 3

• The ability to access sufficient quanitites of clean water to maintain adequate standards of food and goods production, proper sanitation, and sustainable healthcare.

Question 4

• Describe the strategy of ‘larger fields’

Intensive agriculture

Strategies to increase global food production

Answer 4

• Field sizes have increased by removing hedgerows which split separate areas of farmland.
• This is beneficial as larger fields allow for more machinery to be used which means more food can be produced per hectare.
• However, removing hedgerows will decrease biodiversity.

Question 5

• Describe the strategy of ‘crop rotation’

Intensive agriculture

Strategies to increase global food production

Answer 5

• Crop rotation involves rotating crops in a definitive order on the same ground to avoid soil depletion and control weeds, diseases and pests.

Question 6

• Describe the strategy of ‘drainage’

Intensive agriculture

Strategies to increase global food production

Answer 6

• The purpose of land drainage systems is generally to control the removal of water from a field and usually involves lowering water tables and removing ‘excess’ water as quickly as possible.
• This allows greater flexibility in the farming practices that could be undertaken, and often means the land has the potential to be farmed more productively and profitably.
  ↳ (e.g. perimeter open field ditches, water pumps, water control structures - such as weirs and dams)

Question 7

• Describe the strategy of ‘cultivation of marginal land’

Intensive agriculture

Strategies to increase global food production

Answer 7

• Nomadic farmers have been pushed into grazing the arid and inhospitable margins of the Sahara Desert.
• These lands are often especially vulnerable to disasters, such as drought, landslides or flooding.
• Strategies used to rehabilitate degraded land should include agro-forestry
  ↳ (farmers grow trees and crops at the same time to reduce large scale deforestation and subsequent soil erosion with protection from the rain/sun)

Question 8

• Describe the strategy of ‘conservation practices’

Intensive agriculture

Strategies to increase global food production

Answer 8

• Farmers aim to practice environmentally friendly methods of farming (e.g. reducing the amount of pesticides used, reducing irrigation, and minimum soil disturbance - zero tillage and direct planning).
• The three principles of conservation agriculture include:
  1. minimum soil disturbance
  2. crop rotation
  3. soil organic cover

Question 9

• Describe the strategy of ‘diversification’

Intensive agriculture

Strategies to increase global food production

Answer 9

• Farms can diversify to try and keep making money.
• This means that the farm will start to create other areas of income, such as creating a tourist attraction, offering bed and breakfast or selling produce via a farm shop.
• Some farms may also close and start a different business on the land.

Question 10

• Describe the strategy of ‘agrochemicals’

Changes in technology

Strategies to increase global food production

Answer 10

• The use of agrochemicals (chemicals, such as fertilisers and pesticides) - pesticides kill organisms that would otherwise compete with crop plants for nutrients.
• However, at times, these pesticides can kill non-target species or cause bioaccumulation in the food web.
• Fertilisers can run off of fields and into rivers causing eutrophication (when nutrients cause a population explosion of photosynthetic organisms in a waterway).

Question 11

• Describe the strategy of ‘genetically modified (GM) crops’

Changes in technology

Strategies to increase global food production

Answer 11

• Scientists can alter the characteristics of crops by inserting the gene coding for a desired characteristic.
  ➞ This can include disease resistance, higher yield, or even those coding for a richer, better taste.
• However, many people will not eat GM crops as they worry that it will harm their health (links have been proven one way or another) and many conservationists worry that GM crops will crossbreed with native species to produce hybrids.

Question 12

• Describe the strategy of ‘irrigation’

Changes in technology

Strategies to increase global food production

Answer 12

• Irrigation involves supplying water to land to help crops and plants grow.
  ➞ Irrigation can increase or maintain crop yields when water supply is low or unreliable, such as in arid and semi-arid climates.
• There are various types of irrigation that can be used, including:
  1. Drip irrigation: water is dripped from holes in pipes directly onto the soil.
  2. Sprinklers: water is sprayed across fields.
  3. Gravity flow: troughs are dug to divert water to where it is needed.

Question 13

• Describe the strategy of ‘selective breeding’

Changes in technology

Strategies to increase global food production

Answer 13

• Selective breeding are the traditional methods for improving crops and livestock, such as increasing disease resistance and milk yields.
• The steps involved in selective breeding are:
  1. Decide which characteristics are important.
  2. Choose “parents” that show these characteristics.
  3. Select the best offspring from parents to breed the next generation.
  4. Repeat the process continuously.
• However, future generations of selectively bred organisms will all share very similar genes.
  ➞ This could make some diseases more dangerous as all the organisms would be affected (also there’s increased risk of genetic diseases caused by recessive genes)

Question 14

• Describe the strategy of ‘high yield variety seeds

Changes in technology

Strategies to increase global food production

Answer 14

• During the Green Revolution of the mid-20th Century, new agricultural technologies emerged.
• New seed strains were developed that increased crop yields.

Question 15

• Describe the strategy of ‘hydroponics

Changes in technology

Strategies to increase global food production

Answer 15

• Hydroponics involve growing plants in a controlled environment without soil - growing plants in a mineral nutrient solution.
• They use far less water than traditional soil-growing and enable closer monitoring, so conditions can be optimised for maximum growth.
• Plants can also be stacked on top of one another to save space.

Question 16

• Describe the strategy of ‘mechanisation

Changes in technology

Strategies to increase global food production

Answer 16

• Food production can be increased by investing in machinery.
  ➞ ‘Mechanisation’ is the process of changing from working largely or exclusively by hand or with animals to doing that work with machinery.
• Machinery has enabled farmers to cultivate far more land than ever.
  ➞ However, the shift from animal labour to machinery has created dependency on fossil fuel energy. When the price of oil rises, so does the cost of food production.

Question 17

• Explain the social, economic and environmental impacts of HYDROPONICS

Strategies to increase global food production

Answer 17

• SOCIAL: 👪
  1. More food grown on less land is ideal for a growing population
  2. Technical knowledge is required for growing plants through hydroponics.
• ECONOMIC: 💰
  1. Initial set up costs of hydroponic systems is high.
  ➞ It requires constant supervision.
  2. Farms can be anywhere, from skyscrapers to shipping containers.
  3. Local production reduces food miles and transportation costs.
• ENVIRONMENTAL: 🌳
  1. No need for soils mean more food can be grown on less.
  2. Yields can be up to 10 times more than from open field agriculture.
  3. The water used can be recycled.
  4. Pollution from pesticides and herbicides can be contained.

Question 18

• Explain the social, economic and environmental impacts of IRRIGATION

Strategies to increase global food production

Answer 18

• SOCIAL: 👪
  1. Irrigation systems require skills (training) to operate.
  2. Some methods of irrigation only provide little water for areas close to rivers.
  ➞ This results in areas having no water supply for human demand.
• ECONOMIC: 💰
  1. Crop production has increased and more cash crops, such as cotton, are now grown.
  2. Irrigation methods can require high electrical power.
• ENVIRONMENTAL: 🌳
  1. More than 1 crop can be grown in a year in the same crop field.
  2. High evaporation may waste water.

Question 19

• Explain the social, economic and environmental impacts of MECHANISATION

Strategies to increase global food production

Answer 19

• SOCIAL: 👪
  1. Food production has increased, therefore less people suffering from starvation.
  2. Rural unemployment has increased as there is no longer a requirement for as many workers as the machinery completes the work quicker.
• ECONOMIC: 💰
  1. The cost of machinery is high and therefore many farmers cannot afford to compete, and therefore sell their land and move to cities.
  2. The better-off farmers who can afford machinery have become richer and employ more local people.
• ENVIRONMENTAL: 🌳
  1. Increasng the use of machinery increases the need for fossil fuels which contribute to global CO₂ emissions.

Question 20

• Explain the social, economic and environmental impacts of AGROCHEMICALS

Answer 20

• SOCIAL: 👪
  1. Food production has increased, so more people can be fed.
  2. The less well-off, who could not afford to compete with the use of agrochemicals, have sold their land and moved to the city.
• ECONOMIC: 💰
  1. Crops are more resistant to diseases, so harvests are more reliable.
  2. Artifical fertilisers are also tailor-made for certain crops and cannot be used on all crops.
  3. Higher yields mean lower prices, so poor people can afford more food.
• ENVIRONMENTAL: 🌳
  1. Chemicals have polluted local watering supplies.
  2. Surface runoff of chemicals (nitrates and phosphates) used in agrochemicals can be filtered into lakes or streams, causing eutrophication (enhancing aquatic plant growth).
  3. Algae in nutrient-enriched water undergo a population explosion, which is referred to as an ‘algal bloom’.
  ➞ As the bloom spreads across the water, surface light and oxygen are prevented from penetrating the water, which affects aquatic life.
  4. When algae and aquatic organisms die, they are decomposed by bacteria, increasing BOD (Biological Oxygen Demand) of the waterbody.
  5. Pesticides can be eaten/absorbed by insects and animals, resulting in damage to the food chain.

Question 21

• Explain the term ‘overfishing’ and its impacts.

Answer 21

• ‘Overfishing’ is a form of overexploitation where fish stocks are reduced to below acceptable levels.
  ➞ The results of this not only affect global food security, but marine ecosystems and the social and economic well-being of the coastal communities who depend on this activity for their livelihood.
• Many environmentalists regard it as the single biggest threat to our oceanic systems and is a truly global problem.
  ➞ Examples:
  1. The collapse of the cod fishery off Newfoundland in the eastern Atlantic in the 1990’s
  2. The decline of the Peruvian anchovy fisheries in the eastern Pacific in the 1970’s
  3. The decimation of fish stocks in the East China Sea

Question 22

Describe the EU’s ‘Common Fisheries Policy’ (CFP) and its strategies.

Answer 22

• The conservation of fisheries and control of overfishing comes under the EU ‘Common Fisheries Policy’ (CFP), which has attemped to manage the decline of species (such as cod and haddock), although some of its strategies have been heavily criticised.
• There are several strategies which have been implemented, including:
  1. Allocating each trawler a fishing quota or maximum catch for regulated speices (known as the Total Allowable Catch [TAC]) 🎣
  2. Restricting the number of days trawlers can spend at sea 🗓️
  3. Closing off areas from fishing (known as ‘no-take zones’) to allow stocks time to recover ❌
  4. Strict regulations on net sizes, so smaller and potentially future breeding species of fish can escape and recover 🥅
  5. Ensuring that all catches and landings must be accurately recorded ✅
  6. Enforcing regulations about the type of fishing equipment which may be used 🛥️

Question 23

• Explain the criticisms and impacts of the EU’s ‘Common Fisheries Policy’ (CFP)

Answer 23

• One of the main shortcomings of the CFP has been its position on discards (the portion of a catch of fish which is not retained on board during times spent at sea) 🐠
• This has been labelled as a shameful practice, where perfectly edible species are thrown back to sea, dead, because there are quotas which restrict how many of each species can be landed at port 📄
• After much negotiation between EU member states, discards were officially banned from 2016 for all demersal and pelagic species ❌
• The CFP has also been heavily criticised for its social and economic impact on many fishing communities.
  ➞ With the implementation of quotas and the restrictions on days at sea, many smaller fishing boats have gone out of business to be replaced by industrial style factory trawlers with greater capacity and efficiency.
• Coastal communities in traditional fishing heartlands (such as North East Scotland), have seen rates of unemployment increase and depopulation increase as the fishermen move away to source other types of employment.
  ➞ In the Firth of Clyde, there has also been a move away from finfish (e.g. cod and haddock) to shellfish (e.g. crabs, lobsters and prawns) due to stresses the industry faces.

Question 24

• What are the BENEFITS of aquaculture?

Answer 24

1. Aquaculture is the biggest growth area to emerge in the Highlands,
   ➞ where in the past 30 years it has contributed £19 billion to the Scottish economy annually.
2. The industry sustains over 7000 jobs; 2000 directly on fish farms and 5000 in food processing and manufacturing,
   ➞ where employment opportunities in rural areas are restricted.
3. In regards to consumers, fish of the required size and quantity can be produced as required at affordable prices.
4. To ensure that there are supplies of fish throughout the year, breeding cycles can be artificially controlled.
5. Salmon are oily fish, rich in Vitamin D, with healthy long-chain omega 3 fatty acids,
   ➞ and the increased consumption can help prevent heart disease, helping Scotland’s poor diet.
6. As fish are cold blooded (ectotherms), they are also very efficient at converting food to biomass compared to farm animals.

Question 25

• What are the PROBLEMS of aquaculture?

Answer 25

1. There are environmental concerns with the excessive use of chemicals (such as antibiotics, anti-foulants and growth hormones)
   ➞ Chemicals, such as Dichlorvos which are used to control lice (a parasite which spreads within high density cages) seep into the surrounding environment.
   ➞ Heavy metal toxins residues (e.g. copper, zinc and tin) build up on the sea bed and disturb the flora and fauna, particularly invertebrates. (TBT was a commonly used insecticide until 1987 after which it was banned due to its toxicity) 🧪
2. Farmed salmon can, and often do, escape sea cages.
   If the farmed salmon is not native, it can compete with native wild species for food and habitat.
   ➞ Escaped farmed salmon can interbreed with local wild stocks of the same population, altering the overall pool of genetic diversity and weakening the ability of wild salmon to deal with the great migratory journeys.
   ➞ Diseases and lice can also be transmitted to wild species from escapees 🦠
3. Salmon are carnivorous and are fed on fishmeal and fish oil made from processed fish;
   ➞ 1/3 of the global fish harvest is used as fish feed and not to feed humans.
   Excess nutrients from fish food (pellets) and faeces released from salmon farms causes eutrophication of sea lochs,
   ➞ promoting algal blooms and reduced oxygen levels.
   The average life-span of salmon farms is only 15 years, after which the area is so polluted the farms must be relocated 🐟
4. Farmed salmon also does not have the acclaimed pink flesh of wild salmon, instead their flesh is grey and most supermarket salmon is actually dyed.
   ➞ In addition, much of Scotland’s salmon farms are operated by multinationals such as Marine Harvest (a Norwegian company). The profits do not always remain in Scotland and return overseas to shareholders. 💰

Question 26

• What are the POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS to aquaculture?

Answer 26

1. To limit environmental impact of aquaculture and promote sustainability, a licence is required to start a fish farm from SEPA, who also closely monitor pollution levels.
   ➞ Regulation of the size, stocking density and location of fishfarms
   can help reduce the impact of pollution 📜
2. The use of “high energy, low pollution” fish food can help reduce waste.
   ➞ As in farming; “crop rotation” and “fallow” (empty cages) can be used to keep different kinds of fish in locations in successive years. This helps prevent pathogen build up and pests (lice) 🌾