Resource Reliance Flashcards
- Outline the factors leading to demand outstripping supply of food, energy
and water. - Overview of how environments and ecosystems are used and modified by
humans including: - mechanisation of farming and commercial fishing to provide food
- deforestation and mining to provide energy
- reservoirs and water transfer schemes to provide water.
Food: population growth, particularly in LIDCs - more people need more food
Climate change - food supply has been impacted negatively by unpredictable rainfall, droughts etc.
Pests and Diseases - 16% of the world’s crops are lost to disease and pests each year; pests thrive in wet, warm conditions and threaten new areas as the climate changes
Water: Population - population growth and changing lifestyles have dramatically increased the demand for water .
Industry - as countries become more developed, the demand for water in the industry for example food processing increases; industry currently uses about 20% of the world’s freshwater
Agriculture - uses 70% of the world’s freshwater; demand for irrigation has increases, particularly in response to climate change.
Energy: Use of fossil fuels - particularly coal, oil and natural gas - is increasing, especially in developing countries; these fossil fuels have a limited life and will begin to run out
Improved lifestyles, industrial growth and the development of transport have led to a massive increase in energy demand; recent industrialisation in India and China has increased energy demand significantly.
Waste - over 25% of energy each year is wasted or lost in production/transport; energy conservation is essential to preserve supply, but is limited in its adoption.
Deforestation has occurred to enable TNCs to search for and extract valuable sources of energy such as coal, oil and natural gas. In Peru, oil and gas companies have removed trees in the Amazon rainforest to create access roads and drilling sites. Oil and Gas developments have also resulted in deforestation in parts of the Sub-Arctic, such as Siberia.
Reservoirs are used mainly to store water to control water flowing into the river at times of drought and flood you can also user the water stored for drinking and leisure activities. The impacts on the environment are that when you create a reservoir you need to flood a large area of land to flatten out the land to store the water which kills lots of plants. Animals are forcefully displaced because of a loss of habitat.
Water transfer schemes are used if there are areas of very little water at times of drought, they use very long pipes to bring water from the areas that have a lot of water such as a river to an area which experiences drought and has little water. When you remove water from the rivers this causes depletion of water levels, animals that rely on river water for drinking water may die out. If you reduce the volume of water in a river, plants in the river will not be able to photosynthesise as much which will cause them to die and they’ll therefore deplete the oxygen levels in the river. Which can also cause fish to die and also if you pipe water from one area to another, you may cause a nutrient inbalance which can lead to eutrophication.
Commercial fishing have 2 main issues, firstly overfishing where people fish too much causing some fish species to go extinct which disrupts the food chain and decreases biodiversity. Bottom trawling, nets scrape along the ocean floor which kills coral destroying the ecosystem.
Mechanisation of farming: in order to increase the yield to increase the supply of food for the growing populaion, farming methods have become more intensive. This involves using machinery which works all year round to ensure the harvest is as long as possible, however the machines working all year round means that the fertility of the soil decreases exposing it to soil erosion and dissertation, in addition to increase yield, these farms use higher amounts of chemical fertiliser and pesticide to increase crop yield. However these chemical used on the farms are very easily leached by rainfall which causes eutrophication.
- What does it mean to be food secure?
● Be able to provide a definition of food security
● Be able to explain the human factors which influence food security (3 factors)
● Be able to explain the physical factors which influence food security (3 factors)
● Understand how the Global Hunger Index can be used to measure food security. Include a map in your notes.
Food security is achieved when people have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and enables them to maintain a healthy and active life.
Human factors: Population growth - global population has increased since 1950 and is likely to reach 9 billion by 2050. Much of this growth will occur in the world’s poorest countries in Africa, which already suffer from food insecurity.
Technology - Lack of technology can affect food supply and distribution in LIDCs. This includes the lack of farm machinery (low yields), poor storage facilities and lack of transport infrastructure (to distribute food).
Food consumption - Average calorie consumption is expected to rise, and dietary changes - particularly the increase in meat consumption could lead to shortages of staple foods.
Trade - some countries such as South Korea rely on imports from other countries to achieve food security, which makes them vulnerable to fluctuations in global food prices.
Conflict, and poverty are other points to make.
Physical factors: Drought - results in severe food shortages and migration; can lead to desertification and salinisation.
Floods - serious flooding results from tropical storms, which can cause a devastating effect on crops.
Pests and diseases - many tropical regions suffer from pests and diseases that affect both animals and plants. In poor societies, people may also suffer from diseases reducing their capacity to be productive
Water stress (particularly Africa)
The Global Hunger Index - The GBI was developed by the UN as a means of examining progress towards the Millennium Goal ‘to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger’. The index uses a range of indicators including undernourishment, the proportion of underweight children and the rate of child mortality. Each country is given a value from 0 (no hunger) to 100 (extreme hunger). The highest values of most extreme hunger are in Africa. Parts of Asia also suffer from alarming levels of hunger.
● Be able to describe Malthusian and Boserupian theories about the relationship between population and food
supply.
○ AND be able to outline differences between the two theories
Malthusian theory: In 1798, Malthus predicted that food supply would not be able to keep pace with the rapidly growing world population. He suggested that subsequent food shortages would result in global catastrophes such as devastating famines and wars. He referred to historic famines in countries like China as evidence for his somewhat ‘doom and gloom’ theory.
Boserupian theory: Boserup suggested a more positive relationship between food supply and population growth in the 1960s. She argued that people would respond to future resource depletion by making technological advances that would lead to an increased food supply. She also argued that people can respond to shortages by reducing food consumption.
Boserup was more positive and scientific research and technological advances would allow food to supply the growing population. Food supply would grow geometrically. Malthus on the other hand had a more negative approach, and claimed that the population would outgrow food production. Food supply would grow arithmetically.
- How can countries ensure their food security? TANZANIA CASE STUDY!!!!!
● Be able to quote data and refer to trends on food consumption and availability over time in Tanzania
● Local Level solutions: Can Goat Aid help achieve food security?
○ DESCRIPTION/ SUCCESSES/FAILURES
● National Level solutions: How effective was the Tanzania-Canada Wheat Programme (past attempt at
achieving food security
○ DESCRIPTION/ SUCCESSES/FAILURES
Goat aid is one of the examples of a bottom up aid project which talks to villagers about their needs, providing them with £200,000 worth of toggenburg goats which costs 400 each. They chose these goats because they produce 3 litres of milk per day however the villagers would need to provide for them and profit from them otherwise they wouldn’t be able to pay off the loan which it cost to get them.
Failures: the goats require lots of water to hydrate them, which the villagers don’t have, as well as the damage which the hooves do to the land, ending in land dissertation. If you remove grass from a semi-arid climate this could potentially lead to increasing desertification. Problematic because low income farmers don’t have the money to pay for the veterinary bills. Lack of water in the region, giving water to goats means there isn’t enough water for the humans. They would also require a lot of money for veterinary bills and between 1961 and 2020, poverty has increased by 380 million.
Successes: One of the villagers receives an average of 16 goats a year, they sell some goats and sell the goat’s produces and use the money to buy an ox cart and two bulls for more useful animals for farming, materials for fixing their house, banana seedlings and tools for spraying their animals for ticks. Another Villager says the goats give their family a more nutritious diet by giving them stronger bones from the calcium of goats. The goats manure has also worked as fertiliser for free (which can be quite expensive). They also earn money from selling milk, butter and cheese and they can also now send their children to school so they get a good education. Overall this can clearly help the villagers by giving them easy aid for cheap money.
By gaining profit from selling these food supplies - the villagers can then send their kids to school which will provide for better jobs in the future which in the long term can lead to better food security.
The Canada wheat program took place in Hanang District in Tanzania, it consisted of growing large amounts of wheat using modern technology. The wheat programme covered 26,400 hectares in Tanzania, showing its effectiveness.
Successes / failures or criticisms: Chemicals and equipment were free, but eventually Tanzania had to pay for them. Forced the Barabaig (nomadic tribe) off their land causing conflict. Apparently the Barabaig’s villages were burnt down, and the people were raped, beaten, fined and imprisoned as they tried to carry on their traditional life. It threatened the livelihoods of 40,000 people.
Provided 60% of all Tanzania’s wheat
121 Tanzanians received training in wheat production
150 mechanics gained skills in maintaining farm machinery.
Up to 400 people worked on the farms
Road, rail and electricity connections were improved.
In the 1992 drought, Tanzania was the only southern African country not to rely on food aid.
Only wheat was grown, so biodiversity and soil fertility was decreased
After harvesting, rain washed the topsoil away.
Most Tanzanians can’t even afford bread made out of wheat, so maize would have been better
Tanzania could not afford spare parts and fuel for repairing tractors.
- How sustainable are these food security strategies?
Explore the environmental, economic and social sustainability of attempts to achieve food security, in relation to:
● Ethical consumerism, such as:
○ fairly traded goods – description, positives and negatives
○ food waste – description
● Food production, such as:
○ Organic methods - description, positives and negatives and
○ intensive farming - description, positives and negatives
Ethical consumerism: Ethical consumerism involves the choices made by customers to buy particular products. For example, many people choose to buy products that are grown locally to support businesses and reduce food miles. Some people make choices based on the welfare of animals, such as buying free-range eggs, or they may wish to buy organic produce.
Fair trade: Today there are over 1.4 million farmers from over 70 countries whose produce is sold with the Fairtrade label. Fairtrade pays farmers a higher price and supports local community projects. The aim is to make income sustainable for farming families. Producers are paid a premium or an extra amount of money beyond the price of the goods so that the farmer/producer can invest in further machinery, seeds, education, healthcare or farm improvements.
The downsides of fair trade are that the extra income is small, and fair trade products are more expensive for consumers. Higher prices and smaller customer pools: the higher prices associated with fair trade may have a part to play in the size of the customer pool. Some products are likely to be less appealing to consumers on a budget, and some might simply be unaffordable. Not everyone will be willing or able to pay a premium.
Organic farming: involves the production of food without the use of chemicals. It is widespread across the world, in both ACs and LIDCs. Organic food production is in harmony with nature and reduces the harmful effects of chemicals. However, it tends to be more labour intensive (for example weeding by hand) and yields tend to be lower than for more intensive forms of farming. This means that the produce can be more expensive to the consumer and raises questions about its economic sustainability.
Intensive farming: Intensive farming involves maximising the yield from the land. it is often associated with mechanisation and the use of chemicals and clearly has some disadvantages:
Monoculture involves growing the same crop in a field year after year, using chemical fertilisers and pesticides to raise productivity. Monocultures can damage soil structure and increase the risk of pests and diseases.
Chemicals used in food production can leach through the soil and contaminate groundwater supplies.
Chemicals could harm farm workers, affecting their economic and social well-being.
However much higher level of crop yield, more efficient use of land, cheaper for consumers than organic farming.
(bioaccumulation) (eutrophication)
Evaluate the effectiveness of one present attempt to achieve food security at a national scale.
Background:
The SAGCOT is a national scale project started in 2010. It aims to improve farming in Tanzania in a ‘growth corridor’ through a strip of land which is very fertile and is connected to the port
at Dar es Salaam by main road and railway. They want to develop a modern agricultural economy, creating 6 key cluster areas with better connections to national and world markets. This will help combat food security by producing more food as well as generating thousands of jobs and lift millions out of poverty.
(Early!) Successes:
✔ Millions of dollars have been invested into the kilombero plantation, into things such as: tractors, irrigation, a rice mill and storage. The central farm doubled its rice yield. In addition, 7,300 other rice growers in 11 villages are now connected to better facilities and have increased their rice production. Some farms produced 8x more rice! The farm has also been able to get a better price by having improved access to markets.
✔ 4 developments near Morogoro have also had successes. 2 tobacco-processing factories have been built, offering advice to local farmers and a market for their tobacco.
✔ A sunflower processing plant has increased farm incomes and a factory making farm equipment has increased its output.
Criticisms of the scheme:
Most of the money invested benefits large commercial farms.
A lot of promised investment has not actually been given.
Small landowners have not been involved in decision-making.
Nomadic tribes have lost access to water for their animals.
Some small landowners have lost their land to make way for big plantations.
Describe one local scale strategy towards achieving food security
Allotments are plots of land in towns and cities that are used for non-commercial crop production.
Commonly administered by local councils or community groups, individuals pay a small annual rent to cultivate a small plot of land. The first allotments in the UK were created in 1809. They became very popular during the 20th century, particularly during times of food shortages such as during the 2 world wars. Currently there are about 300,000 allotments. While this is far fewer than in the past, recent concerns about local food security caused by global warming have led to a surge in popularity, particularly among younger people.
Describe one present attempt technological strategy in order to achieve food security
GM has been practised to some extent for a very long time. Most breeds of livestock and plants have been genetically modified by selective breeding. Domestic cattle, for example have been selectively bred to maximise milk yields or meat production.
Modern genetic modification involves the introduction of changes in DNA through a process known as genetic engineering. This takes place in a science laboratory.
GM crops can be bred to increase productivity as well as resistance to climatic extreme such as drought, pests and diseases, reducing the need for pesticides and herbicides.
GMO foods also provide a healthier and cheaper method of production while adding nutrients, such as golden rice which has been genetically modified with beta-carotene to prevent night blindness in poorer countries where rice is a common part of one’s diet.
GM crops are commonly used in the US as in 2018, the US grew 94% of its soybeans and 92% of its corn from genetically modified seeds. However, there is a concern that GMO crops may cause allergic reactions and increase your antibiotic resistance which would draw away many people who suffer from allergies. GM crops can be unsustainable, both economically and environmentally, requiring irrigation and the use of chemicals.
Describe one bottom up strategy towards achieving food security
Urban gardens are large, formal projects involving the production, processing and distribution of food from within urban areas. They often take the form of community initiatives involving the conversion of waste or derelict land into productive farmland or vegetable gardens. Throughout the world, people living in urban areas grow food on rooftops, in patio gardens and in back yards.
Michigan Urban Farming Initiative, Detroit, USA: derelict wasteland has been converted into garden beds, providing employment opportunities and fresh food for local people.
Benefits: increased food security, healthier diets, improved natural environments and greater social cohesion. Such initiatives are often economically, environmentally and socially sustainable.