Lesson 10 - Challenges to Food Flashcards
(19 cards)
what are the 5 major problems to food production?
They can be grouped into the categories of:
1. Water scarcity
2. water pollution
3. Land degradation
4. Competing land uses
5. Climate change
what are the 2 types of water scarcity?
- Physical water scarcity
- Economic water scarcity
what is physical water scarcity?
not enough water for what we would like to use it for
what is economic water scarcity?
This is when the country does not have the money to use for water
infrastructure
why is smog bad for crops?
Smog contains ozone, which causes plants to die or to not produce much food at all (lower yields)
What is a consequence of water pollution on food production?
Water pollution can lead to reduced agricultural productivity and health concerns.
Is using grey water safe for food production?
Using grey water (recycled water) is not a huge safety issue for food production (remember – you can grow food in soil mixed with manure/poo!)
What is a bigger problem in water pollution?
The bigger problem is that dirtier water is not as productive. The alternative is using clean water to water crops (and then realise that it could have been used as drinking water for people dying of dehydration instead of agriculture)
What is a major cause of water pollution?
Agriculture
How do chemicals from farms affect water supply?
They can end up in the water supply
What is a health concern in countries with poor water quality controls?
Serious health problems from agricultural chemicals
what is a cause of salinty?
over- watering, which pushes the salts up to the surface
what happens if the crop find it harder to get water out of soil?
less food is produced
what can farmers do if the salt levels are too high?
If the salt levels are too high, farmers can sometimes try to
reclaim it by not using it and carefully managing the soil
what is soil erosion?
Soil erosion is when the best soil (the top layer with all the nutrients in it that plants need to grow) is worn away.
why would soil erosion happen?
This can happen because: (3)
- Land is overused
- Rainforest soil doesn’t have a lot of nutrients in it
- The slope of the land causes water to runoff
what are the 2 uses of land that giev us less land to produce food?
1.Urban expansion
2.Biofuel production
What happens as more land is needed in cities?
As more and more land is needed for the population growth in cities, less of the most
productive land is able to be used for food production.
what is a solution to the petrol problem?
One solution that has been found is to use ‘biofuels’. This is when living plants are converted directly into fuel
