lesson 10 - challenges to food production Flashcards
(10 cards)
what are the 2 main types of water scarcity?
- physical water scarcity
- economic water scarcity
physical water scarcity
this is when there is not enough water for what we would like to use it for
economic water scarcity
this is when the country does not have the money to use for water infrastructure
what happens to the economy when there is less water available?
less water available —> less water for crops and animals —> less food production
how can air pollution cause damage to crops?
smog contains ozone, which causes plants to die. in 2014, yields in India were only half of what they should be
how does salinity affect food production?
less food is produced. if salt levels are too high, farmers can sometimes try to reclaim it by not using it and carefully managing the soil
how does accelerated soil erosion affect food production?
soil erosion is when the best soil loses it’s fertility or nutrients. this can happen because:
- land is overused, rainforest soil doesn’t have a lot of nutrients in it, so when we cut it down to use it for grazing animals of farming, it doesn’t last very long
- the slope of the land causes water to runoff (takes the soil with it)
what are the two main uses of land that give us less land to produce food?
- urban expansion
- biofuel production
how does biofuel production affect food production?
biofuel is when living plants are converted directly into fuel
E10 petrol at a petrol station, which
contains 10% ethanol and 90% fossil fuel)
The crops that can be converted into
ethanol include corn, wheat, potatoes and sugar cane
when we produce these foods for biofuel, we are using the land to make fuel instead of food
how does urban expansion affect food production?
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
