food production

• what is food production?

  having enough food to feed a population.
• factors that affect food security?

  • the increasing birth rate

  • changing diets

  • new pests and pathogens that affect farming

  • conflicts
• methods of intensive farming?

  keeping animals still restricting movement and energy loss

  keeping surroundings warm
• problems with intensive farming?

  unethical as animals are more stressed or in unhealthy conditions

  keeping animals together may make them ill

  heating requires electricity
• what is a fishing quota?

  the maximum amount of fish that fisherman can fish . usually for specific species
• why is sustainable fishing important?

  to maintain fish stocks at a level where breeding continues or certain species may disappear altogether in some areas
• what fungus is used in producing mycoprotein?

  Fusarium
• the process of making mycoprotein:

  1. air is added to allow fungus to respire
  2. glucose syrup is added as food for fungal cells
  3. the bubbles rising cause broth to circulate and as fusarium is dense it sinks to the bottom
  4. fusarium is harvested and purified
• advantages of genetic modification of organisms?

  Increased crop yield

  produces human insulin is cheaper and quicker

  'golden rice' is good nutrition and prevents vitamin A deficiency
• Biotechnology


  The use of living organisms or their products to modify human health and the human environment
• Genetic modification


  The process of altering the genetic material of an organism to produce desired traits
• Biotechnology and genetic modification


  Help meet the food needs of the growing human population
• Examples of biotechnology and genetic modification in food production

  • Golden Rice
  • Use of the fungus Fusarium
• Golden Rice


  Rice that has been genetically modified to contain molecules needed to make vitamin A
• Golden Rice


  Can prevent hundreds of thousands of cases of blindness every year
• Mycoprotein


  A protein-rich food produced by the microorganism Fusarium, a fungus
• Mycoprotein


  • Suitable for vegetarians
  • Can be grown efficiently in a small space
• Fusarium is grown on glucose syrup in a fermenter in aerobic conditions, converting the glucose syrup into mycoprotein
• The mycoprotein biomass is harvested and purified before being made into products