Food production

• Food security is a measure of the availability of food required to support people of a household, region, country or any specified area.
• Food security is a measure of how much food there is, if it is of suitable quality and whether people can access it.
• Having fully stocked supermarket shelves is something that perhaps some of us might take for granted.
• This high level of food security is not experienced by all people.
• In some parts of the world there is a shortage of food, which can result in starvation and death.
• The United Nations estimate that around nine million people die of hunger each year.
• Food security is reduced by the increase in human population, changing diets, new pests and pathogens, overhunting and armed conflict.
• Finding sustainable ways to feed people is an important problem for scientists.
• Factors affecting food security include the increase in human population, new pests and pathogens, overhunting and armed conflict, which can result in food scarcity in some countries.
• In 2008, the prices of many foods, such as wheat and rice, increased by 130% and 75% respectively, causing riots in over thirty countries.
• The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) records the average prices of five key products: cereals, vegetable oils, dairy, meat and sugar, and produces an annual report called 'The state of food insecurity in the world'.
• In 2015, the highest percentage of undernourished people was in sub-Saharan Africa (33%), with a reduction from 1990 to 1992 of 31% and an increase from 2014 to 2016 of 23%.
• The greatest reduction in percentage undernourished between 1990 to 1992 and 2014 to 2016 was in South-Eastern Asia, which was 31% and is now 10%.
• All areas showed a reduction in undernourishment except Western Africa, where the percentage of undernourished increased from 6% to 8%.
• A country is in crisis if a significant part of the population is vulnerable to death or disease.
• In both 2005 to 2007 and 2010 to 2012, the prevalence of undernourished people was much higher in countries in crisis than other developing countries, with a prevalence of 39% compared to around 15%.
• Undernourishment is over twice as likely in countries in crisis.
• In developing countries and in China and India, undernourishment has reduced from 2005 to 2010 by an average of 1.5% whereas in countries in crisis it has increased by 0.5%.
• Factors affecting food security include an increase in human population, new pests and pathogens, overhunting and armed conflict, which can result in food scarcity in some countries.
• Sustainable fisheries do not reduce the overall number of fish, because the number of fish that are caught and killed does not ever exceed the birth of new fish.
• Overfishing is when the number of fish caught and killed exceeds the birth of new fish, causing a critical point in populations where certain species may become extinct.
• Many countries are adopting a more sustainable strategy for fishing, including Iceland and New Zealand, which includes introducing fishing quotas that limit the amount of fish that can be caught and killed from specific species.
• The size of the gaps in fishing nets has also been increased to ensure that juvenile fish can reach reproductive maturity and have offspring before being killed.
• Advantages of intensive farming practices include higher yields and more efficient use of land, but they can increase the risk of antibiotic resistance.
• Organic farmers do not apply artificial pesticides and use natural fertilisers such as compost and manure.
• Organic farming is a method where crops are grown without the use of chemicals, and organic farmers do not use machines to the same extent as intensive farming.
• Factors affecting food security include farm management practices, sustainable fisheries, and the role of biotechnology.
• Some animals are fed high protein foods to increase their growth.
• Organic food is often more expensive than intensively farmed food because it often has a lower yield.
• Intensive farming practices aim to maximise the size and yield of animals by reducing their energy needs for movement and temperature regulation.
• Antibiotics can be fed to animals in their food to prevent diseases, but this is considered a contributing factor to antibiotic resistance in bacteria.
• Organic farmers rotate their crops to avoid monoculture, which helps keep the soil healthy.
• Biotechnology involves the use of selective breeding and genetic modification techniques in farming.
• Humans have used biotechnology for thousands of years in agriculture, especially arable or crop farming, and used selective breeding to produce better foods and medicines.
• Examples of biotechnology include cloning and genetic modification.
• Biotechnology can help us meet the food demands of our ever increasing population.
• Crops directly feed us or animals we keep for food, and are commonly cereals, fruit and vegetables.
• Genetic modification involves the identification of genes in some species that control some characteristics, and the removal or insertion of these genes into the genome of other individuals within the same species or those in other species.
• A common example of genetic modification involves the transfer of the glow-in-the-dark gene from jellyfish into mammals such as mice or rabbits.
• Genetically modified bacteria produce human insulin which is used by diabetics to manage their diabetes.