L3 - The Changing Demand and Provision of Food in the UK

• malnourishment increases the likelyhood of getting diseases
• undernourishment is more common in developing countries, where people rely on food grown in their own gardens
• transportation of food adds to food miles which is not a good thing
• before supermarkets were a commonplace, the majority of the food eaten in the uk was seasonal and sourced in the uk
• fruits and vegetables used to be grown, sold and eaten according to the seasons, e.g. lettuce and strawberries in the summer and cabbage and parsnips in the winter
• more food used to be preserved for example freezing, bottling or made into jams and pickles
• meat would have also been produced such as welsh lamb and scottish beef
• in this day and age we are used to eating all fruits and vegetables all year round and enjoying exotic fruits such as mangoes
• the diet we are used to in this day and age cannot be grown in uk and even seasonal fruits and vegetables are imported from other countries as it cheaper
• in 2013 47% of the uks food supply was imported
• consumer demand in the uk affects what is imported from other countries because the demand for exotic foods is high all year round
• the uk imports from places such as Kenya and the Carribean where land previously used to produce food for local people is now used to provide high level products for the uk
• high level foods that are produced can fetch retail prices that are up to 5 times the value of similar products
• the costs of these out of season products is high for the uk consumer but also has costs for the people in Kenya
• in Kenya less land is available for locals to grow food to eat
• the crops produced in kenya often need huge amounts of water which is tricky where water supply is unreliable or poor#
• in kenya, sometimes the people growing the crops are exposed to chemicals such as pesticides without protective clothing
• in kenya, jobs are created, for example farming, packaging and transporting which provide wages to local people
• in kenya, wages create taxes that are paid to the government which can fund facilities for the country such as schools and hospitals
• another change to the uks eating habits has been the increasing demand for organic produce
• organic produce, including meat, fruit and vegetables is produced by organic farming, which does not include the use of chemicals such as pesticides and fertilisers
• the aim of organic farming is to protect the environment and wildlife by using natural predators to control pests
• organic farmers maintain the fertility of the soil by rotating crops and using a variety of natural fertilisers including green manure and compost
• weeds in organic farming are controlled by mechanical weeding rather than chemical weed killers
• organic meat is farmed without the use of antibiotics and the regular use of drugs such as hormones to increase growth
• the demand for organic products has been rising steadily since the early 1900s as people became more concerned of the effect of their food on their health
• organic food is believed to be healthier than non organic food
• the main reasons for choosing organic food is that it:

  • contains fewer chemicals and pesticides
  • is natural and unprocessed
  • is healthier
• organic food is more expensive, but people claim that it tastes better than non organic food and are prepared to pay extra for this.
• supermarkets provide 75 percent of all organic food sold however other sources of organic food could be framers markets, and vegetable box schemes