other facts

• how is food security measured

  global hunger index (GHI), scale of 0 to 100, 0 meaning no hunger. measured using: child mortality (under 5), child stunting, child wasting and undernourishment.
• between 1990 and 2013, 26 countries halved their GHI score
• China


  has the 2nd largest number of poor people in the world, some areas with food deficit and some with food surplus. 60% of people in food deficit areas consume less than the recommended amount of grain products.
• Colombia 


  has had 50 years of internal conflict, leading to over 6 million people being displaced (90% are food insecure)
• what issues does globalisation create for the food industry

  • food miles
  • obesity
  • price shocks
  • inequality between TNCs and small suppliers
• how is creating inequalities between TNCs and small suppliers an issue for globalisation

  TNCs can control how far the small scale businesses can participate. in Brazil, 62% of agricultural production is done by TNCs and they have reduced the power of the national governments.
• how is food miles an issue for globalisation

  food miles are how far food has travelled from producer to consumer, the increase in food globally has increased food miles and GHG emissions. on average, food travels 2400km before reaching supermarket shelves. influenced by people's desire to have food all year round.
• apples have food miles over 10,000 miles
• how is obesity an issue for globalisation

  the increase in fast food and change in work style has lead to increased obesity. fast food is quick and easy and becomes addictive. China's meat consumption has increased 6x in last 30years, and has 4500 KFC outlets
• Brazil's Mcdonalds restaurants have increaed by 380% between 1993 to 2002
• how is price shocks an issue for globalisation

  price shocks are unexpected changes in prices due to demand, flooding, increased transport costs and dry weather
• what opportunities does globalisation create for the food industry

  technological innovation, short term food relief, consumer choice
• how are technological innovations a benefit for globalisation

  they increase food production (although they might just benefit wealthy farmers, e.g. increase business rather than security). for example, biotechnology allows crops to withstand harsher weather such as droughts, increased nitrogen efficiency and less fertiliser needed. mobile apps could be used for developing regions to share prices, cropping methods and markets. HOWEVER, small scale farmers may not benefit due to debt
• how is short term food relief a benefit for globalisation

  providing emergency food aid for countries after a war or natural hazard. e.g. syria 2011 after civil war had over 6 million displaced and required $ 25 million a week, including cans, oil, rice and salt
• how is consumer choice a benefit for globalisation

  people living abroad still can access their own culture, try other cultures food, increased tourism, more choice such as dietary preferences
• the millennium development goal 1 between 2000 and 2015 was to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
• in developing regions the number of undernourished people fell from 23% to 13% between 1991 and 2015
• what physical conditions are required for growing food

  TEMPERATURE (wheat needs 15-20C) LIGHT (photosynthesis) WATER (plants are made up of 80% water and need it for functions) AIR (photosynthesis absorbs CO2 and releases O2) SOIL (need nutrient rich soils such as with nitrogen for roots to develop)
• why is there so much waste


  consumers, supermarkets and farmers, climate change worsening yields, poor technology and transport means crops rot in
• how are consumers wasteful

  16% of the food we buy we throw away, 9-5 jobs, visual buyers, demand due to globalisation
• how are supermarkets / companies wasteful

  cosmetic standards, overbuying to stock shelves, 2.5 million chickens are killed for no reason by KFC, PRET giving sandwiches to homeless, don't pass quality checks
• how are farmers wasteful

  in developing countries crops will rot in transport, half of farmers are losing money (now making waste into animal feed), Hammonds are losing 20 tonnes a week
• the 4 pillars of food security

  • ACCESSIBLITY = how easy it is to get to it, e.g. food deserts and prices
  • AVAILABILITY = how much
  • UTILISATION = knowing how to cook it and prepare it, to live a nutritional life
  • STABILITY = how likely it is to be disrupted by weather, politics and price shocks
• definition of food insecurity

  "all people at all times having economic and physical access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food prefences, for an active and healthy lifestyle." by the UN's food and agriculture organisation (FAO)
• what physical factors affect food security

  soil, temperature and growing season, precipitation and water supply, altitude, aspect, slope
• how does soil affect food security

  texture of the soil (size of its minerals determines how well it holds nutrients and water), structure of the soil (how the particles are held together to allow water to enter), nutrient supply (growth e.g. nitrogen) loam soil is the best type of soil for farming, its well aerated and has little erosion. farming is influenced by depth, pH and drainage of soils (influenced by climate, geology and organisms)
• how does temperature and growing season affect food security

  most crops require a minimum temperature to grow, and often need a specific length. for example, wheat needs an average temperature of around 20 and around 90 days to grow
• how does precipitation and water supply affect food security

  determines how much a plant might grow, india relies on monsoon rains for farming. too much precipitation causes more run-off and less infiltration, so less reaches roots of the plants. plants are all very specific, coffee needs a dry period before harvest
• how does altitude affect food security

  the increase in height, causes a decline in temperature an increase in precipitation and decline in growing season. soils take longer to develop due to leaching (soluble materials draining away in soil)
• how does aspect affect food security

  the direction the slope faces, for example in the north hemisphere, south facing slops get much more sunlight so crops grow better and at higher altitudes
• how does slope affect food security

  the angle affects the use of machinery and rates of erosion. soils tend to be thinner and the bases are waterlogged (leaching might occur = soluble materials drain away in soil)
• what socio-economic and political factors affect food security

  land ownership, capital, competition, technology, land grabbing
• how does land ownership affect food security

  farmers may be owners, tenants or labourers. for example, in Bangladesh share cropping occurs. this is when farmers have to pay a rent to occupy land and the landlord supplies fertilisers etc. the landlords get over 50% of the harvest and farmers remain poor
• how does capital affect food security

  capital is wealth used to generate more wealth. in ACs, farming is capital intensive as levels of investment are high in machinery by the government. in LIDCs, farming is labour intensive, as they have less capital so they have less outputs
• how does competition affect food security

  competition in food markets = an increase in TNCs means theres less competition as they have all the power, this is unfair to farmer's pay and the poorest income groups are still spending most of their money on food.

  competition for scarce resources = a decline in agricultural land due to urbanisation and using more space to produce bio fuels, means theres less land, water and energy for farming
• how does technology affect food security

  technology can develop new machinery, seeds and improved irrigation (can improve production). ACs are more able to take advantage of this as they have better capital and investments, LIDCs can use appropriate technology (such as small scale drip irrigation rather than dams, or locally made tools over huge machinery)
• how does land grabbing affect food security

  other countries taking farmland in order to seek their own food security, for example they may lack the land space but have the capital or may have a large population and be food insecure. this means poor people are displaced, they have no alternative employment and unequal power relations are created between the gov. and locals. however, it could increase technology in the area, and create local food security. for example, China investing in the DRC for biofuel.
• thomas malthus


  believed there was an optimum population, and that reaching beyond this leads to war, famine and disease. he believed that abstinence and later marriage could control food insecurity. for example, the irish potato famine
• esther boserup


  believed that population would increase the demand for food and therefore production should increase. she believed that if we cultivated more land and had more advanced technologies then we could reduce food insecurity.
• Hutu's vs. Tsuti's


  1994 Rwanda, had a dense and growing population, over a million deaths in 3 months as land was getting smaller as passed down generations. to fix this, women were given the land registry (less testosterone so less fighting) and free contraception.