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Flashcards · Biology · Feeding the Human Race

Food Security

17 cards

  1. What is food security?

    Having access to enough safe, nutritious food, all of the time, to live a healthy life.

  2. Roughly how many people were there in the world in 1960, and in 2020?

    About 3.0 billion in 1960 and about 7.8 billion in 2020.

  3. Why does a diet rich in meat need more land than a plant-based diet?

    Energy is lost between trophic levels, so more crops are needed to make the same amount of food energy as meat.

  4. Why do wealthier populations raise the demand for farmland?

    They tend to eat more meat and dairy foods, and the animals have to be fed on crops.

  5. Give two reasons why new pests and pathogens reach new countries.

    Global trade and travel carry them, and a warming climate lets them survive in new places.

  6. What is Ug99?

    A strain of wheat stem rust fungus, found in Uganda in 1999, that infects many resistant wheat varieties.

  7. How can pests and pathogens become resistant to chemicals?

    Resistant individuals survive treatment, reproduce and pass on the resistance, so the resistant type becomes common.

  8. Name three effects of climate change on crops.

    Drought, flooding and higher temperatures that shorten or spoil the growing season.

  9. How does the loss of topsoil affect food production?

    The soil is less fertile, so crop yields fall.

  10. What does sustainable mean in farming?

    Producing enough food now without harming the ability to produce food in the future.

  11. What are agricultural inputs?

    The things farmers provide or buy, such as seed, fertiliser, pesticide, feed, fuel and water.

  12. Why do rising fertiliser prices threaten food security?

    Farmers buy less, so crop yields fall and food becomes more expensive.

  13. How is a percentage increase calculated?

    Increase divided by the original value, multiplied by 100.

  14. How do you work out food produced per person?

    Divide the total mass of food produced by the population.

  15. Why can a rise in the world's food production still leave people hungry?

    The extra food may not reach the people who need it, or may not keep up with a larger population.

  16. Why can eutrophication make farming unsustainable?

    Fertiliser run-off pollutes water and harms ecosystems, which are needed for farming in the long run.

  17. A line graph showing the world population rising from 3.0 billion in 1960 to 7.8 billion in 2020. Describe the trend in the world population shown in this graph.

    The population rises steadily throughout, from about 3.0 billion in 1960 to about 7.8 billion in 2020, so it has more than doubled. A rising population raises the demand for food.