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5.2 Terrestial food systems - Coggle Diagram
5.2 Terrestial food systems
Sustainability
Type of farming + levels of food production dependent on:
Environmental conditions = weather, topography + soil condition
Access to vehicles + technology = tractors
Financial funds to purchase goods needed = land, seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, equipment and labor.
Cultural and environmental value systems
Government and political initiatives
Increasingly impacted:
Water stress, desertification + human settlements and urbanization is reducing the amount of arable land.
Soils are becoming degraded through intensive farming.
Increased agriculture = loss of biodiversity due to clearing
Many pests are becoming resistant to insecticides (chemical agents are now banned under environmental regulations)
Underdeveloped infrastructure means that losses increase during transport and storage
Consumption patterns are changing eg more fish + developing nations (India and China) have increased meat consumption and c
Climate change brings new microbial diseases to food-growing regions + extreme/unpredictable weather patterns.
Sustainability depends on:
Scale
Fertilisers
Pest control
Industrialisation
Legislation etc
Inequalities
MEDCs
Cost of food is relatively cheap. People choose food based on preference not nutritional need. Seasonal foods have disappeared as foods are readily available all year round. Modern technology and transport systems mean that foreign foods can be bought in almost any market.
Average calorie intake is about 3314 per day
FAO estimated that 1/8 people were suffering from chronic undernourishment in 2010-2012. Almost all the hungry people, 852 million, live in developing countries.
Supply is inequitable + land suitable for food production is unevenly distributed among societies = leads to conflicts + concerns
LEDCs
Populations struggle to produce enough food to sustain them. Arable land is scarce / finite supply. Crops that are grown are often exported for profit (cash cropping) and not for the local communities.
Average calorie intake is 2666 per day
The USA, Canada, and Australia produce more food than needed BUT who should pay for it to be distributed to poorer countries like Bangladesh, Sudan and Ethiopia.
Influenced by:
Ecological factors:
some climate and soils are better for food production = soil degradation in both MEDC and LEDCs, periods of poor weather and a number of sever weather events
Socio-political factors:
global agricultural production and trading system, built on import tariffs and subsidies, creates great distortions favoring production in MEDCs and disadvantages in LEDCs. Disagreements over the use of trans-boundary resources such as river systems/aquifers.
Economic:
Rising energy prices and agricultural production and transport costs have pushed up costs along the farm-to-market chain. Production of food in LEDCs is more for exports. underinvestment in agricultural production technology in LEDCs has resulted in poor productivity and underdeveloped rural infrastructure.
Food waste
LEDCs = lower
150 kg per person per year
Less is bought because people are typically on lower incomes
Less packaging is used on products
Disposable items (eg razors, plastic plates and diapers) are used less
Inefficient harvesting causes waste.
Poor infrastructure for transport + refrigeration/shelving causes waste.
MEDCs = higher
Ireland + USA produce 700+ kg of waste per person per year.
Strict sell by dates on supermarket food.
Wealth leads to over buying + over consumption.
16 million tons of food waste globally per year. 30 to 50% of what is purchased is thrown away.
Mass marketing promotions incentivize consumers to buy more (buy one get one free)
Consumption increases = waste per capita + pollution increase. Wealth increase = D for consumer items increases. Items are replaced more frequently = larger quantities of waste. Eg phones/computers for newer.
Lower v higher trophic levels
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