PLAN
Food supply inequality - natural, people and lifestyle
Introduction
Define food security
What is the current position of food supply
Food production increasing - but population outstriping (Malthus)
Number of people overnourished surpassed undernourished
Affluence
Difficult to maintain food security:
Peak oil
Peak water
Biofuel
Half of people live in urban areas
Natural causes of food insecurity
Climate - too arid, too cold and roots cannot penetrate.
Precipitation - generally more rain = good but flooding
Length of growing season - longer = multiple harvests
Shape of land = hillslopes not suitable for grazing, terraces, flood plains = v fertile
Facing sun - more sunlight = more photosynthesis = increased yield
Soil types - low = prone to desertification, high = produce high yield
Natural hazard frequence - destroy food
TECHNOLOGY CAN OVERCOME ALL OF THIS
Case study = Bangladesh - Edexcel A2 Geography Textbook Paperback – 29 May 2009
Dense population - coastal
Vulnerable to hydrometeorological hazards - esp. w/ climate change
Human causes of food insecurity
Access to markets - rural africa = poor access, surplus cannot be sold, cannot access
Land ownership - TNCs take over huge areas of land
Inheritance laws - land passed through generations
Government action and support - food reserves? Food stamps in Ethiopia, war.
Urban e.g. Dhaka
Rural
Fastest growing megacity, strained by rural to urban migration.
Poor live in slum housing (mainly):
Dependent on others
No secure income
Often female headed
Little education (cycle of poverty)
Subsistence agriculture - land to farm and threat of natural hazards
Landless poor must forage - which mechanisation and chemical decreased biodiversity.
Lifestyle
Convenience food agriculture
More women working, less time to do cooking (traditional role of woman)
More affordable to buy take away
Families not eating together as much
Pre-prepared meals available cheaply, for adults and children
Children eat below WHO recommended amount of fruit and veg
Diet poor if children are low socioeconomic status - eat more calorie dense food
Nutrient model
Obesity in USA -
http://www.frac.org/html/hunger_in_the_us/hunger&obesity Obesity in USA
Major public health problem
Everyone is a risk/affected, but people most at risk are low income, food insecure as additional risk factors
Stretch food budgets by buying energy dense foods - maximise calorie per dollar
Contrast with China - textbook
Development of a market economy and land reform - escaped famine and largely eliminated rural poverty
Urbanisation and globalisation means increased affluence
20% of overweight people are in China
Why?
Less exercise in factories
Western influence in diet and lifestyle
Changing diets due to increasing affluence (MEAT)
History of famine - fatter people = happier and wealthier
Conclusion
Summarise points:
Which creates food insecurity the most?
What causes food insecurity - combination of factors?
Future of food security?