Sustainability of Food (AQA GCSE Food Preparation & Nutrition)

Revision Note

Ruth Brindle

Written by: Ruth Brindle

Reviewed by: Lára Marie McIvor

The impact of food and food security

  • Food security is providing the world's growing population with a sustainable, secure supply of safe, nutritious, and affordable foods

    • A country that can be self-sufficient and produce enough food to support its population has food security

    • Alternatively, a country that is rich enough to import the food it needs has food security

  • Several factors will impact how much food is available

Factor

Explanation

Global warming and climate change

Rising global temperatures and extreme weather events such as drought or flooding can affect food supply as the growing environment is no longer suitable

Sustainability of food sources

Reducing the use of fertilisers, and pesticides to prevent negative effects on the environment

Introduction of sustainable fish farms to provide fish stocks

Insufficient land for growing food

There is a limited availability of land that is used for growing food

Land must also be good quality to support higher-yielding, nutritious crops

Farmland is often used to grow non-food crops e.g. for biofuels

Wealth

The wealth of a country or a household may determine the level of food security

Rising populations

Each country needs to produce or purchase enough food for their populations

Global populations are rising so there is less food to go around

  • As global demand for food increases, food supplies must be protected and boosted

    • Advances in food production such as genetic modification, can provide crops with pest resistance, higher yield and higher nutritional value

    • An increase in plant-based diets reduces the demand for animal rearing in favour of more efficiently produced crops

    • An awareness of reducing food waste leads to a bigger availability of foods

    • Sustainable techniques can be used to ensure the ongoing use of farmland to support future generations

  • Fairtrade foods and food security

    • The Fairtrade Foundation was set up to improve local food security for farmers and workers in less developed countries

    • The aim was to ensure that farmers were given fair prices for the raw ingredients that they produce

    • A fair price means that working conditions improve and farmers have more money to spend on themselves and their families to ensure their own food security

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Ruth Brindle

Author: Ruth Brindle

Expertise: Biology

Ruth graduated from Sheffield University with a degree in Biology and went on to teach Science in London whilst also completing an MA in innovation in Education. With 10 years of teaching experience across the 3 key science disciplines, Ruth decided to set up a tutoring business to support students in her local area. Ruth has worked with several exam boards and loves to use her experience to produce educational materials which make the mark schemes accessible to all students.

Lára Marie McIvor

Author: Lára Marie McIvor

Expertise: Biology Lead

Lára graduated from Oxford University in Biological Sciences and has now been a science tutor working in the UK for several years. Lára has a particular interest in the area of infectious disease and epidemiology, and enjoys creating original educational materials that develop confidence and facilitate learning.