Food Security (OCR GCSE Geography B)

Factors Affecting Food Security

• Food consumption around the world is increasing due to:

  • Population increase: the world population has now reached 8 billion

    • Much of this growth has been in LIDCs and EDCs where people are more likely to suffer food insecurity

  • As countries develop people have money to buy more food

  • Transport of food is easier and cheaper than in the past

• Sufficient food is produced to feed the world's population

Food security

• The distribution of food is uneven and this affects food security

Distribution of Undernourished People Globally

• Countries where a high percentage of the population are food insecure often have a food deficit

  • These tend to be LIDCs as they cannot produce or afford to import enough food to meet the population's needs

• Some countries have a food surplus, these tend to be ACs 

  • ACs and someEDCs can also afford to import food when they do not produce sufficient for the demand: the UK imports approximately 46% of the food supply required by the population

Factors affecting food security

• There are many factors which affect food supply either in terms of yields or transport into an area

Table Showing Factors Affecting Food Security

Access to Food

Calorie intake

• To live a healthy and active life people require about 2,500 calories  

  • In areas like the USA and Europe people consume more calories than needed

  • In areas such as Pakistan, Venezuela and sub-Saharan Africa people consume fewer calories than needed

Global Intake of Calories per Person

The Global Hunger Index

• This index uses a combination of four indicators to score countries

• The higher the score, the greater the impact of food shortages and levels of hunger

• The four indicators are:

  • Undernourishment: the percentage of people who do not consume enough calories, this is linked to 45% of all child deaths

  • Child wasting: the proportion of children that have low weight in relation to their height: this affects 45 million children under the age of 5

  • Child stunting: the proportion of children under 5 who are short for their age 

  • Child mortality: the death rate of children under 5

The impacts of food insecurity

• Famine

• Rising food prices

  • When there is increased demand and reduced supply the prices increase

  • Those living in poverty often cannot afford a balanced diet this means people in LICs and NEEs are the most affected

• Underdevelopment - loss of productivity

  • If a country's workforce is suffering from food shortages, they will be less productive, and development will slow or even reverse

• Soil erosion and desertification

  • Farmers may over cultivate and overgraze the land in an attempt to increase the amount of food available

• Social unrest

  • Food shortage may lead people to riot and loot 

• Migration

  • People migrate to other countries or to urban areas where the food supply is better. This can impact those areas with the development of illegal settlements

Population Theories - Malthus & Boserup

Malthus

• Malthus proposed his theory in 1798

• A pessimistic view on the relationship between population and resources (specifically food) which states:

  • Population growth is increasing at a faster rate than food supply

  • There will be time when there is not enough food to sustain the population

  • As a result, population growth will stop as a result of a Malthusian catastrophe - famine, disease or war

  • These are known as positive checks as they increase the death rate

  • Preventative checks are factors which decrease the birth rate 

  • These limiting factors maintain the balance between population and resources

Malthususian Graph

• Malthus's predictions were incorrect as they came before much of the technological developments which have enabled food supply to be increased

• Neo-Malthusians today base their views on Malthus' theory. They argue that:

  • Humans have now used most of the available agricultural land 

  • The amount of fertile land is declining

  • Food prices are increasing

  • The population continues to increase

• They suggest that famines are one example of how Malthusian theory has proven to be correct

• Neo-Malthusians argue that population control is essential in avoiding a Malthusian catastrophe

Boserup

• A Danish economist, Ester Boserup put forward her theory in 1965 

• An optimistic view of the relationship between population and resources (specifically food) which states that:

  • Population growth will stimulate developments in technology to increase food production

  • More efficient resources will be discovered/used

  • Renewable resources will replace non-renewable

Boserup's Graph