Food glorious food!
\nFood miles
\nFood production has increased significantly mainly as a result of an increase in the number of people living on the planet. The quest to increase food production worldwide – whether out of necessity for survival or to sell to areas where food items are desired, but otherwise unobtainable all year round – has had significant
\nimpacts. These can be categorised as environmental, political, social and
\neconomic.<\/p>\n
A food mile is the distance that food items travel from where they are grown to where they are eaten.
\nA carbon footprint is the amount of carbon generated by things people do, including creating a demand for out-of-season food.<\/p>\n
Why is global demand for food increasing?
\nThe increasing global population – more people means more food has be
\nproduce to feed them
\nIn poor countries local people go to the local market and most of the food
\nis produced in the poor country
\nIn rich countries people want a wide range of foods at different times of
\nthe year. This means getting food which is often ‘out-of-season’ and has to come from other countries. This means strawberries from Spain in December.
\nThe photograph shows strawberries being grown intensively. The intensification of agriculture has been key in enabling the world to grow enough food for its people. Intensification involves using machines, growing plants very close together, fertiliser being sprayed on crops, grown under plastic, no people.<\/p>\n
Picture
\nPicture
\nEnvironmental impacts of growing more food to meet demand
\nImpacts
\nthe demand for out-of-season food means we have to fly food in from abroad
\nlike apples. This leads to releasing more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and contributing to global warming and air pollution
\ncarbon dioxide released from road transportation of goods
\nstoring food such as apples. Apples are harvested in September and October
\nand kept under cold storage for the rest of the year (this gives out lots of
\nCO2) when they are required to be sold in February and March
\ndesertification where the land turns into desert as a result of agricultural
\nmismanagement.
\nOvercultivation and overgrazing – see powerpoint at bottom of the page
\nMonocultures – growing only one type of crop in a field for many years will
\nreduce the nutrients the plants needs, therefore reducing the yield of that
\ncrop.
\nIrrigation – water from a river is pumped onto a field to help increase the
\nyield of the crops
\nSalinisation – through poor irrigation techniques water is left on top of
\nthe soil. When this evaporates, salt is left behind and over time the
\nconcentration builds up which can reduce yields.<\/p>\n
Growing food on marginal land
\nExample of both political & environmental impacts:
\nPicture
\nPolitical impacts cont.
\n\u2022 This mainly arises from the hostilities associated with water
\n\u2022 Mainly in areas of water stress \u2013 these are areas with little water \u2013 desert areas \u2013 Saharan Africa and the Middle East
\n\u2022 Irrigation uses a lot of water \u2013 this reduces the amount of water in rivers and groundwater stores
\n\u2022 People other than farmers have less water to drink and for business
\n\u2022 The water would then need to be rationed
\n\u2022 In areas where global warming is causing temperatures to rise more water will
\nevaporate, there could be less rainfall and ultimately less water for people to
\nuse
\n\u2022 There could potentially be wars in the future over the use of water in Egypt, Kashmir
\nand Pakistan
\nFor more details on water war click on the link below:
\nhttp:\/\/www.acegeography.com\/wwd—case-study-18—water-issue.html
\nEconomic impacts
\nPicture
\nSocial impacts
\nPicture<\/p>\n
Buying locally produced food
\nIn the UK, farmers benefit from local people buy food they produce and there are arguably more widespread economic, social, political and environmental benefits. Buying from local, or indeed regional or national sources, should benefit the domestic farming industry and address environmental concerns.<\/p>\n
In the UK, we can ensure that we support local producers by:
\nlooking at labels in supermarkets, which increasingly give the specific origin of foods visiting specialist local shops
\nbuying online from ‘local’ producers
\nsupporting local farmers’ markets
\nattending regional agricultural shows, which celebrate and sell local produce<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"