Teacher Resource 3 – Food security
Read the following article on the topic of food security:
The future of food
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/foodfeatures/feeding-9-billion/
Answer the following questions:
1. List environmental problems that are in some part caused by agriculture.
Problems include:•
global warming due to deforestation and methane from rice and cattle
•
pollution from farm machinery and from fertilisers and manure entering rivers and lakes
causing eutrophication
•
loss of biodiversity
2. It is better for the environment if humans eat a vegetarian diet. Explain why.
If humans eat plants, it reduces the loss of energy and biomass as there will be fewer trophic
levels in the food chain.
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The effects of ageing on the reproductive system
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3. What steps can farmers take to increase yields of crops?
Suggestions include better irrigation, use of pesticides and fertilisers (or organic alternatives),
growing higher yielding crops.
4. Summarise the five steps suggested in the article to solve the world’s food security.
Five step:• Avoid deforestation
• Increase yields on existing farms
• Use resources more efficiently e.g. target fertilisers, improve soil with organic farming
methods, target irrigation.
• Change diets – decrease meat consumption, produce meat more efficiently without feeding
grain to animals as it could be used to feed humans, decrease biofuels production so land
is available to grow food.
• Decrease waste – in houses supermarkets and restaurants and improve storage and
transportation of food worldwide.
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Plant reproduction
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