Food

- any nutritious substance that is consumed by the body

Developed Countries and Less Developed Countries
- Global food consumption patterns vary between developed countries (DCs) and less developed countries (LDCs) over time.
- These can be seen in terms of the indicators of food consumption and changing food preferences.
- Countries may be classified according to their level of development based on a number of indicators.
Classification System
(A) Economic Indicators
- Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita (higher the GDP per capita, the more developed a country is likely to be)
- Employment opportunity
(B) Social Indicators
- Adult Literacy Rate (higher the adult literacy rate, the more developed a country is)
- Life Expectancy
(C) Conclusion
- The various combinations of economic and social indicators help to classify a country as either a DC or LDC.
- DCs are countries that rank high across these development indicators. (Australia, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, USA)
- LDCs are countries that rank low or moderate across many or all of these indicators. (Bangladesh, Brazil, Indonesia, Uganda)
- There will be differences among DCs and LDCs in terms of their scientific and technical capabilities, economic and social structures, and
inequalities of income and wealth.

Indicators that show how food consumption patterns vary between DCs and LDCs over time
1. Indicators of Food Consumption
Food Consumption Per Capita
- Food consumption per capita refers to the average amount of food a person consumes per year.
- The unit of measurement for the amount of food consumed is in kilogrammes.
- Hence, the indicator is usually measured in kilograms per capita per year, and may be recorded for individual food groups such as cereals,
meat and vegetables.
- It is also used to determine changes in food consumption patterns over time.
- example: DCs consume much higher amounts of meat and vegetables per capita than LDCs, and higher amounts of food overall.
- In 2008, the food consumption per capita of meat and vegetables for USA was 120.0kg/capita/yr and 122.9kg/capita/yr but only
8.8kg/capita/yr and 52.2kg/capita/yr for Nigeria
Total Daily Calorie Intake
- Total daily calorie intake represents the total number of calories obtained from food consumed per person each day.
- The average recommended daily calorie intake per person is about 2,500 to 3,500 calories.
- People in DCs are likely to have a higher daily calorie intake than LDCs.
 - example: The daily calorie intake has been increasing for both DCs and LDCs from 1964 to 1999, but DCs are likely to have a higher daily
calorie intake than LDCs.
Starchy Staples as a Percentage of All Calories
- Staple food forms the main part of the diet and supplies a major proportion of a person's energy and nutrient needs.
- Most of the world's staple food, such as cereals, are high in starch.
- Starch is the most common form of carbohydrate, a chemical compound which provides the human body with energy.
- Cereals consist of grains such as wheat and rice and are the world's main source of energy intake for both DCs and LDCs.
- LDCs are projected to account for about 84.1% and DCs 15.9% of the global demand for cereals between 1995 and 2020
- Apart from staple food, there are non-staple foods like meat and fruits and vegetables that form a major part of the daily diet, especially so in
DCs

2. Indicators of Changing Food Preferences

- Food preference is the choice of one food type over another.
- They change due to a variety of reasons, such as an increase in income.
- When a country develops economically and its income per capita increases, the diet generally changes from crop-based products to
- meat-based products.
- (example) food preferences have changed in China. Compared to 20 years ago, China now consumes less cereals but more meat, eggs,
fish and fruits and vegetables.
- Throughout the world, food consumption patterns have changed for different food groups such as:

Cereals
- Cereals are crops harvested for its grain.
- They are the most important food source in the world, contributing up to 50% of the global calorie intake. In Africa and parts of Asia, cereals
make up as much as 70% of the calorie intake. In DCs, they provide 30% of calorie intake.
- Consumption of cereals per capita declines at higher income levels as crop-based food products comprise approximately 40% of people's
diets in LDCs but only 13% in DCs.
- Furthermore, as income goes up, one type of cereal, rice, is substituted with another, wheat, to make bread and noodles. especially in
Japan, China and South Korea, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Meat
- Livestock refers to domesticated animals such as cows, pigs, sheep or chickens from which meat and dairy products are obtained.
- Meat, dairy and other livestock products are high in protein and provide people with essential nutrients
- An increase in income is generally linked with an increase in meat consumption.
- In LDCs, the demand for livestock has increased since the 1960s due to rising incomes, from 1960 to 2005, meat consumption has grown
more than three-fold by 2005 while egg consumption has grown at least five-fold.
 - Although livestock consumption in DCs is still high, people are starting to consume less red meat because this has been linked to health
problems such as obesity and heart disease.
- In contrast, the consumption of red meat and milk in LDCs has risen over the years due to rising incomes.
- There is a projected increase in meat consumption across the globe from 200 to 2050.
Fruits and Vegetables
- Consumption of fruits and vegetables has increased for both DCs and LDCs.
- The increased consumption of fruits and vegetables in LDCs such as China and India has come about mainly due to increase in incomes.
- In DCs, this has occurred because of an increased awareness of the health benefits of increased fruit and vegetable consumption.
- example: From 1976 to 2009 in the USA, vegetable consumption increased by 13% and fruit consumption increased by 3%, according to a
2011 study by the University of California
- The increased consumption of fruits and vegetables is also due to the efforts of international organisations such as the World Health
Organization (WHO) and the FAO to promote its consumption, by advocating that a significant amount of fruits and vegetables in a diet
reduces the risk of diseases such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes.
Reasons that cause food consumption patterns to vary between DCs and LDCs
Economic Factors (affect the amount and types of food people consume)
1. Disposable Income
- is the amount of income left to an individual after taxes have been paid
- rising income results in higher disposable income
- people in DCs generally have higher disposable income and more purchasing power than people in LDCs
- but disposable income has been increasing in both DCs and LDCs, resulting in higher consumption of certain food groups across the world
- the increase in income has different effects on food consumption patterns between DCs and LDCs
- example: for every US$1 increase in income – in DCs such as USA, only 20% of the increased income is spent on food; but in LDCs such
as the Democratic Republic of Congo up to 60% of the increased income goes to spending on food
- when people in both DCs and LDCs have more disposable income, they have more financial ability to consume a larger amount and variety
of food
- often this means consuming more meat and less cereals as meat consumption is generally associated with wealth and status
- example: change in food consumption patterns in South Korea during 1970s and 1980s when country was experiencing rapid economic
growth: rice consumption per capita declined by 6%, while meat consumption tripled and the consumption of marine products increased by
2½ times between 1970 and 1987
- In contrast, when disposable income rises in DCs, the quality of diets tends to increase.
- With higher disposable incomes. people in DCs are able to afford food that has been found to have certain health benefits, and which are
generally more expensive like organic food and olive oil
2. Pricing
- People in LDCs are generally more affected by change (increase) in food prices than the people in DCs, as many people in LDCs have less
disposable income than most people in DCs.
 - From 2006 to 2008, food prices rose dramatically worldwide, creating a global food crisis. This greatly affected the diets of those living in
LDCs as many quickly found themselves unable to afford staple food.
- According to the FAO, the food crisis from 2006 to 2009 pushed 100 million more people worldwide into chronic hunger and poverty.
- This increase in food prices also sparked food riots, street protests, attempts by the government to control the price of food.
- In DCs, the effects were not as dramatic, but still caused food prices to rise significantly.
- example: the prices of a dozen eggs and whole wheat bread increased by 38% and 12% respectively in the USA, causing people to select
less expensive options
Socio-Cultural Factors
1. Food Preferences
- people's concerns relating to health, moral principles, income and the environment influence their choices about the food that they consume
- Religious reasons could also influence people's diets
- example: Islam religion only consumes halal food, which may include meat from an animal that has been killed in a way that is approved by
the Islamic Law
Fast Food
- Fast food refers to food that can be prepared easily and quickly, and may be eaten as a quick meal or packaged for take-away.
- The standardised production and handling process in fast food outlets ensures the consistency of quality of the food served.
- Due to convenience and affordable pricing, more people opt to dine at these outlets.
- Young adults prefer to spend time at such outlets because they are attracted by the comfortable dining atmosphere.
- Globalisation has made it possible for fast food chains to set up restaurants in many LDCs such as India.
- example: In 1991, India opened up its economy to foreign investors and many transnational corporations entered the Indian market, like fast
food chains from the USA: Domino's Pizza, McDonald's and Pizza Hut.
- More people may choose to patronise these outlets rather than local food stalls.
- In DCs, although fast food is popular, people are now trying to move away from eating too much fast food as they become increasingly
aware of its harmful effects on human health.
- People have become more concerned over how fast food is being prepared and processed with the use of large amounts of oil, processed
meat and chemicals used to prepare the food.
Organic Food
- Food preferences within DCs are increasingly influenced by health concerns about conventional methods of growing food, such as the risk of
cancer from the use of pesticides on farmland.
- Organic food refers to food grown without the use of artificial inputs, such as chemical fertilisers or growth hormones.
- More people choose organic food due to the perceived health benefits associated with them, as organic food avoids using potentially harmful
pesticides during the food production process.
- As a result, there has been a shift towards the consumption of organically grown fruits and vegetables in the DCs.
- example: In Asia, a 2009 report stated that the demand for organic food has grown at about 20% every year since 1997
2. Population Growth
- one of the key drivers in the increasing demand for food worldwide
 - According to the FAO, the world's population is set to increase from 7 billion in 2012 to 10 billion in 2050.
- Population growth rates are higher in LDCs than DCs due to higher birth rates as a result of a lack of family planning and a need for farm
labour in many LDCs.
- Therefore, the increasing demand for food over the years is greater in LDCs than in DCs.
- The projected global food production is required to meet the needs of a rising world population.

Political Factors (Governments are able to influence the stability of food supply and food safety in their countries. Therefore, food
consumption patterns tend to vary between DCs and LDCs.)
1. Stability of Food Supply
- A country has a stable food supply when safe and nutritious food is available to all people at all times.
- Food supply is not always stable, and there are threats that require governments to take action to increase food supply, either by increasing
food production or by increasing food imports
- Food production can be increased by improving technology in order to increase crop yield and increasing the use of agricultural land through
opening new areas for agriculture.
- Despite the capacity of many LDCs to increase their agricultural land, they have a lower ability to increase food supply as compared to DCs
as they generally lack the access to technology or the finances to implement technology on a large scale.
- DCs have greater access to technology to increase food production to ensure food stability
- Governments can increase food supply by increasing food imports.
- In general, DCs can increase food imports more easily than LDCs.
- DCs like Singapore may rely on food imports to make up more than 90% of their food supply.
- LDCs are less able to deal with fluctuations in food prices, thus importation of food can be problematic.
- example: Jamaica, after a hurricane disaster in 2004, was not able to import food because it was too expensive.
- Stability of food supply can be affected by:
Civil War
- At the height of the civil war in Libya in April 2011, the United Nations World Food Programme (UNWFP), reported that food stocks in the
country were rapidly being depleted and were not being replenished.
- Cities and areas with heavy fighting reported food and water shortages, while safety concerns restricted people from venturing out to find or
buy food.
Natural Disasters
- Zimbabwe was faced with food shortage in 2008 after a severe drought.
- Extremely low rainfall destroyed most of the country's corn harvest with the worst-affected being those in the rural and neglected regions.
2. Food Safety
- Food safety refers to a system that provides guidelines, and ensures proper handling, preparation, transportation and storage of food that
prevents foodborne diseases.
- It is crucial to ensure that food is safe for consumption.
- The government of a country plays an active role in ensuring food safety.
 - For example, by setting food safety standards and ensuring that the standards are met; and tracking down contaminated foods that cause
outbreaks of foodborne diseases and removing those foods from the shelves.
- example: the tsunami triggered by the 2011 earthquake damaged nuclear plants in Fukushima, Japan.
- Radiation from the release of radioactive materials contaminated farmland and water resources.
- Seafood imports from Japan to Singapore were restricted for many months following the disaster to ensure the safety of the consumers in
Singapore.
- Threats to food safety may also come from unexpected events, such as outbreaks of foodborne diseases.
- example: the outbreak of 'mad cow disease' in Europe in the late 1990s and again in the USA and Canada in 2005.
- In response, the US government took actions to detect the disease in its cattle population so as to prevent its spread.
- The outbreak led to a decrease in the consumption of beef as humans could contract the disease by eating meat from an infected cow.
- The decrease in the demand for beef led to a decline in the imports and exports of beef.
Impact of Inadequate Food Consumption on Individuals and Countries
- When people do not consume enough food, they may become sick more often, be less productive at work or even go to work fewer times
than they normally would.
- At the same time, inadequate food consumption can also lead to problems on a larger scale such as food riots, crime and protests.
Therefore, inadequate food consumption has various impacts on individuals and countries.
Health Impact (Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.)
1. Malnutrition
- Malnutrition is a condition in which the body does not get the sufficient or balanced amount of nutrients it needs to maintain healthy tissues
and organ functions.
- Malnutrition results in death or long-term development problems in individuals.
- It can be measured through a person's weight, and by considering a person's weight in relation to gender, height and age.
- Each year, 5 million children under 5 years of age die in LDCs due to malnutrition
- Malnutrition also affects people in DCs.
- According to research by Louisiana State University in 2006, every year, thousands of elderly people in the USA die due to malnutrition,
because they ate too little or had difficulty in digesting and chewing food
- People with eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa or bulimia, may also develop malnutrition as a result of ingesting too little food.
- However, LDCs are more heavily affected by malnutrition than DCs.
- Overall, an estimated 16% of people in LDCs suffer from malnutrition.
- 75% of people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo suffer from malnutrition, according to the FAO.
2. Starvation
- Starvation is the state of extreme hunger from a severe lack of food.
- It is an extreme form of malnutrition.
- When going through starvation, the body becomes skeletally thin and the organs become permanently damaged.
- If not addressed, a person will eventually die.
 - Starvation is much more common in LDCs because of the greater number of people living in poverty; lack or absence of resources to
recover from natural disasters; and unstable political situation
- example: In Mali in 2012, 5 million people were threatened with starvation due to a poor harvest and a civil rebellion that took place earlier in
the year.
- As of 2010, the FAO estimated that 98% of people facing starvation can be found in LDCs.
- In Sub-Saharan Africa, more than one in three people are malnourished, according to the FAO in 2011.

Economic Impact (inadequate food consumption has a negative impact on the productivity of the individual and the economy as a whole)
1. Lower Productivity
- Productivity refers to the rate at which goods or services are produced.
- Insufficient food consumption can have a negative impact on the economy.
- When workers consume imbalanced amounts of nutrients, they fall sick more often.
- This lowers their productivity, which will lead to lower income, due to inability to work as productively as before.
- Children suffering from inadequate food consumption will fall sick more often, leading to loss of school days and, subsequently, loss of
educational opportunities
- According to a 2011 report by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), studies in various LDCs have found a significant link
between nutrition and productivity.
- In countries such as India and Sri Lanka, low levels of nutrition intake over the medium to long term was associated with lower levels of
productivity.
- Due to poor health caused by malnutrition, farmers may be less innovative, less experimental or unable to implement improvements.
2. Diversion of Financial Resources to Health Care
- Public health expenditures will increase when the demand for health services increases.
- This is because of more people falling sick, which increases the overall cost of providing health care.
- For LDCs, the higher spending on health care means that limited financial resources are diverted from other areas such as education,
housing, transportation or even agriculture, slowing down the country's economic development and growth.
3. Long-term Debt due to Food and Financial Aid
- Food aid and financial aid can be given to help people and countries cope with insufficient supply of food.
- However, financial aid may lead to long-term debt problems for the receiving country.
- For example, the USA contributes about half of all global aid but most of the food must be bought from their suppliers and transported on
their ships.
- The Human Development Report in 2005, 2006 and 2009 have found that food supplied as aid is up to 34% more expensive than if
purchased locally.
- LDCs incurred losses amounting to between US$5 to US$7 billion.
- Rather than helping the country, such aid, often called tied aid, serves to increase the national debt of LDCs to DCs.
Political Impact (Inadequate food supply leads to inadequate food consumption, causing many people to become malnourished, starve or
even die. Such conditions often cause political instability in the form of wars and social unrest.)
1. Social Unrest
- Social unrest is a political situation in which people protest or behave violently, often to communicate their unhappiness about a political
system.
- example: food prices in Mozambique increased by as much as 30% in 2010 due to a drought in Russia that decreased its wheat production,
which in turn increased the price of wheat sold to Mozambique.
- This resulted eventually in violent protests, leaving 400 people injured and at least 10 people dead.

Social Impact (Some people may resort to survival responses such as scavenging to overcome their inadequate food supply.)
1. Scavenging
- Scavenging is searching through things that other people throw away.
- In these cases, food is so hard to come by that scavengers eat whatever they can find in order to prevent starvation.
- Scavenging carries health risks because scavenged food may contain high levels of bacteria or chemicals, such as heavy metals of mercury
and lead.
- In addition, scavenging could also place people in dangerous or illegal situations in search of food, such as trespassing private property.
- Scavengers are also perceived as a nuisance to the publIc, and thus are sometimes verbally or physically harassed.
- example: In the poorest places in Manila, Philippines, people without money to buy food sift through rubbish for meals that have been thrown
out.
- In the large landfill known as Smokey Mountain, many poor families had set up their makeshift homes near the dump to have easy and quick
access to waste.
- They make their living by picking through the landfill's rubbish.
Impact of Excess Food Consumption on Individuals and Countries
Health Impact
1. Obesity and Related Illnesses
- A person's health can be negatively affected by excessive consumption of carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals and proteins.
- Obesity is the condition of having excessive fat accumulation due to overconsumption of nutrients, to the extent that it may have a negative
impact on health.
- Obesity affects most of the body's systems and can lead to health problems such as high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, diabetes
and certain cancers.
- Obesity is more common in DCs than in LDCs.
- DCs, like the USA, have a high percentage of the adult population with obesity as compared to LDCs like India due to the higher disposable
income and stronger purchasing power, leading to higher calorie intake.
- Obesity is increasing in DCs, such as the USA, Australia and Canada mostly due to the higher consumption of sweetened beverages, potato
chips and fast food.
 - From 1971 to 2000, obesity rates in the USA rose from 14.5% to 30.9% of the population.
- The rising disposable income in LDCs like China is also causing obesity to become more common.
- In some LDCs like Mexico and South Africa, obesity rates have already exceeded the average obesity rates of DCs.
- Apart from obesity, other illnesses related to excessive food consumption include kidney failure, liver diseases, and hypertension.
- These conditions can be brought about by excessive consumption of salt, sugar, alcohol, processed food and red meat, among others.

Economic Impact
1. Lower Productivity
- The health impacts of obesity have resulted in more workers being absent from work and taking more days of leave due to obesity-related
health issues, thus leading to lower productivity and lower income as they become less productive than before.
- Children suffering from obesity may fall sick more often, leading to loss of school days and educational opportunities.
- On a national level, employees who are absent from work due to sickness may cost companies millions in productivity and insurance costs.
- Even when an employee is present at work, their poor health may make them less productive.
- For example, among the employees of Duke University, USA, those with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of over 40 were twice as likely to fall sick
or be injured while doing work, resulting in higher compensation claims paid by the university to them.
2. Diversion of Financial Resources to Health Care
- Public health expenditure increases as a result of treating obesity-related health conditions, like cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
- When more people suffer from obesity-related diseases, governments will have to channel more funds to the healthcare system, reducing
the amount of funds remaining for economic development.
- When other sectors of the economy receive less monetary support from the government with time, the overall progress of a country can
decline.
Social Impact
1. Food Wastage
- Societies with excess food available for consumption may result in large amounts of food being wasted.
- Each year, consumers in DCs waste almost as much food as the entire amount of food available in Sub-Saharan Africa for local
consumption, which is about 230 million tonnes, according to the FAO in 2011.
- Food wastage is a serious problem in DCs, where both food producers and consumers throw away food that is still edible.
- The amount of wasted food per capita is 95 to 115 kg per capita in DCs, compared to 6 to 11 kg per capita in LDCs.
- Such food wastage affects a country because it contributes to additional waste that must be disposed of, which puts more strain on landfills.
- Such wastage also means that resources such as water and oil used to produce that food are wasted as well.
2. Dieting
 - People may become overweight due to excessive food consumption and may choose to go on a diet in order to lose weight.
- Dieting is the practice of regulating the amount of food consumed in order to maintain an ideal body weight.
- People who are dieting often also engage in physical exercise.
- Apart from individual health benefits, dieting also provides employment and value to an economy.
- example: In 2012, the weight loss industry in the USA was valued at US$20 billion.
- This includes diet books, medication and medical procedures for losing weight, which can create jobs in the health sector.
- Dieting has to be done in a healthy manner, such as consuming food low in fats.
- Inappropriate dieting may lead to depression and dieting-related physical illnesses such as iron-deficiency anaemia, a condition in which the
number of red blood cells is reduced due to insufficient food intake.

Food Production
- Food production is the process of transforming crops or livestock into marketable food products.
- It involves producers, distributors and consumers.
- Producers are farmers and ranchers who are responsible for the growing of crops and rearing of livestock.
- Farmers sell their harvests to industries that process and package crop or animal produce into food products.
- Distributors transport these food products to retail outlets such as supermarkets where consumers can obtain the food products for
consumption.

Increased Intensity of Production of Food Crops (rice and wheat) from the 1960s = increase in yield
- Intensification refers to an increase in the productivity of a farm.
- The productivity of a farm is measured by the amount of crops produced compared with the amount of resources, such as land and labour,
used to produce the food.
- Productivity is measured by calculating the ratio of output per unit area of land to input per unit area of land.
- Productivity = Output per unit area / input per unit area
- There are two ways in which productivity can be measured:
Labour per unit of area refers to the number of people working on a unit area of land.
- When less labour is used to produce the same amount of crops, increase in farm productivity.
- Labour per unit area = Number of workers / Land area (hectares)
Crop yield refers to the amount of crops produced on a unit area of farmland.
- When more crops are produced with the same amount of land and labour, crop yield has increased, higher farm productivity.
- Crop yield = Amount of crops produced (tonnes) / Land area (hectares)
- The amount of wheat harvested increased worldwide from 1960 to 2010, even though the area of farmland used remained relatively
constant over the years.
- There was an increase in crop yield from 1.2 tonnes per hectare in 1960 to 2.9 tonnes per hectare in 2010.
 - Due to rapid population growth and increase in demand for food, countries have intensified food production to meet the demand.

Factors Affecting Intensity of Food Production

Physical Factors (physical features of a place)
1. Climate
- Climate is the average condition of the atmosphere of a specific place over a long period of time, usually over 30 years and affects the types
of crops that can be grown.
- Climatic factors such as temperature and rainfall affect the growth of plants.
- Temperature affects the rates of photosynthesis and seed germination.
- The temperature required for growth varies among crops.
- For example, some crops such as pea, broccoli and strawberry require cooler climates, while others such as soya bean and tomato require
warmer climates.
- The optimal temperature required for growing soya beans is 25°C to 28°C.
- Rainfall is also important for plant growth.
- The amount of rainfall required for growth varies among different types of crops.
- For instance, crops such as rice require more water than soya beans.
- High temperatures and high rainfall like in the tropics are usually more conducive for plant growth.
- The long growing season enables farmers to have two or three harvests yearly as the daily temperature range is between 22°C and 32°C
and average annual rainfall is normally greater than 2000mm.
- In contrast, winter is unsuitable for plant growth as food production can only occur during the warmer seasons when temperature and rainfall
are suitable.
- Greenhouses may be used to create optimal conditions for plant growth, particularly useful in countries such as the USA and Canada
- Greenhouses overcome the short growing season in these countries because the key factors in growing crops such as temperatures, light
and irrigation can be controlled in a greenhouse, enabling certain crops to be grown throughout the year.
 - It is also important for cattle and poultry to have a favourable environment for growth by placing them in shelters to protect them because
they may become stressed by extreme hot or cold temperatures, causing them to be more likely to suffer from infections, produce less milk,
fewer eggs and die.
- They are also more likely to suffer from fungal and parasitic diseases, especially when conditions are wet or moist for a long time.
2. Soils and Drainage
- Soll is the top layer of the earth's surface, made up of rocks, mineral particles and organic matter.
- Soil fertility depends on the availability, amount and type of air, water and nutrients from minerals in the soil, which varies across locations.
- The minerals essential for plant growth include nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.
- Fertile soil is rich in minerals, found in floodplains along a river, in deltas at the river mouth and in areas near volcanoes, where crop yield
tends to be high.
- For example, the highly fertile soils, flat terrain and large water supply in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam, result in very high production of rice.
- Soil drainage refers to the ability of the soil to retain or drain off water.
- Improper soil drainage may hinder the growth of crops.
- For example, oats require more sandy soils that are well-drained while rice require soils with more clay and retains large amounts of water
3. Relief
- Relief refers to the slope and altitude of a land surface.
- Slopes can be modified to create flat land for farming by terracing, which is the cutting of steps into a hillside to create flat land for cultivation,
allowing previously unsuitable slopes to be used for farming.
- Examples of famous terraces for farming: Longji Rice Terraces in China, Sapa in Vietnam and Banaue Rice Terraces in the Philippines.
- When the relief is steep, rain is more likely to remove the topsoil, the layer of soil that is rich in nutrients.
- Topsoil on a steep slope becomes less stable when it is saturated with rainwater and thus gets washed down the slope.
- However, sloping land is suitable for certain types of crops like grapes, tea and coffee which grow best in well-drained soil on sloping land.
- Temperature changes with altitude, the higher the altitude of a place, the lower its temperature will be.
- The cooler temperatures of mountainous areas may be suitable for growing certain crops like strawberries.

Economic Factors
1. Purpose of Farming
Subsistence Farming Commercial Farming

Purpose the production of crops to feed the farmer and the large-scale production of crops (cash crops) intended for sale, rather than to
his family meet the consumption needs of farmers or the farmer’s livestock

Land small (1-3 hectares) large (30 hectares to thousands of hectares)

Labour family members of the farmer hired labour

Capital - simple farming tools machinery such as tractors and combine harvesters
- seeds from previous harvests

Crop Yield low high

Examples - widely practised in Sub-Saharan Africa - widely practised in Europe, N & S America, Australia, Asia
- growing of staples foods such as corn - crops grown include animal products of typical commercial farms, such as
and cassava livestock production; wheat, corn, tea, coffee, sugarcane, banana plantations

2. Demand and Capital

- Demand refers to people's willingness and ability to obtain a particular food crop or product.
- The demand for certain types of food affects the intensity of their production.
- The demand for food changes according to the tastes and preferences of consumers, and affects the amount and type of crops produced.
- The amount of capital a consumer has, in the form of money or other assets, affects whether a demand can be met.
- China used to be a producer and exporter of corn but in recent years, more corn has been needed to feed livestock as the demand for meat
by a larger and wealthier population increased.
- The local production of corn was not able to meet the increasing demand for food for livestock, and China started to import corn from other
countries such as the USA.
- As China's population grew in wealth, this allowed for the demand for more meat to be met.
- Hence, the USA increased its production of corn for export to China to feed livestock and in turn, more livestock can be reared for meat.
3. Agribusiness
- Agribusiness is a business or industry involved in food production, which usually refers to large-scale farming and related business activities
such as commercial farming, processing, packaging, distributing and retailing.
- They place importance on scientific and business principles in farming, such as by investing in the research and development of food crops.
- Larger companies are also more able to withstand the impact of changes in the environment, such as damage to crops caused by pests or
flooding as compared to small-scale farmers.
- Small-scale farmers may not be able to continue farming after such setbacks as compared to the larger companies that have greater
financial capacity to absorb losses.
 - Larger companies also invest in food production, including research into producing crops with greater crop yields.
Political Factors
- In order to help ensure sufficient food supply for the population of a country, it is important for governments to make the right decisions
concerning agriculture and food.
- Such government policies will be able to affect the intensity of a country's food production.
- Regional organisations and agreements such as ASEAN are also able to affect regional food production.
1. Government Policy
- A government policy is a plan of action by the government in order to change a specific situation.
- Two types of government policy that affect food production are known as agricultural policy and food policy respectively.
- Through these policies, the food security of a country can be achieved.
- Food security exists when all people in an area are able to obtain sufficient quantities of safe and nutritious food to maintain a healthy and
active lifestyle.
- It depends on the stability of the food supply as well as whether people have sufficient resources to gain access to it.

Agricultural Policy
- Agricultural policies refer to policies pertaining to domestic agriculture.
- By deciding how limited resources like money and land may be used best, governments can influence the intensity of food production.
- example: Governments may choose to channel resources into educating farmers on more efficient ways of farming or managing crop prices.
- In India, the Punjab Agriculture Department responded in 2012 to the need to ensure greater productivity from its farmland, by starting an
education programme for its wheat farmers, teaching them about the best available seed varieties, pesticide treatment and irrigation
methods.
Food Policy
- Food policy refers to a decision made by a government that affects how food is produced, processed, distributed, purchased and packaged.
- As part of government policy, food policy helps to ensure food security such as food stockpiling and diversifying the source of food supply.
- A country has a stable supply of food, when food is readily available to its population.
- Stockpiling is the setting aside and storage of food to ensure food security during emergencies.
- By stockpiling food that is either sourced from local farms or imported from overseas, governments would still be able to provide food for
their population should there be situations of food shortages or price increase of food items.
- Importing food from different sources is a way to diversify the source of food supply.
- Instead of relying on a few countries for food supply, more food suppliers are sourced from more countries to buffer against food shortages
and price fluctuations.
 - example: In the past Singapore bought its vegetables mainly from Malaysia but today, a larger proportion of its vegetables are bought from
countries such as China and as far as the USA.
- The Singapore government has also encouraged local companies to place contracts directly with farmers for an agreed amount and price of
food products, such as NTUC Fairprice Co-operative Ltd purchasing vegetables through contracts with Indonesian farmers.
2. ASEAN
- The Association of South Asian Nations (ASEAN) is an organisation of 10 Southeast Asian countries which aims to accelerate the region's
economic growth, increase social progress, foster cultural development and protect regional peace and stability.
- In October 2011, ASEAN signed an agreement with China, Japan and South Korea to ensure food security for its members.
- The ASEAN Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve (APTERR) Agreement is a commitment from big rice producers to supply rice for a
reserve, which will be used to provide rice to countries that have signed the agreement, during times of disaster
- China agreed to contribute 300,000 tonnes of rice, while Thailand agreed to contribute 15,000 tonnes.
- In addition to rice, countries contributed financially in order to fund the operation, such as Singapore who contributed US$107,500.
Technological Advances (improvements in farming technology)
1. Green Revolution
- The Green Revolution refers to the rapid increase in the productivity of agriculture through the use of science and technology.
- It spread worldwide quickly in the 1960s, causing many changes.
- It is important because of its success in LDCs.
- For example, improved corn varieties have been grown in Africa even though corn is not indigenous to it.
- Corn production in DCs such as England has increased as well.
- The Green Revolution is characterised by the following:
Use of High-Yielding Varieties (HYVs)
- HYVs are improved strains of crops such as rice, wheat and other cereals that have an increased growth rate.
- They are developed through crossbreeding of selected varieties which are found to exhibit favourable characteristics, such as increased
resistance to pests and diseases or the ability to grow within a shorter growing season so that there can be more harvests in a year.
- However, these varieties require more water and nutrients to sustain their growth.
- For example, a variety of HYV rice, known as IR36, has a maturation period of 105 days instead of 130 days for previous HYVs and 150
days for traditional varieties of rice.
- During GR, from 1970 to 2010, rice production multiplied by more than 2x while wheat production multiplied by more than 4x.
Use of Fertilisers
- Fertilisers are substances added to the soil to provide nutrients for healthy plant growth.
- They are applied to the farm because the nutrients in the soil will be depleted gradually, especially after continuous use of the farmland.
- Often, the farmland is not given the chance to fallow (i.e. to be left without being sown for a period of time in order to restore its fertility).
- In such cases, the small amount of nutrients in the soils will produce a smaller crop yield.
- The application of fertilisers will bring nutrients back to the soil, thus increasing crop yield.
- HYVs also require more fertilisers as compared to non-HYVs crops.
Use of Pesticides
 - Pesticides are chemical substances used to kill insects and small animals that destroy crops.
- It is necessary to fight the high level of pest damage that frequently occurs when only a single crop covers a wide area.
- With the removal of pests, the crop is protected which in turn increases the crop yield.
- Herbicides are used to kill weed and other undesirable plants that compete with crops for resources.
- example: The pesticide Malathion was used widely in the 1980s to address a fruit fly problem in fruit orchards in California, USA.
Improved Irrigation
- Irrigation is the method of supplying water to the land other than by natural means like rain, to help crops grow.
- By supplying water to areas that used to be too dry for farming, irrigation has increased the amount of arable land worldwide.
- example: In Libya, the Great Man-made River is one of the most extensive irrigation projects in the world and has made it possible to grow
crops in the Sahara Desert.
- It is a network of underground pipes, canals, wells, reservoirs and tunnels that draws water from underground aquifers deep in the Sahara
Desert, and channels it to the coastal cities of Libya for agriculture, domestic and industrial use.
- Some examples of irrigation methods are:
(1) Flood irrigation
- Water is delivered to a whole surface, such as rice fields.
(2) Centre-pivot irrigation
- A form of overhead sprinkler irrigation consisting of several segments of pipe joined together and supported by trusses, and mounted on
wheeled towers with sprinklers positioned along its length.
- The pipes are moved mechanically around a central point.
- This rotation helps produce a very distinctive series of circular patterns.
- As crops are watered by rotating sprinklers, a large area can be watered with a small amount of water.
Mechanisation
- Mechanisation has allowed farmers to use more advanced machinery to perform tasks which they would otherwise have to do manually.
- This has sped up the processes involved in preparing the land, tending to crops and harvesting.
- example: The combine harvester is a machine that harvests grain crops, reducing reliance on human labour.
Negative Effects of Continuing Intensification of Food Production (Challenges Associated)
- Intensification of food production has brought about many benefits, its main benefit being the ability to provide food for the rapidly increasing
world population.
- However, it can also have damaging effects on the environment and the people in the affected area.
1. Effect of Irrigation on Water and Soil Quality
- Irrigation can cause problems when not properly managed.
- Extensive irrigation may cause the ground to be waterlogged, which occurs when too much water seeps into the soil and causes the soil to
be over-saturated.
- This causes the roots of crops to be deprived of air and nutrients that they need, eventually causing them to die.
- Salinisation occurs when water added to the soil during irrigation evaporates directly from the moist soil, causing salt to be left behind on the
soil after evaporation.
- Salinisation can also occur following irrigation when there is no proper drainage of excess water.
- The groundwater may reach the upper soil layers, bringing up dissolved salts from the ground.
- Saline soils are those in which the concentration of salts is too high for crops to grow well.
- example: Murray-Darling Basin in Victoria, Australia experiences waterlogging and salinisation.
- Salt is commonly found in the Murray-Darling Basin landscapes and rivers.
- The naturally occurring salts became concentrated in some parts of the Murray-Darling Basin due to human activities such as irrigation
development and land clearing.
- When these activities happen in the Murray-Darling Basin, which has low terrain, low rainfall and high evaporation rate, salinisation occurs.
2. Effect of Chemicals on Water and Soil Quality
- The overuse of fertilisers and pesticides causes chemicals to become concentrated in the soil.
- Over time, they seep into groundwater, contaminating it.
- They may also be washed into streams and rivers by surface runoff.
- When these chemicals reach the streams and rivers, they become nutrients for algae to grow on the surface of the water.
- This causes eutrophication, which is the presence of excess nutrients in water, leading to algae bloom.
- Algae blooms deplete oxygen in the water and block sunlight from reaching aquatic plants, resulting in the death of aquatic plants and other
organisms such as fish.
- The decomposition of these aquatic plants and animals further depletes oxygen in the water.
- example: In the USA it was found that pesticides from farmland had contaminated groundwater.
- Eutrophication is a common problem in many countries, therefore measures have to be taken to reverse the trends of eutrophication.
- Some measures include:
(1) Managing surface runoff by implementing control measures aimed at preventing nutrients from reaching water bodies because it is less
effective to treat the water bodies once the problem has occurred.
 (2) Raising awareness of eutrophication. Eutrophication management is closely related to policies dealing with prevention and control of
environmental degradation. Therefore, monitoring the pollution level in the environment is a continuous effort that requires cooperation.
Why do food shortages still occur?
Physical Factors
1. Climate Change
- Climate change refers to the variation in the global climate or climate patterns in the long term, affecting food production.
- Changes in climate may cause existing farmland to become unsuitable for farming, or lengthen the growing season in other areas.
- Crops may no longer be able to grow in some areas which were previously suitable for farming but instead may be farmed in certain areas
that were not suitable for farming previously.
- When global temperatures increase, it is projected that some countries and regions across the world, such as staple food producers like
Brazil and India will see their current food production decrease by up to 50%, while other staple food producers such as China and Canada
will see their current production increase by up to 35%.
- The shrinking of glaciers due to global warming is predicted to reduce food supply over the coming decades.
- The seasonal melting of glaciers such as those in the Himalayas provides the river basins of major rivers in India and China with water to
irrigate food crops during the dry season.
- The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports that these glaciers are receding rapidly and that many could melt entirely by 2035,
resulting in a loss of water during the dry season, and lead to smaller harvests for farmers.

2. Extreme Weather Events

- Extreme weather or severe weather events refer to weather events which may cause the loss of lives or damage to property.
- This includes droughts, cold waves, heat waves and tropical cyclones.
- Droughts reduce the water supply available for crops to grow, while tropical cyclones lead to flooding of farmland.
- These may cause crop damage or make it difficult to grow crops, causing significant food shortage, especially if countries are unable to
recover from the loss of crops.
- Such extreme weather events are likely to become more frequent as a result of climate change.

3. Pests
- Pests are a major contributor to food shortage as they damage food crops.
- Some examples of pests include wild rabbits, moles and insects.
- example: In Liberia in northwestern Africa, a state of emergency was declared in 2009 when tens of millions of caterpillars invaded the
country. According to the FAO, the caterpillars devoured all plants and food crops in their path, posing a major threat to the already serious
food security situation in Liberia.
Political Factors
1. Civil Strife
- Civil strife is a situation in which a country faces major internal conflicts, which may include riots, unrest or civil war.
- It can also lead to disputes over the control of resources that affect food production, such as land and water.
- These resources may even be destroyed, hindering food production.
- For example, landmines planted on farmlands can reduce or completely stop food production during and after a conflict.
- Sometimes, the lack of food supply is the root cause of conflict, which could start a vicious cycle of civil strife and shortage of food.
2. Poor Governance
- Governance is the exercise of economic and political authority to manage a country's affairs.
- Poor governance such as corruption, policy errors and inability to implement policy can cause food shortages.
- Governments can threaten food security when they prioritise other developmental needs of the country over ensuring food security.
- When this occurs, the local farmers are left with smaller plots of land for farming, and a smaller crop yield.
- For example, in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh in 2010, 40,000 villagers were deprived of land for farming due to the development of
mining, a steel plant and a port.
- As a result, these villagers lost the means to produce their own food and were left with extremely limited income to buy food.
Economic Factors
1. Rising Demand for Meat and Dairy Products from Emerging Economies
- A number of LDCs have developing economies that grow at rates that allow them to contribute significantly to the global economy, in
particular Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC).
- These countries, especially India and China, demonstrated a high increase in food demand, especially for food products such as meat and
dairy products due to rising disposable incomes in LDCs, allowing more people to afford these food products.
- The sustained growth in demand for food from these countries is believed to be depleting global food inventories, especially grain, resulting
in food shortages in poorer countries.
- Mainly caused by a rapidly growing urban middle class with more purchasing power and changing food preferences.
2. Soaring Costs of Fertilisers and Transport
- The cost of fertilisers and transport can directly affect the cost of food.
- As the price of fertilisers increases, the cost of producing food will increase and hence the price of food will increase as well.
- Likewise, there is also a direct relationship between food prices and transport costs.
- Increase in energy costs, especially oil, are partly responsible for the increase in the price of fertilisers as well as transport.
- Modern agriculture uses petroleum products to fuel farm machinery and to transport farm produce, both within the farm and to the consumer.
- For example, in March 2011, world crude oil prices increased by 10.3%, causing Kazakhstan, a major producer of wheat, to increase the
price of wheat exported to neighbouring countries such as Tajikistan due to increase in fuel cost.
- Increases in food prices are generally transferred to the consumer.
- But for the poor, a very large proportion of their income is already spent on food.
- Any increase in food prices may result in them being unable to afford enough food to meet their basic nutritional needs.
 3. Conversion of Farmland to Industrial Crop Production to Produce Biofuel Crops
- As growing crops for industrial use is more profitable than growing food crops, many companies and farmers have converted their farmland
to grow crops for biofuels.
- Biofuels are fuels that derive energy from biological carbons instead of fossil fuels such as coal, such as corn, sugar cane and palm oil.
- Rising demand has caused production of these biofuels to increase.
- In a 2009 report by the United States Department of Agriculture, it was found that about 25% of all food crops grown in the USA became fuel
for vehicles instead of food for people
- The amount would have been enough to feed 330 million people for one year.
Social Factors
1. Lack of Accessibility
- Accessibility to food refers to how easily residents can reach the food that is available.
- Transport facilities such as road and rail links must be made available so that food can be reached even by people who live far away from
shops.
- However, even when food is available within a country, how accessible it is may depend on the number and location of food outlets.
- example: In LDCs, food outlets may be few and far apart from one another, causing people in these areas to be unable to obtain fresh
produce and have a smaller food intake.

2. Inadequate Logistics of Food Distribution and Storage

- Food distribution is the movement of food from farms to retail outlets, dependent on the presence of a good transport network.
- Occasionally, accessibility is affected due to physical barriers like mountains or events like landslides, affecting the stability of food supply.
- This is particularly significant when the local production cannot meet local demand, making imports necessary.
- For example, ⅓ of the population of Timor-Leste experiences food shortages in between harvests.
- The chronic food shortage is worsened by a lack of storage facilities and the difficulty of accessing the numerous remote communities in the
country.

3. Rapid Population Growth

- The high birth rates and high population growth rates in LDCs result in a situation where food supply may be unable to meet the growing
demand for food.
- According to the FAO, the world's population will reach 10 billion by 2050.
- Matching this population growth rate with an increase in food production is crucial in ensuring global food security.
- For example, it is estimated that by 2025, 75% of Sub-Saharan Africans will have to rely on food aid.
- Sub-Saharan Africa has a small amount of land suitable for farming and has been further declining due to rising temperatures, posing a
threat to food production and food security in the region.
- The condition is worsened by the high population growth in the region in both urban and rural areas.
- These factors result in a high risk of food shortage in the region.