AS BIOLOGY OCR 2.2.1 FOOD PRODUCTION

• Humans depend on plants for foods because they are at the start of the food chain
• Plants use sunlight to convert CO2 and water into complex organic compounds e.g  carbohydrates
• Animals eat and digest nurtients from the plants which is neccesary for growth
• We grow plants for either direct consumption or to feed to animals e.g. cows which then we eat later on.

• Fertilisers Increase crop yield because they contain minerals that plants need growth for e.g. potassium
• Minerals in soil are used up during crop gowth and the fertilisers replace this.
• can be made naturally e.g. cow manure or artificially by humans.

pesticides:

• chemicals that kill pests that would normally feed on the plant - this increases crop yield.
• Pests can be microbes, insects, or even rats
• May be only specific and kill one type of pest but others can kill all of them that could have otherwise  helped them.

Antibiotics:

• Animals that are farmed for food are given antibiotics to kill or inhibit the bacteria inside the animal.
• reduces energy that would have been used on killing the bacteria which means theres more energy for growth- increases food production
• can increase growth rate and size of an animal e.g. turkeys go through this process commonly.