Food security, fisheries and biotechnology B18

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What is food security?
Food security is having enough food to feed a population.
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What are the six biological threats to food security?
• increasing birth rate
• changing diets in developed countries
• new pests/pathogens affect farming
• environmental changes affect food production eg famine
• cost of agricultural inputs
• war
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Changing diets in developed countries
Many of the foods that we now want all year round cannot be grown in developed countries. These foods are imported from other countries and may affect their food security.
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Cost of agricultural inputs
Farmers need many things to farm eg herbicides/fertilisers, food for animals etc
The price of these things are increasing
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How can we help increase food security?
By finding sustainable methods to feed all people on Earth
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How can we increase the efficiency of food production?
By limiting the amount of animal's biomass lost to the environment by:
-restricting animals movement
-controlling the temp of their surroundings
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What is intensive/factory farming?
The animals are grown in a temp-controlled shed/barn.
The space in the shed/barn restricts their movement.

Less biomass is wasted compared to free-range animals
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Why are animals sometimes fed a high protein diet?
To increase their growth
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Advantages of intensive/factory farming
-More efficient as less biomass is lost during respiration
-We can control the food that animals eat so it contains right nutrients/less food wasted
-For chickens, eggs can be more easily harvested indoors
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Disadvantages of intensive/factory farming
-In crowded conditions, infectious diseases spread more easily
-To prevent disease, factory farmed animals fed antibiotics, leads to ↑ antibiotic resistant bacteria
-Crowded conditions make animals stressed
-Ethical issues
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Why are fish stocks in the ocean declining?
Modern fishing tech such as trawlers catch many fish. There are less mature fish left to breed so fish stocks decline rapidly
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How can govs reverse the decline in fish stocks?
1)Fishing quotas on numbers of fish that can be caught of each species
2)Larger net size so smaller, younger fish are not caught so they can grow and reproduce, and restore fish stock
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How can genetic modification be used on crops?
-They can be used to produce more food
-GM crops can also have improved nutritional value eg golden rice (rice with vitamin A)
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What is mycroprotein and how is it made?
The fungus Fusarium is useful for producing mycoprotein. The fungus is grown on glucose syrup, in aerobic conditions, and the biomass is harvested and purified.
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Advantages of mycroprotein
-suitable for vegetarians
-large amounts of mycroprotein can be grown in a small space (efficient protein source)
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Why are glucose and air provided in the fermenter for mycroprotein?

Why is cold water pumped into the fermenter?
Glucose is provided so that the fungus can respire
Air provides oxygen for respiration

Cold water regulates the temperature prevent enzymes from denaturing
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How is the contamination of microorganisms prevented in the mycroprotein fermenter?
-Sterilise fermenter through heat treatment (steam)
-Sterilise glucose/minerals etc with heat treatement
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How can GM be used to treat diabetes?
A genetically modified bacterium produces human insulin. When harvested and purified this is used to treat people with diabetes.
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

What are the six biological threats to food security?

Back

• increasing birth rate
• changing diets in developed countries
• new pests/pathogens affect farming
• environmental changes affect food production eg famine
• cost of agricultural inputs
• war

Card 3

Front

Changing diets in developed countries

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

Cost of agricultural inputs

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

How can we help increase food security?

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
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