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Food Production

Food security is threatened by factors like population growth, changing diets, and climate change. Farming techniques maximize growth through confinement and specialized diets, though these can be inhumane. Crop yields are increased through technologies like greenhouses, fertilizers, and pesticides, but these also have environmental impacts. Microorganisms are grown at scale in carefully controlled fermenters to produce foods and other products.

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8 views5 pages

Food Production

Food security is threatened by factors like population growth, changing diets, and climate change. Farming techniques maximize growth through confinement and specialized diets, though these can be inhumane. Crop yields are increased through technologies like greenhouses, fertilizers, and pesticides, but these also have environmental impacts. Microorganisms are grown at scale in carefully controlled fermenters to produce foods and other products.

Uploaded by

becky.brownu746
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Food Production

Factors affecting food security

Food security is having enough food to feed a population. Food security in some countries
is threatened due to the following biological factors:

1. Increasing birth rate

2. Changing diets in developed countries means limited food resources are transported to
other countries around the world

3. New pests and pathogens that damage crops / livestock

4. Weather changes e.g. droughts mean there is not enough water to grow crops

5. Cost of agricultural inputs

6. Conflicts / war which affect the availability of food or water

Farming techniques

• Limiting movement and keeping animals indoors means less energy is wasted on
movement and maintaining body temperature

• More energy can be invested in growth (production of biomass)

• Some animals are also fed high protein foods to increase growth.

• These practices cause the animals to grow bigger and more quickly, meaning that more
food is available to a growing human population.

• However, these farming techniques can be cruel to animals and reduce their quality of
life.
Crop production

• Greenhouses increase crop yield by providing warmer temperatures. Light, carbon


dioxide concentration and moisture can also be controlled.
• Polythene tunnels also increase yield by protecting crops from the wind, rain and
extreme temperatures.
• Fertilisers add nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium to the soil to make it more
fertile. This boosts crop yields but can lead to eutrophication.
• Pesticides and herbicides kill animals and plants that eat or compete with the crops.
But these chemicals are toxic and indiscriminate (they kill other organisms). And
some pests and weeds can develop resistance against them.
• Biological control involves the introduction of a predator to reduce the number of
pests. Sometimes this has unintended consequences — the predator population may
get out of control.

Using yeast for food production

Yeast respire anaerobically to convert glucose into ethanol and carbon dioxide. This is
known as fermentation.

Humans have exploited this reaction to produce alcoholic drinks (beer and wine) and for
bread making. Yeast is added to dough so that the carbon dioxide produced during
fermentation causes the bread to rise, producing a light, fluffy loaf of bread. Ethanol is also
produced but this evaporates from the bread as it is baked.

Using bacteria for food production

Lactobacillus are a type of bacteria used to make yoghurt. Lactose in milk is digested by
the bacteria into lactic acid (lactate). The lactic acid reduces the pH of the yoghurt which
denatures milk proteins and gives yoghurt a thicker texture and helps to preserve the
yoghurt (as microorganisms don’t survive well in acidic conditions).
Industrial fermenters

Bacteria and fungi, such as Lactobacillus and yeast, can be grown on a large scale inside
industrial fermenters. The fermenters are made from stainless steel (which does not corrode)
and are sterilised using hot steam to remove any contaminating microorganisms which may
kill or compete the bacteria or fungi. The air inlet provides a supply of oxygen to allow the
microorganisms to respire aerobically and paddles to distribute the nutrients and oxygen
evenly. The temperature can be carefully controlled using a thermostat and a water jacket.
pH is also kept constant using a pH sensor which ensures than the pH is at an optimum
value for enzymes within bacteria and fungi to function efficiently.

Microorganisms can be grown in large industrial fermenters in which oxygen levels,


temperature, nutrients, and pH can be carefully regulated. Microorganisms which are grown
in this way include:
• Fusarium venenatum — used as a meat substitute in Quorn products
• E. coli — a bacteria which is genetically manipulated to produce human insulin.
Fish farming

• Overfishing puts some fish species at risk of extinction. Dredging and bottom-trawling
can damage coral reefs and impact the sea-floor habitat.
• Fish farming — where fish are grown in freshwater tanks and enclosures — is more
sustainable.
• As the fish are living closer together than they would be in the wild, fish of different
ages and species need to be kept in separate tanks to reduce intraspecific and
interspecific competition.

The farmer also carries out the following steps to ensure the maximum growth of fish:

• Regular cleaning of water - this reduces disease (by removing pathogens) and
prevents the build-up of waste which could lead to eutrophication and reduced oxygen
levels

• Use of antibiotics and separating fish to avoid crowded conditions - this prevents the
spread of disease

• Fencing and scarecrows - to prevent predation of fish

• Frequent feeding with small food pellets - feeding the fish a small quantity of food
more often prevents the accumulation of excess food in the water and allows the fish to
grow rapidly

• Selective breeding - this technique can produce fish which grow much more quickly
than fish in the wild

• Genetic modification - fish can be genetically modified for disease resistance. Using
less energy to fight an infection means more energy can be used for growth.

Advantages of fish farming:


• More sustainable that fishing wild populations.
• Reduces bycatch — wild fishing often results in catching unwanted fish or young
fish which are often dead or injured when they are thrown back to sea.
• Quicker — the fish are easier to catch than catching fish in the ocean.
Disadvantages of fish farming:
• The fish tend to be closely related, which facilitates the spread of disease as
they are equally susceptible. This can be overcome using antibiotics and
regularly cleaning the water which can be expensive and time-consuming.

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