GCSE Biology · AQA 8461 · Topic 4.7.5
Food production
Key points
- Food security means having enough food for everyone. Threats: rising population, changing diets, new pests and diseases, climate change, conflict and costs.
- Factory farming keeps animals warm and still to increase efficiency of food production, but raises animal welfare concerns.
- Sustainable fisheries use quotas and net mesh sizes so that fish stocks are not overfished.
- Biotechnology: mycoprotein is made by the fungus Fusarium in fermenters with glucose syrup. GM crops can give higher yields or extra nutrients.
- Arguments around GM crops include worries about effects on wild plants, insects and human health.
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Feeding a growing world population without wrecking the environment is one of biology's biggest challenges. This sub-topic covers threats to food security and how farming, fishing and biotechnology try to meet demand sustainably.
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