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Unlock This CourseFarmers around the world grow far more food today than they did 60 years ago. At the same time, people eat more, and they eat different things. Production is the amount of food grown or raised. Consumption is the amount of food eaten or used. This lesson explains why both have changed. You already know where calorie intake is high and low from the lesson Global Patterns of Calorie Intake. Here we look at what drives the change over time.
Key terms:
Production rises when farmers grow more on each hectare (a higher yield) or farm more hectares. Five reasons matter for the exam.
Tractors, combine harvesters and sprayers let one farmer work a huge area quickly. Fertilisers and pesticides raise yields and cut losses to pests. Satellite navigation and sensors help farmers use inputs exactly where they are needed.
Irrigation brings water to dry land and lets farmers grow crops in the dry season. Some fields can then give two or three harvests a year instead of one. Large irrigation schemes have turned dry regions such as parts of northern India into major food producers.
From the 1960s, plant breeders produced HYVs of wheat and rice. They are short, so they put energy into grain rather than stalk, and they respond well to fertiliser. This change, often called the Green Revolution, greatly raised yields in countries such as India and Mexico.
Forests, grasslands and wetlands have been cleared for crops and pasture. Farmland has spread into parts of the Amazon basin and South-east Asia. This raises production, but it costs habitats and biodiversity.
Climate change helps some places and harms others. In cooler regions at high latitudes, such as Canada and Russia, a warmer climate can lengthen the growing season. In many hot, dry regions, more heat and drought reduce yields. So climate change changes where food can be grown as well as how much.
Consumption rises when there are more people to feed, or when each person eats more or eats more resource-hungry foods.
The exam often gives a line graph or table of food production or consumption over time. Fig. 1.1 shows made-up data for world cereal production.
| Year | 1980 | 1990 | 2000 | 2010 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cereal production (million tonnes) | 1,500 | 1,800 | 2,000 | 2,400 | 2,900 |
To describe the trend well:
Do not explain in a "describe" answer. Explain only when the command word is "explain" or "suggest reasons".
Find the percentage increase in Fig. 1.1 from 2000 to 2020. The increase is 2,900 − 2,000 = 900 million tonnes. Divide by the starting figure: 900 ÷ 2,000 = 0.45. Multiply by 100. The increase is 45%.
Writing "people are hungry so production went up" is not a reason. Name a specific cause such as irrigation or HYVs. Another mistake is to say all farmland is increasing. Farmland is lost to cities and degraded soil in some places too. Finally, in a graph answer, never give only the words "it goes up". Add figures and years.
Fig. 1.2 shows made-up data for a middle-income country.
| Year | Meat eaten per person (kg a year) | Share of people living in cities (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 20 | 25 |
| 2000 | 30 | 35 |
| 2010 | 45 | 45 |
| 2020 | 60 | 58 |
(a) Identify the amount of meat eaten per person in 2000. [1 mark]
(b) Calculate how much meat eaten per person increased between 1990 and 2020. [1 mark]
(c) Describe the trend in meat eaten per person shown in Fig. 1.2. [3 marks]
(d) Explain why consumption of food can increase when incomes and urbanisation rise. [4 marks]
(e) Discuss the reasons why global food production has increased. [6 marks]
(a) 30 kg a year (1).
(b) 60 − 20 = 40 kg per person (1).
(c) Meat eaten per person increased steadily (1) from 20 kg in 1990 to 60 kg in 2020 (1). The rise was faster after 2000, 15 kg every ten years compared with 10 kg between 1990 and 2000 (1).
(d) When incomes rise, people can afford more meat and dairy (1), which need more crops and land to produce (1). In cities people buy food instead of growing it (1), so they eat more convenience and processed food (1).
(e) Levels-style answer, made up for practice: Level 1 (1 to 2 marks) lists reasons with no detail. Level 2 (3 to 4 marks) explains some reasons. Level 3 (5 to 6 marks) explains several reasons with links and reaches a judgement.
Level 3 answer: Production has increased because yields have risen and more land is farmed. Mechanisation means tractors and harvesters work large areas fast (1). Irrigation supplies water in dry seasons, so land can give more harvests a year (1). High-yield seeds from the Green Revolution gave more grain from each hectare when used with fertiliser (1). Forests and grassland have also been cleared, so more land is farmed (1), though that harms habitats (1). Climate change can lengthen the growing season in places such as Canada but cause drought elsewhere, so its effect is mixed. Overall, technology that raises yields is the most important reason, because it increases output without needing more land (1).
In a "describe the trend" answer, always quote figures with units and years. Save your reasons for the "explain" part.