Food Preparation and Nutrition GCSE Food Security and

Food Preparation and Nutrition GCSE Food Security and Sustainability practicalaction. org/GCSE-food-preparation-nutrition

Food Provenance = Environmental impact and sustainability of food

So far you have explored……. . what affects your choice of food and where the food you eat comes from. Sustainability for our planet Choices I have about my food Individual, Economic, Social, Moral, Cultural, time, skills…. But there are more issues around food to consider!

Food Security is when. . all people at all times have access to enough safe and nutritious food for them to lead an active and healthy life

Food Security How do we feed a human population of 7. 5 billion or more with food systems that are: ▪ Sustainable ▪ Available ▪ Accessible ▪ Usable – nutritionally and Culturally appropriate?

4 features to food security – Sustainability We have already looked at how consumers can help to be more conscious and active in sustaining the resources of the planet whether using less electricity by cooking a main meal and dessert in the oven at the same time or by refusing to accept plastics to reduce plastic waste in our oceans.

4 features to food security – Availability of food Is there a ready supply of food? The amount of food a country can produce, store or trade can be affected by the weather, wars, political unrest, food blockaded by another region or country. This causes food shortages. Eg Droughts and waring factions in the Yemin have led to the ‘weaponisation of water’ where water is withheld to drive people from their lands.

4 features to food security – Access to food ▪ Access can be affected by the cost of food. If it is scarce it will also be expensive. High food prices can mean that people on low incomes will be unable to buy enough food. Issues like access to land poor transport systems can also limit access to food for some people Eg a study in 2000 of rural villages in Uganda found that women in the villages spent at least 65 per cent of the household time on travel and transport collecting water and firewood leaving little time for food preparation and other household tasks.

4 features to food security – the Use of Food ▪ Use of food People have to know about nutrition and a balanced diet to be able to feed themselves the nutrients their bodies need. The food must also be culturally appropriate. Relief workers in Syrian refugee camps in next door Jordan found children were still hunger despite being given American supplies of bread. It was discovered that the children could not eat bread their mothers had not made and so families were issued wheat flour and yeast instead of ready made bred and the children ate the bread happily. ( BBC Food Programme 2018)

Growing enough Food for the World One of the biggest concerns for people involved with food production is… how we produce enough affordable and nutritious food to feed the world’s growing population now and in the future? This is becoming a bigger challenge as many parts of the world are experiencing the affects of climate change. Flooding and drought in particular are affecting people’s ability to grow food. Food security is a big concern, particularly for people living in developing countries, where more people are reliant on growing and rearing their own food to feed themselves and their families.

Food security Many people all over the world are researching and finding ways to ensure no one in the world goes hungry and therefore have food security. This involves working with people, organisations and governments to improve food security with simple but effective technologies. In Bangladesh families are growing crops and keeping ducks on a ‘raftlike’ garden that floats on the flooded rivers. It enables people to have even during the flooding season.

Types of Food Security A failed harvest due to flooding could cause short-term food in security Where a country experiences continual crop failure due to drought, or floods the people experience extreme poverty ; long term security needs to be reinstated

Blair Mycoskie founder Toms Shoes after volunteering in Argentina. For every pair sold one is donated to a child in poverty.

in the UK we experience a high level of food security and self-sufficiency Today 52% of the food consumed in the UK is produced here. The other 48% is imported from Europe and the rest of the world. What are the advantages and risks in terms of food security of relying on other countries to grow food consumed in the UK?

Food distribution ▪ Enough food is produced globally to feed all the people in the world, however nearly 1 billion people suffer from hunger and food insecurity. ▪ Developed world – food is available and mostly affordable typically people will spend 20 -30% of income on food ▪ Emerging or developing countries – food is insecure , not always available, expensive. Typically families will spend 80% of their income on food. ▪ Food distribution is also affected by world trade. If a country is at war or boycotted by other countries, food will not be sold there which affects the food security of that country.

People hold different views and beliefs on how best Debates to achieve global food security. Organic farming is a healthy and sustainable way to feed a growing population. We are finding ways to grow local crops without GM seeds as our climate changes. We want to experiment with GM crops to increase the nutrients in our staple foods.

Food and sustainability One of the big questions about the different methods of food production is which system is most sustainable and therefore enables people to have access to affordable and nutritious food now and in the future. People who are committed to sustainable food systems believe that food should be produced, transported and sold in ways that is good for people and protects the environment for future generations.

Food life cycle Looking at whole story/system of food known as the life cycle is a really good way to consider the big environmental and ethical issues involved in food. Activity: Complete a life cycle analysis of an imported food.

Your ideas Look back at each stage of the life cycle of the food you have analysed and then use two different pens to annotate your ideas of how you could: - Reduce the environmental impact of the food - Improve the lives of people involved at any stage of the lifecycle.

Sustainability Issues Use the list below to see if you have considered some of the big environmental and people focused issues around food. If not add them to your life cycle. Can you: ▪ Reduce food waste? 7 million tonnes of food is wasted from homes in the UK every year; this costs the average household £ 470 a year. ▪ Reduce food miles and the carbon footprint caused by transport? The UK imports 48% of the total food consumed and the proportion is rising. Much of the imported foods is caused through a demand for foods that are available outside of the UK growing season. ▪ Reduce unnecessary food packaging? Thousands of tonnes of food packaging are used every year in the UK at different stages of the food’s lifecycle. Reusable and recyclable packaging can make a big difference to the environment. ▪ Improve the lives of people producing foods? People are involved in all of the different lifecycle stages. Are they all getting a fair wage and working in good