Significant Ideas
The sustainability of terrestrial food production systems is influenced by sociopolitical, economic and ecological factors.
Consumers have a role to play through their support of different terrestrial food production systems.
The supply of food is inequitably available and land suitable for food production is unevenly distributed among societies, and this can lead to conflict and concerns.
Knowledge and Understanding
The sustainability of terrestrial food production systems is influenced by factors such as scale; industrialization; mechanization; fossil fuel use; seed, crop and livestock choices; water use; fertilizers; pest control; pollinators; antibiotics; legislation; and levels of commercial versus subsistence food production.
Inequalities exist in food production and distribution around the world.
Food waste is prevalent in both less economically developed countries (LEDCs) and MEDCs, but for different reasons.
Socio-economic, cultural, ecological, political and economic factors can be seen to influence societies in their choices of food production systems.
As the human population grows, along with urbanization and degradation of soil resources, the availability of land for food production per capita decreases.
Food yield per unit area from lower trophic levels is greater in quantity, lower in cost and may require fewer resources.
Cultural choices may influence societies to harvest food from higher trophic levels.
Terrestrial food production systems can be compared and contrasted based on inputs, outputs, system characteristics, environmental impact and socio-economic factors.
Increased sustainability may be achieved through:
altering human activity to reduce meat consumption and increase consumption of organically grown and locally produced terrestrial food products
improving the accuracy of food labels to assist consumers in making informed food choices
monitoring and control of the standards and practices of multinational and national food corporations by governmental and intergovernmental bodies
planting of buffer zones around land suitable for food production to absorb nutrient runoff.
Applications and Skills
Analyze tables and graphs that illustrate the differences in inputs and outputs associated with food production systems.
Compare and contrast the inputs, outputs and system characteristics for two given food production systems.
Evaluate the relative environmental impacts of two given food production systems.
Discuss the links that exist between sociocultural systems and food production systems.
Evaluate strategies to increase sustainability in terrestrial food production systems.
Guidance
Possible examples for contrasting terrestrial food production systems include North American cereal farming and subsistence farming in Southeast Asia, or intensive beef production in South America and the Maasai tribal use of livestock. These examples are not meant to be prescriptive and appropriate local examples are also encouraged.
Factors to be used in comparing and contrasting food production systems include:
inputs, such as fertilizers (artificial or organic); water (irrigation or rainfall); pest control (pesticides or natural predators); labour (mechanized and fossil-fuel dependent or physical labour); seed (genetically modified organisms—GMOs—or conventional); breeding stock (domestic or wild); livestock growth promoters (antibiotics or hormones vs organic or none)
outputs, such as food quality, food quantity, pollutants (air, soil, water), consumer health, soil quality (erosion, degradation, fertility); common pollutants released from food production systems include fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides, antibiotics, hormones and gases from the use of fossil fuels; transportation, processing and packaging of food may also lead to further pollution from fossil fuels
system characteristics, such as diversity (monoculture versus polyculture); sustainability; indigenous versus introduced crop species
environmental impacts, such as pollution (air, soil, water); habitat loss; biodiversity loss; soil erosion or degradation; desertification; disease epidemics from high-density livestock farming
socio-economic factors, such as farming for profit or subsistence, for export or local consumption, for quantity or quality; traditional or commercial farming.
Food waste is an issue arising in MEDCs, where regulatory standards may be set according to commercial preferences so that consumable food is discarded. It can also be an issue in LEDCs, where the necessary refrigeration and transport infrastructure is insufficient to avoid food spoilage.
Key Vocabulary
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Textbook Reading and/or Activities
Pages 245-264
To read (p.248)
To do (p.249)
To read (p.249)
To do (p.250)
To think about (p.250)
To do (p.251)
To think about (p.252)
ToK (p.252)
Case Study (p.254)
To do (p.256)
To do (p.258)
To do (p.261-262)
To think about (p.262-263)
To do (p.264)
Notes
i-Biology Notes (Not available)
A detailed set of notes, created by Stephen Taylor, examining U1 - U8 and A1 - A4.
i-Biology Study Questions (Not available)
A series of questions, created by Stephen Taylor, to help check your understanding of the IB learning expectations. This is VERY GOOD practice.
Bioknowledgy Notes (Not available)
A detailed set of notes, created by Chris Paine, examining all of the IB learning expectations.
Bioknowledgy Study Questions (Not available)
A series of questions, created by Chris Paine, to help check your understanding of the IB learning expectations. This is VERY GOOD practice.
Learning Activities
Case Study - Protecting the Ozone Layer
This case study, prepared by the Australian Government (Sept.2015), will help you better understand the issues related to ozone depletion, how it can affect a country and what can be done to resolve the problem (K&U 1-8 as well as A&S 1).
Supplemental Reading
This video examines K&U 9 and A&S 5.
This video examines K&U 6-9 and A&S 5.
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