IB HL Geography
By Anisha Dhungana
Identify global patterns of calorie intake as one measure of food availability. Distinguish between malnutrition, temporary hunger, chronic hunger and famine. Discuss the concept of food security.
Explain how changes in agricultural systems, scientific and technological innovations, the expansion of the area under agriculture and the growth of agribusiness have increased the availability of food in some areas, starting with the Green Revolution and continuing since. Examine the environmental, demographic, political, social and economic factors that have caused areas of food deficiency and food insecurity.
Examine the variety of causes responsible for a recent famine.
Calorie Intake Map Analysis
From the map above, it can be seen that, generally, countries that are considered to be LEDC's have lower calorie intakes than MEDC's, for example, many African countries such as the DRC have an average calorie intake per capita of less than 1890, while Canada has an average calorie intake of 3,480-3,770. Majority of African countries have an average calorie intake of 2,390-2,620, while one the other hand, the vast majority of European countries have a calorie intak eof over 3,050. The daily average calorie intake per capita is not a good indicator of health because it does not take into account the inequality that is present in each country, the demography since younger people need more calories than older people, the conflicts present, food availability, and many other factors that effect the calorie intake of people.
Global Availability of Food and Food Security
Clink on the image above to access the global availability of food and food security document (parts 1 and 2).
Food Sufficiency and The Green Revolution
Click on the image above to access the food sufficiency and the green revolution document.
Causes of Food Insecurity
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Causes of Famine
Click on the image above to access the causes of the East Africa famine document.
Food Production, Markets and Imbalances
Click on the image above to access the food production, markets and imbalances document. Document talks about trade barriers, multinational+transnational corporations, and agribusinesses.
How can we feed the world?
Click on the image above to access the 'how can we feed the world' document. Talks about food miles, energy efficiency ratios, and the impact of agriculture on the environment.