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AS and A Level OCR AS/A Level Geography

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  • OCR AS/A Level Geography
  • Topic 2.4 – Future of Food (AS)
  • 02 Geographical debates
  • Topic 2.1 – Climate Change (AS)
  • Topic 2.3 – Exploring Oceans (AS)
  • Topic 2.4 – Future of Food (AS)
  • Topic 2.5 – Hazardous Earth (AS)

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Topic 2.4 – Future of Food (AS)

Navigate to resources by choosing units within one of the unit groups shown below.

Introduction

Overview

Delivery guides are designed to represent a body of knowledge about teaching a particular topic and contain:

  • Content: a clear outline of the content covered by the delivery guide
  • Thinking Conceptually: expert guidance on the key concepts involved, common difficulties students may have, approaches to teaching that can help students understand these concepts and how this topic links conceptually to other areas of the subject
  • Thinking Contextually: a range of suggested teaching activities using a variety of themes so that different activities can be selected that best suit particular classes, learning styles or teaching approaches.

Curriculum Content

Overview

1. What is food security and why is it of global significance?
Key IdeasContent
1.a. The concept of food security is complex and patterns of food security vary spatially.
  • Defining what it means to be food secure and understanding that the concept of food security is built on three pillars of food access, food availability and food use.
  • Current trends in global food security using data such as undernourishment and hunger statistics and the Global Food Security Index.
  • How the pattern of food security is dynamic and varies both between and within countries.
1.b. Food is a precious resource and global food production can be viewed as an interconnected system.
  • The physical conditions required for growing food including, air, climate, soil and water.
  • How feeding the world is a complex system of growing, processing, transporting and disposing of consumer waste.
  • How food production methods vary from intensive to extensive and subsistence to commercial.
1.c. Globalisation is changing the food industry.
  • The influence of globalisation on the food industry such as increased demand and global tastes.
  • Globalisation of the food industry creates a number of issues including food miles, inequality between TNCs and small suppliers, obesity and price crisis.
  • Globalisation of the food industry creates a number of opportunities including technological innovation, short-term food relief and consumer choice.
2. What are the causes of inequality in global food security?
Key IdeasContent
2.a. A number of interrelated factors can influence food security.
  • Understand the range of physical factors that affect food security across the globe such as geology, soil, length of growing season.
  • The social, economic and political factors affecting food security such as land ownership systems, competition and land grabbing and how these vary from place to place.
  • Theoretical positions on food security including Malthusian and Boserupian scenarios.
  • Case study of one place to illustrate how human and physical factors are/have combined to cause issues with food security.
3. What are the threats to global food security?
Key Ideas
Content
3.a. Risks to food security can be identified to highlight the most vulnerable societies.
  • Regions, countries and people whose food security is most at risk across the development spectrum.
  • Why issues related to storage or distribution create geographical pinchpoints where food security is at risk, such as the Suez Canal.
  • The physical and human causes of desertification and how this changes ecosystems to increase risks to food security.
  • Case study of one one dryland area including:
    - food security risks and vulnerability are influenced by the specific ecosystem, climate and hydrology
    - worsening factors such as population change, landgrabbing
3.b. The food system is vulnerable to shocks that can impact food security.
  • How climate change is leading to increasing frequency of extreme weather events such as wild-fire, El-Nino, floods, and drought which can affect food production.
  • How water scarcity can exacerbate food production issues.
  • How tectonic hazards can influence food production and distribution.
  • Case study of one indigenous farming technique in an exteme environment, such as the Arctic, including:
    - the physical conditions of the environment including ecosystems, terrain and climate.
    - food production methods used by indigenous people in the environment.
    - threats to the indigenous groups food security.
How do food production and security issues impact people and the physical environment?
Key Ideas
Content
4.a. Imbalance in the global food system has physical and human impacts.
  • How attempts to increase food production and security can impact the physical environment including:
    - irrigation and salinisation
    - deforestation and the impacts on biodiversity.
    - changing landscapes.
    - water quality from agrochemicals.
  • Case study of how one physical environment is/has been impacted by food production methods including the specific short- and long-term impacts on the environment.
  • How food security issues impact people including:
    - health issues associated with food shortages
    - health issues associated with food surpluses and poor diet
    - harmful impacts on human health as a result of the increased use of chemicals and pesticides.
  • Case study of how two places at contrasting levels of economic development to illustrate the implications of poor food security on
5. Is there hope for the future of food?
Key Ideas
Content
5.a. Food is a geopolitical commodity; a number of key players will continue to influence the global food system.
  • The opportunities between countries to ensure food security including:
    - agricultural trading policies.
    - the role of the World Trade Organization.
    - appropriate aid.
  • Investigate the role and responsibilities of the following in influencing the global food system:
    - agribusiness.
    - Trans-National Corporations such as Unilever.
    - food retailers such as Tesco.
    - fair trade organisations.
5.b. There is a spectrum of strategies that exist to ensure and improve food security.
  • Approaches to increasing food security can vary from short term relief to capacity building and long term system redesign.
  • The effectiveness and sustainability of a range of techniques that exist to improve food security from large-scale technological techniques down to small-scale bottom up and appropriate approaches.
  • Case studies of two contrasting places at different levels of development and the strategies and techniques that have been used.

Thinking Conceptually

Overview

General approaches

The Future of Food topic encompasses a range of key geographical concepts including (but not exclusively) systems, equilibrium, inequality, globalisation, sustainability and risk. The topic enables learners to explore current food related geographical issues across the world through a subject matter that all learners can relate to as they will explore a number of topics that will affect their own lives, for example, globalisation of the food industry and how climate change can affect food production. The subject content of the Future of Food topic covers both physical and human geography and therefore provides an interesting foundation for students to explore the relationships between the two within the context of food security. The contemporary nature of the topic enables students to engage with what is currently happening in the world around them which will reinforce the importance of learning about this topic. The topic provides the opportunity to explore a number of different case studies from around the world which will support and contextualise their understanding. Where two case studies are required at different levels of development it enables students to develop understanding of the complexities that exist across the development spectrum. 

Common misconceptions or difficulties students may have

For many students this might be the first time that they have studied the issues associated with food security. Superficially some arguments might seem straightforward, for example poorer countries have poor food security. However, once students begin to explore the Future of Food topic content in more depth they will have to recognise the range of physical and human factors that interact with each other to cause issues with food security, while appreciating that there is not always a clear cut answer as to why a particular location has issues with food security. Students will need to build an appreciation of the complexity that exists between and within countries. The contemporary nature of the topic means that the subject content is dynamic and students will need to have a good understanding of what is going on in the world to help support their understanding of the content and give themselves a solid foundation to contextualise their learning within the Future of Food topic. 

Conceptual links to other areas of the specification – useful ways to approach this topic to set students up for topics later in the course

The Future of Food topic links to a number of the other topics from the course. 

  • Option C – Dryland Landscapes within Landscape Systems links can be linked to the case study of a dryland area. 
  • Option C (Global Governance) – Human Rights can be linked to gender inequalities in terms of social factors that can affect security. 
  • Topic 1.2 Earth’s Life Support Systems which investigates the water and carbon cycles as the “building blocks of life” and essential for food. 
  • Topic 3.1 Climate Change can be linked to the threats to global food security.

Thinking Contextually

Overview

Approaches to teaching the content

The activities in this Delivery Guide span the Future of Food topic. The activities included have been designed to include a range of teaching and learning activities that draw upon a range of source materials from specialist organisations to news articles. Some of the activities included begin to touch upon some of the case study requirements (whole case studies are not included) and provide starting points for teaching different areas of the topic. As students explore the topic they should be encouraged to be critical of the sources that they are using in terms of the purpose of the information (including bias and reliability). There is also ample opportunity to develop and embed students’ wider geographical skills, especially in terms of their ability to complete quality research to inform class activities.

1. What is food security?

1.a The concept of food security is complex and patterns of food security varies spatially

To help introduce students to the concept of food security and what it means to be food secure, students explore the three pillars of food security. Using the example of Nepal, students can contextualise their understanding of the three pillars to a real life example.

To expand this activity further, students could research an alternative example to see how the factors that affect the country’s food security compare with Nepal’s. What are the similarities? What are the differences? Does any one of the three pillars have a greater impact on a countries food security than another? What might be the reasons for this?

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Resources

  • Learner Resource 1
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2. What are the current trends in global food security?

1.a The concept of food security is complex and patterns of food security varies spatially 

To help support students understanding of current global trends in food security and those trends overtime, students explore the FAO hunger map to identify global changes in food security from 1990-92 to 2014-16.

Students will need to try and establish the reasons behind the trends in food security by investigating specific countries further. Are the issues with the countries food security social, economic, environmental or a combination? Students should be encouraged to link back to their understanding of the three pillars of food security when assessing the current global trends.

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Resources

  • Learner Resource 2
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  • Teacher Resource 2
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3. Why is feeding the world a complex system?

1.b Food is a precious resource and global food production can be viewed as an interconnected system

Students need to recognise the range of elements that make up the global food production system.

As a quick starter activity, students could guess where they think the 5 crops originate from before exploring the “Origins and primary regions of diversity and agricultural crops” map. As a critical reflection activity, question students on if there are any limitations to how the data has been collated and presented. Using the Nourish Food System map students are to complete flow diagrams of the inputs, processes and outputs for the staple food stuffs. How might the production of the food stuffs vary in different parts of the world e.g. an advanced (AC) vs. a low-income developing country (LIDC)? What are the impacts of different production methods?

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Resources

  • Learner Resource 3
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4. What issues has globalisation of the food industry caused?

1.c Globalisation is changing the food industry 

To help establish an overall understanding of how the processes of globalisation have influenced the food industry the National Geographic’s “What the World eats” resource gives a fantastic visualisation. To get students thinking, give them the data on LR4 and get them to question the data to establish which country the data represents and why (China).

As part of an independent research task students could explore different country examples and compare them to others as a consolidation task the following lesson. Where in the world has been most impacted by the globalisation of the food industry? What is the knock on effect of this? (Think social, economic and environmental). Tonga is used as an example to examine the issue of obesity. The World Health Organization (WHO) bulletin “Globalization, diet and health” provides information for additional research.

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Resources

  • Learner Resource 4
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  • Globalization, diet and health
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5. How is land grabbing affecting Ethiopia’s food security?

2.a A number of interrelated factors can influence food security

This activity enables students to explore what land grabbing is and how it affects food security with a focus on Ethiopia.

Working in pairs or in small groups, students research arguments for and against land grabbing in Ethiopia in preparation for a debate “Should land grabbing in Ethiopia be stopped?” As an introduction to the situation in Ethiopia watch the twenty five minute short film “Ethiopia – Land for Sale” and complete Learner Resource 5. As part of the activity students should question the resource in terms of bias. After the activity students return to the question “How is land grabbing affecting Ethiopia’s food security?”

Additional information to investigate land grabbing in Ethiopia; 

  • Ethiopia’s land rush: Feed the world but not themselves. Guardian Investigations
  • Ethiopians talk of violent intimidation as their land is earmarked for foreign investors 
  • The great land rush. Ethiopia: The billionaire’s farm
  • Understanding Land Investment Deals in Africa. Country Report Ethiopia

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Resources

  • Learner Resource 5
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  • Teacher Resource 5
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  • Ethiopia - Land for Sale
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  • Ethiopia's land rush: Feed the world but not themselves - Guardian Investigations
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  • Ethiopians talk of violent intimidation as their land is earmarked for foreign investors
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  • The great land rush. Ethiopia - The billionaire's farm
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  • Understanding Land Investment Deals in Africa. Country Report Ethiopia
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6. How have human and physical factors combined to cause issues with food security in Ethiopia?

2.a A number of interrelated factors can influence food security

This activity touches upon Ethiopia as the case study example to illustrate how human and physical factors combine to cause issues with food security. The information on the cards draws from a range of resources to try and provide an overview of the food security situation in Ethiopia. The Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) has a number of key publications for Ethiopia including mapping of large–scale food security emergency projected.

Sort the statements into two columns; human and physical factors. Draw a line to show where physical and human factors could combine to cause issues with food security. On the line explain how the combination of factors could exacerbate food security issues. Alternatively, students could use the statements to create an extended piece of writing linking the human and physical factors.

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Resources

  • Learner Resource 6
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  • Large-scale food security emergency projected
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7. Whose food security is most at risk?

3.a Risks to food security can be identified to highlight the most vulnerable societies 

Using the Global Food Security Index students are to explore different countries food security across the development spectrum. As a starting point to understand the index watch the EIU Global Food Security Index clip (select videos from the resource library tab and select the video titled The Global Food Security Index).

Use the interactive map to investigate the following countries food security and level of development:

  • Bangladesh 
  • Burundi 
  • Ethiopia 
  • India 
  • Japan 
  • Pakistan 
  • Philippines 
  • UK 
  • USA

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Resources

  • Learner Resource 7
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  • Global Food Security Index
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  • EIU Global Food Security Index
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  • Interactive map
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8: How can desertification increase the risks to food security?

3.a Risks to food security can be identified to highlight the most vulnerable societies 

This activity introduces the physical and human causes of desertification and how these factors can interact to cause issues with food security.

To introduce the process of desertification watch the introductory clip from the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification Annotate the image on LR8a with the human and physical causes of desertification using the UNCCD Causes of desertification fact sheet 2. Use the hexagons on LR8b to explore the links between the human and physical causes of desertification and start thinking about what other factors could exacerbate issues with food security and why?

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Resources

  • Learner Resource 8a
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  • Learner Resource 8b
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  • United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification
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  • The causes of desertification fact sheet 2
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9. Why is food security at risk in The Sahel?

3.a Risks to food security can be identified to highlight the most vulnerable societies 

This activity touches upon some of the case study requirements for 3.a. The activity focuses on The Sahel region.

Students will need to consider the information to investigate the following question. Why is food security at risk in The Sahel? The information should be consolidated in the Venn diagram to form the beginnings of the case study. This could then be extended by focusing in upon a particular country in The Sahel region. Finally students come together for a class discussion about why food security is at risk for people living in The Sahel? 

The Sahel - Additional information:

  • Al Jazeera - Interactive: Mapping the Sahel drought 
  • Al Jazeera - Explaining the Sahel drought problem 
  • FAO - Crisis in the Sahel 
  • WFP – Sahel crisis 
  • The Guardian – Sahel 
  • UNEP: Climate Change and Variability in the Sahel Region 
  • Care – Sahel Hunger crisis

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Resources

  • Learner Resource 9
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  • Al Jazeera – Interactive: Mapping the Sahel drought
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  • Al Jazeera – Explaining the Sahel drought problem
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  • FAO – Crisis in The Sahel
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  • WFP – Sahel crisis
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  • The Guardian – Sahel
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  • UNEP: Climate Change and Variability in the Sahel Region
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  • Care – Sahel Hunger crisis
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10. How can El-Nino events affect food production?

3.b The food system is vulnerable to shocks that can impact food security 

This activity begins to explore how climate change is leading to an increasing frequency of extreme weather by focusing on El-Nino events and how these events can affect food production.

To start watch the Met office clip El Nino – What is it? After watching the clip a “think, pair, share” activity could be completed to start making links between El-Nino events and the potential impacts on food production around the world. Ask students where in the world do they think will be most affected and why? What evidence do they have to support their answers? Use the images in the Aljazeera article El Nino’s effects continue to be felt globally to start to try and visualise some of the impacts. 

Using the FAO Preparedness and Response Situation Report 2016 which can be downloaded as a pdf, and the Aljazeera article above, map the locations that have been impacted onto a blank world map (or using GIS). In each case annotate the map to show how El-Nino has impacted on food production. 

Additional information: www.fao.org

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Resources

  • El Nino – What is it
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  • Al Jazeera - El Nino’s effects continue to be felt globally
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  • FAO - Preparedness and Response Situation Report 2016
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  • Food and Argriculture Organization of the Untited Nations - Website
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11. How has the 2015 earthquake in Nepal affected food security?

3.b The food system is vulnerable to shocks that can impact food security

This activity draws on the 2015 earthquake in Nepal to explore how the earthquake has impacted on the countries food security.

As a short introductory activity students should complete Learner Resource 11a to get students thinking about the possible impacts (social, economic and environmental).Using the World Food Programme document Nepal - A report on the food security impact of the 2015 earthquake students complete Learner Resource 11b. Following the activities students should assess which factors create the greatest risk to food security for the people of Nepal and why.

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  • Learner Resource 11a
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  • Learner Resource 11b
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  • A report on the food security impact of the 2015 earthquake
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12. What are the threats to Nunavut food security?

3.b The food system is vulnerable to shocks that can impact food security

This activity touches upon the case study for 3.b by looking at the Nunavut of Northern Canada in terms of their indigenous farming techniques and what is threatening their traditional ways life and therefore food security.

Using the graph on page 4 from Action Canada’s document Hunger in Nunavut and a map of Canadian provinces, why do you think that the Nunavut have such high food insecurity compared to other provinces? Rank the nine statements in Learner Resource 12 according to the threat that they pose to food security. For each of the statements use the following resources to add additional case study detail. 

• The food desert of the north 

• Hunger in Nunavut 

• Nunavut food security coalition

• Feeding Nunavut

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  • Learner Resource 12
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  • Hunger in Nunavut
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  • The food desert of the north
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  • Hunger in Nunavut
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  • Nunavut food security coalition
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  • Feeding Nunavut
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13. How is soy production impacting the physical environment?

4.a Imbalance in the global food system has physical and human impacts

This activity begins to explore how attempts to increase food production and security have impacted on the physical environment by looking at the production of Soya in the Cerrado region of Brazil.

For this activity students need to complete a briefing sheet to inform the Brazilian government on how the production of Soya is impacting the physical environment. For additional ideas on writing a government briefing sheet read: How to Write a Briefing Note 

Use the following WWF resources as a starting point for your research. 

• Soya and the Cerrado: Brazil’s forgotten jewel 

• Environmental and social impacts of soy

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  • Learner Resource 13
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  • How to Write a Briefing Note
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  • Soya and the Cerrado: Brazil’s forgotten jewel
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  • Environmental and social impacts of soy
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14. How can different key players influence the global food system?

5.a Food is a geopolitical commodity; a number of key players will continue to influence the global food system 

This activity starts to investigate the role that different key players have in influencing the global food system.

Before students complete the main activity, students should have an understanding of what is meant by the global food system (The Oxford Martin Programme on the Future of Food defines it as the production, processing, transport and consumption of food). 

Working in pairs (or small groups) each pair is allocated a different key player. Each pair (or small group) carries out research using the links provided as a starting point, to establish what role and responsibilities their key player has in influencing the global food system and present their findings to the rest of the class. As they listen to the other pairs (groups) they make notes on Learner Resource 14 to establish which key player has the most influence on the global food system. 

Agribusiness – Monsanto 

Trans-National Corporation – Unilever

Food retailer – Tesco

Fair trade organisation – Fairtrade Foundation

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  • Learner Resource 14
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  • The Oxford Martin Programme on the Future of Food
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  • Monsanto - A sustainable agriculture
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  • Monsanto - The Guardian
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  • Monsanto - BBC News, Monsanto takeover
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  • Unilever - Unilever who we are
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  • Unilever - The Guardian
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  • Unilever - The Guardian: Big brands like Unilever aren't the answer to helping Africa's farmers
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  • Tesco - Tesco and Society
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  • Tesco - The Telegraph
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  • Fairtrade - Fairtrade Foundation
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  • Fairtrade - BBC News
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15. How can food security be improved?

5.b There is a spectrum of strategies that exist to ensure and improve food security

This activity introduces a range of techniques that attempt to increase food security from donkey ploughs to biotech seeds.

For activity 1 use the web links for Practical Action, Sustainable Table and Monsanto to complete table 1 on Learner Resource 15 that covers a range of techniques that attempt to improve food security. Classify each technique according to if it is large-scale technological or small-scale bottom up techniques. 

For activity 2 you will need to score each technique to assess its overall sustainability to complete table 2. 

For activity 3 rank each technique on the continuum line justifying the reason for your decision. 

As a follow up activity pose the question “Are top down approaches to improving food security better than bottom up?” Don’t forget to consider countries across the development spectrum.

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Resources

  • Learner Resource 15
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  • Practical Action
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  • Sustainable Table
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  • Monsanto
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Acknowledgement

Overview

OCR’s resources are provided to support the teaching of OCR specifications, but in no way constitute an endorsed teaching method that is required by the Board and the decision to use them lies with the individual teacher. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the content, OCR cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions within these resources. We update our resources on a regular basis, so please check the OCR website to ensure you have the most up to date version. 

© OCR 2017 - This resource may be freely copied and distributed, as long as the OCR logo and this message remain intact and OCR is acknowledged as the originator of this work.

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