Food supply
| English | Chinese | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| food supply | 食物供应 | shí wù gōng yìng |
| fertilisers | 化肥 | huà féi |
| pesticides | 农药 | nóng yào |
| herbicides | 除草剂 | chú cǎo jì |
| intensive farming | 集约农业 | jí yuē nóng yè |
Feeding a growing world
- The human population keeps growing, and all those people need food.
- Increasing food supply 食物供应 uses science — but it has costs as well as benefits.
Food supply pressure lab
Follow how demand, farming and waste affect food supply.
Fertilisers increase crop yields by:
Fertilisers supply nutrients like nitrates.
Which increase food supply? (Select all that apply.)
Removing nutrients would reduce yields.
Ways to increase food supply
- Fertilisers 化肥 add nutrients; machinery works land faster; pesticides 农药 kill pests.
- Selective breeding and glasshouses raise yields further.
Deforestation lowers biodiversity, washes away soil, causes flooding and adds CO2
A drawback of pesticides is that they can:
Pesticides can damage non-target species.
Chemicals that kill weeds competing with crops are called ______.
Herbicides remove competing weeds.
Pesticides and their problems
- Pesticides protect crops but can harm helpful insects and build up in food chains.
- Herbicides 除草剂 kill weeds that compete with crops.
Ways farmers increase food production
Overusing fertilisers can pollute rivers.
Fertiliser run-off causes eutrophication.
Intensive farming 集约农业: pros and cons
- Pros: much more food per area, lower prices.
- Cons: pollution from fertilisers, loss of habitats, and animal-welfare concerns.
More food can mean more pollution. Fertilisers boost yields but, washed into rivers, cause eutrophication. Higher food supply must be balanced against environmental harm.
You've got it
- food supply is raised by fertilisers, machinery, pesticides, selective breeding, glasshouses
- pesticides protect crops but can harm helpful species and build up in food chains
- intensive farming gives more food but causes pollution and habitat loss