Geography Notes Option F: Food and Health
IB Geography — Option F: Food and Health
Definition:
Term Definition
Food miles A measure of the distance that food travels from its source to the consumer. This can be
given either in units of actual distance or of energy consumed during transport.
HALE Health‑adjusted life expectancy, based on life expectancy at birth but including an
adjustment for time spent in poor health (due to disease and/or injury). It is the
equivalent number of years in full health that a newborn can expect to live, based on
current rates of ill health and mortality.
Transnational corporation A firm that owns or controls productive operations in more than one country through
(TNC) foreign direct investment.
1. Health
Variation in Health
Describe the variations in health as reflected by changes in life expectancy at national and global scales since
1950. Explain the patterns and trends in terms of differences in income and lifestyle.
- increase income —> increase living standard
- better health care —> longer life expectancy
- sedentary (always sitting) —> shorter life expectancy
Measuring Health
Evaluate life expectancy, infant mortality rate (IMR) and child mortality, HALE (health‑adjusted life expectancy),
calorie intake, access to safe water and access to health services as indicators of health.
- life expectancy: the number of years that a newborn will expect to live
- infant mortality rate: the number of death under the age of 1 per 1000 newborns
- child mortality rate: the number of death under the age of 5 per 1000 live births
- HALE: number of years that a new-born will expect to live in full health
- calorie intake: average calorie intake of a person in a country
- access to safe water
- access to health services
Prevention Relative to Treatment
Discuss the geographic factors that determine the relative emphasis placed by policy‑makers, in one country or
region, on prevention as opposed to treatment of disease.
- LEDC: prevention is more important, reduce disease of poverty, spread of infectious disease —> large
population —> require more resources (considering it’s LEDCs) prevention is a cheaper option
- safe drinking water
- sanitation
- education
- MEDC: disease of affluence, not contagious, non-communicable, hard to be prevented
- improve in health care system
- investment in medical technology
- education
- change life style
2. Food
Global Availability of Food
Identify global patterns of calorie intake as one measure of food availability.
1
, Geography Notes Option F: Food and Health
- doesn’t take nutrition in account
- higher calorie intake = higher food availability
Distinguish between malnutrition, temporary hunger, chronic hunger and famine.
- malnutrition: including both under-nutrition and over-nutrition
- temporary hunger: short-term physiological need for food, resulting from deprivation
- chronic hunger: long-term
- famine: extreme shortage of food, resulting in mortality; can occur where food is available but people lack the
means to buy it
Discuss the concept of food security.
- food security: all population at all time have assess to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary
needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life
- FAD: food availability deficit (natural): food deficiencies were caused by local shortages due to physical factors
such as drought or flood
- FED: food entitlement deficit (human-caused): access to food may be severely limited by barriers such as its
rising cost relative to wages (e.g. India, Ethiopia and Sudan)
Areas of Food Sufficiency and Deficiency
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.
- definition of Green Revolution: application of science and technology to increase food productivity: genetic
engineering to produce high-yielding variety (HYVs) of crops, mechanization, pesticides, herbicides, chemical
fertilizers and irrigation water. (e.g. Mexico, India and the Philippines)
- HYVs: productivity per hectare is higher, and there can be several harvests in one year
- India feeds twice as many people as Africa on just 13% of the land area
- artificial fertilizers: phosphates and nitrates
- pesticides: destroy competitors such as insects, slugs, fungi and weeds
- irrigation: maximum yield can be sustained - allow agriculture to take place in arid and semi-arid areas
- scale of operation: bringing together fragmented land holding - more manageable and productive land areas
- biotechnology: capacity to create another green revolution
Examine the environmental, demographic, political, social and economic factors that have caused areas of food
deficiency and food insecurity.
- deficiency: physically not enough food
- insecurity: lack of accessibility
- soaring oil and energy prices
- rising demand
- natural hazards
- biofuels (since 2008, 30% of the US corn crops has been diverted to biofuels)
- underinvestment in agriculture
- speculative trading in agricultural commodities
- climate change
Case Study
Examine the variety of causes responsible for a recent famine.
- Ethiopia 2009-2010
- located in the Horn of sub-Saharan Africa, the world’s most food-insecure region
- average food intake barely exceeds the daily requirement of 2100 calories, lowest in the world
- long suffered from chronic food insecurity and famine
- drought of flooding
- shortage of land
- land degradation
2
IB Geography — Option F: Food and Health
Definition:
Term Definition
Food miles A measure of the distance that food travels from its source to the consumer. This can be
given either in units of actual distance or of energy consumed during transport.
HALE Health‑adjusted life expectancy, based on life expectancy at birth but including an
adjustment for time spent in poor health (due to disease and/or injury). It is the
equivalent number of years in full health that a newborn can expect to live, based on
current rates of ill health and mortality.
Transnational corporation A firm that owns or controls productive operations in more than one country through
(TNC) foreign direct investment.
1. Health
Variation in Health
Describe the variations in health as reflected by changes in life expectancy at national and global scales since
1950. Explain the patterns and trends in terms of differences in income and lifestyle.
- increase income —> increase living standard
- better health care —> longer life expectancy
- sedentary (always sitting) —> shorter life expectancy
Measuring Health
Evaluate life expectancy, infant mortality rate (IMR) and child mortality, HALE (health‑adjusted life expectancy),
calorie intake, access to safe water and access to health services as indicators of health.
- life expectancy: the number of years that a newborn will expect to live
- infant mortality rate: the number of death under the age of 1 per 1000 newborns
- child mortality rate: the number of death under the age of 5 per 1000 live births
- HALE: number of years that a new-born will expect to live in full health
- calorie intake: average calorie intake of a person in a country
- access to safe water
- access to health services
Prevention Relative to Treatment
Discuss the geographic factors that determine the relative emphasis placed by policy‑makers, in one country or
region, on prevention as opposed to treatment of disease.
- LEDC: prevention is more important, reduce disease of poverty, spread of infectious disease —> large
population —> require more resources (considering it’s LEDCs) prevention is a cheaper option
- safe drinking water
- sanitation
- education
- MEDC: disease of affluence, not contagious, non-communicable, hard to be prevented
- improve in health care system
- investment in medical technology
- education
- change life style
2. Food
Global Availability of Food
Identify global patterns of calorie intake as one measure of food availability.
1
, Geography Notes Option F: Food and Health
- doesn’t take nutrition in account
- higher calorie intake = higher food availability
Distinguish between malnutrition, temporary hunger, chronic hunger and famine.
- malnutrition: including both under-nutrition and over-nutrition
- temporary hunger: short-term physiological need for food, resulting from deprivation
- chronic hunger: long-term
- famine: extreme shortage of food, resulting in mortality; can occur where food is available but people lack the
means to buy it
Discuss the concept of food security.
- food security: all population at all time have assess to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary
needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life
- FAD: food availability deficit (natural): food deficiencies were caused by local shortages due to physical factors
such as drought or flood
- FED: food entitlement deficit (human-caused): access to food may be severely limited by barriers such as its
rising cost relative to wages (e.g. India, Ethiopia and Sudan)
Areas of Food Sufficiency and Deficiency
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.
- definition of Green Revolution: application of science and technology to increase food productivity: genetic
engineering to produce high-yielding variety (HYVs) of crops, mechanization, pesticides, herbicides, chemical
fertilizers and irrigation water. (e.g. Mexico, India and the Philippines)
- HYVs: productivity per hectare is higher, and there can be several harvests in one year
- India feeds twice as many people as Africa on just 13% of the land area
- artificial fertilizers: phosphates and nitrates
- pesticides: destroy competitors such as insects, slugs, fungi and weeds
- irrigation: maximum yield can be sustained - allow agriculture to take place in arid and semi-arid areas
- scale of operation: bringing together fragmented land holding - more manageable and productive land areas
- biotechnology: capacity to create another green revolution
Examine the environmental, demographic, political, social and economic factors that have caused areas of food
deficiency and food insecurity.
- deficiency: physically not enough food
- insecurity: lack of accessibility
- soaring oil and energy prices
- rising demand
- natural hazards
- biofuels (since 2008, 30% of the US corn crops has been diverted to biofuels)
- underinvestment in agriculture
- speculative trading in agricultural commodities
- climate change
Case Study
Examine the variety of causes responsible for a recent famine.
- Ethiopia 2009-2010
- located in the Horn of sub-Saharan Africa, the world’s most food-insecure region
- average food intake barely exceeds the daily requirement of 2100 calories, lowest in the world
- long suffered from chronic food insecurity and famine
- drought of flooding
- shortage of land
- land degradation
2
