Resources
Note: ff – fossil fuels
Food in UK:
High-value food
Seasonal
Organic produce
Affect food has on environment:
Up to 10% of UK’s gg emissions in 2017 were from agriculture.
Transporting food = food miles = more CO2
People are becoming more aware of the affect food has on the environment and so are
using farmer’s markets (Altrincham), farm shops (Chatsworth) and locally produced veg
Industrialising agriculture
Since 1960s = agribusiness has increased in UK
Agribusiness – large scale industrial farming where all processes from seed production,
fertilisers and packaging are controlled by a large firm.
And so, farm sizes are increasing, and so smaller farms are being taken over and field sizes
increased.
The amount of chemicals used in food production has been increasing – large quantities of
artificial fertilisers and pesticides are applied to crops and animals are given special feed to
help growth.
Number of employed in agriculture fell to just over 1.1.% of UK’s total employment in 2017
due to machinery.
Water
Water pollution
Polluted water can’t be used, putting pressure of water resources
NPK fertilisers are washed into rivers and groundwater, pollutants from vehicles are washed
in surface runoff during rainfall and chemical/oil spills from factories pollute local water
sources and groundwater.
Up to 80% of water in parts of southern England come from groundwater but pollution is
affecting the water quality of nearly 50% of groundwater but pollution is affecting 50% of
groundwater used for public supply.
Treatment is expensive.
Strategies to manage water include improving drainage systems and imposing regulations
on amount and types of fertilisers and pesticides used.
Water transfer
A solution is to transfer water from areas of surplus to areas of deficit.
e.g. Birmingham is supplied by areas of Wales
dams and aqueducts are expensive (Birmingham scheme cost about £300 million)
wildlife can be affected
Political issues about areas that receive water transfer
Note: ff – fossil fuels
Food in UK:
High-value food
Seasonal
Organic produce
Affect food has on environment:
Up to 10% of UK’s gg emissions in 2017 were from agriculture.
Transporting food = food miles = more CO2
People are becoming more aware of the affect food has on the environment and so are
using farmer’s markets (Altrincham), farm shops (Chatsworth) and locally produced veg
Industrialising agriculture
Since 1960s = agribusiness has increased in UK
Agribusiness – large scale industrial farming where all processes from seed production,
fertilisers and packaging are controlled by a large firm.
And so, farm sizes are increasing, and so smaller farms are being taken over and field sizes
increased.
The amount of chemicals used in food production has been increasing – large quantities of
artificial fertilisers and pesticides are applied to crops and animals are given special feed to
help growth.
Number of employed in agriculture fell to just over 1.1.% of UK’s total employment in 2017
due to machinery.
Water
Water pollution
Polluted water can’t be used, putting pressure of water resources
NPK fertilisers are washed into rivers and groundwater, pollutants from vehicles are washed
in surface runoff during rainfall and chemical/oil spills from factories pollute local water
sources and groundwater.
Up to 80% of water in parts of southern England come from groundwater but pollution is
affecting the water quality of nearly 50% of groundwater but pollution is affecting 50% of
groundwater used for public supply.
Treatment is expensive.
Strategies to manage water include improving drainage systems and imposing regulations
on amount and types of fertilisers and pesticides used.
Water transfer
A solution is to transfer water from areas of surplus to areas of deficit.
e.g. Birmingham is supplied by areas of Wales
dams and aqueducts are expensive (Birmingham scheme cost about £300 million)
wildlife can be affected
Political issues about areas that receive water transfer
