GCSE Geography | Global Demand for Food (Resource Management - Food 1)

Food security - 'when all people at all times have access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life' (definition from the 1996 World Food Summit).

But the variation of calorie intake across the globe highlights that many people suffer food insecurity, which can lead to:

• Undernourishment - the condition of not eating enough food to continue to be in good health
• Malnutrition - a serious condition that happens when your diet does not contain the right amount of nutrients (either not enough or far too many - the former being the issue here)

The issue isn't that we don't have enough food across the globe as we have plenty for everyone; it is that the food is not distributed evenly. Adult men need around 2,500 calories and women need around 2,000 per day. If the total food in the world was shared equally, everyone would get around 2,700 per day - which is more than enough! But there are some countries where the calorie intake is much higher than 3,000, such as the USA, and some countries where it is lower than 1,000, such as those in sub-Saharan Africa.

As well as calories, we have to consider the types of foods available to different people. In HICs nearly a third of our diets are made up of protein-rich meat, fish, eggs and dairy products, which is then supplemented with lots of starchy foods, such as potatoes, bread, rice and pasta, which give us lots of energy and essential fibre, calcium, iron and vitamins. Whereas in many LICs 75% of the diet is made up of cereals and tubers, which have a low nutritional value.

Why has the global demand for food increased?

There are two main reasons that the demand for food has increased across the world...

Population growth

The first and main reason is global population growth - in 1950 the world's population was estimated to be around 2.5 billion people, increasing to around 6 billion by 1998, and 7 billion in 2010. On 15th November 2022 the global population hit 8 billion, which was considered a huge milestone in human development - taking just 12 years to increase by 1 billion people. The global population is predicted to hit 9 billion in 2037 - taking 15 years to increase by another billion, which does show that overall population growth is starting to slow down.

However, we need to remember that the countries with the highest level of population growth are those countries that are already struggling with resources, and are already experiencing food, water and energy insecurity, so therefore population growth is likely to lead to more people suffering from undernutrition. Countries with the lowest Gross National Income (GNI) per capita also tend to have the highest fertility rates. This means that global population growth is mainly concentrated in the poorest countries - usually in sub-Saharan Africa. In fact, population growth across the whole of Africa is 2.5% per year, compared to 0.1% in Europe.

Economic development

The second reason is economic development. As countries start to develop economically, the diet of the population also starts to change. The higher standard of living means that people in LICs start to eat more like those in HICs, eating more meat, fish and dairy products. They move away from a cereal-based diet, and the grain starts to be used as animal feed (in meat production) rather than a staple for humans. This means that the demand for food increases. Increased wealth is also linked to an increase in the demand for processed and convenience foods, which have been a huge part of the diet of HICs for decades, meaning that people are eating more calories, but their diets aren't necessarily healthier.