Areas of Food Surplus & Food Deficit
Geography: AQA GCSE, topic 6.2.1
Food Surplus and Deficit
Some people on Earth suffer from famine & starvation, whilst others die of obesity-related diseases. A country has food security if they consume more food than they need (effectively has a food surplus).
Who produces the world's food?
- China produces the most food in the world, eats the most food in the world and imports the most food in the world. They do have 1.34 billion people there to be fair.
- India is the second-largest producer of food, followed by the USA.
- Brazil is the largest food producer in Latin America.
- Countries that are at risk of food insecurity, where their population cannot get enough food to be healthy are Afghanistan, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Yemen, Zambia, and Chad.
- The war in Yemen means that 24 million people don't have enough food.
- Chad's drought and flooding mean that it is difficult to produce crops.
Which countries consume the most food?
- High-income, more developed countries generally consume more calories per day.
- In 2014, Americans consumed an average of 3,770 calories per day. British people consumed 3,440 calories per day. Indians consumed an average of 2,300 calories per day. People in the DRC consumed an average of 1,590 calories per day.
- People living in poorer nations cannot afford as much food and therefore consume fewer calories per day.
- NEEs like India and China are consuming more calories and eating more meat as their average income rises.
Test yourself on Areas of Food Surplus & Food Deficit
Which of the following regions produces more food?
Which of the following regions consumes more food?
Which of the following terms describes a country that produces more food than it consumes?