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.

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.

Jack Andraka

HALE

Health adjusted life expectancy, based on life expectancy at birth but‑including an adjustment for time spent in poor health (due to diseaseand/or injury). It is the equivalent number of years in full health thata newborn can expect to live, based on current rates of ill health and

mortality.

Transnational corporation(TNC)

A firm that owns or controls productive operations in more than one

country through foreign direct investment.

1. Health

Ecumene: Health and Disease Powerpoints

Variations in health

Describe the variations in health as reflected by changesin life expectancy at national and global scales since 1950.Explain the patterns and trends in terms of differences in

income and lifestyle.

It is important that you can describe relationships between variables by comparing their global pattern on a

map, analysing trends on a line or bar graph and describing the strength of

the relationship by interpreting a scatter graph or correlation

coefficient such as the Spearman rank.

Measuring health

Evaluate life expectancy, infant mortality rate (IMR) andchild mortality, HALE (health-adjusted life expectancy),calorie intake, access to safe water and access to health

services as indicators of health.

The command term “evaluate” means you should explain how well each of these measures indicate the well-being of a specific population. You should learn statistics for two countries at contrasting levels of

development for each of the indicators listed.

Life expectancy at birth

Infant mortality rate (out of 1000 live births)

Child mortality(2011)

HALE(2002)

Calorie intake(2005-7)

Access to safe water

Access to health services(hospital beds)

Zambia 52 69/1000 83/1000 35 1890 61% 2/1000

Norway 80 5/1000 3/1000 72 3460 100% 3/1000

You should refer to the following factors: How accurate is the data that is used, and how is it collected ? Can you make comparisons between indicators ? What is the data not telling us about the links with health? Is each indicator actually measuring health or is it a factor that can be said to affect health? (these data are called proxy data)

Measuring MortalityLife Expectancy

It is an AVERAGE.

Pollution levels, conflict, occupation, shelter, food, medical facilities, income, literacy.

You can split the total population into different groups (cohorts) to compare some of these differences within

a population.

Rich v poor, urban v rural, male v female, ethnic groups, age groups.

Life expectancy figures can be affected by high IMR. If you survive infancy you could live much longer than

the life expectancy figures suggest.

UGANDA

Life expectancy at birth:total population: 53 years

UGANDA

Age structure:0-14 years: 49.9% 15-64 years: 48.1% 65 years and over: 2.1%

Median age:total: 15 years

Total fertility rate:6.65 children born/woman (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 2

Prevention relative totreatment

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.

Majiang County, China

Curative health care needs large numbers of hospitals, doctors, medicines and facilities.

Money is saved by keeping people well (this enables them to work productively, feel better and not be a drain on government

spending by being in hospital).

Amity Foundation - 100 new clinics – lowest incidence of HIV/AIDs of all counties in China

Guizhou Province

2. Food

Ecumene: Food powerpoints

Global availability offood

Identify global patterns of calorie intake as one measure

of food availability.

Global calorie intake

Ranges from 1500 in Afghanistan per day to 3700 in the USA.

NICs such as India and China have rising calorie intakes.

Calorie intake is not reliable as an indicator of well-being and diet.

It does not take nutrient consumption into account. Nor is it linked to the calorie requirements in the

different places.

Distinguish between malnutrition, temporary hunger,

chronic hunger and famine.

Malnutrition – a state of poor nutrition, resulting from a deficiency or imbalance of proteins, energy (marasmus) and minerals (kwashiorkor). (Excess of calories/energy → obesity).

Temporary hunger – a state of extreme hunger, resulting from lack of food over a prolonged period of time.

Chronic hunger - hunger occurring over a long period of time. (People who are chronically hungry are undernourished. They don’t eat enough to get the energy they need to lead active lives. Their undernourishment makes it hard to study, work or otherwise perform physical activities. Undernourishment is particularly harmful for women and children. Undernourished children do not grow as quickly as healthy children. Mentally, they may develop more slowly. Constant hunger weakens the immune system and makes them more vulnerable to diseases and infections. Mothers living with constant hunger often give birth to underweight and weak babies, and are themselves facing increased risk of death).

Famine – an extreme shortage of food, resulting in mortality. Famine can occur where food is available, but people lack the means to buy it.

Discuss the concept of food security.

Definition from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO):

“Food security exists when all people, at all times, have access to

sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food

preferences for an active and healthy life”.

Areas of foodsufficiency and

deficiencyExplain how changes in agricultural systems, scientific

and technological innovations, the expansion of the areaunder agriculture and the growth of agribusiness have

increased the availability of food in some areas, startingwith the Green Revolution and continuing since.

In spite of the gloomy predictions of Malthus and his followers, the neo-Malthusians, world food production

has managed to keep pace with population growth. This has been achieved by the adoption of new

technology, which enables farmers to increase output per hectare as well as putting more land under

cultivation.

Ways of increasing food output:• Genetically engineered high-yielding varieties

(HYVs) of staple crops• Artificial fertilizers• Pesticides• Irrigation• Large scale of operations• Biotechnology (like Monsanto’s seeds)

Mexico

The Green Revolution allowed more food to be grown, but did not benefit

all.

See the table produced by Olivia/Sam

Examine the environmental, demographic, political, social and economic factors that

have caused areas of fooddeficiency and food insecurity.

Areas of food deficiency

Soaring oil and energy pricesRising demand (from population growth)

Natural hazardsBiofuels (are competing with arable land)

Underinvestment in agriculture over many years

Speculative trading in agricultural commoditiesClimate change

Case study

Examine the variety of causes responsible for a recent

famine.

Ethiopia’s silent famine 2009-10

Pages 264-265 in Geography Course Companion

Production andmarkets

Examine the impacts at a variety of scales of tradebarriers, agricultural subsidies, bilateral and multilateral

agreements, and transnational corporations (TNCs) on theproduction and availability of food.

Jamaica/Ethiopia films

Norske bønder på støtte-toppen

EU proposes punitive duties on Chinese solar panels

The European Commission has proposed the introduction of punitive duties on nearly 50 percent of imported Chinese solar panels The European Commission has proposed the introduction of punitive duties on nearly 50 percent of imported Chinese solar panels, according to an EU source.According to the source, the proposal for a punitive tax of about 47 percent has been sent to the European countries to see if they support the proposal. A decision is expected to be announced on 5th June. ProSun, which is the association of European manufacturers of solar panels, has tried to get the EU to impose punitive duties against competitors in China. The mean production subsidized by the Chinese government and the solar panels are underpriced. ProSuns leader Milan Nitzschke said a few weeks ago that dumping is a fundamental problem in the European solmarkedet. Source: NTB scanpix

Trade barriers in favour of MEDCs

Addressing imbalances

Evaluate the relative importance of food aid, free trade

and fair trade in alleviating food shortages.

You should compare the extent to which each of these three

approaches help to avert or alleviate food shortages. Do not simply

describe and explain. You must rate these approaches according to their

effectiveness.

Instead of food aid, many economists and NGOs have pointed to trade as

the best way to alleviate poverty and hunger in LEDCs.

The problem is that trade is not always regulated and does not

always benefit all parties involved equally.

Pages 124-125 in IB Study Guide

Sustainable agriculture

Examine the concept of sustainable agriculture in terms

of energy efficiency ratios and sustainable yields.

Many modern industrialized agricultural systems have high energy

inputs relative to their outputs, so such systems are energy inefficient

and non-sustainable. You will need to give examples of energy ratios for a

variety of agricultural systems. Sustainability is achieved through conserving natural resources and minimizing pollution in order to

maintain food yields for the future.

Examine the concept of food miles as an indicator of

environmental impact.

You should define the concept of 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), then give examples of different foods and how their place

of origin, mode of transfer and distance to their destination affect

their food miles rating.

3. Disease

Global patterns ofdisease

Explain the global distribution of diseases of affluence.

Geography All the Way

Explain the global distribution of diseases of poverty.

The chance of an individual succumbing to disease is affected by a range of factors, which will depend on where they live, their age, their social circumstances, their lifestyle and other environmental factors. Many of these are affected by social inequality. A recent report in the UK linked the incidence of cancer very strongly with lifestyle.

Explain the global distribution of diseases of poverty

What is meant by a disease of poverty? Diseases of poverty tend to be transmitted through close human contact due to the living conditions of people in areas like shanty towns, or vectors, such as insects. They are not completely confined to people living in poverty, but are more likely to be experienced by them. It is also important to bear in mind that there are different levels of poverty.

The spread of diseaseExplain how the geographic concepts of diffusion byrelocation and by expansion apply to the spread ofdiseases.

Examine the application of the concept ofbarriers in attempts to limit the spread of diseases.

Describe the factors that have enabled reduction inincidence of a disease.

Diffusion is the method by which diseases spread.

There are various methods by which diseases spread, and these contribute to the overall risk factors for different populations.

There is a reducing effect with distance from the original outbreak, and also a time delay. Diseases tend to spread like a ‘wave’ from the central point.

Factors that slow down the spread of disease include physical barriers (these might include mountains, water barriers such as seas or oceans, forests and difficult terrain) plus political boundaries. Travel restrictions and screening of travellers can form part of these more ‘human’ barriers. Public health advice can also help in some cases.

Disease will also change from an original infusion into a population, through inflection and saturation, before it declines and leaves a population.

There may also be NETWORK diffusion, which follows land-based transport networks e.g. road and rail.There are some cases of malaria in the UK every year for example, and most of those are close to airports. Mosquitoes survive in the plane just long enough to bite someone when they leave. Climate change may allow them to survive longer of course.

There are 4 main methods of diffusion:

EXPANSION - the disease has a source and diffuses outwards into new areas from this original point

RELOCATION - the spreading disease moves into new areas, leaving behind its source (often the result of global travel by an infected person)

CONTAGIOUS - the spread of an infectious disease through direct contact with the affected individuals

HIERARCHICAL - the spread of a disease from place to place in an orderly way e.g. from cities, to neighbouring villages, or vice versa

Geographic factors andimpacts

Examine the geographic factors responsible for theincidence and spread of two diseases

(malaria and AIDS).

Pages 129-130 in IB Study Guide

Pages 277-279 in the IB Course Companion.

Evaluate the geographic impact of these two diseases at

the local, national and international scales.

Evaluate the management strategies that have been applied in any one country or region for one of these

diseases.

Kenya - Malaria

Disability Adjusted Life Expectancy (DALE) summarizes the expected number of years to be lived in what might be termed the equivalent of "full health." To calculate DALE, the years of ill-health are

weighted according to severity and subtracted from the expected overall life expectancy to give the equivalent years of healthy life.

The HALE is based on life expectancy at birth but includes an adjustment for time spent in poor health. It is most easily understood as the equivalent number of years in full health that a newborn can expect to live, based on current rates of ill health and mortality.