Improving Food Production

Plants as foodPlants can carry out photosynthesis. In the process of photosynthesis, plants convert the energy in light to a stored chemical form. They absorb carbon dioxide from the air and make carbohydrates. Most plants store energy as the carbohydrates starch. They also absorb minerals, such as nitrate, from the soil, and manufacture a range of other biological molecules. Herbivores are animals that make use of these biological molecules when they eat and digest plants.Humans are omnivores. This means that we eat both plants and animals. We gain our nutrition both directly from plants and also indirectly by herbivorous animals. The human food chain tends to be short. By making the food chain more efficient, we can increase food production.How can we make food production more efficient?In plants it is possible to: improve the growth rate of crops increase the size of yield from each plant reduce losses of crops due to diseases and pests make harvesting easier by standardising plant size improve plant responses to fertilisers In animals it is possible to: improve the rate of growth increase productivity increases resistance to diseases Selective Breeding isolation artificial selection inbreeding E.g. farmers breed cattle for high milk yield or meat production. Dairy cows can produce over 40 litres a day. Tomatoes have been bred with improved disease resistance.

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