#biology #intensivefoodproduction

Making food production more intensive means producing food more efficiently with a finite amount of land and other resources

• Modern technology has increased food supply substantially in the following ways:

  • Agricultural machinery has replaced humans and improved efficiency due to the ability to farm much larger areas of land

  • Chemical fertilisers improve yields - fertilisers increase the amount of nutrients in the soil for plants, meaning that they can grow larger and produce more fruit

  • Insecticides and herbicides - these chemicals kill off unwanted insects and weed species, meaning that there is less damage done to plants and fruit lost to insects (insecticides), as well as reducing competition from other plant species (herbicides)

  • Selective breeding - animals and crop plants which produce a large yield are selectively bred to produce breeds that reliably produce high yields