Where does our food come from, and how is it grown, reared, caught and traded?
Food provenance and production: where and how food is grown, reared and caught, intensive and organic farming, free-range and sustainable fishing, seasonality, local and imported food, fair trade and the journey from farm to fork.
A focused answer on food provenance and production for Eduqas GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition (C560), covering where and how food is grown, reared and caught, intensive versus organic farming, free-range and sustainable fishing, seasonality, local and imported food, and fair trade.
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What this dot point is asking
Eduqas wants you to know where food comes from and how it is produced, including the difference between intensive and organic farming, what free-range and sustainable fishing mean, and the ideas of seasonality, local and imported food and fair trade. The journey from farm to fork links all of this.
How food is produced
Food reaches us by being grown (crops such as wheat, fruit and vegetables), reared (animals for meat, milk and eggs) or caught or farmed (fish and seafood). Understanding this journey, from farm to fork, helps explain food miles, freshness, cost and welfare.
Intensive and organic farming
Intensive farming gives cheap, plentiful food all year, but raises concerns about animal welfare, chemical residues and harm to soil and wildlife. Organic farming offers better welfare, fewer chemicals and less environmental harm, but costs more, gives lower yields and has a shorter shelf life. Neither is simply "better": exam questions want the trade-offs.
Free-range and sustainable fishing
Seasonality, local and imported food
Buying seasonal and local food is usually cheaper (plentiful, no importing or greenhouse heating), fresher and tastier, and lower impact (fewer food miles). Imported food lets us eat foods we cannot grow here (bananas, citrus) and have produce all year, but it travels further and may be less fresh. Fair trade schemes guarantee producers in poorer countries a fair, stable price and better conditions, so the consumer's choice can support farmers abroad.
Try this
Q1. Give one advantage and one disadvantage of organic farming. [2 marks]
- Cue. Advantage: better welfare or fewer chemicals or less environmental harm. Disadvantage: higher price or lower yields or shorter shelf life.
Q2. What does sustainable fishing aim to prevent? [1 mark]
- Cue. Overfishing, so that fish stocks can recover and last for the future.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of WJEC Eduqas exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
Eduqas 20196 marksCompare intensive and organic farming, and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each for the consumer and the environment.Show worked answer →
A 6-mark extended-response question. Mark it for a genuine comparison with advantages and disadvantages on both sides.
Intensive farming aims to produce as much food as possible at low cost, using fertilisers, pesticides and high stocking densities. Its advantages are cheap, plentiful food available all year; its disadvantages are concerns about animal welfare, chemical residues, and harm to soil and wildlife.
Organic farming works with nature, avoiding artificial fertilisers and pesticides and giving animals more space and natural feed. Its advantages are better animal welfare, fewer chemicals and less environmental harm; its disadvantages are higher prices, lower yields and a shorter shelf life.
Top-band answers (5 to 6 marks) compare the two systems and weigh advantages and disadvantages for both the consumer (price, welfare, chemicals) and the environment (soil, wildlife).
Eduqas 20214 marksExplain what is meant by seasonal food and give two benefits of buying food in season.Show worked answer →
A 4-mark structured question.
Seasonal food is food that is naturally grown or harvested at a particular time of year in a particular place, for example British strawberries in summer or pumpkins in autumn.
Two benefits (any two): it is usually cheaper because it is plentiful and does not need importing or heating in greenhouses; it is fresher and often tastes better and has more nutrients because it is picked when ripe; and it has a lower environmental impact because it travels fewer food miles and uses less artificial heating.
Markers reward a clear definition of seasonal food and two valid, distinct benefits (cost, taste or freshness, environment).
Related dot points
- Food and the environment: food miles and carbon footprint, packaging and its disposal, food waste and the 3 Rs, the environmental cost of food production, and how the consumer can make more sustainable choices.
A focused answer on food and the environment for Eduqas GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition (C560), covering food miles and carbon footprint, packaging and waste, the 3 Rs, the environmental cost of food production, and how consumers can choose more sustainably.
- Food security and sustainability: what food security means, the factors that threaten the food supply, food poverty and food banks, sustainable food production and fishing, and global food issues.
A focused answer on food security and sustainability for Eduqas GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition (C560), covering the meaning of food security, the factors that threaten it, food poverty and food banks, sustainable food production and fishing, and global food issues.
- Food processing and production: primary and secondary processing, how foods such as wheat, milk and oil are processed, fortification and additives, genetic modification, and the effect of processing on nutrition and shelf life.
A focused answer on food processing and production for Eduqas GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition (C560), covering primary and secondary processing, how wheat, milk and oil are processed, fortification and additives, genetic modification, and the effect of processing on nutrition and shelf life.
- Food choice, sensory evaluation and labelling: the factors that affect food choice, sensory testing methods, food labelling law and nutrition information, and how marketing and packaging influence what we buy.
A focused answer on food choice, sensory evaluation and labelling for Eduqas GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition (C560), covering the factors that affect food choice, sensory testing methods, food labelling law and nutrition information, and how marketing and packaging influence buying.
- Fruit and vegetables as a commodity group: their classification, nutritional value (vitamins, minerals, fibre), enzymic browning, how to minimise vitamin loss in preparation and cooking, and how they are stored.
A focused answer on fruit and vegetables as a commodity group for Eduqas GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition (C560), covering their classification, nutritional value, enzymic browning, how to minimise vitamin loss during preparation and cooking, and how they are stored.
Sources & how we know this
- WJEC Eduqas GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition specification (C560) — WJEC Eduqas (2016)