Food security: GCSE Biology
Food security, farming, sustainable fishing, mycoprotein and GM crops
The short version
Food security is threatened by population, climate and pests; intensive farming, quotas, Fusarium mycoprotein and GM are responses.
Key idea
High-income countries can still have food insecurity for some people (cost, waste). Low yields anywhere make the whole system fragile.
Grade 2–3: Food security is everyone getting enough to eat.
Grade 5–6: I can name two threats (climate, pests, more people).
Go a bit deeper
Grade 2–3: Farmers can pack more food in, but chemicals can leak into rivers.
Grade 5–6: I can name fertiliser, pesticide and biological control.
Grade 9: I mention eutrophication as the fertiliser dump, and I do not claim hydroponics "needs no minerals".
Worked example
Worked example
Grade 2–3: Food security is everyone getting enough to eat. Grade 5–6: I can name two threats (climate, pests, more people). Grade 9: I use "nutritious and accessible", not just "lots of calories", and I set up farming/fishing/GM as evaluated tools.
Lessons in this topic
- What is food security
- Farming methods
- Sustainable fishing
- Biotechnology and mycoprotein
- GM crops and issues
In the app each lesson is video (when we have a real YouTube id) then intro, learn and summary steps.
What the examiner wants
Define food security, evaluate intensive farming and sustainable fishing, and explain biotechnology examples with risks.
Try these questions
Cover the answers and have a go first. Worked solutions are underneath.
Food security means
A biological threat to food security is
Nitrate fertiliser can harm rivers by
Biological control is
Common mistakes
- Food security is not "food chains" and not "food tests (Benedict's)". Different topic, same word.
- Intensive is not automatically "bad science". The mark scheme wants yield vs environment/welfare, then a conclusion if asked.
- A quota of zero forever is conservation, not a food-security plan on its own. The spec wants sustainable harvest.
- Mycoprotein is not monoclonal antibodies and not biogas. Fusarium fungus, protein food.
Answers and working
Frequently asked questions
Is GCSE Food security on Combined Science and Triple?
Food security is Triple-only Biology. Combined Science students can skip it.
Which exam board is this Food security page for?
The ideas are board-agnostic for AQA, Edexcel, OCR, WJEC and CCEA. Paper lengths and question numbers differ — check your specification.
Is Food security Foundation or Higher?
The core ideas appear on both tiers. Higher papers add extra application and some HT-only detail, marked in lessons with a Higher badge.
Learn, try, get feedback, fix the mistake
Open the stepped lesson, then the quiz with hints. Required-practical and calculation questions use the same method you will need in the paper.
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