Solving the food problem
FoundationThere are three paths: high-tech farming (GM crops, hydroponics, vertical farms) to raise output, international aid for immediate crises, and sustainable farming to protect long-term productivity. Each has pros and cons, so solutions must combine.
- Three paths: technology raises output, aid meets emergencies, sustainability protects the future
- GM example: Golden Rice fights vitamin A deficiency; controversies are safety doubts and seed patents
- Hydroponics uses about a tenth of the water; vertical farms fit cities — but costs are high and staples impractical
文體小知識：方案評估課：每個方法都要講「怎樣做、好處、限制」三步，能夠同時寫出利與弊才算完整的評估。
§Text Passage
1Solutions to global hunger fall into three groups: raising output with technology, meeting immediate crises with aid, and protecting long-term productivity through sustainability. Technology and sustainable farming tackle root causes; aid treats the symptoms.
2In high-tech farming, genetically modified crops receive chosen genes that make them pest-resistant, drought-tolerant or more nutritious. 'Golden Rice', for example, carries genes that make the grain produce vitamin A, fighting the deficiency that blinds children in developing countries. Hydroponics grows plants in nutrient solution instead of soil, using only about a tenth of the water of conventional farming, and works indoors as 'vertical farms' — Hong Kong and Singapore both grow choy sum and lettuce this way. Yet high-tech farming is costly, and GM food still faces safety and seed-patent controversies.
3In international aid, the UN World Food Programme feeds over 100 million people a year, shipping grain after wars and disasters; school-meal projects use one meal a day to bring children back to class while improving nutrition. Aid saves lives in a crisis, but long-term dependence can sap local farmers' incentive to produce, so aid increasingly means 'teaching to fish' — providing seeds, tools and training.
4Sustainable farming seeks a long-term balance: crop rotation and fallowing restore soil fertility, organic farming cuts fertiliser and pesticide, and water-saving irrigation such as drip systems feeds water straight to the roots, saving 30 to 70 percent of water. Israel farms in the desert with drip irrigation and careful water management, proving that technology plus management can overcome natural limits. There is no single answer: output, fair distribution and environmental care must go together.
1Summary 重點摘要
There are three paths: high-tech farming (GM crops, hydroponics, vertical farms) to raise output, international aid for immediate crises, and sustainable farming to protect long-term productivity. Each has pros and cons, so solutions must combine.
2Vocabulary cards Vocabulary
Crops given chosen genes for traits such as pest resistance, drought tolerance or better nutrition, e.g. Golden Rice.
GM rice carrying genes that make vitamin A; named for its golden colour, it fights vitamin A deficiency.
Growing plants in nutrient solution without soil, using about one-tenth of the water of conventional farming.
Stacking crops in layers inside buildings — land- and water-saving farms close to city consumers.
The UN agency for food aid, feeding over 100 million people each year in emergencies.
Farming that meets today's food needs while protecting soil, water and ecosystems for future generations.
Growing different crops in turn (or leaving land fallow) so the soil recovers its nutrients.
Piping water drop by drop straight to plant roots, saving 30 to 70 percent of water.
Farming without synthetic fertiliser or pesticide, relying on compost and natural pest control.
3Step by step Steps
- Para 1: three groups of solutionsSolutions to the food problem fall into three groups: technology-driven farming that raises output, such as GM crops and hydroponics; international aid for immediate crises, such as food relief programmes; and sustainable farming that protects the production base, such as drip irrigation and crop rotation. Golden Rice is technology, World Food Programme shipments are aid, drip irrigation is sustainability. Classify first, then attach examples — one per group with benefits and limits — for a complete answer.
- Para 2: GM crops, promise and controversyGenetic modification transfers chosen genes into crops to give them new traits. Golden Rice is the emblem: it fights vitamin A deficiency, which blinds and kills hundreds of thousands of children a year, while insect-resistant cotton cuts pesticide use and protects farmers' health. The limits are just as clear: high development costs, public doubts over product safety, and seed patents that force farmers to buy new seed from companies every year, putting it beyond the poorest growers.
- Para 2: hydroponics and vertical farmsHydroponics grows plants in nutrient solution without soil, using only about a tenth of the water of conventional farming; vertical farms stack growing layers skyward, and factory-based vertical farms in Hong Kong and Singapore raise salad greens and lettuce. The limits: LED lighting and equipment carry heavy power costs, so only high-value vegetables turn a profit and staples like rice and wheat remain impractical — making these methods a supplement, not a mainstay.
- Para 3: aid, achievements and trapsInternational aid answers emergencies: the World Food Programme assists over 100 million people a year, shipping food to war and disaster zones, while school meal programmes achieve two goals at once, raising enrolment and child nutrition together. But a long stream of free food can depress local prices and undermine local farmers, deepening the recipients' dependence. Modern aid therefore stresses 'teaching to fish', pairing food with farm training and infrastructure investment to restore self-reliance.
- Para 4: sustainable farming protects the baseSustainable farming aims to raise output while protecting soil and water. Rotating beans adds nitrogen to the land and trims fertiliser use; drip irrigation sends water straight to the roots, saving 30 to 70 percent; Israel's desert vegetables, grown with drip lines and precise water management and exported to Europe, are the classic case. The limits: conversion takes capital and training, and yields may dip before they rise — a burden poor farmers cannot shoulder alone.
- Method: assess any solution in three stepsAssess any solution with the same frame in three steps: the principle (how it works), the benefits (with data) and the limits (cost and controversy). Hydroponics, for example: plants grown in nutrient solution; saves about 90% of water and no farmland needed; but power and equipment are expensive and only high-value crops pay. Close with one sentence judging whether it can solve the food problem as a whole.
4Diagrams Diagrams
5Worked example Example
Example: can hydroponics solve the global food problem? Assess its benefits and limits.
- Benefit one: saves water and land — recirculated nutrient solution uses about a tenth of conventional water, and vertical farms stack upward without taking farmland
- Benefit two: stable supply — indoors, drought and typhons do not matter; output runs all year next to the city, cutting transport
- Limit one: high cost — LEDs, nutrients and equipment are expensive, so only high-value crops pay; rice and wheat are out of reach
- Limit two: limited scope — hunger stems from poverty and distribution; poor farmers cannot afford the kit, so technology alone cannot end famine
- Answer: Hydroponics boosts vegetable supply in some places and saves water and land, but its cost and crop range mean it only 'partly solves' the problem; lasting answers need sustainable farming, aid and poverty reduction too. Tip: end assessment answers with a verdict like 'partly effective' and say why other methods must join.
6Common mistakes Mistakes
7Quick check Quick check
Q1What are GM crops used for? Give one example.
Q2What is hydroponics, and how much water does it save?
Q3What does the World Food Programme do?
Q4How does crop rotation protect the soil?
Q5Why must the food problem be tackled on several fronts?
8Recap Recap
- Three paths: technology raises output, aid meets emergencies, sustainability protects the future
- GM example: Golden Rice fights vitamin A deficiency; controversies are safety doubts and seed patents
- Hydroponics uses about a tenth of the water; vertical farms fit cities — but costs are high and staples impractical
- The WFP aids over 100 million people a year; dependence hurts local farming, so teach to fish
- Drip irrigation saves 30 to 70 percent of water; Israel shows technology plus management farms the desert